Mani Mogo Korean Restaurant - Cubao — Restaurant in Quezon City

I have visited this branch (Cubao) three times, and unfortunately, my initial appreciation has turned into disappointment.

As a subscriber to the restaurant owner's YouTube channel, I was inspired by his success story in business. However, the quality of this restaurant has been inconsistent and seems to be declining over time.

When I visited last Sunday afternoon, the restaurant wasn’t busy—there were empty tables and no queues. Yet, no staff paid attention to new customers. My friends and I stood at the entrance, clearly visible to several staff members, but no one approached us or guided us to a table. In the end, I had to find a table myself.

The food is still good, but I don’t understand why the vegetables in the soup and stir-fried squid were cut into such large pieces—it made them difficult to eat. Additionally, their best side dish, the sugar-coated sweet potatoes, was crispy during my first visit, but on my most recent visit, it was soggy and disappointing.

The biggest letdown, however, was the Marinated Pork & Galbi. While the marinade itself was fine, the meat was chopped into tiny, minced-like pieces, completely ruining the experience. I honestly wish they would reconsider how this dish is prepared.

What I found most frustrating, though, was the noise. I don’t expect a quiet, cozy restaurant, but the atmosphere was overwhelming. The staff were shouting instructions to each other, which, combined with the loud music and fan noise, created an incredibly stressful environment. Even after finishing my meal, I left feeling exhausted rather than satisfied.

Additionally, I was surprised that a restaurant with multiple branches still does not accept card payments. I’m not sure if it’s due to commission fees, tax issues, or some other reason, but in this day and age, it’s quite inconvenient.

Overall, my experience was just okay, but it’s clear that the quality has been declining with each visit. I truly hope they address these issues...

This is a different style of the usual Korean restaurants that, you may have visited before. I hope we can give them 7 stars. Great service, with an excellent food quality & taste. Clean all around and, when we say "CLEAN" .. we mean that you'd feel it from the minute you enter the restaurant.

For the food: The meat is so delicious. The right amount of marination. Nothing was overpowering. It takes only a few minutes and, your refill request will be served. While for the buffet items, it's a self service. Pls take what you can eat otherwise, there will be a left over charge of P100 per person.

4 kinds of shrimps were served when we started. All were tasty. Their tempura 🍤 is one of the best in town. You can't fail the taste. Because it's freshly cooked, it might take around 3-5 minutes to be served. (3pcs per serving, so ensure you ask for the number of servings, you may wish to have). Sauces & salads: Ample selections are available to choose from. All are rightly seasoned. Some were spicy but, can be tolerated.

Drinks: 3 flavours were served for free. (Pineapple+ Ice tea + Orange). Plus, you may order some beer 🍺 if you wish, with an additional charge.

CR & wash area: clean with no bad odor.

Service: Very friendly & attentive team. Every time they bring you an item to the table, they'd bow down like the Koreans.. Our big respect to the owner / to the manager/ to the training department for the unforgettable experience 👍

BTW, Please ensure you like their FB page and, share their current promo for June 2024, for a parking fees refund. (Spark Place , Ali/ SM Mall only). Don't forget to present your parking ticket to the cashier and, she'd refund you an amount of 150 - 200 depending on the menu set that you selected. For us, we got a refund of P200.

We will be back again and...

We dined here on a Sunday, around 3PM, so queue times are a bit short and we are catered well by friendly staff.

We took the Unlimited Menu 3 for P649, and we could say that the food is worth for the price. There are 22 sides to choose from with lots of different sauces, including unlimited drinks (iced tea/juice). You have to get them yourself, which is nice if you are an introvert like me. 😆 However, you have to watch out the amount of your food since they have leftover fee of P100 per head. Their meat comes in medium serving per request (eg. 6-7enoki beef rolls) but are pretty big in size. No funny taste on any meat and shrimp!

There is a time limit of 2hours which is reasonable and was actually enough for us to fill ourselves. Staff is very attentive and friendly. Wait time per request for meat is short. They change your griller/pan from time to time, which is super nice! They only accept cash and GCash for now, none yet for CC holders.

The general ambiance of the place is lively. They have the usual K-pop music in the background. What we really liked is that the place is well lit and ventilation is enough that the place is not filled with smoke when grilling. It would be nice if they provide a printed menu per table so customers can easily choose the meat they want. Floors are not slippery in the dining areas but it is a bit slippery in the restroom.

The place is new and there is still room for improvements. We’d definitely come back again and we recommend...