Donenoo Restaurant 도네누 식당 - Korea Town Angeles — Restaurant in Angeles

Okay. Call me a dumb American. Maybe I expected too much from a KBBQ spot in K-Town, Angeles City. But this was the worst experience I’ve ever had at a KBBQ restaurant no matter what country I’m in.

First, off, I get that some KBBQ restaurants are not AYCE. Usually if that’s the case, then the meat is top quality. The meat here was mediocre at best.

Second, the staff was very unorganized. We got the meat we ordered, but was not given tongs. We had to ask for them after a while of waiting. So I was thinking, oh maybe at this one they cook the meat for you. Yes, they do cook the meat for you. But we asked if we can do it ourselves, and they let us. Like most KBBQ restaurants.

But that’s not where the issues is. Every now and then, staff would come to us, grab the tongs from our table, then go help another table cook their meet. Are they low on tongs? NO. They had a whole bunch just sitting up on the shelf near their prep station. ADDITIONALLY, as they were going around cooking meat for each table, they would put the tongs IN THEIR POCKETS. Definitely not sanitary.

Staff also seemed unsure about what orders go to which table. One of them had to constantly yell to another staff member asking if our table was the correct table. How about number the tables? Seems like an easy solution.

In the beginning, they would often come and clean up the trash from our table. Half way through though, it just stopped. Now I don’t expect staff to come clean up our napkins and empty plates all the time because usually it’s at the end of the meal, but if you’re gonna do that, keep it consistent.

I would also like to point out that they offered us rice at the end of our meal. I don’t usually order rice at KBBQ so I can get my money’s worth. But why offer rice at the end of our meal?

When it came time to pay, a woman came with our bill. She then stood there just waiting while I counted my money. Usually, they just leave the bill on the table and then come back later. Don’t you have something else to do? I guess not.

Anyways, I was so shocked about this whole experience that I started to look around at other people’s tables. It seemed like they were all experiencing the same issues. One man had been waiting trying to call staff to take his order, another table, a couple was waiting for their bill which seemed to never come. I thought, okay there are actual Korean people in this restaurant so they must be doing something right. But no, the staff was all over the place and it was not even busy.

Needless to say we are never coming back here. I don’t know why they have such good reviews. We were CATFISHED.

P.S. I would recommended going to King’s Meat off of Friendship Highway. Much better quality meat, much...

The restaurant describes itself as a “Korean Premium Meat Grill House”. They are not lying.

Earlier this year, I visited Seoul, South Korea and had the most unforgettable Korean BBQ of my life. I spent the rest of the year trying to find something similar after returning to the United States but did not have too much luck. Fast forward to today, my fiancée and I decided to randomly step into Donenoo after feeling hungry from late night grocery shopping (we currently live on night shift hours). We didn’t expect much - we were just hungry and this was the first place that caught our eye (we were originally on our way to another restaurant down the road). By the end of the meal, however, both my fiancée and are were marveling at how the meal reminded us of the Korean BBQ we had in Seoul earlier this year. The quality of truly was “premium”. Servers did all of the cooking right at our table using a charcoal grill. An abundance of banchan (side dishes) was also made available to us. Highly recommend! If you do decide to visit, make sure to get the “herbal” pork belly and the beef galbi (ribs). You will not regret it!

Note: The meat here is NOT “all you can eat” and is on the pricey side. You get what you pay for though. It...

Why is this place highly rated?

Sunday lunch, ordered the Premium Beef Set C for P5500. They said it was wagyu 👍

Beef quality is same if not better at other places down the street on the other side of friendship for much friendlier prices. Ban chan was ok. Can't believe had to pay extra for a cup of rice? And the lettuce was the lousy quality lettuce greens from streetside vendors.

Service? Well, meat was already cooked before any of the side dishes came out or any water. Side dishes came, still no water. Had to stand up, approach a waiter, and ask for water.

Also ordered Japchae but it never arrived. Asked for an update and they forgot it. They asked if it was ok to wait 10 minutes while we were towards the end of our meal.

Didnt feel welcome at all. No smiles, no warm welcome greetings, just straight to business. The service staff don't communicate at all, they just start touching your utensils, move plates around, and cut the meat on the grill.

I get if a Korean resto doesnt offer unli, they distinguish themselves under the guise of better quality. But customer service is definitely a part of that. Net result is I didnt feel like I got my money's worth.

I should've gone to Clark and gotten...