KPOT Korean BBQ & Hot Pot — Restaurant in Ballenger Creek

I’ve visited two other locations (Germantown and Ellicott City), and unfortunately, this one was a huge disappointment. We came to this new location to celebrate a special occasion, but our experience was ruined by the service. The staff's approach felt overly controlling, which made the meal uncomfortable.

We ordered BBQ, and the portion sizes were noticeably smaller than at the other locations. When we started cooking, we noticed it was taking much longer than usual. I asked the server if the grill temperature could be increased, and she told me it was already at the highest setting, which turned out to be untrue. The grill was actually on the lowest setting, causing our first proteins to take over 20 minutes to cook.

The cooking experience was further hindered by poor lighting and the vent above the grill being only a couple of inches from the grill. I asked if it could be adjusted higher, but the change was minimal. To add to the frustration, the server insisted on changing our grill in the middle of cooking, which I found odd, especially since the grill was barely dirty. Some of the food we ordered also took long to come out or never came out.

It also felt like the staff was constantly watching us. A random server even came to lower the vent "to avoid the smoke," but given that smoke is part of the Korean BBQ experience, this felt unnecessary. The lowered vent made it harder to flip and cut the food.

Overall, this was my first negative experience at a Korean BBQ restaurant, and I couldn’t wait to leave. I highly recommend trying other KPOT locations or Honey Pig for a better experience. Also, this location doesn’t have the ice cream that the others offer, which was another letdown.

One more thing to add: they do not have a drink menu (according to our server, but I saw that they do in another reviewer photos), so you're left guessing what you can drink since the server barely tells you what they have; the other locations have bubble teas and endless mimosas on their menus. At least have a QR code for people to scan to see what's available. This location needs a...

I make it a point to go to Korean BBQ places when I travel, so I was eager to try out a local one. We went for lunch and stuck with just the BBQ.

Our server (Cece) did a great job explaining how things worked, keeping our drinks filled, replacing our grills, and keeping the table clear of excess plates. The tablets were very handy for ordering new plates, and the food came out quickly so we were able to keep a constant stream of food cooking.

Our favorites were surprisingly the pork cheeks and the rib fingers. The spicy Bulgogi had a lot of thick sauce on it - it made a mess of the grill, but it was replaced before we wanted to start on the next round. I liked the wide variety of pork belly, and we tried most of them.

At the food bar, they had French fries and chicken wings, which seemed a little out of place. I tried a few fries and they were pretty good, but I didn't want to let them trick me away from my primary mission of eating meat.

While the tablet overall was very handy, having the dinner meats listed at lunch time made it a tad more difficult to find what we wanted to order next. I was a little disappointed not to find onions at the food bar since I like to grill those with my meat, but that was my fault for not scrolling down enough on the tablet. I stopped scrolling once I saw the seafood section, but under seafood was a large number of veggie options. I did get some green peppers that turned out great. I'll have to explore that part of the menu more next time.

It might have been the table we were at, but the lighting made it somewhat difficult to see parts of the grill. We ended up shuffling the meat around while flipping it so we could see it if it was fine, so I was noticing the lighting less by the end.

It only took us an hour and twenty minutes to be stuffed to the gills after many rounds of plates. I'm looking forward to coming back and trying the hot pots, as well as comparing it to the other...

I recently visited the K-pop restaurant and had a decent experience. The food was average, but it showed promise. The atmosphere was vibrant and fun, and I think the restaurant has great potential. However, there are a few adjustments I would suggest to take it to the next level.

Firstly, I noticed that they didn't have a sauce caddy or a centralized sauce station with multiple options. This would be a great addition, allowing customers to customize their meal with different flavors without having to juggle multiple bowls on the table.

Additionally, I was disappointed that our 15% off coupon, which I obtained through an Instagram ad, wasn't applied to our bill. The coupon was valid until November 30, but somehow it was missed when we checked out. Unfortunately, we didn't notice the mistake until after we left, which was a shame since our bill came to be over $150.

In comparison to the other Korean barbecue spot in Frederick, I would say that this place is a bit better when it comes to comfort. The main reason for this is that you're not forced to sit with strangers here. The tables are big enough to fit six people, and they're private, which is a major plus in my book. I'm not a fan of being seated next to strangers at restaurants. It's a pet peeve of mine, and I appreciate that this restaurant respects customers' personal space.

Overall, I would still recommend this restaurant to anyone new to Korean barbecue. It's very beginner-friendly, and the staff is accommodating. If you're more traditional with your Korean barbecue, this might not necessarily be the place for you. However, if you're growing with kids, it's definitely a fun environment. They had multiple happy birthday songs being sung by employees to customers, and a mascot wearing a bear costume added to the lively atmosphere. With a few tweaks, I think this restaurant could be an absolute standout. Maybe next time, I'll get to enjoy...