POGU — Restaurant in Daly City

My wife and I visited Pogu on opening day (Friday). Arrived at 4:50 pm for our 5pm reservation and stood in the main line for reservations and walk in (same line). Host worked her way through the front of the line and we were seated around 5:05pm.

We had reserved for the Chef’s choice on our reservation but the server mentioned we can select a la carte if we preferred. We had plans to order from the Rice & Noodle, Appetizer, Hot Pot and Dessert options. However the server came back to take our order and now mentions half the menu was not order able (which were you he options we initially looked at). Server did not have a clear answer on why (seemed like maybe out of ingredients) but suggested we order from the Charcoal BBQ section.

We ordered the Bonsang for 2 ($15/person), Bulgogi, Galbi, Grilled Mackerel, and Hamachi Kama. Server suggested to add rice as it’s not listed in the menu, which we added.

Food started coming out about 15 minutes later and all dishes arrived a few minutes later. About 5 minutes went by but the rice did not come out so we asked for it again. We didn’t notice until then that we had no napkins. I had to walk up to the busboy to request for napkins (server was too busy at the time).

The Bonsang was 6/10. Dipping sauce, bamboo, and pickled radish was good. Cabbage was ok.

The bulgogi was 8/10. Not too spicy. Lightly crisp.

The grilled mackerel was 7/10. Cooked well but a bit too salty. Came out lightly warm.

The hamachi kama was a 5/10. Though there was a decent amount of meat cooked well, it was burnt about 40% all around where it wasn’t edible. Also didn’t feel freshly cooked, reheated on the grill and that’s why it was burnt and not as juicy as the dish commonly is at other restaurants. Probably should have asked for replacement dish.

The galbi was a 2/10. It was also a bit burnt all around but the main issue was the ribs was very fatty, very chewy, and lack of edible meat. In addition to it being medium rare, it was also very chewy so we couldn’t bite much meat off. Not a good feeling when it was barely edible and also came out lightly warm (maybe microwaved to reheat ?) . Would have expected way better quality for 2 piece of ribs at $33. Maybe should have asked for a replacement dish for the ribs too?

The rice was a 5/10. Whomever cooked the rice didn’t put enough water. Half the rice was edible while the other half seemed not fully cooked. Rice came out medium warm.

I asked the server that we would like to take the ribs to go (at that point, we barely ate any of the ribs due to the consistency). Server gasped at the question and said let me check. Took about 5 minutes before he came back with a plastic storage container (that worked out for us).

We asked for the check. I paid and requested for receipt. Took about 5 minutes because the server seemed frustrated at the register. Seemed like the printer was not working. We requested for e-receipt when we found out.

Pros: nice restaurant setting employees were nice (even though it was probably busy and hectic first day) bulgogi and mackerel was good

Cons: seemed understaff in the kitchen and dining area Half of the menu was not order able Hanamchi Kama and Galbi was below expectations and wasn’t prepared well. all dished came out in medium warm like it was left out for 5-10 minutes (or microwaved) Surprised Rice was listed on the menu and not prepared well either napkins were not given out, had to ask busboy for some

Had high expectations from a Michelin Starred Chef restaurant. The $160 spent here would have been way more satisfied at any other kbbq spots in the SF/DC area imo. Seemed like poor planning and preparation. Would be nice if updates were provided up front (like limited menu selection). If you are still planning to try, I would wait a month or two and going in with low expectations. Hopefully they get more staff to support to improve. Also interesting thing is that the restaurant is in the middle of a grocery supermarket so we would think they should never run out of...

As a Korean and someone who loved watching Chef Tony Yoo cooking on Korean tv shows, I really really wanted to like this place.

We had the chef’s tasting menu. At $95 each, you would absolutely expect a certain standard of service and quality but we got zero. I also added the abalone rice a la carte.

The first course was a rice bread. We were served two of them for four people. And it was served cold. It’s baked by the bakery inside the market so the restaurant doesn’t even make it. Read that again, 1/6 of the chef’s menu wasn’t even made by them. At the least serve it warm! When we asked if there were any that were warm, the staff informed us it’s from the bakery here and you get what you get.

The second course was a pumpkin soup that was ok. Nothing to write home about, I could make it at home. And it was way too sweet.

The third course was raw fish served with salad and sauce. The cho gochujang (gochujang with vinegar, sugar and garlic) sauce tasted like it the bottled sauces sold at the market, and while the spin on it with fermented fish paste on the side was interesting, the salad was overdressed and very salty and way too sweet. The staff could not explain what the sauces were on the dish so I had to figure it out and inform the rest of our party.

The fourth course was the buckwheat noodles with shredded chicken. The staff still could not explain what the different sauces were, and our server flippantly said “it’s special sauce!” when we asked her to explain the dish. And the dressing the noodles were tossed with? A sesame and soy sauce base that tasted familiar, like the sesame dressing on salads at Japanese restaurants.

The fifth course was the one and only dish I felt was worth having in a restaurant operated by a Michelin star chef. Perfectly grilled beef rib seasoned simply with salt, presented with roasted vegetables and a small bite of rice wrapped in steamed napa cabbage and topped with ssamjang. This is the one star the restaurant earned from me.

The last course was the omaegi rice cake served on top of something that was not quite ice cream but tasted like the most artificial fluff. It was like a stabilized version of whipped cream. And again the staff failed to describe what we were being served so I had to explain the dish to my friends.

Oh and we never got the abalone rice, our server was surprised when we informed her like she wasn’t responsible for serving it to us.

We had to remind them constantly for water until she plopped a dripping pitcher on our table. At least wipe off the water on the outside! The tea I ordered didn’t come with a lid on the teapot and it was a tea bag. The tea cups were spotted like it hadn’t been dried properly after washing. I had to rinse them out before using.

The worst offender here was the banchan that was served. That was not kimchi. It was raw napa cabbage tossed in a somewhat kimchi seasoning dressing. And they skimped on the gochugaru (chili powder). Out of the three banchan served, one of them was seaweed salad that was sold in the market, another was a scoop of Korean potato salad that tasted bland, and the third was the saddest portion of pickled radish in a beet vinegar sauce with a tiny portion of picked ramp.

All in all except for one dish it felt like they took all the ingredients and sauces sold in the market, put it on a plate and charged an exorbitant amount for it.

If anyone from Pogu is reading this,

1. please educate your staff so they can tell diners what they are eating. It’s part of the chef tasting experience to hear and learn about what goes into a dish.
2. train your staff to deliver an elevated serving experience befitting the $95 price tag. I should not have to be wiping the tables because the water pitcher drips of water. Your cups should not be spotted with dried water stains.
3. change your menu to befit the price tag. I call it lazy to simply reassemble most of the dishes from stuff sold in the store. The restaurant is so beautiful and the food didn’t live up to it or the reputation...

My husband and I had reservations on opening day at 5:45, but were seated around 6:15. We were already made aware at the bar that a lot of items have been sold out around 5pm and it has been a hectic day for a lot of the staff. My husband and I completely understand because it is opening day and there always some kind of hiccups to happen.

We selected the "POGU Chef's Pick Coursed Menu" with 5 courses. First course- pumpkin soup. It was sweet and my husband liked it a lot. I wish the fried toppings were a bit crispier. Second course- seafood salad. My husbands plate looked a little different even though we both orders the 5 course meal. He had a gray seafood sauce and I had a gochujang drizzle. The fish included squid, tuna, and salmon, but it seems like they were leftover/lower quality cuts of this fish. It was also packed a little too tightly and difficult to grab the seafood out. It was refreshing with the grapes. Third course: buckwheat noodles with shredded chicken. I was hoping when the server mentioned buckwheat noodles it was the cold soup but it was not. I think the seasoning on the noodles was a bit lacking but they did have the orange (sweet) and yellow (savory) options. Fourth course- I believe the server said Galbi, but it was definitely a pork rib lol. Honestly nothing outstanding. Meat was a bit tough and I needed a floss when I got home. It reminded me of an American/Korean bbq rib. I also wish we got more than one. The mushrooms were good but cold. The sauces were good. Final course- this was my least favorite of them all. Ice cream was extremely hard but it had cake at the bottom and caramel inside. Then smashed red bean at the very bottom.

They had only 2 tea options - white lotus and mulberry. I'd order the white lotus again but the mulberry was very earthy for my taste. At the bar my husband ordered POGU coffee mix and I ordered Solbaram. Both ok, not very memorial to me. I'd like to try others but some ingredients were not available.

Staffing seemed very stressed, including bar staff. They seemed very under staffed for the opening day with a lot of them working 10+ hours. The bar seemed to not remember how to make certain drinks and they were also out of certain ingredients.

Overall, opening day seemed more like a soft opening with how chaotic it was. My husband and I were very understanding and could see the stress in the employee to make a memorable first impression. A lot of the mistakes that happened were on the back end. I would want to come back but maybe after a few months for everything to settle in. I'm glad this new store and restaurant are in the Peninsula but I will also continue to support Kukje.

Food: 6/10 Service:...