This has to be the worst “Korean BBQ” spot I’ve ever been to. My buddies and I ordered all-you-can-eat, while a couple of them ordered individual dishes, and the experience was bad across the board. The food was completely unauthentic. The kimchi stew was filled with red food dye and tasted like ketchup rather than real kimchi jjigae. Even the white rice was wrong. It wasn’t the short-grain white rice traditional Korean restaurants use, but cheap-tasting jasmine rice. It was brought out in large bowls one at a time, forcing everyone to scoop their own rice, which made it get cold far quicker than it should have.
The service was just as disappointing. We ordered a kimchi pancake, which normally takes at most 10 minutes to cook, yet it took almost 25 minutes to come out even after asking multiple times. Most of the workers were white guys who rarely stayed in the restaurant and kept disappearing into a back room, while all the people actually cooking the food were Hispanic. There was very little presence or communication on the floor.
To top it all off, when we received our check, we were charged a non-negotiable, built-in 25% tip. Twenty-five percent!?!?! Each persons bill rung up for $65 when the all you can eat was priced at $42.99, which is still far more expensive than any restaurant in the area. This was never made clear upfront and felt completely unjustified given the quality of the food and service.
There are plenty of other places in the Bay Area, especially in Oakland, that offer far better food, service, and transparency with pricing. This restaurant gives a completely wrong perception of what Korean food tastes like and does not reflect how our culture works at all. Don’t give this place any more business.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
kimberly tan
service was great, servers were really sweet and nice. unfortunately the food was meh. meat was a bit bland and tough, radish banchan sliced quite thick, multigrain rice soggy. $43 plus tax and mandatory 18% tip for ayce dinner. i prefer ohgane for ayce (they also have cold beef noodle, which gogi time did not).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Christina Corona
Didnt catch his name but he was super nice. Recommend the peach lemonade they had fireee.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Asd Df
Beautiful setting and welcoming people.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Wei Chang
Tastes pretty good, just waiting for too long - a little frustrating.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Wendy lat
Worst korean BBQ ever!!! $111 for me and my partner, they charged us 18% service charge for serving two people? NOT WORTH IT!! we came here for some good food but got disappointed instead.
Waitress here was awful!! Saw her making faces after she turned around after giving us our food, looks like she’s not in the right line of work.
Food quality is poor, this is a good restaurant years ago, the food they serve didn’t match their price. Meat quality was terrible with absolutely no flavor. rice was overcooked mushy and sticky. radish wrapper had MOLD!! Grill had soap residue on it!!
WE ARE DEFINITELY NOT GOING BACK AGAIN.
MARIAH IVANA
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just left Gogi Time here in Oakland — what an amazing experience! Tyler and Tanya were my servers, and they were absolutely incredible. 10/10 service all around! They were attentive, courteous, and consistently checked in to make sure we were happy with our order. The food came out quickly, everything was fresh and flavorful, and the overall vibe was great. Definitely recommend this spot — and if you go, ask for Tyler and Tanya! 🙌🏽🔥
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Sean Smith
So fun! I had a blast - the food was delicious (don’t skip the ribs or kimchi pancake), my server was a joy, and I can’t imagine a more fun place to eat. Can’t wait to go again and bring friends.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: La Galbi Short Ribs, Kimchi Pancake, Corn Cheese
Kyle Herrera
I went with my sister and her friend, and we had an amazing time! Our server was very kind and the food was delicious! The price was very fair as well, even with the tip already included. I understand why my friends recommended me this place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
peter kim
Ordered galbi and got sliced chuck. They kept saying it was boneless short rib. Complete BS. Avoid this place.
My first time here it was amazing quite chill me and my daughter had a great time up until some people came in and the little boy wouldn’t stop crying/screaming cause his phone stop working overall I loved it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Damahni Jackson
🇰🇷 Gogi Time is a popular Korean BBQ spot in Oakland, near Berkeley, known for its all-you-can-eat menu. Diners can grill a variety of marinated meats and seafood at their table while also enjoying other Korean dishes like savory pancakes and stews. It's a casual and lively place, great for groups looking for a fun dining experience. ★★★★★
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
No One
Update Sept 2025 Came for a bday dinner last night truly felt like the staff above and beyond tysm for making last night special
Service is amazing! Friendly and attentive! Quality of food vs price is pretty good. Would recommend everything but the baby octopus.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
S B
it was tough to enjoy the food when every single one of the grills we got had soap residue on it :( everything had a slightly soapy flavor . we even mentioned it to the server but all the grills were still like this
This has to be the worst “Korean BBQ” spot I’ve ever been to. My buddies and I ordered all-you-can-eat, while a couple of them ordered individual dishes, and the experience was bad across the board. The food was completely unauthentic. The kimchi stew was filled with red food dye and tasted like ketchup rather than real kimchi jjigae. Even the white rice was wrong. It wasn’t the short-grain white rice traditional Korean restaurants use, but cheap-tasting jasmine rice. It was brought out in large bowls one at a time, forcing everyone to scoop their own rice, which made it get cold far quicker than it should have.
The service was just as disappointing. We ordered a kimchi pancake, which normally takes at most 10 minutes to cook, yet it took almost 25 minutes to come out even after asking multiple times. Most of the workers were white guys who rarely stayed in the restaurant and kept disappearing into a back room, while all the people actually cooking the food were Hispanic. There was very little presence or communication on the floor.
To top it all off, when we received our check, we were charged a non-negotiable, built-in 25% tip. Twenty-five percent!?!?! Each persons bill rung up for $65 when the all you can eat was priced at $42.99, which is still far more expensive than any restaurant in the area. This was never made clear upfront and felt completely unjustified given the quality of the food and service.
There are plenty of other places in the Bay Area, especially in Oakland, that offer far better food, service, and transparency with pricing. This restaurant gives a completely wrong perception of what Korean food tastes like and does not reflect how our culture works at all. Don’t give this place any more business.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
service was great, servers were really sweet and nice. unfortunately the food was meh. meat was a bit bland and tough, radish banchan sliced quite thick, multigrain rice soggy. $43 plus tax and mandatory 18% tip for ayce dinner. i prefer ohgane for ayce (they also have cold beef noodle, which gogi time did not).
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Didnt catch his name but he was super nice. Recommend the peach lemonade they had fireee.
Atmosphere: 5
Service: 5
Beautiful setting and welcoming people.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Tastes pretty good, just waiting for too long - a little frustrating.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Worst korean BBQ ever!!! $111 for me and my partner, they charged us 18% service charge for serving two people? NOT WORTH IT!!
we came here for some good food but got disappointed instead.
Waitress here was awful!! Saw her making faces after she turned around after giving us our food, looks like she’s not in the right line of work.
Food quality is poor, this is a good restaurant years ago, the food they serve didn’t match their price. Meat quality was terrible with absolutely no flavor.
rice was overcooked mushy and sticky. radish wrapper had MOLD!! Grill had soap residue on it!!
WE ARE DEFINITELY NOT GOING BACK AGAIN.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Just left Gogi Time here in Oakland — what an amazing experience! Tyler and Tanya were my servers, and they were absolutely incredible. 10/10 service all around! They were attentive, courteous, and consistently checked in to make sure we were happy with our order. The food came out quickly, everything was fresh and flavorful, and the overall vibe was great. Definitely recommend this spot — and if you go, ask for Tyler and Tanya! 🙌🏽🔥
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
So fun! I had a blast - the food was delicious (don’t skip the ribs or kimchi pancake), my server was a joy, and I can’t imagine a more fun place to eat. Can’t wait to go again and bring friends.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: La Galbi Short Ribs, Kimchi Pancake, Corn Cheese
I went with my sister and her friend, and we had an amazing time! Our server was very kind and the food was delicious! The price was very fair as well, even with the tip already included. I understand why my friends recommended me this place!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Hot Pot
Ordered galbi and got sliced chuck. They kept saying it was boneless short rib. Complete BS. Avoid this place.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
My first time here it was amazing quite chill me and my daughter had a great time up until some people came in and the little boy wouldn’t stop crying/screaming cause his phone stop working overall I loved it
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
🇰🇷 Gogi Time is a popular Korean BBQ spot in Oakland, near Berkeley, known for its all-you-can-eat menu. Diners can grill a variety of marinated meats and seafood at their table while also enjoying other Korean dishes like savory pancakes and stews. It's a casual and lively place, great for groups looking for a fun dining experience. ★★★★★
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Update Sept 2025
Came for a bday dinner last night truly felt like the staff above and beyond tysm for making last night special
Service is amazing! Friendly and attentive! Quality of food vs price is pretty good. Would recommend everything but the baby octopus.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
it was tough to enjoy the food when every single one of the grills we got had soap residue on it :( everything had a slightly soapy flavor . we even mentioned it to the server but all the grills were still like this
really tasty meat + exceptional service
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
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