KoBa • All You Can Eat Korean BBQ — Restaurant in Denver

Our waitress really ruined this entire experience for us. First time at a Korean BBQ and we were looking forward to learning.

We explained as soon as we sat down that it was our first time and we don't know what to do. Typically at that point we get a run down of how things work but our waitress just turned and walked away.

When the waitress came back she asked if we were ready to order. I asked if she could explain how it works and she said "you just pick a combo..comboB is better but you can get A if you don't want as much food"

Realizing she wasn't going to be helpful we chose combo A for a family of 5 with one 12 year old. My daughter is tall. I mean I'm 5'11" and her dad is well over 6ft do yea she's tall. When i placed the order and explained that it was four adults and that my daughter was 12 - the waitress dropped her order pad to her side, TOOK A STEP BACK AND VISIBLY LOOKED MY CHILD OVER UP AND DOWN as if to indicate that she didn't believe us OR was assessing the size of a child. I was offended for my child immediately and snapped back with "omg do you want me to get her birth certificate?!" The waitress pretended to laugh it off and said something to the effect of she believes me cause she's seen me before. She hadn't. We were visiting from out of state

That's really when I should have left. But we stayed because this place looked cool online.

So the waitress proceeds to take our order.... again we've never done this and don't know how much to select so we start small and she starts to rush us by saying that's not enough for 5 people and tells us to keep going. We add something, and says keep going, add something, she says keep going and we just do this back and forth until she's satisfied.

She comes back with several plates and just starts DUMPING meats on to the built in table grill without telling us what they are. I thought we would get to place the food on ourselves and really wish we had because it resulted in a mess of meats that took way longer to cook.

She also leaves several other dishes on the table and we were confused about which items go on the grill. So we ask her when she walks by what items need to be cooked and she hurriedly says EVERYTHING. Holding a small dish with an unknown food in it, I ask "this too?" And she says NO NOT THAT (it was spicy rice cake). And she walks off in a hurry. I want to add that at this point they were not busy.

I'm fuming now because it's obviously that this experience is a complete wash at this point.

It's all you can eat so after we finally cook everything we place a second round order of only about 1/3 size of the first one with the waitress. She doesnt come back. When she finally did she said the kitchen lost the order and asks us to place another one before our 90 minutes is up. So we just order shrimp and wonton since the wonton won't have to cook and the shrimp will cook quickly.

To add to the negative experience, the robots were not moving the entire time we were there. They said they were offline.

The food quality was good and that's literally all I can say. But because of how the waitress piled the meats on and because of how she "lost" our second round we were left disappointed. Definitely not worth the cost for some of the worst service we've ever had. And not an all you can eat experience because of...

We were so excited to try this place out and we came on a weekday for a birthday dinner. We first get there and I tell the waitress that we have 3 adults and 3 kids. She tells us to walk to the back but doesn’t direct us. After we guessed which table we were at, they told us to stand and wait for the grills. Again weird but no problem. When they finally come over the waitress looks at my 12 year old and points at him and says “He an adult?” I was confused and looked at my son and said “no he’s 12, we three are the adults.” She then looked at me and disbelief and said “he’s really tall.” Which is true. And I took it as an innocent comment and laughed and said “Yea I know, this is his dad he’s 6”4 and I’m 5”11”

I thought it was all innocent until she looks at me and says this time it’s fine but next time bring his ID. He’s too tall, he’s an adult. I was shocked..hes 12 he has no ID. Guess I have to carry around his birth certificate. It’s one thing to question and verify but then to outwardly try to accuse me of lying? $12 is the difference for kids and adults. I am more than capable of covering that difference and would have no reason to lie. That’s how our night started off.

We got a different waitress and while she was friendly the service was terrible. We asked for rice and she told us they didn’t have enough and if I could wait. It took 20 mins for us all to get our first bowl of rice. Which I wouldn’t complain about but I watched as other families were served rice bowls. We get our first and second round of meat and then there was 46 minutes before she ever came back to the table even though we had pushed the call button. Our grills were completely cold and off and we had no drinks or water at all throughout that time.

To top it off…I had asked for a side of gochujang which has never been an issue anywhere else. She wasn’t sure and came back and said that the person told her to tell me “what you see it what you get.” Again a bit off putting but it wasn’t until I heard the table next to us request the same thing with another waiter and he got it for them. Also had to wait another 30 minutes for the check.

Price is good. Food is hit or miss. The bbq was good and the kimchi. But the lunches chiggae and tteokbokki was disappointing. People and service are terrible. And ruined my younger sons birthday. I’ve been to several Korean BBQs in town and the worst service was experienced here....

Solid AYCE KBBQ with upbeat music, skip the apps/sides. Dinner is a little more expensive than lunch as you get the addition of LA galbi, boneless galbi, and pork intestine. The most amazing part of this experience is that we all left without smelling like grilled meat, even without having obtrusive vents at each table.

KoBA has its own parking lot and generally is pretty easy to get a table, even with a larger group. We've found the staff generally to be pretty friendly and attentive when we've gone, but you may have to gently remind them if you're waiting on water/utensils if it gets busy. The music is loud and constant - the first time we went it was an energetic mix of EDM, most recently, it was an onslaught of K-pop girl groups that did get grating after a while. The main screen is for accompanying music videos, but smaller mounted screens along the side walls play various sports events so you constantly have stimuli. Like drinking? How about a somaek (beer + soju) tower?

Appetizers, sauces, banchan, and lettuce are self-serve, while grilled ingredients (meat, veggies, seafood) and other sides can be ordered via the tablet at each table or your server. The meat comes out pretty quickly, even with large orders, which is nice. Once in a while the robot comes around to deliver something, but usually it'll be a human with a cart.

The sides (soups, steamed egg, tteokbokki) are pretty disappointing, so save yourself and avoid these - why would you take up precious stomach space at an AYCE anyway? The kimchi is actually pretty decent, so I'll allow you those. Meat quality is good, with a nice variety of classic pork and beef options including pork belly, bulgogi, and sliced brisket, with a few chicken, seafood, and veggie options as well. You get tongs and a giant pair of Korean all-purpose kitchen shears at each table to cut up your own meat, and servers will change out grills at your request.

For the price, I think this is a great option to (over)sate yourself with protein and would bring starving friends who...