Whaaadd up fam! Been thinkin about coming here for a while so finally did with my fav peeps. A little pricey but it oh so worth it , you have to be starving to make it worth it. Oh and you gotta be okay with the worst music ever.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
zander smith
This was a pretty frustrating dining experience overall. There are a lot of strict rules that aren’t clearly communicated ahead of time — like the requirement that both people must order the all-you-can-eat option and the firm 2-person minimum. That alone makes the experience feel restrictive before you even start eating.
Service was extremely slow. After we were first given water, it took about 30 minutes before anyone came back to help us. Once we were finally able to start, basic things were missing. We weren’t provided enough utensils, only received two napkins for the entire meal, and were never given cooking oil or fresh tongs, which made the BBQ process inconvenient and messy.
The food quality also didn’t match expectations. The rice tasted stale, and the shrimp were served in a way that made them difficult to eat since there was no proper setup or tools to remove the heads, shells, or tails. For an all-you-can-eat BBQ experience, the overall setup felt disorganized and poorly managed.
To make the experience more uncomfortable, at the end of the meal a staff member stood nearby holding the POS system while we were checking out, which felt like social pressure to leave a tip rather than allowing us to make that decision comfortably. Overall, the experience felt rushed, under-serviced, and not worth the cost.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Canaan Powers
My family, our friends, and their kids recently decided to eat at Kkoki BBQ in Salem, Oregon again. We were seated relatively quickly and asked what we would like to eat. We chose the premium package, selected the meats we wanted, and began our meal.
After some time had passed, we decided to order more of the beef brisket for a few additional rounds. Although I am not faulting the server personally by any means, we were told that the chefs do not like customers continually ordering beef brisket. There is nothing on the menu or clearly posted stating that paying customers cannot order the same meat for multiple rounds, especially at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. Even after the server told us this, we ordered brisket again, and she informed us that if we wanted more, we would need to speak directly with the chefs.
To make matters worse, after that conversation about the brisket and the chefs, there was around a 20-minute wait before the server even came back. This only added to the confusion and frustration.
First, we have visited Korean BBQ restaurants all over the West Coast, from California to Washington, and we have never been told that we could not continue ordering a certain meat or that there was any kind of limit. Second, the server brought out some meat “for the kids” that we never ordered. Since the restaurant charges for leftover meat by the pound, this made the situation even more concerning.
Altogether, these issues were unusual and came across as unprofessional. It is possible that management spoke to the server, but that would only be speculation on my part. Lastly, the situation embarrassed us because we had decided to take our friends out for a peaceful and enjoyable meal, but instead it turned into a slightly stressful and unpleasant experience. I hope management will take accountability for this lack of professionalism and address these discrepancies. We love Korean BBQ, but this experience was far below what should be considered acceptable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 1
Brock Snipes
I came by to try this place out after looking over the menu options since it looked fantastic! I was so excited! I was immediately discouraged and lost interest once I was told that I can only order appetizers and and chicken to go after 3pm. Also, there isn't any options for a single customer. Only 2 or more. I always eat alone so it looks like I will never come to this place again. I'm actually pretty upset about it to be honest. Had my hopes really high just to get the rug pulled out from under me, so to speak.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
maribel cardenas
Update as of 2/17: Sadly, Kkoki has changed. I was a huge fan of ordering their combos but the prices keep going up and they keep removing items from the combos. It used to be that you got an onion pancake and a choice of the kimchi jjigae or the steamed egg. Then it slowly changed to only having the onion pancake with the side dishes. But now neither of those options are included, its just the sides. I really want to keep coming here but I just cant justify the prices for the quantity anymore. I'll stick to just to go orders of the kimchi jjigae as we still love it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Nick Garcia
Have been here with family, and friends COUNTLESS times the last 4 years.
This was my first kbbq experience ever, I've then gone out to places in Vegas and California / Washington since. Kkoki still continues to be one of my favorites despite the variety of places I've tried. I've even had this place be the first kbbq experience for my family, and friends.
This is a place where you can order off their menu, or participate in their all you can eat grill, where you order select meats and they bring it to your table 3 orders at a time.
They have very clearly labeled rules and prices, and it's been that way the entire time I've been there. I saw others complaining about this but, the only things that's changed for this place is the new sheet you fill out when you arrive at your table. Also the very very small price increase in some of their options, which is understandable. The new sheet makes the experience streamlined, with no room for error.
I've only had issues with slow service, and a server forgetting things MAYBE three times in the 30+ times I've gone
I recommend this place! I've never had to make a reservation, I usually walk in and have practically no wait. Even on nights when they're popping. Shame to see people leave bad reviews because they aren't reading the clearly labeled things.
Try their soju cocktail pitchers! You don't taste the alcohol, and its a great pair with the meal :D
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Stevie
They’ve changed how your order is taken. They now require you to fill out a sheet, no wait staff takes your order. That means less tips to me. Poor customer service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Melisa Preciado
Enjoyable great atmosphere always busy
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Eric Romero
Great food friendly service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Luke Carl
We have been here 10+ times and it has always been amazing food and service. Tonight our sever kept turning down our cooking surface to make it take longer to cook food at one point she turned it off she went so low. She never came around only changed our grill 2 times with 4 rounds. Then since it was a group of 4 adults and 3 kids we got charged 40$ in gratuity. We didn’t even get our drinks until round 3 of food never got our vegetables it was my worse time here ever. Good thing the food taste good. Just make me upset we got charged so much for the worst service ever.
Our experience was good food was good environment was good but our server Rose was beyond amazing. We have a little baby and worry about taking her to restaurants but Rose made us feel entirely at ease and soiled our little girl in a way that made our dinner fantastic. Will be coming back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Marina Godoy
I came specifically for their Kimchi. I love it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Susan DeVore
I will never eat at this place again. They served shrimp that hadn't been deveined. Too expensive. Not worth t your time or money.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Jazzilynn Alvarez
Such good flavor new favorite place
Service: 5
Leanne Downey
This is my favorite restaurant but tonight my son was going to take me here for my birthday dinner. The person that was going to seat us said that we could NOT do the all you can eat because she said the kitchen closes at 9:30pm. They are open until 10pm and we got there at 8:40pm. Really doesn't make sense! So now we are going to a different restaurant that we definitely don't like as much 😒 Very disappointed.
Whaaadd up fam! Been thinkin about coming here for a while so finally did with my fav peeps. A little pricey but it oh so worth it , you have to be starving to make it worth it. Oh and you gotta be okay with the worst music ever.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
This was a pretty frustrating dining experience overall. There are a lot of strict rules that aren’t clearly communicated ahead of time — like the requirement that both people must order the all-you-can-eat option and the firm 2-person minimum. That alone makes the experience feel restrictive before you even start eating.
Service was extremely slow. After we were first given water, it took about 30 minutes before anyone came back to help us. Once we were finally able to start, basic things were missing. We weren’t provided enough utensils, only received two napkins for the entire meal, and were never given cooking oil or fresh tongs, which made the BBQ process inconvenient and messy.
The food quality also didn’t match expectations. The rice tasted stale, and the shrimp were served in a way that made them difficult to eat since there was no proper setup or tools to remove the heads, shells, or tails. For an all-you-can-eat BBQ experience, the overall setup felt disorganized and poorly managed.
To make the experience more uncomfortable, at the end of the meal a staff member stood nearby holding the POS system while we were checking out, which felt like social pressure to leave a tip rather than allowing us to make that decision comfortably. Overall, the experience felt rushed, under-serviced, and not worth the cost.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
My family, our friends, and their kids recently decided to eat at Kkoki BBQ in Salem, Oregon again. We were seated relatively quickly and asked what we would like to eat. We chose the premium package, selected the meats we wanted, and began our meal.
After some time had passed, we decided to order more of the beef brisket for a few additional rounds. Although I am not faulting the server personally by any means, we were told that the chefs do not like customers continually ordering beef brisket. There is nothing on the menu or clearly posted stating that paying customers cannot order the same meat for multiple rounds, especially at an all-you-can-eat restaurant. Even after the server told us this, we ordered brisket again, and she informed us that if we wanted more, we would need to speak directly with the chefs.
To make matters worse, after that conversation about the brisket and the chefs, there was around a 20-minute wait before the server even came back. This only added to the confusion and frustration.
First, we have visited Korean BBQ restaurants all over the West Coast, from California to Washington, and we have never been told that we could not continue ordering a certain meat or that there was any kind of limit. Second, the server brought out some meat “for the kids” that we never ordered. Since the restaurant charges for leftover meat by the pound, this made the situation even more concerning.
Altogether, these issues were unusual and came across as unprofessional. It is possible that management spoke to the server, but that would only be speculation on my part. Lastly, the situation embarrassed us because we had decided to take our friends out for a peaceful and enjoyable meal, but instead it turned into a slightly stressful and unpleasant experience. I hope management will take accountability for this lack of professionalism and address these discrepancies. We love Korean BBQ, but this experience was far below what should be considered acceptable.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 1
I came by to try this place out after looking over the menu options since it looked fantastic! I was so excited! I was immediately discouraged and lost interest once I was told that I can only order appetizers and and chicken to go after 3pm. Also, there isn't any options for a single customer. Only 2 or more. I always eat alone so it looks like I will never come to this place again. I'm actually pretty upset about it to be honest. Had my hopes really high just to get the rug pulled out from under me, so to speak.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Update as of 2/17: Sadly, Kkoki has changed. I was a huge fan of ordering their combos but the prices keep going up and they keep removing items from the combos. It used to be that you got an onion pancake and a choice of the kimchi jjigae or the steamed egg. Then it slowly changed to only having the onion pancake with the side dishes. But now neither of those options are included, its just the sides. I really want to keep coming here but I just cant justify the prices for the quantity anymore. I'll stick to just to go orders of the kimchi jjigae as we still love it.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Have been here with family, and friends COUNTLESS times the last 4 years.
This was my first kbbq experience ever, I've then gone out to places in Vegas and California / Washington since. Kkoki still continues to be one of my favorites despite the variety of places I've tried. I've even had this place be the first kbbq experience for my family, and friends.
This is a place where you can order off their menu, or participate in their all you can eat grill, where you order select meats and they bring it to your table 3 orders at a time.
They have very clearly labeled rules and prices, and it's been that way the entire time I've been there. I saw others complaining about this but, the only things that's changed for this place is the new sheet you fill out when you arrive at your table. Also the very very small price increase in some of their options, which is understandable. The new sheet makes the experience streamlined, with no room for error.
I've only had issues with slow service, and a server forgetting things MAYBE three times in the 30+ times I've gone
I recommend this place! I've never had to make a reservation, I usually walk in and have practically no wait. Even on nights when they're popping. Shame to see people leave bad reviews because they aren't reading the clearly labeled things.
Try their soju cocktail pitchers! You don't taste the alcohol, and its a great pair with the meal :D
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
They’ve changed how your order is taken. They now require you to fill out a sheet, no wait staff takes your order. That means less tips to me. Poor customer service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Enjoyable great atmosphere always busy
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food friendly service.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We have been here 10+ times and it has always been amazing food and service. Tonight our sever kept turning down our cooking surface to make it take longer to cook food at one point she turned it off she went so low. She never came around only changed our grill 2 times with 4 rounds. Then since it was a group of 4 adults and 3 kids we got charged 40$ in gratuity. We didn’t even get our drinks until round 3 of food never got our vegetables it was my worse time here ever. Good thing the food taste good. Just make me upset we got charged so much for the worst service ever.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Our experience was good food was good environment was good but our server Rose was beyond amazing. We have a little baby and worry about taking her to restaurants but Rose made us feel entirely at ease and soiled our little girl in a way that made our dinner fantastic. Will be coming back again and again.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I came specifically for their Kimchi. I love it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I will never eat at this place again. They served shrimp that hadn't been deveined. Too expensive. Not worth t your time or money.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Such good flavor new favorite place
Service: 5
This is my favorite restaurant but tonight my son was going to take me here for my birthday dinner. The person that was going to seat us said that we could NOT do the all you can eat because she said the kitchen closes at 9:30pm. They are open until 10pm and we got there at 8:40pm. Really doesn't make sense! So now we are going to a different restaurant that we definitely don't like as much 😒 Very disappointed.
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