Manna Korean BBQ — Restaurant in Carrollton

I used to be a huge fan of Manna BBQ Carrollton since it opened. I went frequently because I loved the meat they had and always received great service from the older Korean ladies. However, for the last two recent visits, I have had some of the worst service I have ever experienced.

To start with the basics, it is an AYCE/all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ restaurant where the servers would bring out raw meats for you to cook on the grill yourself. Additionally, they would bring out complementary Korean banchan/side dishes like kimchi, seaweed, radish, japchae, salad, etc. to go with the meat you'd prepare. There are two options, with the pricier plan just $5 more. I normally stick to Dinner A though because it has everything I really need. There are beef, pork, chicken, and seafood options available to you, so everyone can be satisfied.

To speak on one specific recent experience, I came into the restaurant at around 8PM with a group of 6 on a Monday night, knowing that it closed at 10PM, but also acknowledging that we always eat quickly and are easy customers to please. We were greeted then seated promptly at a booth with only one grill. It was not that busy, but we figured it would be fine. We all got waters and ordered our meats. Note that you can only order three plates of meat at a time. It also states on the menu that each person can have a side (choice of spicy tofu stew, steamed egg, bean paste soup), but I guess there's been a change in policy, where you can only have one side per two guests and no refills. Anyways, the food tastes wonderful, but the service throughout the night left a sour taste in my mouth. It really was not that busy, and we are very patient people; HOWEVER, we never got our water refilled after literally attempting to track down our speed racer of a server, so one of our friends had to grab a pitcher and refill our waters himself. We pressed the button on the table periodically, but no one came to check on us. They simply asked us for our meat order, jot it down, then ran off. Never to be seen again until they're dropping the plates off. Even then, we would ask them for more side dishes or water, but they would be gone the second the meat plates hit the table. They never asked how everything was, or if we needed anything else. We were ignored and left alone. Lastly, we were told at 9:30PM to place a last call order, and we told our server what we wanted. Ten minutes passed, and no server could be seen on the floor, with just one or two other tables left. We pressed the button and waited for someone to come. Alas, our server, who took our last call order, came and huffed at us when we tried to remind her of our food, which was mistakenly brought to a couple two tables away from ours. "Our kitchen is already closed, I told you all that." Um, yes, we know? We are just trying to finish our last plates of meat then leave. Why would we tolerate this service any longer than we have to? We want to eat our money's worth and not come back again. We tried to explain that we already placed our order WITH HER, but she talked over us and just snapped, "What do you want?" We said, "LA Galbi, bulgogi, and thinly sliced pork belly." She shook her head and said the kitchen's closed, so they can't slice the pork belly. So my friend asked her, "What is available then?" All she said in response was, "Hurry up, and order." Sigh.

Not to be that person, but the tables with all Korean people and all white people had wonderful and attentive service. My group of friends and I - some Asian, some White, some Hispanic - were ignored 99% of the time we were there. Whether it was because of our race, age (20-25), appearance, whatever, we could feel the judgment they made upon us as soon as we walked in. There is such a drastic difference when my Asian family and I come here to eat because we'd get good service. Not an accusation, just an observation.

Breakdown: Service - 0/5 Food - 4/5 Decor/ambiance - 4/5 The men who frequently changed out our grills and bussed our tables - 10/5; give...

I would not recommend this establishment, especially if you have a large party of people. I wish I could give it no stars because the whole experience left me feeling cheated. To make a long story short, my sister hosted a birthday party for me at this location. Before she left, she spent time going over the bill of each person in our party and making sure all the bills were given to be appropriate party. During the settling of the bills, she noticed that they charged us for two people who did not eat. She went over this several time with the cashier and the server and they acknowledged the oversight. All of this happened unbeknownst to me because I was the birthday girl and my sister took care of everything.

Later, the server passed by and asked if the people sitting in two specific chairs had eaten and I told her yes because myself and my sister-in-law had been sitting in the indicated seats. She said nothing else and walked away.

All of the members of my birthday party had gone while I gathered my belongings. As I approached the door, the server came to me and said that two people had not paid their check. When I asked her who, she said the grandma which I understood to be my mother who did not eat. I told this to the server and she changed her story. I interpreted this change in story as difficulty with English. Meanwhile, our cashier who appears to be a native English speaker watches the whole situation unfold knowing full and well what was going on. As my husband and I go through the list of people who did not pay, it is obvious that something is either being lost in translation or something deeper in going on. I decide to pay and settle accounts with my family later because the bill is almost $100 and I know that not paying it will lead to an altercation involving police. Keep in mind that I have no clue about what is going on because my only job was to show up. Nothing else and now I am finding my self paying for other people’s meals.

When I get to the car, I call my sister and we both conference call the restaurant. I ask for a manager and was told that there was no manager on duty. I don’t believe this because retail/food managers take shifts. Anyway, my sister and I explain the situation to the receptionist who puts us on hold while she talks to the server. Then she returns to the phone and cavalierly says that the server said that I said we would pay the bill when I never said I would pay for anything. Why would I pay for anything as the birthday girl? My only job was to show up. All of the rest was handled by my sister.

Needless to say, my sister plans to return tomorrow morning to sort it all out. But I have a feeling it will not resolve itself and I will have to literally eat the cost( no pun intended).

I most definitely do not recommend this...

I'm not sure if they recently changed owner from my last visit back in May 2022, but the food quality, service, and options increased big time!

They no longer offer the two different AYCE tiers, it's just one fixed price of $28.99. It comes with a great variety of beef, pork, chicken, and seafood options, along with your banchan, salad, bibimbap, soups, cheese corn, and steamed eggs. I was very impressed with the menu, and how much food they offer for everyone. The last time I visited, the meat was okay and it feels like they just like to dump marinate on top to hide the low quality, but this time, it's much better. The marinate doesn't overpower the meats, and it tastes a lot better. My favorites are the brisket, spicy brisket, boneless LA galbi, thin beef belly, pork belly, pork jowl, cheese corn, and steamed egg.

I am obsessed with the cheese corn, and I'm so happy that they have it. I feel like the last two visits they were always out, despite it being on the menu. The cheese corn is delicious and exactly how I wanted them to be. It comes out in your typical hot tray with the corn and mozzarella cheese melted together. The steamed egg was tasty as well, but we only got one because we didn't want to fill our stomachs up. I saw that they offer bibimbap with the AYCE menu, but we didn't try it. Asides from the yummy food, their service has improved greatly. It could be because last time we went with a party of 12, but this time it was only 4 people. The server constantly checked up on us, refilled our banchan in bigger portions as requested, changed the grill every 3 portions of meat, and the meats doesn't take long to come out.

The robot delivers the meats but the server walks alongside to make sure there's no error. You can only order 3 types of meat each time, but they didn't limit their portions and it was filling for all party members. If I'm craving AYCE KBBQ, this would definitely be my first option. I like Moodaepo's meat quality more when it comes to AYCE, but their slow service isn't worth the extra $12. Plus, you can get legit cheese corn here-- and that alone costs $6 at typical KBBQ...