GEN KOREAN BBQ HOUSE @ UTC LA JOLLA Parking is free for the first hour, but after that it's $2 per hour. This is the general parking policy for UTC La Jolla, so just keep that in mind when visiting this all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ spot. I'm not sure if they offer parking validation, though! I actually went to Gen Korean BBQ in Washington about a month ago, so I was excited to try the San Diego location. I really enjoy this all-you-can-eat restaurant because they have such a great variety of meats, and everything tastes delicious. My favorites are definitely the pork belly and the beef belly. I also really like this location because it's inside the UTC mall. After you're done eating, it's nice to walk around and shop for a bit. The service was great, and we were seated right away without having to wait for a table. The ambiance is really nice, and the restaurant itself is pretty spacious, so it never feels too crowded. Overall, I'd definitely come back to this location! read more

GEN Korean BBQ is definitely a whole vibe. The dark purple neon lighting gives it that sleek, lounge feel; super comfortable, clean, and honestly a great spot to hang out. Service was solid and attentive, which made the experience even better. Now... the food. It's not bad, but it's not memorable either. The meat selection is decent, but flavor-wise it's inconsistent; some cuts too salty, others lacking seasoning. Nothing that really made me pause and say "wow, this is good." If we're comparing, Mana BBQ still wins in terms of flavor and quality. But ambiance-wise? GEN takes it. Come here for the vibe, not necessarily for a standout food experience. VERDICT: MAYBE I WILL COME BACK! read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

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I feel so bad for not remembering our waitresses name, but she was SO attentive and helpful and gave 10/10 service last night. Their new soju (50% off right now btw) is soooo sweet and yummy. The meat is also soooo good as well. My favorite was the Galbi, Korean short rib. It's SO flavorful! Pro tip: dip all your beefs in the red sauce then dip it in the salt mix they give (elevates the flavoring from an 8 to an 11) read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Beef bulgogi and Galbi - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

Gen really fell off... Recently took a group of friends who have never had KBBQ before, so I was disappointed that this was their first impression into the KBBQ world. First off, 3 plates of meat arrived before any sauces, sides, or drinks were brought out. We had to flag down our server and ask her to bring them. Because how are you gonna eat brisket with no sauces or sides? and no drink to wash that down too like it's gonna be dry.... Secondly, I guess we were brought an incorrect plate of meat during our first round that actually ended being our favorite! However we could not determine was the mystery meat was, even after asking our server. Since we did not originally order it and our server couldn't figure out what was brought to us, we couldn't order it again. Lastly, there were things that we ordered that never came out but I guess it was okay because we kinda forgot about it. I ordered the Strawberry Yakult Soju which was soooo good, but it took a while for it to come out, and I received it towards the end when we were finishing up. Overall, I get that they were busy and things can get backed up. Our server was super sweet and helpful, so maybe there is some sort of communication issues in the back? Unfortunately I would only come back again for the cocktail, but even then I would be hesitant. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Strawberry yakult soju - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

Nice atmosphere inside. Service was good. Food variety and quality was ok, but had better elsewhere. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Beef - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

I've always loved Gen but this is my first time ordering takeout from them. I ordered through Uber eats so I can't comment on their service or ambience. I will say that the food that arrived was delicious. The meats were flavorful and juicy- cooked excellently! I am going to have to go back to this location to try their all you can eat. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Receipt - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

Disclaimer: I'm very familiar with Gen at the Mira Mesa location, so I may be comparing a bit too much. My husband and I tried the UTC location, and the meat quality was just as good as Mira Mesa: flavorful as always. However, the grill setup was different, and ours kept blowing smoke straight into my face (I literally had to wear sunglasses to shield myself ). I probably could've asked about the exhaust, but we just powered through. Some of the sides were a miss: the Golden Dragon Shrimp was overcooked and slightly burnt, the hotteok was undercooked, and service earlier on felt less attentive (even though it was late lunch and not crowded). What saved the experience: Kat came on shift near the end and completely turned things around. She recognized us from the Mira Mesa location and gave us such kind, attentive service. The only reason this is a 4 stars instead of 3. Meat = great. Ventilation + consistency = needs work. We'd come back, but Mira Mesa still wins for now. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

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Even though our rice was a bit mushy and our japchae has too much soy sauce. Our server, Anthony is awesome and made up for it. He was slam, but still provide excellent service!! He answer all our questions and give us a good feedback. FYI, they gave everyone a mountain of meat. I was a bit shocked at how much 1 serving of the sliced meat we got. Of course they have their own soju which smells so good and GDragon new drink which is also delicious. It's $16 but can be served for 2 people. I like the soju and the GDragon wine. They both goes well with KBBQ. Honestly, this place has such a great customer service!! The place is a bit smaller than the one in Mira Mesa. It's also not as loud.. although if you want to celebrate your birthday, they bang pots and pans to cheer for you, lol. Also, the parking is free for the first 2 hours so keep in mind if you want to dine here. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

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Great and fast service, food was yummy. We ordered the regular all you can eat. Definitely a unique experience. Great date night read more

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TLDR: No big surprises here if you've been to a gen before but this isn't a bad thing bargain for weekday lunch at $24 after tax Right at the western entrance of utc Westfield, gen is at a convenient spot and, so far, isn't too crowded even on a weekend. The service is really attentive though sometimes the newness can peak through (orders can get delayed or missed which is the only thing holding me back from a 5*). Alex and Cat are true stars here. As far as ambience: It's loud. It's blue. It's a vibe. As they all are haha. The price really can't be beat with 30ish items for $25 on a weekday lunch. All of the meats were full of flavor and the steaks are a pretty decent size. The sides are really the star here. I loved the cilantro rice and cheese tonkatsu. Never seen those at a gen before and I hope they never leave! I'll be back for sure. Taste8.5/10 Value 10/10 Service 7/10 read more

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I've been disappointed by Gen so many times at other locations so I wasn't expecting much when they opened at UTC La Jolla. There's usually crazy, long waits and the portions of each meat order were so small. However, we arrived at peak dinner hours and there was no wait and so many open tables inside! Once seated, we scanned a QR code on the table to access the menu. We went with the regular dinner menu, which is actually cheaper than other KBBQ restaurants in San Diego, and they have marinated galbi and pork jowl without any limits! This was a good sign for me since I love eating these cuts but they're usually on a more premium tier. Four meats can be ordered at a time and there's no limit for the sides. Highlights: - Signature Pork Cheek: a little too salted but the quality was pretty good. I would try asking for unseasoned if possible. - Premium Short Plate Beef Belly: each order comes with a lot but they're thinly sliced and look kind of weird when it's rolled up and frozen. Cooks fine and tastes fine though! - Marinated Beef Finger Short Rib: I believe it's the same marinade as the bone-in short rib so it's sweet and savory! Meat is super tender and it's very similar to the bone-in short rib, just a different cut. - Marinated Beef Bone-In Short Rib: Great marinade, maybe just a tad too salty but the caramelization after cooking is so good! - Pork Belly marinated with a rich Garlic Sauce: I was surprised by the thick slab they gave! Very good quality and would highly recommend. Unfortunately, there's no half orders of this since it's just the slab so it works better if you have a larger group. I also really liked their grill. I believe it's a ceramic grill (?) but we didn't have to change it out through the entire meal, even with the marinated meats! There's a chunk of radish on the side you can use to scrape off all the crusties and it'll be as good as new! Will definitely be back, at least to this location. The service was fast, the meat quality was pretty good, and it's one of the cheaper options in San Diego, especially if you come for lunch! Unfortunately, even with the updated mall parking fees, there's no parking validations so unless you can eat KBBQ in less than an hour, you'll most likely have to pay for parking. read more

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This took over the old Red Robin location next to Macys. A lot of seating inside and outside. Came in on a weeknight and got seated within 5 minutes. The servers were all nice and friendly. One of them told us they were training in the Mira Mesa location. Typical banchan and sauces when you get to your table. The apps seemed bigger than the portion size at Mira Mesa or maybe it was the plating that made it look bigger lol. Meat came out within 5-10 minutes after putting in our order. The slices are a little too thin and small? When you add it to the grill they get burnt fast. Other than the meat size/cut, solid kbbq if you're in the area and don't want to drive down to Convoy. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

I came here for a business outing and the service was terrible. You have to order everything through the staff (no tablets or call buttons). The staff came over to our party of 8 very infrequently. I personally ordered bulgogi fries 4 times with 2 different staff members and never received it. My boss ordered corn cheese 3 times and finally received it right when we were finished my meal. On the positive side they did take a reservation for our large party and the garlic beef belly was good. I prefer the ambience of Gen in Mira Mesa as it was more fun there. Unfortunately, everyone said let's go to Manna next time as that's our go to spot. Hopefully, Gen can get their act together with their service. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Ouside - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

Alex keeps going 100% I have been stoked to grab a beer here just for the good vibes.. keep it up read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Beer - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

This is our first and last time at this location. First of all, we got seated fast (so that's why I gave 1 star). But, then it went downhill very fast. We waited for more than 15 mins for the server (Nicona) to come to us. When we tried to order appetizers, the server did not even say anything to us. She just left and came back 10 minutes later after my daughter called her over to finish ordering. And then when we asked for the grill to be changed, she did the same: no word at all, just left and came back 10 minutes later. To make things worse, our food kept coming out very late. The meat came out before all the banchans and the sauces (and even then it took ~20-40 minutes for three plates of meat). We ask for rice paper ~ white rice came out. When we asked, she said the rice paper was out. When we ask for jalapeños, she only told us 15 minutes later that the kitchen ran out of those too. And then, suddenly, she brings out the jalapeños out near the end of our meal. And they were frozen... After our first order, every time we order something...it takes almost 20-40 mins for only some part of the order to come out, so we're sitting at the table just waiting. Even soups and fresh vegetables took forever to come to our table. They just sit on the kitchen window until the server finally notices it 10 minutes later. The only thing that came out in less than 5 minutes was the bill... What was the most ridiculous is the fact that the restaurant was empty except for 3-4 other tables this whole time. And while these other tables continued to get their food within 10 minutes of them ordering, we were stuck waiting. When we asked for our server to check in on our order, she said that there was only one person in the kitchen and only two servers on duty. But then why were we the only table not getting food quickly? It was a little confusing and frustrating because we just wanted to celebrate Father's Day early with some good food and, instead, we struggled to get food. Our server did not even come by our table in the last 40 minutes of our meal. Wish our experience was different because we love coming to GEN at the other locations and shopping at UTC Mall. Given this experience, we won't be coming back here. Edit: When we went up to pay, the server rudely asked us, "What did you not like about it?" We immediately asked to speak with the general manager, Jerry, who was very understanding of our experience and hoped to give us a better one on our next visit (which is why this review is changed to a 2-star review). For now, we're still feeling frustrated so we'll be thinking about whether or not we'd come back. So long as we do not have the same server, we might be open to it. read more

I would highly not recommend doing takeout here. I had ordered Uber Eats. The order itself took more than half a hour to make when majority of the stuff is already premade. So I ended up having to wait a while at the restaurant for pick up. When I went home I opened the container and noticed the order was wrong. I called them and had a rude response telling me I needed to contact uber. When I contacted uber, they told me they could not do anything and told me to contact the merchant. I then called gen back 4 times and no answer in which I assume they were avoiding me on purpose. After trying the food itself, I should have asked for the meat raw so I can cook it myself. The beef was extremely burnt and the pork belly was regular instead of garlic pork belly. Definitely would not be coming back and not recommending others as well. There's many other nice places to eat at the mall. Do not come here. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Wrong order - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

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Great KBBQ spot hidden in the corner of UTC. Can get crowded but also empty so this is a great place to go. It's pretty spacious-- big dining area with lots of seating. Meat is good depending on the day but usually good. Would recommend: pork belly, pork jowl, beef belly & brisket. Brisket depends on the day sometimes is great other times it's terrible. Beer is great but they always give it to us at room temp. Wish they would chill the glass at least. Love the great variety of sides including the Hotteok best thing ever can't find that at other KBBQs. The only downside is they don't have other side options such as: green onion salad or sweet potato and egg or fish cake. I personally did not enjoy the consistency of the mashed potato and the japchae was too sweet in my option. You can tell because it's more dark compared to other places. read more

You guys genuinely need to reconsider what business you're running here. Not only was the food incredibly mediocre, the service was the absolute worst I have ever experienced in my life. Worst quality meat I've ever had as well. Server repeatedly got our orders wrong or just never came. Pretty much had to hunt the server down for basics like water, sauce, or changing the grill. We came as a group and collectively agreed this was the worst dining experience any of us have ever had. Go anywhere else if you want kbbq, 99% chance it'll taste better. Also many of us have worked in food industry for years so we are very understanding but the service was truly terrible. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

This was the first time me and my gf visited GEN and we were impressed. The food was very good and I liked the ambience of the place. Highly recommend the hawaiian pork belly/bacon and the spicy bulgogi. Shout out to Amanda for being of great help! read more

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This place is a solid go to especially for lunch. The weekday lunch is under 25 bucks a person and it's still unlimited although minus the premium meats. Honestly, you don't miss the premium meat because with the amount of the sides which I think are the best around for Korean barbecue, the banchan just keeps you happy between all the grilled rounds. The japchae, beef, brisket, and spicy tofu soup we're all stand out for me. Also our server Howie was wonderful. He was attentive, friendly, and on top of refills without being overbearing. Wirth noting the meats are frozen, which is common at a lot of KBBQ spots and the grills are a speckled material that didn't require grill changes. Different but it works great value, easy lunch choice, and reliable when you're in the area. read more

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TLDR: slightly below average kbbq served at a convenient location with slow service but priced pretty affordable for UTC. I'm a bit of a stickler for kbbq because OC and LA had such great options so sorry if I'm being a bit critical to SD. Came for lunch on a Monday. Place was deserted. Our server was very helpful but he's one dude running the front desk and everything else. The grill was non-stick instead of cast iron so you get bits of teflon in your food. Inside is smoky with poor ventilation. Banchan tasted store bought and had no unique dishes. Out of multiple things like rice papers even though on the menu. Okay the food. We got the classics. Brisket, rib meat, steak, and pork belly. Brisket has greying on the edge showing signs of freezer burn, but tasted okay. Rib meat and pork was good. Steak never came out because an hour into the meal they said they haven't started cutting the meat yet. We cancelled our order. The price was pretty cheap though, lunch was a little over $20 per person. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Lunch - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

Management and server sucks Saturday at 130 not that many tables but looked like 3 servers Took 15 mins to get attention another 5 for appetizers then 20 min for one plate of meat but too many complaints to list I didn't even get my last 3 order of meat I just paid and left almost didn't even wanna leave a tip but I did read more

Went here on a weekday for the lunch special and it was delicious. I think it came out to be 22 per person! They have a big selection of meats and desserts! Everything was great and our server was really attentive. read more

Our server Kevin was awesome. Food was tasty and they gave us a military discount. We will be back! read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Glass noodles, brisket, Korean fried chicken - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

Went in for a second round, different new location. For 1pm on a Tuesday, seemed a bit short staffed, 3 people, to 10ish customers. The host seemed caught up on setting up his station versus attending to peoples orders, but it got cleaned up once Kat and a couple others showed up around 2pm. Meat was great quality, grill was perfect temperature and overall you can't beat the $22 lunch price!! Would highly recommend, Kat treated us like family and it was much appreciated! read more

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Came here late on a Saturday night with a party of 8 and were seated way quicker than expected. Huge plus right away. The restaurant was very clean and well maintained, which always makes a difference. Our servers were excellent, friendly, attentive, and genuinely on top of everything without hovering. Food and drinks came out fast, everything tasted great, and the service never missed a beat. We ordered from the standard menu (not the premium) and were pleasantly surprised by how good everything was. Great service, clean space, and a really solid experience overall. Definitely coming back. read more

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Hear me out - I know there are one star reviews but I will be honest and put in my two cents for all Gen Kbbq's. This is a new location. I'm from LA county. This is probably the cleanest, most well organized Gen I've been to and they have the same quality meat/ noodles/ rice/ sides - whatever they carry at the other places. San Diego is full of raging yelper's who give one star to any place they can out of one inconvenience so... (yes I have lived here, and have experienced it myself) so that's just a disclaimer before you feel like not giving this location a shot. Anyways... here is a well deserved review; Amanda at Gen Korean BBQ in UTC La Jolla was absolutely amazing. From the moment we sat down, she was attentive, warm, and incredibly on top of everything. She made sure our grill was always perfect, our orders came out quickly, and we never had to ask twice for anything. What really stood out was her energy. She was professional but still fun, and you can tell she genuinely cares about the guest experience. Korean BBQ can sometimes feel chaotic with timing and refills, but she kept everything flowing smoothly and made the whole meal feel effortless. If you're dining at Gen in UTC, ask for Amanda. She truly elevated the experience and made it memorable. read more

We came here with a large party and I think the overall experience was average. First the place is nice very well cleaned. The ventilation is absolutely their best feature and the decor is very modern. Now to the part that was average: I felt the flavor for all their meat was lacking. It could've just been that day, but compared to Manna, the flavor profile just wasn't there. The portion was a little bit smaller, but that's fine and that's not the issue but because it takes them a lot longer to replenish the meat that was a little disappointing. I was a little disappointed as well with their side dishes missing some common ones. I really enjoy using the radish to clean the stove, but I felt the stove could've been changed at least two or three more times but because they were so busy (honestly I didn't think they were) we had to have our grill only changed once while primarily using the radish to clean the stove, which was refreshing, but not ideal. Even with my average rating, I'll still come back because it's a good location with tons of parking and very convenient to meet up with friends and family. It wasn't by any means a bad experience and perhaps I will update my reading in the future if my experiences improve. read more

We didn't realize how busy this place would be or that having reservations is highly encouraged. We had to wait around 20 minutes to be seated. The place was busy when we first got there and significantly busier by the time we headed out. The menu is pretty extensive, from drinks to appetizers to the actual bbq items to desserts. Everything we ordered tasted great and we were pleasantly surprised by the fish bowl drinks. It seems like they still need to figure out seating arrangements to not overwhelm one waiter. Ours definitely tied to provide great service but he was significantly outnumbered by all the people being seated in the middle of the restaurant. The music playing is significantly loud but I'm assuming that's to mask the noise from how busy they get, good play list though. read more

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This location or Gen no longer does grill changes. They have you clean the grill yourself with a turnip or something. It's difficult getting the burnt/charcoal gunk/taste off. Off-putting. Don't know what kind of non-stick coating they're using on these grills either, easily scratched with the tongs or scissors. Service seems a bit slow. Disappointed. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Burnt gunk. Server declined to change the grill. - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

Good cuts of meet and reasonable price. Our server Kevin M made sure the meat kept coming and side dishes topped off.

Gen is hit or miss. Sometimes it feels fresh and clean- other times not so much. The staff have always been kind.

Gen bbq has officially taken over the beloved Red Robin next to Macys at UTC. You'll find it next to the fish play structure. I was shopping at UTC on Black Friday and decided to check it out for lunch. While it was Friday, we were charged the dinner price which is all day Friday-Sunday for $31 per person. There's an option to upgrade for access to some premiums cuts and dishes but for an additional $20. The menu price is the same as its sister location in Mira Mesa which was a pleasant surprise. All Gen's are created equal, ambiance and decor wise. What's cool about this location is the all new grills, that are coated metal and less sticky. Each table had a weird looking root sitting in a bowl. I thought was a funky bonchon but it turns out, you can use that to clean your grill and keep it moist to prevent your meat from sticking. My suggestion is giving everyone a longer piece because my grill got hot! And that little root was making me get too close to my grill top. This place is a QR only menu situation. No paper menu. They really need to improve their WiFi or internet in their building. It took extra long to load the menu on my phone. Knowing how Gen is notorious for being understaffed, we kind of came with low expectations and decided to order everything we needed in the first round. That includes all the sides (kim chi, etc), garlic, jalapeños and my meats. Oddly you have to order sauce and it came out last after our meat came out. There must be a price hike on sesame oil. As they didn't have any. Same thing happened when I dined at Gen in Mira Mesa a few months ago. We were given generous portions of the meats we selected and pretty much didn't even need to request anymore. Freeing up the staff from having to constantly bring out more. Strategically, that makes a lot of sense for the restaurant. We did have to ask our server for a few items repeatedly and follow up with the kitchen. When we asked for the ribs and a few of the fried items. Understandably fryer got backed up with multiple orders from everyone. Overall I give my experience a 4 out of 5 stars. There was no wait when we arrived and our server was friendly. We at no point felt rushed or pressured to finish our meal within a time limit or felt like we were ordering too much. I'm happy there's a Korean bbq option in La Jolla at UTC. Just expect to pay for parking since you'll be there at least 90 mins to an hour. read more

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Tried this gens location before heading back home and WOW -- the meat was sooo good, everything was fresh, flavorful, the dumplings were my favorite appetizer. But what really made the experience stand out was the customer service. Chris B. went above and beyond for us. He had such great energy, was super patient with all our questions, and made sure we were taken care of the whole time -- which honestly surprised me in the best way for a busy spot like this. Definitely recommend this place if you're looking for great food AND great service. Thank you so much, Chris B! read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

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Gen is a chain we are very familiar with and have gone to several locations of. This location is relatively new, and nice being at UTC. The food was delicious and consistent with other locations, and the service we received from our Miks was great. Would definitely come back if wanting KBBQ while at UTC! read more

The food and meat quality itself is fine. The service makes this place terrible and not worth it. Ambiance is chill and lots of seating to go with friends and family but I really don't recommend coming here. The service and workers are unprofessional and deceptive. When I came on grand opening day, we were promised a free meal as first 100 customers. However, the server automatically asked "we'll get you started with the premium price?" which made us assume that the premium price was free only to find out that we were charged additional $20-$30 per person for upgrading to premium. Yes, it is our fault for not clarifying but there was no transparency from the server at all and I believe it was a scheme to get the customers to pay. I came again to give the place a second try and once again very disappointed. The service was slow and server made my friend uncomfortable. read more

I usually never write a review for a restaurant but this restaurant compelled me to write a review on the experience I had in order to warn other potential customers . 1. Afters sitting down and ordering food and water it took 20 minutes before I received water. The water even came out after our first round of meat was eaten. I had to ask 3 times for water before it was brought to our table. 2. The meat we ordered was cut too thinly that it fell into flakes when cooked. The chadol and beef belly had a grainy texture when eaten and contained an excessive amount of water. 3. We ordered rice paper for the table and when it arrived it was hard and dried out, probably due to them microwaving the rice paper. 4. The restaurant was very cold to the point I was shivering while eating. The restaurant also did not have any call buttons and I rarely saw the waiter. 5. The last experience we had that was unpleasant was when our waiter placed our japchae on top of a plate that had raw meat. In conclusion I was very disappointed with the service at this Gen establishment. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - San Diego, California

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This is one of the newly opened restaurant at UTC. This is located next to Macy's. We were seated right away when we arrived. Our server, I think his name is Allen, was the star of the experience. He was very helpful and made dining experience more enjoyable. He explained the premium option and convinced us to try it. Food was delicious. Meat quality was pretty decent. Bonchon was very good. Will definitely come back here. read more

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Great Korean BBQ! Atmosphere and Customer Service is Amazing! They really care about giving you a great dinner experience with great quality meat! Must Try a Visit :D read more

Janica, we're so nice and helpful. She asked if it was our first time here and told us the basics that we need it to know!!! And kept checking in. Alex, the supervisor came in as well just to check in on us and offered us some delicious deserts but, we were so stuffed! Such a nice place and staff are very friendly!! read more