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    Champs Korean BBQ

    4.5 (109 reviews)
    Open 12:00 pm - 10:30 PM
    Updated 2 months ago

    Champs Korean BBQ Photos

    Business Info

    CHAMPS KOREAN BBQ ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Happy hour specials
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - Champs Korean BBQ

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    Reviews With Photos

    Mary L.

    Service was great, staff were quick to deliver orders, pick up dirty plates. A lot of tables, plenty of parking too but it does share with other stores in the plaza. We visited on a Monday after 12 noon, so plenty of spaces, I bet it can be tight during rush dinner time. We tried the lunch special and it was more than enough for what we wanted. We left happy and full. Quality is great, they do not have the usual grill, its a flat stone that is slightly tilted for the grease to drop, although it can get very oily if you don't push the extra grease on the edge, you can also ask them to clean it off. Overall, good experience. This was our first time here and great find for us!

    David T.

    We came here after trying to go to 3 other Korean bbq places. This place was not busy at all and we walked in and were sat when our last person showed up. Apparently once you sit down there is a 2 hour limit. Once our last person arrived, we ordered our waters, and our food. We ended up trying everything pretty much. The sides were small and not plenty. However, we could order other sides were as much as you want. The meats were good. Nothing salty. Price was ok. I guess for this area it was cheaper. I'd come back

    sides provided
    Kristen W.

    Found this place on Yelp on our way towards Legoland and it did not disappoint! Mind you, we had 5 young kids in tow so we needed the space and options for all kids. They took us with no wait at dinner time and we had a large area to ourselves. Not to mention everything was delicious! We're a meat-eating family and we enjoyed everything we ordered. Our favorite is the beef belly and all the galbi options. Everything you love about AYCE, you can find here. From sauces, to sides, to radish wraps, it was a slam dunk. Servers are educated and will answer any questions you have without hesitation. They checked in often and never left us waiting for service. If we're ever in San Diego, we won't hesitate to come back!

    Sue D.

    12-05-25 Lunch Special, $29 (Winner). We tasted many items. These two were not our favorite: -Teriyaki Beef Belly- heavily covered in sauce. -Wagyu Beef- sweet due to overly seasoned. Liked: -Spicy Squid -Baby Octopus -Beef Belly -Beef Brisket -Garlic Butter Shrimp -Deonjang Jjigae -Spicy Chicken- tender delicious! -Steamed Egg- creamy. -Budae Kimchi- full of hidden surprises. Loved the broth! -Dumpling- tasty and crispy. Service: Good service. My three friends and I enjoyed our experience here.

    My N.

    This is my favorite Korean BBQ spot in San Diego. The meat quality was excellent, I liked all the sides and the corn cheese was perfect. I tried the middle tier. It had a good mix selection. The staff was efficient and quick. I will be coming back here to try the top tier.

    November 2025 menu
    Huyen N.

    There's three different AYCE tiers to choose from and a discounted happy hour on weekdays, too. This was as basic as it could be with low quality meats. The service was fantastic, though. It was probably the best service at an AYCE KBBQ that I've ever experienced. Everyone seemed to work well together. The ordering process, delivery to the table, cleaning and everything else was quick and easy. There was never a time that a server had to be flagged down for. This wouldn't be a place I would crave for but the service itself made our experience great.

    Katherine K.

    Took my guy here for his birdday and we had such a great time! They definitely had the best grills we've ever seen at a kbbq place. Staff was friendly and very attentive about refilling water and changing the grill out. We did Power level. I may have been a little too obsessed with the cucumbers they brought out, but I loved them haha. Meat was good. Mostly average, but there were some better quality meats that we had like the galbi. The sides were hit or miss. I liked the Japchae, Zucchini, and Rice Paper (although this was way too small in size). I didn't like the Kimchi or Radish Wraps. The soy bean paste was the WORST my guy and I have ever had in our lives. We definitely expected something more for the Kimchi Friend Rice since it was the "grand finale," but it was nothing special and tasted average at best. Would still come back tho because it was a nice time overall.

    kimchi tofu soup
    Angela D.

    My friends and I were told about this spot so we wanted to try it. We came around 6pm on a Thursday excited and really hungry! Parking isn't the best but it's Convoy... what's to expect. When we got inside, it wasn't busy and there were about 3 tables. I'm giving it a 3.5 due to the service, and a 3 for the grill-- it just wasn't the best for us even with the fire setting being on the highest it could be. We were really hungry and already knew what we wanted since we all looked at the menus ahead of time. We tried our best not to overwhelm the servers with our orders, first orders were dropped off at timely manner. They would ask if we were missing anything and we would notify them that we were so they would leave and someone would come back and items were still missing or we were given the wrong item. Example, we asked for garlic, and they gave us onions, and we asked for extra sides/seasonings and never got them until we asked a different staff. When we were ready to order more proteins, it took awhile to get a staffs attention since they were far while we were seated by the wall area. And there was no way of getting their attention since they lack a call button. One of us would have to either get up from our seats or raise our hands to flag down a server. Now, as for the grilling of the meat, the grill at first was nice and hot, but waiting for the meat to have that slight crisp or sear to it wasn't the best and we ordered the thinly sliced meats. Our second order of meats we had the galbi, and the prime steak... those were terrible choices when it came to grilling, because it just sat in its juices without searing it well. We thought maybe the grill wasn't just hot enough. So we would leave it to try to let it sear longer, instead it started to just sit in its juices making the meat just boil. It took awhile for it to get into the proper doneness we each liked. The meat would end up too chewy and just hard to eat because of the way it cooked on the grill. No proper doneness no matter how long we let it sit on the grill. So, our third order of meats we had to just stick to the thinner slice meats so that it would still be okay to eat and give a decent amount of cook time. As for the sides, the corn cheese was delicious, kimchi is decent (more on the sour side if you like that), and their kimchi tofu stew was yummy. At least I can cross this place out of my KBBQ list. We were so hunry, I realize I didn't take a pic of the meats we ordered.

    Bernadette S.

    So many kbbq choices to choose from in the convoy area. Decided to try this since its new and also we always see the big signage whenever driving on convoy. Someone told me its a sister restaurant to Olleh across the street but not sure of the validity of that. This place is pretty good and comparable to its price point. we came here close to 10pm so i cant really gauge how busy it can get. We came on a friday night during their "happy hour". Mon-Sat, after 9pm, its about $4 off. Decided on the "winner" choice and stuck to beef belly and beef brisket. Both cuts of meat were equally good. They do use the flatstone so it does take a little longer for it to heat up, but once its evenly hot, then the meat doesn't take long to cook. I enjoyed the corn cheese and steam egg. The soy bean paste was also a favorite. The staff are attentive and checked on us often. The place was relatively clean. Not sure how the bathrooms were since we didn't use it. There is a parking lot but its shared with other businesses so it can probably get packed during peak hours. Most kbbq places have the vents running so the smell doesn't stick on you, but not here. Just fair warning, you will definitely coming out smelling like meat sweats. They also have high chairs for the little ones.

    inside
    Trinh T.

    Food (Winner Option): Overall - Nothing really stood out from the food or the restaurant itself, especially considering the area has so many other KBBQ options. That said, it was still decent. Meats - Pretty typical, nothing was a standout, but still enjoyable. The grill they use removes the usual smoky flavor and experience, which could be a pro or con depending on your preference. There are air ventilation fans above, but they weren't turned on. I guess since the grill doesn't create much smoke anyway, it doesn't matter. Personally, I love wrapping the meat with jalapeños and garlic. Kimchi Jjigae - Small, spicy, and flavorful. It was okay. Corn Cheese - Good portion, cheesy, hot, and flavorful. Sides - The cucumbers were so good. There were also some spicy greens that were tasty. The Korean corn potato salad was good too. Korean potato salads are a little on the sweeter side! Fishcakes and macaroni were pretty standard. Kimchi - I personally didn't love the taste of their kimchi too much but it was okay Green Onion Salad - Not many salad options overall, but this one was okay. Kimchi Fried Rice - They'll only do this at the end for you on your grill since it requires a clean grill. They wiped the grill with a napkin, then spread out the rice, flattened it, and told us to leave it to crisp up. It was crispy and had a spicy kick but it was just okay. Service: Really nice and helpful workers Ambiance: It's big, bright, and spacious with many seating.

    Kimchi and corn cheese
    Stephanie S.

    Surprised this place hasn't taken off yet. Saturday night I got in with no wait. The restaurant was over half empty. Super clean inside and what we could see the of the kitchen. Food came out incredibly fast including the hot food we ordered. Good quality for the meats. The meat is cooked on a flat stone and beware it takes a little while to get hot but your food will char nicely. They only had to come once to clean the grill of grease. There were two weird things. 1 kimchi fried rice is for the end and 2 when my boyfriend went to the restroom there was no toilet seat. Would not stop us from going again we enjoyed the food. Plus the had air conditioning which is amazing for Korean bbq.

    Mai H.

    Went with the Power Menu ($38.99) since I wasn't all that hungry and wanted to play it safe with my standard meat options. We mostly stuck to galbi, beef brisket, beef belly, and baby octopus. All of which were solid. Galbi was tender and flavorful, brisket and belly grilled up nicely, and the octopus was decent. The only miss was the prime chuck eye steak, it came out dry and not worth the grill time. Also, I was hoping for a mixed salad like most KBBQ spots offer, but they only had plain lettuce. Sides were meh, but let's be real... no one's coming here for the mashed potato or fried fish cake. I'm eyeing the Champion Menu for next time. Gyukatsu and beef tongue sounds good. Parking is pretty limited. During busy hours, you might need to circle around for street parking or wait for a spot to open up.

    Brisket
    Jeffrey L.

    My friend brought me here after we played a volleyball tournament and I was so excited to eat. I didn't really know what to expect since I usually look at yelp reviews before but maybe it's nice to not look it up because you don't have any expectations of the place and you get to just enjoy it for what it is. It was pretty empty at 5 PM on a Saturday. What was unique is the big hot stone cast-iron skillet thing that you have instead of the metal grates. It's pretty cool because it retains heat pretty well and you can just keep throwing on the meat but I feel like it didn't get hot enough to get a nice char. Cool concept though as they only needed to use a scraper once to get all of the excess print bits and pieces. Food: - Sauces - sauces were a bit questionable. Not sure what the chili sweet-and-sour sauce or the soy sauce was but sesame oil was good. - BEEF BELLY AND BRISKET - I usually don't like brisket, but it was actually really good!!! 10/10 - Banchan - I liked the green onion salad a lot! Everything else seemed standard. Nothing wowed me though. 7/10 - Prime Chuck and prime flat iron were good too. I liked the smaller portions so you can try more things. - Egg was solid, no complaints there. 5/5 Overall, the Power menu was pretty solid for the price point. Service was very fast and staff was all very kind. Management should definitely have everyone try the meats to be able to sell more. It had a nice chill ambiance! Toilet didn't have a seat though so hopefully no one needs to go #2 lol. Interesting parking lot but I'd love to come try the Champion menu.

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    6 days ago

    Great lunch spot and deal! Awesome and high quality meats and good service! Love this place!

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    14 days ago

    amazing value and service! this is now my family's go to kbbq in san diego. All the meat and banchan was fresh and A1.

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Champs Korean BBQ

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    Buga is my absolute favorite KBBQ spot in SD! They get everything right, from the appetizers to…read morecorn cheese. Me and my friends highly enjoy this place as our go-to spot, the meat quality is great and so is the service. I would highly recommend this spot to anyone looking to get KBBQ.

    Buga offers 4 AYCE menu options: A ($45.99), B ($39.99), C ($34.99), and Happy ($27.99). We chose…read morethe A menu because beef tongue is always one of my go-to meats whenever I eat KBBQ. Unfortunately, the beef tongue was the biggest letdown of the night. It was dry and seemed like it wasn't very fresh. However, the ribeye, beef short rib, and rib fingers were all good and ended up being my favorite meats of the evening. The biggest issue was the service. We came on a busy Saturday night, and while I understand weekends get hectic, the service was painfully slow. Our server never seemed to be in much of a rush, even with a packed restaurant. Since you're only allowed to order 4 plates of meat at a time, the long waits between rounds meant we spent more time waiting than eating. We also had to ask twice for a grill change, and it still took a long time before he actually returned with a grill change. By the time our next round of meat arrived, we were already getting full, which really took away from the all-you-can-eat experience. What made this visit even more disappointing is that I've eaten here before, and it used to be one of my favorite KBBQ spots. I celebrated my birthday here last year, and it was hands down one of the best KBBQ meals I've had. This visit just didn't come close to that experience. I'm hoping this was just an off night. I know Buga is capable of much better, but based on this experience, I can only give it 3 stars.

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    I've been wanting to come here for awhile and today is the day. Went on a Saturday afternoon and…read moresurprisingly there was parking. If you know Convoy you already know how difficult parking is. 5/5 We were seated right away once we got in the restaurant. The customer service here is seriously amazing. Staff kept coming back for water and refilled our soup and kept making sure we were good :) 5/5 I love the interior with the wood and the patio seating. There is plenty of seating 5/5 The food is soooo good! We got a mixture of dishes. Army stew, kimichi fried rice, grilled pork, and bibimbap. 5/5 Everything is sooooo good here! I'd recommend it.

    Nov 9, 2024 It's…read morebeen 6 years since I ate here. I came with a friend, and saw I ate here before with the Asian Foodies MeetUp. I feel the same way, the food is expensive, and portions small. I ordered grilled mackerel, but it cost $20 for two fillets and a bowl of rice. Mackerel is just about the cheapest of fishes, sells for $2.29 a lb at Zion Market. The taste of the mackerel wasn't very exciting, I couldn't taste the grill flavor, and I wish they put some marinate on it. The dish I really wanted is Beef Bulgogi (but I like pork better) but it cost $27 and I couldn't bring myself to order it, too expensive. My friend ordered dumplings for about $14, but I did not taste them. My friend only ordered dumplings, which I did not taste. I come to the same conclusion as my previous visit, 6 years before. Not coming back ! Too many other places on Convoy St to try.

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    Being from San Diego, Manna Heaven BBQ is one of those spots…read moreI've been coming to for years whenever I'm craving Korean BBQ. Came back over the weekend and saw they remodeled the place, it looks great! The food and service are still on point. Good selection of meats, solid side dishes, and everyone is always super attentive. I've never had a bad experience here. Pro tip: We only waited about 10 minutes for a table for two. If the line is long, there's a spot across the street where you can grab a beer or drink while you wait for the text.

    For Korean BBQ, Manna BBQ really sets the standard. The bar is high, and after the remodel the…read moreentire place feels refreshed without losing what made it great in the first place. The updated decor looks clean, modern, and welcoming. What always stands out to me is the service. The staff is incredibly attentive and efficient without making it feel forced. Water gets refilled constantly, grills are swapped out before they get too burnt up, and food comes out quickly after ordering. It keeps the whole experience smooth and enjoyable. The quality of the food is also consistently solid. Everything tastes fresh, the marinades are flavorful without being overwhelming, and portions are fair. I also appreciate that they're accommodating with portion requests instead of making it complicated. Even the smaller details stand out here. Their sides are genuinely good, especially the steamed egg and rice paper. You can tell there's a difference in quality compared to a lot of other KBBQ spots. And ending the meal with the ice cream dessert option is just a nice touch that rounds everything out perfectly. Overall, it's just one of those places that consistently delivers a really good experience every time I go.

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    Champs Korean BBQ - korean - Updated August 2026

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