Meat Project | Best All You Can Eat BBQ Centreville VA — Restaurant in Centreville

TL;DR: One of the worst Korean BBQ places I've ever been to. For $35 dollars per person, I'd much rather pay more and go to any of the other KBBQ places in the area (e.g. Gogiville, So, Iron Age). If you have any respect for Korean BBQ and our food culture, you should, too. Trust.

Here's the unabridged review: They offer all sorts of meat selections including some premier cuts like Galbi (short ribs), daechang, pork jowl, which is why I wanted to try them in the first place. But the quality and actual cut of the meat is severely understated. The marinades are unrecognizable and their sauces are made up of nothing but corn syrup and sugar.

The server kept trying to sell us on how they only serve the expensive premium meat and how all their sauces are naturally sweetened by apples, but my mom's been in the k-food industry here in NoVa for over a decade. She's worked in the kitchens of Ye Chon, Woo Lae Oak, Kogiya, So and others. She knows corn syrup when she tastes it.

They tried to hide the fact that the galbi meat was not fresh by smothering it in some sort of soy sauce-based marinade but it smelled a little off as it was cooked. The beef brisket was actually thinly sliced beef bacon and was very fatty. We asked why they didn't just call it Beef Bacon and the same server said "Americans don't know the difference, plus beef bacon is more expensive than brisket and we only serve the best."

The pork jowl was not marbled morsels of meat but instead just a layer of pork fat. I also ordered the honey butter squid and was highly surprised to see it come in this white creamy marinade with jalapeños and cilantro. There was not a hint of honey nor butter in the flavor. Instead, it tasted similar to a lemon poppyseed dressing. All the seasoning and marinades were off and not authentic to the Korean culinary palette. This makes me question the culinary expertise and competency of the kitchen staff.

Usually with AYCE, there are restrictions like 90-minute dining, n amount of orders at a time, extra charge on leftovers. Meat Project also had these limitations. The issue was we could only order and grill one serving at a time. Each time we had to wait a couple minutes in between each order as they replaced the grill, re-ignited the grill, waited for the grill to heat up and then proceeded to cook the meat. Their portions were also very small. They would carry out these trays of meat but our server only served us half of the meat on the tray and took the rest away. This is a very shady business practice as they try to fill up the 90 minutes with empty air.

In all honesty, this place is one of the worst KBBQ AYCE restaurants I've ever been to. The fad of cheap, unlimited meat has come and gone, but Meat Project didn't get the memo. Nowadays, customers value quality over quantity. We're willing to pay more if it means I'm not being cheated into eating cheap meat. That's why Meokja Meokja still remains on my top kbbq places of all time.

To be fair, I didn't have high hopes when I first came in and decided to dine here. I knew they had to be cutting corners to sustain the low price of $35 for an AYCE. And the fact that they overpromised on quality cuts like short ribs and steak, I knew not to expect much.

But I grossly underestimated the severity to which they carry out such predatory business practices. Needless to say, I will not be returning to Meat Project. The vibe was alright, though; understandably, a...

Extremely Disappointing Experience at Meat Project – Centreville, VA

We recently chose Meat Project in Centreville to celebrate a birthday with a group of 25 people. Unfortunately, what was supposed to be a special and joyful evening turned into a deeply disappointing experience due to poor service, safety issues, and unprofessional conduct.

Upon arrival, the manager measured my twin nephews (age 3) and confirmed they were exactly 3 feet tall — under the restaurant's height threshold for paying customers. We appreciated the clarity and proceeded to our two reserved tables.

While the food was good, several major concerns quickly became apparent:

Service was extremely slow

The floor was dangerously slippery, posing a safety hazard for both children and adults

Right next to our table was a stack of dirty dishes and a pot filled with what appeared to be dirty oil or water, giving off an unpleasant smell throughout the meal

We tried to remain positive for the sake of the celebration.

However, after dinner — just as we were about to bring out the cake (which we had confirmed with Min, the manager, was okay to bring) — the owner approached us and insisted on re-measuring the twins, this time at a measuring tape on the wall. She claimed they were “a bit over 3 feet” and said we now needed to pay $20 per child. This was after we had already received confirmation from the manager at the beginning of the evening that they did not need to pay.

It wasn’t about the $40. It was about the lack of professionalism and the poor timing — addressing this after the meal, after the measurement had already been settled, and in front of a large party. When I calmly voiced my concerns, the owner responded by yelling at her staff in front of everyone. I respectfully told her this was inappropriate, but she showed little concern.

To top it off, the cake we brought was not refrigerated properly despite our prior request — it was warm and partially melted when returned to us. Also, the carpet throughout the restaurant was filthy, worn, and hazardous — a detail that truly detracted from the overall environment.

Despite the unprofessional conduct, my sister paid the full bill — over $1,500 — and only then did the owner offer a last-minute “compromise” by charging us for just one of the two children and knocking off $20.

This experience left a sour taste. Not because of the food, or even the money, but because of how the situation was handled — particularly by ownership. A special celebration was soured by poor judgment and a complete disregard for the guest experience. I sincerely hope the management reconsiders how they treat customers and staff in the future.

I got a very polite and professional answer to my review, but just to clarify, this reply doesn't reflect the actual interaction I had with the owner in person, which was...

I usually don't like to leave bad reviews or any at all since it feels like a waste of time, but my experience coming here has been on the decline. This last visit left me feeling some kind of way and it wasn’t happy or good.

I understand coming in within 2 hours of closing might not be the best service, but with the amount of people working and the amount of people that were still eating, not a good look. I expected to be in and out in maybe 1-1.5 hours since I know what I want. Needless to say, we ended up there until closing time since many things went awry.

My first complaint was about the sauce that was “prepared” before we sat down. The amount in each person’s sauce dish looked like someone spilled while eating. Not the end of the world because you can always ask for more, right? Not today of course. The feeling I got while getting my requested sesame oil and salt was like when you’re in chipotle and the person scoops you the bare minimum amount of meat. It just felt like they were skimping out on it, and I had to ask for more. Well even asking for more, there was about a pinch of salt in there. The second time around felt like the same thing, barely anything.

My main complaint was the amount of food being served. Our initial order for over 4 people was 3 orders of brisket. What came out was maybe 1-1.5 orders at best. As soon as it was done cooking, it was gone. I felt like I had to always be on the lookout for our server since we always needed something because of the lack of something else. I had asked for a second serving of rice, never to arrive. The rest of the orders flowed in so slowly that we ended up ordering less than usual. I understand that its nearing the end of the night and people want to head out, but giving less to hungry people will just backfire when people just keep ordering.

To add insult to injury, they’ve changed their policy to add gratuity for a party of 5 or more. I wonder if this is a driving factor in the level of service received. Maybe not, but definitely felt that way as the bill was paid.

Many things individually wouldn’t be so bad, but combined make for a terrible time. It also appears they are charging for melona bars now instead of it being offered at the end of meals (after not being served during wintertime).

TLDR – got subpar service and...