The Meat Up BBQ — Restaurant in Richmond

The Meat Up BBQ 3580 No. 3 Road, Richmond, BC V6X 2C1

Located on the bustling No. 3 Road in Richmond, this restaurant offers an all-you-can-eat experience with three menu tiers: Classic, Gold, and Diamond. For our visit, we selected the Diamond tier, which promised a wide array of premium offerings.

The Food

The Diamond menu showcases an impressive variety of skewers, meats, and specialty dishes, offering something for every palate.

Skewers The selection was extensive, including options such as abalone, beef short rib, grilled beef tongue, scallop skewers with cold spicy sauce, and grilled pork intestine, among others. While most skewers were well-seasoned and enjoyable (7/10), the scallop skewer with cold spicy sauce and the grilled pork intestine were standout choices, delivering bold flavors and excellent textures (8/10).

Lamb Rack The lamb rack was prepared with precision, featuring a tender cut and a flavorful seasoning blend. It was a satisfying dish that exceeded expectations. 8/10

Chinese Tomato Dough Drop Soup The half-order of this comforting soup was perfectly portioned, offering a well-balanced flavor profile. It was hearty without being overly rich. 7/10

Scallop with Vermicelli This dish was the highlight of the evening. The scallops were fresh and perfectly cooked, while the vermicelli absorbed the savory juices, creating a dish packed with umami. A must-try for any seafood lover. 8/10

Signature Fried Rice Paired with the soup, the fried rice provided a flavorful and satisfying complement to the meal. It was well-executed, with a balance of seasoning and texture. 8/10

Ambiance

The restaurant features a modern and inviting interior with tasteful decor that creates a warm and comfortable dining environment. It’s an excellent venue for casual gatherings or celebratory dinners with friends and family.

Rating 7/10

Service

Unfortunately, the service was a notable drawback. Our initial server struggled to explain the ordering process, leading to confusion. Moreover, it took three presses of the call bell to place an order, which significantly impacted the dining experience. The staff’s lack of attentiveness and clarity detracted from the otherwise enjoyable meal.

Rating: 3/10

Pricing

The pricing is fair and aligned with the quality and variety of offerings, particularly for the Diamond tier. The value is enhanced by the generous portion sizes and diverse menu options.

Verdict

This restaurant excels in its food offerings, particularly its skewers and specialty dishes, which cater to a range of tastes. The ambiance adds to the appeal, making it a great spot for socializing over a satisfying meal. However, the subpar service leaves room for improvement. With better staff training and attentiveness, this establishment could elevate itself to a truly exceptional dining...

Stepping into Meat Up is like traveling back in time, surrounded by a quirky mix of kitschy decor that seems to be a leftover time capsule from previous restaurants. The ambiance is oddly nostalgic, complemented by the out of place fish decor of ABC country on the walls creating an atmosphere that feels both lively and a bit out of place.

The self-serve hot pot ingredients offer a fresh variety that initially piques your interest, but there’s a notable inconsistency in terms of cleanliness and freshness, particularly with the vegetables. It’s a bit of a gamble—sometimes you hit the jackpot, and other times, you’re left with items that feel less than crisp.

Unfortunately, the service at Meat Up is where things really take a nosedive. During our visit, it was painfully slow and poorly managed. I observed a scenario where the restaurant was understaffed, only to later see an extra staff member show up just as overwhelmed. The owner was running around, attempting to satisfy skewer orders while berating staff for inputting orders incorrectly. It felt chaotic and unprofessional, to say the least. After an agonizing wait of over an hour, our hot pot finally arrived—only to disappoint with overcooked ingredients and the wrong broth. Instead of preparing a fresh dish, the staff rinsed out the incorrect broth and added the right one, resulting in a clash of flavors. By that point, we had already enjoyed two rounds of skewers and were ordering our third when we politely asked about our hot pot. The staff’s annoyance was evident. To make matters worse, there were significant issues with cross-contamination, as I frequently received ingredients that I hadn't selected. As for the skewers, the quality is equally hit or miss. On some occasions, they are perfectly seasoned, while other times they come out overly salty. Consistency is definitely lacking.

The restrooms also leave much to be desired, with soap dispensers falling apart and general neglect evident. To add to the disappointment, they've discontinued offering ice cream as part of their lunch menu—a shame, considering it used to be a delightful palette cleanser.

I can only recommend Meat Up if you’re lucky enough to catch them on a good day for food quality. However, the chaos in the kitchen and the evident lack of organization raises concerns about their long-term viability. A suggestion for improvement would be to have staff focus exclusively on either skewers or hot pot to streamline operations. Better yet, consider table-side stoves so that the staff only needs to worry about adding the broth for you. Until then, it’s a mixed bag that could use a...

Food is mid, service bad, time is wasted. Would not recommend. (Virtual lineup 50min, sat at the entrance 10 mins, at table till last kind of skewer being served, 97 min, waited for bill 10min, roughly 3 hours committed to something not worth it)

Busy restaurant on weekend had to reserve online for a spot, was told to wait for about 50mins. I don’t mind that but they could have told us from the reservation page that on weekend you can’t order at the table, you have to wait for the food to be walked around. When we eventually got there, we were told that the lowest tier is not available on that day. Once again I don’t mind coz I was gonna go with second tier anyway. But could have informed people earlier on. What if a big family just want to try the basic menu and waited for an hour and was only notified they all need to pay for more. It took another 15 mins since you sat down till the first batch of skewers to arrive. Two flavors only. After that it’s about 10 mins between each batch. This is an ayce, I’ve never seen it’s done like this. After 45 min of sitting and waiting anyone would lose their appetite. Unless you order 10 skewers in the first two batches (which is impossible, there’s at most 6 each batch when it reaches us), be prepared to wait for 90 mins before you get served with all varieties of the menu item available. Just allow me to order raw skewers and I’ll cook myself. Half of the food was good. As a Chinese bbq place, their lamb skewers, arguably the most signature skewers, were the driest I’ve ever had. It’s almost they bought it directly from Costco and cooked that. Not to mention we waited for 50 mins since we sat at the table for the first batch of lamb skewers being served. I get it’s a busy restaurant but the server who changed hot plate for us was just rude. The plate was basically slammed in front of me. Not sure what I’ve done to her to deserve that. Pretty bad overall experience unfortunately, will not come back. The place is...