What a gem, Buga is! Since moving back to SD this last summer, our family has had a wonderful time adventuring around Convoy and the neighboring restaurants, especially for KBBQ. We have a few favorites, but Buga is always a top spot for us. As a family, we always opt for the AYCE KBBQ and we typically go with option C. It offers us quite the variety of meats to choose from as well as the sides. For the price, we feel like the quality of the food is great and the options are endless. The cuts of meat are very flavorful as well as the marinades they use. Service is always very welcoming and fast. I feel like all of the staff are friendly and happy to help where they can. The restaurant itself is clean and we couldn't recommend Buga more for anyone looking for a great meal! read more

Came here to celebrate my guy's birthday and it was soo good! The quality of meats is incredible and near everything was delicious including the sides. I was absolutely obsessed with the fish cakes and I really liked their kimchi, which I can be pretty picky about at times. It was my first time eating kbbq with Sticky Rice Wrap, but now I can't imagine eating it any other way. It worked perfectly with every single meat option. We did the B tier as the A didn't seem worth it considering you only get 1 order per guest for half the items. For meats, I did not like the Garlic Pork Belly at all and the Spicy Squid wasn't that spicy. Everything else was really good and my favorites were the Beef Brisket, Beef Bulgogi, Marinated Rib Fingers and Marinated Bone-in LA Short Rib. The doenjang (soy bean paste) we got worked with all meats and was soo good! 4.5 but rounding to 5 because this is definitely the best kbbq I've had in SD. read more

See all

Delicious Korean bbq with really good prices! The happy menu which included a lot of the good and basic meats like brisket, bulgogi, pork belly, chicken, ect is only $26.99 for all you can eat! You really can't beat that! Unlimited side dishes of your choice. Great option! read more

Definitely a new favorite KBBQ place in the convoy area! The price is reasonable for the meat you get and there's a wide selection of sides to choose from. The quality of meat is decent and the side dishes are sooo good. The best meat is definitely all of the short rib items and the marinated pork belly. The marinade they use on the LA short rib and the spicy pork belly is so yummy! Best side dishes were the corn cheese and steamed egg. Parking is a little weird because it's next to a Motel 6 but the owner told us it would be okay to park in the spots for the Motel too. The service was really nice and attentive. It was a Wednesday night, but it was surprisingly packed! No wait for a group of 5 though which was nice. read more

See all

90 mins to eat, they have a call button, good protein options depending which tier you'd prefer, protein well marinated for grilled if preferred. Decent pricing. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - The drink options from alcoholic to non alcoholic. - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

LOVEEED THE ATMOSPHERE such a cool vibe with my server Glen and the manager John! Everyone here is super helpful! I came here alone and I absolutely LOVED IT! I was in my own little world! BEEF BULGOLGI IS UNMATCHEDDDDDDD!!!! It was a nice spot and they have happy hour 11-2:30 perfect for a Friday Lunch read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Had a glass of Hess perfect lunch! - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

We had some cousins who recently moved to San Diego and they asked us if we could take them out to get Korean BBQ around the area. We didn't want to go to our usual spots because we wanted a place that served beef belly and we wanted to try something new. This led us to Buga which we have driven by a couple times before and were intrigued by all of the good reviews. Upon arrival, my boyfriend and I got seated at a large booth since we had a party of 5. While waiting for the rest of our party, we noticed that our table smelled like wet towel. We brought this to the attention of our server who wiped down the table with hand sanitizer which helped out a lot and made the stench go away. The quality of the food here was really good. We went with the B menu which was $37.99. Our favorite item from this menu was definitely the marinated rib fingers. Not a lot of Korean BBQ places typically have rib fingers so this was something we were a huge fan of. I usually enjoy my sides at Korean BBQ and I thought all the sides I ordered, including the steamed egg, corn cheese, fish cakes, and kimchi fried rice, exceeded my expectations. However, we were a little bummed that they didn't have all of the traditional banchan like mashed potatoes, bean sprouts, or cucumbers, and the sides they did have were only available to order and not already given to you like they usually are at other Korean BBQ spots. One thing we did wish was better was the service. After reading some of the reviews prior to our visit, we did expect service to lack a little bit. There were several times where we had ordered, but our order wasn't taken completely so we had to double order what we wanted on the next rounds. We were waiting a lot for multiple items, including our meats but also our steamed eggs and our rice. These were items they said they would bring out soon but forgot about quite a lot. We would also have to call someone over to order and ask for other things we wanted because no one was regularly coming by. Additionally, if you do have a bigger party, the grill size was smaller than our liking. This made it very difficult and inconvenient to cook all our meat with the amount of people we had. We were seated at a large booth, but there was only one small grill to share between the 5 of us. We thought it would have been a lot better if a table this size had at least had two grills. To us, it felt like a large amount of space on the table and very little grill. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Beef belly, steamed egg, kimchi fried rice, and corn cheese - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Perfect spot for a group date night. Love coming here with a big group so we can try tons of different meats and really get a wide variety of flavors and different things. The beef bulgogi is my absolute favorite, and I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the salad and the gyozas as well. Our servers did a great job helping us out even as we ordered a million things each time they came around. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Bbq chicken. Steak - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Ok experience though not great. Plus side - quality of food was consistent. The offering of non meat options seemed small. The music was way too loud. We had a speaker above our heads and it made conversation a challenge and big lift. Ambience an afterthought. Service was ok - the all you can eat aspect of offering seemed to impact how often they checked in (not often) - they did t appear understaffed. read more

Let me start off by saying I rarely ever leave reviews. This place was so bad that I had to make a review on it. Let's start with the service: they forgot several of our orders and had to constantly remind them. Our server also barely spoke English. Now the food: soybean stew was insanely salty and mushrooms were so chewy that it felt like I was chewing on rubber. Couldn't ever swallow it. Now to the meats: we're ordered tier 3 (highest level) and we're extremely disappointed. All the meats were low quality cuts & bland; they lacked flavor/ texture. No salt and they were super chewy. I think the only thing we enjoyed in the menu was the corn cheese. Everything else was extremely disappointing. I feel like we got ripped off of our hard earned money. Save your money and time go elsewhere read more

Honestly a gem. I grew up right around the corner, so I've seen & known about this place forever. However, FINALLY tried it & was not disappointed! It recently was renovated, so it was pretty clean & neat on the inside. The Happy menu is just perfect bang for the buck, and the sides are all included. The corn cheese was the best I've ever had, and the veggies were incredibly fresh & good. The meats were very very good, I was surprised by how much I liked the chicken - it was a really good cut & fillet, with tasty marinade. The servers were incredibly nice & welcoming. There were a few items we ordered, but just didn't end up arriving, which isn't a big deal because we were just too full. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Happy Menu - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

I came here on a Monday at 11 and the restaurant was empty. There are different tiers of AYCE, but only one that qualifies for the lunch special, so we ordered that one. Service was quick and attentive, and it was a pretty standard KBBQ experience. There are a lot more sides that can be ordered than many other places I've been to, so that's a perk here if you need a break from eating meat. read more

See all

First time coming here and we were able to find parking easily and were seated right away on a Saturday around 4:30 pm. We went with menu B and everything was delicious! I enjoyed the bone in LA short rib and beef brisket the most and liked the seasoned beef short rib, beef belly, pork belly and chuck flap tail as well. The variety of sides was great, such as the corn cheese, steamed egg, veggies and japchae. We luckily sat at a booth which was comfortable and spacious. Service was quick. Though it's a bit on the pricier side, I would come back! read more

See all

My first time here and we easily found parking and got a table on a Saturday around 4:30PM. We opted for menu B ($37.99 per person) and my favorites were definitely the bone-in LA short rib and surprisingly the brisket! The meats tasted high quality and I enjoyed the wide variety of sides: steamed egg, corn cheese, japchae, fishcake and macaroni salad! The kimchi fried rice and tteokbokki were nothing special. Staff were quick and fairly friendly. I also liked how the booths were very spacious and comfortable. Although it's a bit on the pricier side, I would definitely come back! read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Bulgogi, beef brisket, and beef belly - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Food: 8/10 Service: 9/10 Ambiance: 9/10 Honestly speaking, I'm Korean and I can vouch for the fact that SD does NOT have that much good Korean food, but Buga is the best it gets in sd. Their soybean paste soup (된장찌개) isn't the best; isn't the worst. BUT THEIR LA GALBI HITS. Their set menus are nice to share if you're 2 college students! Prices are a bit pricey, but if you want good Korean food in sd, this is the place to go. Haven't tried to AYCE tho read more

Buga Korean BBQ - LA galbi - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

We came here on a Thursday early evening around 5pm. There was no wait and we were seated right away. We had 3 kids with us all under the age of 5 so all of them were free. We came here for my daughters 2nd bday. My kids love korean bbq and this place did not disappoint. We got the B menu which included all of C. It pretty much had everything we wanted. All the meat quality was very good. Our favorite with the galbi. My girls loved the bulgolgi. However, the rice paper was a little dry. Corn cheese was bomb, steam egg was bomb and everything was great! Food came out very quickly as well. Now the service was exceptional! Everyone was very attentive, they checked on us multiple times and even helped with getting us a lighter and candles for my daughters bday. We had an awesome time. The place is very clean, bathrooms are very well taken care of. This is our GO-TO kbbq place. We enjoyed it all! We'll be back! read more

See all

This place is very busy on the weekends. Maybe an hour waiting time. I saw a couple of people leave who couldn't wait any longer. It was about 7pm at night and their last call is at 9:30pm. The place recently did a remodel the last time I was there. The prices on the menu will reflect for the new remodel and more staff they hired. We do enjoy coming here though for the food. I always enjoyed the spicy tofu stew. I love tofu and the soup has a good spice to it. My boyfriend gets the same each time the galbi soup that has glass noodles and beef rib bones in it. Always a plus when they serve you side dishes with your meal. I love especially the Kim chi side dishes. The waitress older lady was very friendly and knowledgeable when I had questions about the dishes. I can see why this place got busy. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Galbi Beef Back Rib Soup (부추 갈비탕) and sides - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

Parking: plenty of parking in the back. The lot only has one way in and one way out, so if you're going west from the freeway you're fine, but going east on Clairemont is a pain, as you have to cross the freeway then make a u-turn... Customer service: They were super attentive in the beginning, then towards the end we had to press the button a few times to flag someone down. But that's pretty normal as we wind down on orders. They did forget our waters a few times. Food: Delicious! Would recommend the beef bulgogi, thinly sliced pork, steamed egg, and Mac salad. The kimchi fried rice was plain and lacked flavor (which was surprising for a KBBQ restaurant). read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Steamed egg - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Well Coming here for my Sons Birthday and it was not to busy at the time of arrival . We found a space to park but the parking can get a little difficult and fills up quickly on weekends . Well we got in quick and got a table . The place is kind of big but we look over the menu and got the all you can eat Korean BBQ for like 35 bucks per person and the food was pretty good . Compared to others Korean BBQ Restaurants this one is not bad !! They give you time to order . Well I got French Fries and the pork belly plus lots of other meats . The man working was nice and for my son he gave him a small round cookie with a candle on it for his birthday . Well he would check up on us to see if we needed anything else . Overall it was a great experience and Service was good . I do suggest you give this Korean Restaurant a Try and enjoy the All you Can Eat BBQ !!!! read more

See all

First time here for all u can eat menu! U cook it on a grill that is in the middle of the table. We had beef/pork/chicken/mushrooms/grilled onions/steamed white rice/glass noodles/dumplings. They also brought us cream cheese corn which is a must to have. Since u cook it u know it's fresh and cook to your taste. Our servers were very courteous and friendly and eager to bring u more food as you pleased. Our bill was 130.00 for 4 of us and we ate our fill and more! read more

See all

So good. I've celebrated two times here with a group of 8-10. The food is amazing, service is fast and efficient. Beer is always ice cold and atmosphere is great to celebrate in. Will keep coming back! read more

We got a bunch of things for takeout when my friend and her family was visiting. I like the variety of dishes, but the quality varied between each. Seafood pancake: a bit mushy for my taste. I prefer it crispier. They did load it up with a lot of seafood, so that's a plus Galbitang: flavorful and delicious Galbi plate: I liked that this was a bento style and it came with salad, rice, and pan fried mandu. The galbi itself was a bit overcooked. Overall, a decent place if you want a variety of Korean dishes. read more

The ambiance is Asian and the restaurant is very clean. The service is friendly and quick. The food is incredible. You can either get the regular menu or you can get the all you can eat. It's fun cooking your food on the grill in the middle of the table. Great place to have great food and a fun time. read more

Horrible place to come eat. I say that with a heavy heart too. My sister and I stood by the podium they use to check people in. We were ignored for 20 minutes so we left. It was not busy either and we saw plenty of people walking around, joking and laughing. Talk about embarrassing yourselves. I don't recommend this place. We went to eat at another spot. read more

I love Korean BBQ and you have lots of choices in San Diego but Buga is one of the best. From the quality meat, great service and a great atmosphere all under one roof!. There were 8 of just so we opted to use a private room. The only cost is a 20% service fee to use the room. Our entire party left full and happy. This is just a great place to eat and spend some time. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Working through the pounds of meat!!! - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

I always feel like 5 star reviews are never genuine, but I honestly can't think of any reason Buga should get less! To start, there's plenty of room inside and the tables aren't crammed together, and when they cleared the tables between seatings I noticed they were very thorough. The servers were all very attentive, the food came quickly, and the water stayed full. Ok on to the food! We got the happy/lunch menu which is $27/pp. I've found that when it's that cheap the meats are either not great or you don't get a lot of sides. With this menu, although the meat selection is limited they're FRESH and perfectly marbled, a ton of sides to choose from, and everything is the perfect flavor/texture and came out piping hot. If you're introducing anyone to KBBQ or have a larger gathering definitely check them out! read more

See all

Visited on New Year's Day around 3 PM and the service completely ruined the experience. Our server clearly did not want to be there and provided some of the worst service we've had at a Korean BBQ restaurant. There is an automatic gratuity added, which is extremely frustrating given the level of service we received. This server did not earn a tip. I asked for sesame oil and was given something that tasted like plain cooking oil. My wife ordered a Coke and it never arrived. To make things worse, waiters kept switching between tables, so no one seemed accountable for our service. The food itself was mixed. The meats were just okay at best, and the beef intestine I ordered was honestly terrible and borderline inedible. Overall, this place might be tolerable if service improves, but being forced to pay gratuity for poor service leaves a bad impression. We left disappointed and would not rush back. read more

Had Mother's Day dinner and it was awesome. We got the all you can eat A dinner. The meat was good quality and the panchans were well made. Loved the experience!!!! read more

Came back twice for last 2 months, they changed the AYCE lunch menu. Price increased and less selections. No kore pork jowl or beef finger meat at the lunch specials. Overall food quality is still good but not as good value as before. I really like their smoke/air control, one of the few KBBQ places you can come out not smelling fully like a walking bbq. Briskets are a little lean but at least slices are thick enough so it won't break down in crumbs while cooking. Beef belly's fat vs meat ratio is too high for me. Marinated beef belly helps with the marinade adding flavor to the fat. The sides are actual the stars for me: Spicy rice cakes, cook them at least 15 mins on the grill, love the chewy texture. Kimchi is well marinated and the cabbages are good quality slices Radish slices are well flavored Cheesy corn, kids loved them Place is clean, no oily flooring, Bathroom is exceptionally clean. Seating is comfortable. Service is friendly however sometimes takes time to get their attention and tend to miss a couple side orders. Overall I recommend this place especially during weekdays $26.99 lunchtime AYCE. read more

See all

This is our go to kbbq spot. Way better than manna! The service is great, quick, and workers are nice! The meat is also good quality and they have the best corn cheese I've had at a kbbq spot. The grills are also good quality and don't get messed up as fast as other kbbq places I've been to. read more

The lunch time ayce bbq is pretty good. 26 for the quality is pretty decent. If someone wants to get cheap kbbq, I would probably go here. read more

See all

Came in today for two bbq buffet $37.99 per person. Good quality meat but the portion is small. I'm not sure if we will go back. The next table also for two people were served more meat than us! I might give it another try??? Meat on plate was so small for an 8 y/o size not even for two adult people. hmmmm... I paid $101 including tips for 2 people. Meat was small! Kind of ruin your momentum in ordering more meat expecting 'more but the served small quantity and small portion of meat then cooking and ordering again etc... I will just try other place.... Not very good experience. I should have taken picture of their small meat for 2 adult customers. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

We have been to Buga a few times but just recently we had late lunch here and I don't think I ever gave a review. We did the AYCE and I have to say the quality of the meats was nicer. The restaurant was busy but we did not have to wait and they have parking. All pluses in my book. They are attentive and friendly too. My husband and I have 3 things we like to get (beef brisket, beef bulgogi and marinated beef belly) so we get the least expensive option. Again, with that, the meat is better than in some places. The restaurant itself also seems cleaner too. We ordered a few sides but mostly just go for the meat. I would certainly return! read more

See all

They did some upgrades and this place is great. Food, service and atmosphere great this just might be my go to for AYCE Korean BBQ our servers were super friendly good job on changes made. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

One of the best KBBQ in San Diego. Great selection of meats. Their galbi was so well seasoned and delish. Love the beef belly and beef tongue. Make sure to make a reservation coz it can become so busy esp during weekends. They also have a private room for a good size party. Parking can be tough and it's adjacent to a motel where you can park there as well. read more

See all

Buga is good! I always see it driving by but have never been. I was under the impression that it was way more expensive than the other KBBQ places. But it's totally worth it considering you'd pay the same amount for non AYCE elsewhere. We had menu C. $29.99 and stuck with brisket, bulgolgi, and pork belly. They have thinly sliced pork belly here which I prefer over the thick. It got nice and crispy. I also liked that they didn't just throw a bunch of random salad and banchan down that you might not want and you get to order it. There are so many sides too that come with it you can get like corn cheese, tofu stew, dumplings, steamed eggs, different veggies, butter!, kimchi, radish skins, japchae (so flavorful), etc. Service was good and wasn't too busy on a Saturday at lunch. Canned soda for $2.50 is kinda lame but everything else was really good. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Menu - November 2023 - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

Actually a pretty decent sized bento for a reasonable price. Hard to find stuff like that nowadays. I enjoyed it overall for something I got to go. read more

We celebrated my Birthday 2 weeks ago here . It didn't disappoint. This is AYCE KBBQ place and they have 3 choices to choose from for the set of meat you wanted with its corresponding price. We chose the $38 per person which is the middle price. The meats were served fresh and the service was fast. We went on a weeknight and to see the place filled with people would mean it's a good KBBQ place. Our favorite side dish was their creamed corn- because it's not too cheesy and not too sweet. The Galbi was our favorite meat- well seasoned and really tasty. read more

See all

We came here for dinner tonight for the first time. We enjoyed most of the things we ordered. Our favorites were the beef bulgogi, marinated top blade steak, and the beef brisket. The fried gyoza and kimchi fried rice were good side dishes. The service was a bit slow from the waiters, but it felt like management was checking in on tables consistently. read more

Buga Korean BBQ - Kimchi fried rice - Barbeque Near Me - San Diego, California

See all

was not a fan of the AYCE. i got menu B, which included meats on menu C. the meat quality just was not good, and the marinades were also of poor quality. meat was super chewy and fatty. marinades tasted like the ones you get from the grocery store. at that point, i would rather get the kbbq meats at zion! service was also just ok. i did not like that the amount of meat they gave per dish for 2 people was so much. kinda defeated the point of ayce for me because i couldn't try other meats due to how much i got from my first 2 selections lol. overall, this place was a miss for me but i did see some people ordering from the non-ayce menu so maybe that is better? read more