There aren't that many KBBQ spots in Arizona so I would drive an hour to this spot the most while living in AZ. It is located inside Tempe Marketplace but parking never really is an issue since it has plenty of parking! Price is reasonable - $21.99/person for lunch and $29.99/person for dinner. Service is decent and isn't very attentive. It takes awhile to get the staff's attention to order meat and request for a grill change. There is around 15 meat selections to choose and my favorites were brisket and bulgogi. They also have a premium menu during dinner time for extra $20! The marinated meats were mediocre and not really that delicious. It's somewhat loud inside so it can be hard to communicate with each other. I would recommend this spot to first timers! read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Kbbq - Korean Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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We came here for dinner around 4 pm and first, we asked for table but the host didn't list us, we were told to wait for 10 minutes and we waited more than that. A lot of empty tables but still got told to wait for 10 minutes. We finally got a table after I walked up again to ask for a table. Out of all the foods that we ordered, my friend and I both agreed that the dumplings, fried chicken, beef bulgogi were good, the rest was horrible. We ordered their appetizers like their fish and shrimp dragon and both were burnt. I think old oil was used to fry them. Grill was never replaced, all the tables were being asked how's everything except us. My soda was never refilled and all the appetizers and sides were not served completely. We ordered their pancake type dessert and it was raw and doughy. I suggested to my friend to come here and we were both disappointed with the food and service. Extremely horrible experience. read more

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We went at 8pm on a Saturday night. If going on a weekend, be prepared for a long wait. However, once we were seated, we had excellent service. Tiffany, our server, was very attentive and prompt with fulfilling our requests even though it was a busy night. The meats were high quality and easy to cook and eat. The only negative is the restaurant is very loud and has bright lights and resembled a club. Though, the playlist was great! I would not come here for a family dinner at night, but with a group of friends, it would be a fun atmosphere. read more

Gone down hill, sreally sad to see this place go downhill. My bf and I used to rave and recommend this to everyone... best bang for your buck for portion and quality but now the quality sucks, could not pay me to go back, yes big portions if not even bigger now but probably bc their supplier is so cheap :( talk about sell outs read more

[[HIGHLIGHT]]The environment in GEN was amazing.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] We were looking for a late dinner and it was worth it. The meat served was delicious. The pork belly was tender and flavorful with all the garlic salt and different sauces that were given at the start of the meal. All the marinaded meats were really good, however the beef short ribs really stood out with a perfect balance of marinade and plan meat. The only thing that was confusing to me was the service. We ordered a boba and it took a long time for us to get. According to our waiter, the boba was still not ready and is getting prepped by the bar tender and another waiter came up to our table saying the bartender forgot to start the boba and they wanted us to order popping boba. We did and the boba was good, do I think it was worth the long wait? No. Overall good experience and great food. read more

Great prices, fun environment and lots of variety to choose from. Service was also great read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

I was looking forward to having some Korean bbq at this spot in Tempe. The short host with white shirt was nice I guess. Sat me down for 13 minutes and I didn't even get offered water or greeted by the waiter. Do better please. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Outside - Korean Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

We tried to get a table at this restaurant. But we were passed by who we assumed was the manager at least twice. She didnt even say hi to us, or let us know that there might a wait. We did eventually get acknowledged by a bus boy but the place wasnt even half full. Still, we weren't acknowledged otherwise. I was hoping to have a good birthday dinner there but I guess we wont be coming back. read more

This chain has really gone downhill. Horrible horrible horrible service. They try to limit how much you can get at a time (which is fine) but then they never actually come around to put new orders in. Our server basically disappeared and the table that was sat next to us actually got up and left. This was not the first time this has happened to me either. I love KBBQ and used to love Gen but I will not be giving them my business anymore. read more

It's expensive, 30$ per person but it is all you can eat for 2 hours. The food is great (as long as you can cook well yourself) Service was great and very prompt. We had the soju fish bowls. The lychee was very good, but the blue one was okay read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Lychee soju bowl - Korean Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

This place is pretty good. If you fine here early the selection is very solid. They're very good with opening tables, but a reservation is recommended if your party is bigger than 5. The food is good and the waiters are solid as well. They're very friendly and change your grill frequently. read more

Although the service was very good. A soft spoken young lady that served us. They did not have any rice paper. Really? We decided to celebrate a mother and son Christmas date. We got the premium meats and only did two rounds. The second round informed us that they were out of Carne Asada. Then after asking for soup four times and they were out of tofu for the soup, but I informed them it was fine and they were kind enough to make me the soup. They did seat me by the bathroom, which I was not thrilled about. All in all I couldn't see myself giving more than two stars for this visit. What food we did have was good, but we've been going to Gen for 15 years in various locations in California and this location did not impress me. We will give it another try in 2025. read more

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Well, I came here after a few months, and I can confidently say they have not fixed a single thing. Low cups and glasses are still an issue. read more

Great variety of meats! It's always fun to cook it yourself. Service could have been faster, as we were there at opening on a Sunday and no one was there. We weren't told ahead of time that we were going to be charged for dinner, even though we came at 11am (lunch). Pretty deceptive. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

An absolutely amazing Korean bbq spot! My favorite Korean bbq spot for lunch and dinner! I would like to start by saying even though this location is always so busy, they are fast with the service! Our server has always been nice and accommodating to our party's so that's a win! The atmosphere is fun and loud, the lights and the music are so perfect for such a fun meal. I love the amount of meats and food on the menu. Especially when ordered it's awesome how much comes out! I love that everything here is clean and fresh. Never have I had to have strange tasting meat or smells. The food itself always tastes so delicious if cooked right. Love that you can request salts and sauces to add some more personal flavor to the dishes. Of course the price you're paying is a bit higher than most restaurants, but for all you can eat I am not complaining. Definitely is a spot to come to treat yourself :) I'll be coming back and can't wait to see their new items coming out to try! 10/10 read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean thin sliced meats and veggies - Korean Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

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The beef Bulgogi is the best thing there hands down! My only problem is that I'd wish that the server would stop by just a little bit more frequently, but service was fine nonetheless. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The ambience was very upbeat and fun for a Saturday night.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

First time trying and will never go back put our name in said it'd be 45 mins ended up being 2 hours Once we get seated 20 mins before anyone came to the table then once someone came another 25 mins before anything then food came out before drinks finished entire first round of food before drinks came then when they did we try to order second round to wait 30 mins with out even a table stop by after that I'll never go back just asked for the check and bounced Oh and the quality of the meat able trash. read more

The table and chairs were greasy when we were seated. It took 15 minutes for them to even show us the menu or take a drink order. My friend's first round of meat didn't come out for an hour (she had to tell our waiter). We were here for two hours and saw our waiter twice after he took our order and we had to flag him down both times (once to get our check). Our drinks were not refilled once the entire night. The service was terrible, the restaurant was not clean, and they also have signs saying that a $5 charge will be added per plate for any food not eaten. 0 stars read more

I enjoy dining experiences that are "different" and was hopeful this could be delicious and fun. Unfortunately, Gen Korean BBQ fell short on both dimensions The food very much felt mass-produced, sure you could get as much as you want, but it low-grade, fatty meat. The sides and sauces weee decent, but were provided on skimpy portions. And - asking for more? That gets to the 2nd problem: the service was slow. Our waitress disappeared several times, and the wait was so long between her visits to our table that the manager stepped in to help twice. When food was dropped off, we weren't told what the food was. When you can order many different types of food, what you're given should be explained. Another let down for me was the environment. It was way too loud, in my opinion. The whole vibe was more of a bar/nightclub than a restaurant. I say this knowing that for others - this may be a good thing. Overall, if you value quantity over quality, in a hip/cool environment - this may be a good choice for you. If you're looking for an elevated food and service dining experience, make plans to dine elsewhere. read more

It's about $32/person for the regular AYCE, or $50/person for the premium AYCE. For the options, personally I was satisfied with the regular AYCE. Been here a couple of times so far since they've opened. It was a little confusing in the initial visit bc there were a lot of people kind of blocking the hostess stand and I couldn't see the QR code to get on the wait-list. 2nd visit was much better, and the host was able to seat us /advise what the situation was quickly. They have a good ventilation system where the smokiness is minimized from all the grilling. Great meats, and "Capri" soju for the price point. Decent KBBQ in Pflugerville! read more

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Food: It was fine but nothing special. I was told to try the corn cheese but they were out unfortunately Service: we went on a Thursday and there was a 40min wait. Our server was slow and forgot multiple things we asked him for. Ambiance: The music was good, but the restaurant itself looks run down. It was very smoky in there, I went home smelling like bbq Drinks: their green tea was really good and then the capri suns were fun but very sweet The value was good, prices were fair, but probably wouldn't go again read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

I definitely recommend this place if you're craving a lot of meat ! Many options for the price you pay. We always enjoyed it when we come. We typically get the short ribs, Hawaiian pork belly , beef belly. Their cheese corn and japchae was also yummy ! They also have chicken and seafood options as well. They're good at changing out your grill in between as well. The only thing I feel like they can work on is picking up dirty unused plates in between. Other than that. It's a nice place to go and have dinner at. You will smell like a bbq grill leaving there ! read more

This place was mediocre. [[HIGHLIGHT]]At first you are greeted at the door by sticky floors but then when you walk through the restaurant you transition to slick and slippery flooring.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] The food is trying to hard to be extra, with pork belly thicker than a Costco ribeye leaving you to sit for 15 minutes while it cooks, "green tea salt" (because yes, I want my beef to taste like tea), and kimchi flavored everything. You are given only one pair of tongs opening you up to a world of cross contamination. The server was polite, however not prompt, cutting into the 1.5 hour time limit you are allowed. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Once I made my way (carefully as the floors were slippery as mentioned previously) I realized that all their attempts at appearing classy and high end, is really just lipstick on a pig.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The bathroom door doesn't shut all the way, the sink is broken, paper towels all over the counter, a random rug just laying in the middle of the floor.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]There were not one, but two wet floor signs just as you open the door, high risk for tripping.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]The toilets were not clean, toilet paper empty in the holder but a random roll just laying on top of the dispenser.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Long story short, just go to Manna BBQ. read more

Food always good at Gen. Shoutout to Jacob, he did a bang up job serving us. We had a good time!

I love a good Korean bbq. This place is busy so make sure you get on the waitlist early. We joined around 6pm and were seated around 8... a little "off" from the predicted time. I love the meat selection at GEN. Everything tastes really good and the portions they bring out are huge, plus they serve with a bowl of rice. I've found that other Korean bbq places have better appetizers. GEN has kimchi, potato salad, and a cucumber/kimchi-type salad- all good, just limited comparatively. The only other thing I don't really love about this place is the smoke. Other places have vents/hoods sucking up the smoke as the food cooks- both locations of GEN that I've been too are very smoky, so I know I'll be feeling a little congested from all the inhalation. Last thing- it feels like a party inside of GEN. I think there must be a live DJ and the vibe is fun! read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Cajun pork, steak, garlic chicken - Korean Near Me - Tempe, Arizona

Disappointing experience! Fiance and I were excited to check out Korean BBQ for the first time at Gen BBQ in Tempe. The restaurant looks inviting and has great lighting, but don't let that fool you. We were instantly let down after our waiter Deeanthony failed to acknowledge our table. My fiance flagged him down, and asked if we had a waiter in our section. He gave multiple excuses as to why he didnt greet us, didn't offer us any water, or ask if we needed anything. He proceeded to inform us that the kitchen was out of 10+ protein items on the menu. After 2mins of contemplating if we should stay or go, we decided to leave. At the door, we ran into a manager named Mai who also failed to acknowledge our concerns. She kept telling us that the company went public, and they are incapable of ordering the right amount of food to last the entire week. She also told us the truck drops off produce on Wednesdays, which is the preferred day to have a "great dining experience". To be honest, that is absolute nonsense and terrible business practices. I would never recommend this restaurant to anyone! read more

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"2024 LOVE COMING HERE WITH FRIENDS!" This will always continue to be my favorite spot to hang out with friends and eat endless amounts of food while having the privilege to cook for them! Thank you bringing new dishes to the menu and new sides! read more

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I recommend the restaurant if you are looking into eating Korean food. Serves, waitresses and bar management is great. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The atmosphere is great.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

One star because you have to. Service was substandard, Food was mid. This establishment had the patrons of a buffet but pricing like they employed a Michelin chef. It was loud overall and any lull in the noise was overwhelmed by Travis Scott and other top 40 pop rap. The signage was fascinating. Like an urban 7-11. The server upsold the premium meats dinner ($50/per person) and then abandoned our table for someone she knew that sat behind us. At one point she was discussing some girl he was into and made dramatically audible gagging noises while we tried to eat. We burnt most of our food not knowing what exactly to do with some of it, and it felt like a waste of money as soon as the first round of food arrived. Speaking of waste, they will charge you for not eating enough of what you order food (there are signs at the front and our waitress told us this when she upsold us) but will bring you a ton of little sides you didn't order - we were worried the whole time about being charged extra after burning most of our meat that it was hard to enjoy the meal, notwithstanding the waitstaff. You could get some really decent meals around Scottsdale for the same money with excellent service - without CCTVs actively recording you (like I said, fascinating signage) I don't recommend, and I won't return. read more

Only giving it a 4 star because of our server, Eric. He made the whole experience way more pleasant. The kitchen messed up a couple orders and everything besides the beef were not very good. [[HIGHLIGHT]]I liked the inside of the restaurant though, very modern.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

Great service. But food is just meh. We came here for a birthday celebration. You know it's not the best when you enjoy the company but not the food. read more

Came here last week with the family and we absolutely loved it. I love how you cook the items right at the table and how fresh the product is. Our server was amazing and on top of it with it being a busy night. I love how they do birthdays there, quite a few of them when we went. The place is amazing. I liked the lighting of the place nice and dim not too bright. I would definitely recommend and go back for sure. read more

The food was excellent, our server was excellent. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The vibe was great.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] So yummy and receipt price was immaculate

Not good Korean kbbq. Service was awful. It took forever to get help and it was slow getting anything. You have to order sauces and all that instead of being given to you like a normal kbbq place would. They also forgot our KFC and gave it to us cold. Place was huge and decently clean. It was not packed so the service should not have been that bad. The food was not good either. Barely edible. The only meat that was flavorful and worth eating was the spicy pork bulgogi. We got two different pork belly's, beef finger rib which were fatty.. shrimp had a gross taste on the shell. The beef brisket and bulgogi were just ok. Will never come again. Waste of time and money. read more

As a long-time customer, I have always valued consistency, responsiveness, and a basic level of respect shown through prompt communication. Unfortunately, my recent attempts to reach this location have only reaffirmed my growing dissatisfaction and solidified my decision to no longer return. Over the course of my last few experiences, I have encountered a noticeable decline in the quality of service. Despite giving the benefit of the doubt and hoping for improvement, I was met with more disappointment. Most recently, I called the establishment over eight times in a row--without receiving a single answer or even a call back. This wasn't during a busy dinner rush, either. It was at 2 PM, a typically slower period during the day when availability should be less strained. This lack of responsiveness is not just inconvenient--it reflects a deeper issue with customer care and attention to detail. Businesses must understand that a failure to engage with their patrons can leave a lasting negative impression. I had hoped that my previous experiences were isolated incidents, and I gave this location multiple chances to prove otherwise. However, with this most recent encounter, I feel justified in my earlier doubts. THEY NEVER HAVE RICE PAPER(last 4 of 4 times)As I had promised myself before, if things did not improve, I would stop giving this location my business. Now, with this latest experience, I can say with certainty that I will not be returning. Customers should never feel ignored or undervalued, especially after repeated efforts to communicate. My time, like that of any customer, deserves respect--and that has clearly been overlooked. I am done with Gen and this location in particular read more

Place was more than half empty and was told there was a 10 minute wait. Somehow a large party who came in after us got seated before us. Maybe they had reservations? Finally was seated and that's when I started questioning why were were still sitting there!!! I don't think anyone in our party wanted to say they wanted to leave and we wound up enduring this awful place. [[HIGHLIGHT]]Our table had food crumbs on the one corner. My husband's chair had something dripped on the backrest.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] Waitress took more than 20 minutes to come over and acknowledge us. My friend desperately needed water because she tried one of the sauces dropped off at our table and it was very spicy. My friend asked for a water and I said we all actually need water but for some reason she only brought 1 and it took about 40 minutes for the rest of us to get water. Only one napkin given to each person and a lot of the food was finger friendly... asked for more and only got 3 napkins for 4 people. I ordered an alcoholic beverage and it was undrinkable. We ordered food and it was hit or miss if we actually got what we ordered. Ordered fried chicken and it never came, had to mention it to the waitress who said it must have gotten lost. Had things like this multiple times. I ordered a spicy spare rib, and my husband ordered a regular, waitress told us she had no idea which was which. Food was pretty good overall. Place is severely understaffed. [[HIGHLIGHT]]PLACE IS GROSSLY DIRTY!![[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]At the end my friend used the bathroom and said it was so dirty if she would have used it when we first got seated she would have instructed everyone to leave and they only have one sink and you have to wait in line to use it.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

The food, was pretty well portioned and the ambiance was quite nice. A few things to mention, the wait time from after being seated could be improved. Me and my friend waited almost 15 minutes waiting to be helped. The staff were attentive, and helpful. I would say the lack of an overhead exhaust is certainly noticeable and it was hard to eat with the amount of smoke. I have been to a lot of KBBQ around the world, and the adjustable overhead is a must. read more

The food is good but the service is terrible. The waiter was not good at explaining how the menu works. It took us 20 minutes to get water and 35 minutes for the other drinks. The waiter never came back to refill the water and it took an hour before we got our second rounds of meats. It took forever for them to change the table top because it was burned and we needed a new one. It was my daughter's birthday, and the experience was not great. [[HIGHLIGHT]]The music sound muffled. It was not clear.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] [[HIGHLIGHT]]It just seemed very chaotic.[[ENDHIGHLIGHT]] read more

I really hate to amend my previous review, but the quality at Gen Korean BBQ House has consistently been plummeting for a while now and I can't ignore it. It started out as them never having rice paper anymore, which is a huge shame, since packaging your meat in rice paper is a classic Korean BBQ staple. However, this is far from the only problem. The servers were stretched thin our last visit and there was simply no way for them to get to everyone as often as they are supposed to. It is not acceptable to have 3 or less people working a pretty full restaurant. While most of the staff is kind, there are also some unnecessarily rude members that avoid bringing more meat and elongate the wait when they know this is a timed all-you-can-eat. It feels very shady for them to do that and the group ends up eating not all that much, considering that it is an all-you-can-eat. The food itself is now a hit-or-miss. Sometimes, half of the "meat" in the plates they bring is inedible fat. The bathrooms are always filthy and sticky and we went early in the day. One of our group members said that the women's bathroom trash can was overflowing, meaning that the trash hadn't been taken out overnight. I understand that it isn't always easy to maintain a bathroom of a place with a bar clean, but there are some bare minimum things that aren't being done. I hope that they work on all of this, because as of right now, my group is not back anytime soon. read more

They have revamped the menu at Gen, so we had to try it out! Base price is $29.99 for the weekend and $17.99 weekday lunch at the time of writing. There's also a premium menu option but it's $20 more, includes asada, custom ramen and some other interesting options. The PROS: The meats are always decent quality here for an AYCE. Our favorites are the galbi, steak, bulgogi in that order. There's quite a variety of crunchy appetizers/ sides now. I always love their pot stickers, the new fish katsu was a pleasant surprise, the fish wasn't dried out at all with nice crunchy outing. They added a sweet that has powdered sugar in it and a very subtley sweet jam inside it. I have a sweet tooth so I wish it was a little more sweet but I'm glad it's on the menu. Cheesy pork katsu was okay. Now, I can't tell if it was just because we were sitting in an-easy to see spot but their service was impeccable on a busy Friday night! Switched out burnt grills and took our empty plates at the speed of light, all the servers were helping each other out so it was very efficient and our server was so friendly. They checked in on us often and we felt well taken cared of, despite a full house. Super impressed. The CONS: the fried tteokbokki was pretty firm and made my jaw sore after eating a couple of them, didn't taste like much so I recommend passing on this one. There's a lot more breading and only a sliver of calamari for the fried calamari rings. For the banchan (small sides) heads up, they don't have fish cake anymore :,( and their potato salad tastes like it came from a bag or some other mass plastic container but I guess that's to be expected when operating on a large scale. Overall, it's a decent option in a great date spot. The atmosphere is loud though, like a club, so expect to be yelling if you want the person next to you to be able to hear you. Not the best place for quality conversations but a good option if you just want a fun night out at an AYCE. LOVE their playlist, but I'm a 90's baby! read more

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