Oz Korean BBQ - Elk Grove — Restaurant in Elk Grove

Sunday, 4/25/2021 - Went to OZ Korean BBQ for dinner tonight. My friends came at 4:30pm to make a reservation for our group for 6pm. They have us down. By 6pm, our table was ready. But we were waiting on 2 people. This restaurant will not seat your group until everyone is present. So they gave our table away. By 6:15ish, our group was present. We went to let the hostess know. They told us it'll be another 30 min wait. We waited. 30 minutes goes by, they said they were cleaning tables for us. Another 15 minutes goes by, no table. We checked and they said 5 more minutes. The wait for our tables was pretty long.

Once we got seated by 7 pm-ish or a little after-ish, we were able to get our drink orders in and food orders in.

Upon arrival:

Pros:

1. plenty of parking
2. I saw we were the only ones outside waiting to get seated. We're not allow to sit inside. No long wait lines.
3. place looked pretty clean.
4. servers came and changed our grill 3 times
5. server brought our waters pretty fast
6. you can only order 3 starters, 3 proteins, and veggies at a time, per table. They do provide sides.
7. you have to scan the QR code to see their menu online. No hard copy menu.
8. no cash. Only card. Be prepare.
9. women's bathroom has 3 stalls and 2 sinks.
10. food orders were quick and came out quick.
11. staff had their masks on.

Cons:

1. our alcohol and sodas took a while to come out.
2. we asked for napkins more than 3 times before getting it. We had to ask for butter twice before getting it.
3. anything we asked for took a long time to come.
4. we asked for salt and black pepper more than 3 times before getting it.
5. Pepsi refil took a while to get.
6. other groups of people who came after us got seated before us.
7. for the dinner price per person, it was pretty expensive. They didn't have as much selection on food as we expected. The wait was VERY long to get seated, even though we made reservations.
8. women's bathroom was dirty.
9. I and my partner never got our chopsticks as we asked.
10. my 2 friends that came at 4:30pm to make reservations wasn't allowed to order drinks and stay at the bar. They could only order drinks and drink outside by the front entrance, or so they were told.

Conclusion: Again, as I mentioned, for the dinner price per person, it was pretty expensive. For that price, the wait to get in (with a reservation) was long; the items we asked for took a long time to come as well as having to ask for it more than 3 times before getting it; refills took a while to get; drinks took a while; not much selection on foods to grill; not much seasonings to choose from; women's stalls were dirty; we had to check our receipt several times and asked server to keep correcting it.

The restaurant was nice looking. But for me, I wouldn't come here again. It was an experience to try this OZ in Elk Grove to see the difference from the OZ on Bradshaw in Rancho Cordova. I don't recommend it. But.... maybe it was because we came in a big group. Maybe coming with 4 or less people, the service may be different. I don't know. But I feel if you're going to have this type of business, with all you can eat, then the service could be much better.

I say try it for yourself so you'll know and have your own experience. But our experience wasn't very good. Although the crowd we went with made it...

I discovered Korean BBQ in LA, so I decided to try out the best that Sacramento has to offer. While the experience was a little different, the concept remains the same. Oz has some great meat, good service, legendary ventilation, with slightly expensive prices. But if you don't go too often, this place is GOOD.

Atmosphere: 4.5/5 -- I prefer a restaurant like this over any other KBBQ I've been to before; Oz BBQ in Elk Grove has towering ceilings and wide open spaces...the exact opposite I'm used to. Ventilation will NEVER be a problem here, trust me. -- It's a new building, and it shows. Really nice inside, got that EG money. -- Parking isn't a hassle, but it wasn't that packed when we came (Tuesday @ 7pm). -- The entrance is in the back, which kind of confusing. That or the exit is in the front. It's confusing. -- The ventilation is AMAZING. -- It's actually not all that loud in here. The horrible (sorry) K-Pop is not too loud, and you can actually hear your friends talk. Nice!

Service: 4/5 -- The service here is really good, they check up on you a lot. They almost have to do this though because they give you food in really small portions, at least as opposed to Castle II's meat platters of a pound each (they might have also done this because there were a lot of new KBBQ's in our party). -- It was my friend's birthday, and they sang him happy birthday. They gave him a cake, but it was plastic and just held the candle.....the feels. But they gave him a strawberry lemonade instead (it was honestly really good though). He spun their "birthday wheel" and won a can of sprite...yeah. -- One of my friends was sick and didn't eat. They actually didn't charge him! Was very surprised, as I know it's against their rules. Nice.

Food: 4.4/5 -- The meat was really high quality meat, which kind of validates the price by itself. Every meat we tried was high quality, thick and juicy, and delicious. You really can't go wrong! -- The salad they give you was decent, and you can choose from 3 appetizers. They were unnecessary though. We were very disappointed they didn't have dipping sauces or sesame oil at all, but since all the meat was marinated then maybe it's not needed. -- One thing I disliked though was because of that lack of oil...the grill got charred really easily and a lot of meat stuck. -- The grill is actually SUSPICIOUSLY small. A group of 6 had one grill and it wasn't very big. Those guys in the middle had a lot of work to do (my arm is still sore).

Price: 3.75/5 -- Prices are pretty high, dude. If you come during lunch hours, it's cheaper by $4-5, but if you come any other time, you're talking $20+ per person. That adds up super easily. The meat is worth it though, just visit sparingly. -- I would like tier options like lots of other places have, where you can choose cheaper pricing packages with less meat options.

TIPS: -- Come at lunch for cheaper prices. -- Because of the awesome ventilation, you don't need to worry about your entire body smelling like a summertime BBQ afterwards!

Oz can rival a lot of places in LA, and it has the atmosphere that you'd expect in a primarly white city like Elk Grove -- kind of a best of both worlds scenario. While the prices are a little steep, you get some great quality food. Elk Grove...

Terrible Birthday Experience – Rude Service, Warm Beer, and Overpriced Food

I don’t usually write negative reviews, but my recent visit to this Korean BBQ restaurant was so disappointing—especially since it was meant to be a birthday celebration—that I feel others should be warned.

From the start, the service was absolutely terrible. Our server, Kylee, was slow, dismissive, and flat-out rude! She frequently gave me (the birthday girl) dirty looks throughout the evening, making the entire experience incredibly uncomfortable. At one point, she stood at our table having a personal conversation with a coworker—completely ignoring us and making no effort to address our needs or move things along, all while setting dirty dishes on our table. Additionally, we had to request our grill be changed, while I observed other tables having there's changed frequently. We were finally saw her to request a new grill she acted annoyed, as if we were putting her out.

The delays were constant. We waited far too long for our main courses, side dishes, and even basic sauces to arrive. When my beer finally came out, it was warm and already had condensation—obvious that it had been sitting somewhere, forgotten.

To make matters worse, the food simply wasn’t good. The meats were fatty and chewy. Side dishes notably the best part but still unmemorable, and the prices were unjustifiably high given the poor quality.

What really topped off the frustration was how my birthday was handled. It was mentioned early on and should have been obvious, yet I wasn’t offered the chance to spin their birthday wheel until after we had paid and were literally walking out. At that point, it felt like an afterthought—disingenuous and awkward. Because of the supposed long prep time for what I landed on, my party was unable to wait for it to be made as my three young child had to get home to bed. I was offered a "soda" instead, which I declined.

In short, this was one of the most disappointing dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. Between the rude service, the overpriced and mediocre food, and the complete lack of effort to make a birthday dinner feel remotely special, I can’t recommend this place to anyone. There are far better Korean BBQ spots in town—do yourself a favor and go to one of...