BO BBQ- Korean Grill & Bar — Restaurant in Corpus Christi

Let me first say, I cook…. A lot! Asian fare as well; and not ramen noodles. Stir-fry, adobo chicken, even sushi a couple of times. I have been to Mongolian Grill type establishments where you pick from a variety of meats, seasonings, sauces, etc. and they cook it up right there in front of you… where you control what and how much…. This is not that kind of place. It is a buffet disguised as a restraint charging 4 star price. The concept of going to a restaurant to mess up you own food is all over the U.S., there is a social aspect to doing something with friends other then checking Facebook or the Twittersphere. Aside from this benefit, the idea is that by saving money on kitchen staff, the restaurant can provide you with higher-quality products (to mess up). NOT the case here. Side dishes were unimaginative, and meat quality was not impressive. They are served to you, raw meat and ready to eat dishes, side-by-side in little plates and bowels. No contamination issue there!? The instruments with which you cook are not ideal for the job. And when you ask your waitress for something to clean the dirty chicken residue off your hands or sanitizer… sorry, don’t have anything for you but extra napkins. I was told to go ahead and start, but the center plate was inadequately hot. So, the first batch which had to be left on a little longer to be cooked through thoroughly was over done on the outside. After that, it was okay, but the seasoning, which you have no control over, was weak. And if there was any adjusting the heat, no one told us. After what was an underwhelming meal, I had to cooked myself, I paid the $63 bill for 2 people (plus tip $76). No desert, alcoholic beverages, extra portions, just tea and the meat that came with the initial order; of which we had most of the pork “teriyaki” left over. When asked for a little cup or foil to take it with, the server replied, “we can’t do that, sir”. Without going into a play-by-play, the conversation involved the manager who, when explained that even though this wasn’t the same case as someone ordering extra at an all-you-can-eat buffet and then taking it home – as it was the portion that everyone gets to start with for there $63 meal, it didn’t matter. Rules-is-rules! When asked who the owner was, she seemed to be unsure. “There are two men who own the restaurant”, only one of which whose name she could remember…. I could go on….

Bottom line: 1. The food (raw meat, seasoning, and sides) is not impressive. 2. The cooking environment was inadequate and unsafe. 3. If you’re going to cook it yourself, you could run to Moody’s or H-E-B and get it done faster and better with higher quality ingredients and for less money!!! Why not???

I get rules to avoid gluttonous people from taking advantage of a restaurant, but that’s what the $5 extra charge is for if you order extra. (all-you-can eat, but only-what-you-can-eat). But the individual’s $38 should allow you to take what is initially served to everyone. That’s just wasteful and unethical!!!

I don’t normally write negative reviews as I figure I’ll just never eat there again. Loss of my business is enough. But occasionally I feel it is warranted. And I will be letting friends, family and anyone who askes me in the Corpus medical community in which if work to...

I’ve been here three times and my first two times were good. My first visit, I was under the impression that that they had more items on the menu like individual dishes and sushi but they explained it was a soft opening so it was okay. I enjoyed how flavorful the meat was, the side dishes were good even though the potato side dish was cold. Overall the flavors were good and I looked forward to eating there again, especially once other dishes were available. My second visit we were offered soups and I asked for the kimchi stew which honestly, looked and tasted like just pieces of kimchi in warm water. It was literally just a bowl of hot water with two pieces of kimchi. I was a bit disappointed with this but believed the meat and the other side dishes more than made up for it. I used to live in the DFW area and had long been craving Korean bbq and was genuinely excited we now have an option here in corpus though at the time of my second visit I personally believed it wasn’t as good as the options in other parts of texas. It satisfied the craving though.

My third visit was my last. Everything was fine up until my friend asked us to taste the teriyaki meat because she wasn’t sure if she was getting a weird flavor. I smelled the raw teriyaki meat and immediately knew it was spoiled. When given a piece of the cooked meat to taste, it was sour. We informed the waitress and she informed the cooks who stated it was just the marinade. We’d had the teriyaki before on our previous visits and it had neither looked nor tasted like that. When we received the pork chop my friend commented the meat looked dark and she was used to pink pork chops. We presumed it might have been marinated. When it was done cooking, she noticed the pork chop also had the sour, spoiled taste. Me and my other friend verified that the meat smelled and tasted bad.

I was a bit disappointed in the fact that the meat was bad, especially since bad meat is pretty serious and it’s a bbq restaurant. I am happy to have an option here in corpus for Korean bbq but having those two meats made me sort of paranoid for the rest of the night and I don’t think I will be going back.

We aren’t complaining people and we stayed the rest of the night, didn’t make a fuss. Our intention was for them to not give the meat to anyone else because ours did not taste good. Unfortunately, they only stated it was the marinade. My friends and I are adventurous eaters so for us to say anything, it’s because it was bad.

I hope they can look into this.

Edit: after going in to read other reviews, I have seen two other reviews in the last few days talking about sour meat. It’s an issue. Hope they can get...

So much hype and excitement for a very disappointing dining experience... Unfortunate because this is currently the only KBBQ in Corpus Christi, but I'll just save my appetite for when I go out of town.

I have been here three times, once during soft opening week, once during opening week, and last night. I was really hoping that things would get better but it seems like they've gotten worse.

Service has been pretty inconsistent. The first time, it was really slow despite the place being pretty much empty and we had two women helping us. We sat for numerous periods without meat and the grill burning while the employees sat around chatting. Last night, we were not even offered the soups which wasn't an issue since the soups are lackluster anyway - the kimchi soup we tried the first visit and it was a piece of kimchi floating in lukewarm water. She also forgot to serve the dipping sauces. But I guess the servers are polite and attentive enough.

The side dish offerings are also pretty inconsistent with the quality of the side dishes and the variety. Their fishcake side dish, which I have only been served once was pretty good. Kimchi and cucumber are satisfactory but not good. The sweet potato side dish is consistently terrible - dry and flavorless. They really need to consult an ajumma to get the banchan right because it's really not that hard and it does make or break a Korean grill outing in my opinion.

The most disappointing thing though is the meat. The cuts are not great at all. The quality of the brisket from last night has taken a huge downturn from the last two times we have come. It's drastically so much worse - obvious that they are already skimping on the quality of the meat so soon after opening. The pork cuts are also not great. The bulgogi marinade is fine, nothing to complain about but Big Bowl Korean does it so much better. The servings are also awkward. One visit, I dined with five people and they would give us a plate of meat that could feed only two people.

It's funny because looking around the place, it's obvious they spent a lot of money on the interior, but they really do not care about the food at all. This KBBQ has served the worst food out of all I have tried and I'm pretty sure it's because they know that they are a novelty in Corpus and that they don't have to serve good food - there's no competition. It's sad that they're making it that blatantly obvious that they don't care.

It's a fun dining experience but for the price, just save your KBBQ cravings for when you can get to Houston or Austin. Bo BBQ does not have good food....