Chubby Cattle BBQ｜Atlanta — Restaurant in Dunwoody

I rarely write negative reviews cuz I’m lazy, but today’s experience was bad enough to deserve one. Paying $59.99 per person should come with a level of service and food quality that at least matches the price and this didn’t even come close. I’m giving two stars only because the manager tried to fix what the staff completely failed to do. Otherwise, this visit would have been a solid one star experience, if not zero.

I’m a loyal Chubby Cattle member who has visited both the BBQ and Shabu locations multiple times. As a Korean who’s been to countless KBBQ restaurants, I know what decent service and meat quality look like. Unfortunately, this location didn’t deliver on either.

Service:
This was the most frustrating part. I offered to cook the meat myself, but that does NOT mean “don’t serve us at all.” Our table was left dirty the entire time and the grill was never changed. We were rushed to eat everything in 90 min, but the food we ordered never arrived. When I brought it up, the server had the audacity to blame me initially, saying I didn’t order. Then when I finally confronted for the manager, he said sorry for the “miscommunication” when in fact it seems like he forgot. Only then did the tone change, and an apology was given. For nearly $60 per person, I shouldn’t have to need to ask for basic service like cleaning the grill or bringing the food we paid for. The staff seemed disorganized, inattentive, and untrained.

Food:
The buffet style setup here is different from the other locations. It sounds convenient, but it completely ruins the quality. The meats were relatively dried and tasted less fresh than at the Duluth location, which is miles ahead in both quality and presentation; I think it was dry because it was left out for customers to serve themselves instead of stored in their fridge. The only positive thing I can say is that grabbing side dishes from the buffet was easier than other locations, but even that doesn’t justify the rest of the disappointment.

Parking:
Located in the middle of a busy mall, parking was a chaotic mess. I had to fight for a spot just to get in. While this is not directly the restaurant’s fault, it adds to an overall unpleasant experience. Duluth’s standalone location makes the entire parking much smoother, and it’s one more reason I’ll be going back there instead.

Overall:
If you’ve been to the Duluth Chubby BBQ or Shabu, you’ll be shocked by how poorly this Atlanta location is operated. The staff clearly lacks training, the service is non-existent, and the food is nowhere near what the price should represent. I honestly regret wasting my money and time here. If you value your time, money, and sanity, make the short extra drive to Duluth. There, you’ll get real service, fresh meat, and a restaurant that actually cares about its customers. This Atlanta location, sadly,...

Felt like a RELAY RACE

While the food quality was not bad, the entire dining experience was one of the worst I've had. The restaurant was not that busy on a Saturday night yet they were extremely rigid with a 90 minute dining time and stops you from getting more food after 70 minutes.

So keeping that in mind, we were a party of 9ppl with 3 kids and 1 elderly. They sat us in a room up two sections of stairs and you have to go out to get your own meat, you have to go out to get your own sauces, you have to go out to get your own beverage, and your own dessert. They then start the time before your grill is even preheated. Then once the clock starts, you're rushing through the entire experience where you can't even enjoy it. Arent you suppose to enjoy your wagyu when you're paying this much?

So we had to figure out a relay race so the kids and elderly didn't trip on the stairs trying to get their own food. We also had to assign a dedicated cook over each grill since we were assigned 4-5ppl per grill and if we didn't have someone constantly cooking, our time would be up before we can cook enough food.

They offer you a single paper cup for the meal. So while they tout all the different beverages, you get only a single paper cup and you have to take it with you to get your own beverage. My daughter accidentally dropped her cup and since they don't have it next to the beverages, you have to wait for a waitress to bring you a new paper cup.

Additionally, our waitress said there were no seafood since it's out of season. That doesn't make any sense since we're in Atlanta and all the other restaurants in Atlanta have seafood. But here's funny part, towards the last 15 minutes a gentleman (who I perceived as the manager) asked if everything is ok and I expressed my disappointment of not having seafood. He then says while there's no crabs, there are scallops and tiger shrimp. He said "oh your iPad must not have been updated". He then serves us some of the scallops and shrimp, when we only had 5 minutes left to dine. There was no intent to extend the time for the mistake or any other ways to compensate.

The whole membership piece is also a gimmick, because one of us had a membership but they said it was only valid for a specific concept and not all restaurants in their chain. They kept pushing the membership to lure you in.

All this and we left feeling like we were in an eating contest and had to pay close to $1k, yes one thousand. I would never...

Went on a friday night with another couple. Sign says $50 something but they quickly tell you it is $69.99. Not sure where to start on this as there were so many miscues throughout the night. Service - waiter was good but every 10 minutes for the entire meal he kept trying to sell us the membership. After kindly declining multiple times he kept coming back about the membership to the point it felt like harassment. Really became an annoying distraction throughout the meal. Food - Quality tasted average. Limited selection for sure and constantly the buffet was not stocked and required multiple trips if we wanted a certain item. When busy the buffet room gets very crowded and slows everything down. Went to get dessert and the staff were grabbing plates of desserts off of the buffet and when we asked the server if we could have one of the items that was not stocked on the buffet he said "we only put out a certain amount of that item per day" which is absolutely ridiculous considering we are paying a premium price to eat there especially with their upcharged weekend pricing. Restroom - Went to the restroom and one of the kitchen staff was vaping by the sink and when he saw me scurried back into the dining room without washing his hands. After eating here, I had explosive diarrhea and stomach cramps the next day and two other guests at our table had stomach discomfort the next day. Staff not washing hands probably has something to do with it. Restaurant - Booths are not attached to the floor so when you scoot out of it, it slides with you and pushes the booth of the people sitting behind you. Very annoying Vibe - The music here has absolutely nothing to do with the concept. It was a mix of britney spears, lady gaga, and other american pop songs which was confusing and distracting for everyone at our table.

Conclusion - They should really improve on these things before charging the prices they do. All 4 of us at our table left feeling like we made a mistake eating here. The value feels so much less here having a self-service buffet instead of ordering from a tablet and interrupts your dinner conversation. For the price, value definitely wasn't there and feels chaotic all around. Very mid-tier restaurant with premium prices...