Gen Korean BBQ House — Restaurant in El Paso

Let me start by saying I love Korean bbq. Was so excited to finally have that option in EP. They opened a few days before my birthday so I saw it as a sign that I should go. Planned it out and counted the minutes until we were going. Let me tell you why I was unable to give it the 5 stars I would have loved to. We will start with the good though for now, the hostess was nice and seated us promptly. We were then greeted by our waiter who honestly was fine at first. We got our drinks and put in an order for our 1 round of meat, is was great until then. The next person to come up was a lady with our meats, she was as awesome, she dropped everything off and was about to leave until I asked her if she could turn our grill on because the waiter never did. She did and left, a few seconds later I noticed I couldn't see a flame under our grill so I touched it and it was cold, I immediately turned off the knob so the gas wouldn't come out. She walked by a few second later and i told her what happened, she apologized and thanked me for turning it off. She re-lit the grill and we proceeded to start cooking. 3 min into cooking the waiter walks by and lowers are control knob to around 1/4. I though it was weird because nothing on our grill was burning or smoking ao we just went on. After 5-6 min I looked around to see what other table's control knobs are out and they are at around 3/4. I moved it to approximately the same which definitely helped the cooking process. All good for the next 15 min, by this time several different workers have stopped by to check in on us and make sure all is good. We ask for chili sauce and stuff like that, they were all great. Our waiter is no where to be seen so we ask one of them for a refill, they bring it, all good. 5 min after that the waiter walks by again and lowers our grill temp to 1/4. Again no smoke, no burning food, nothing. Im like weird....Anyway I leave it as we are technically about to be done with that cook and about to order more meats. He comes by and we order, the same girl brings our meat and she again confirms if we need anything. We bump our grill up to 3/4 again to start cooking and not even a min later, the same aiter walks by and reduces our temp to 1/4. By this time im like omg.. I even mentioned it to my wife again because it makes no sense, I again turn it up and i kid you not, he walked by and reduced it again. Why? Just to slow our cooking time up? Anyway, it was finally time for us to change to a different grill plate so I just left it, like 5 min later one of the nice ladies asked if we would like a new grill plate and we accepted, she changed it, brought me more sauces and more drinks. Finished cooking our meat and were done with our meal. The only other time the waiter showed up was to give us our check and charge us. His service was horrible, I know this place has only been open a few days but honestly it stressed me out. I wouldn't have left a tip for him if they didn't require for a tip to be typed in on the pad right in front of them. The other ladies I would have definitely tipped for. That was my experience, sorry for the super review. 3 stars vs 5 because of Steven's 1star service. Will i return? Yes, the food is delicious, however, i will definitely ask for another server if I get Steven again.... ALSO, PLEASE MAKE SURE YOUR GRILL DOESN'T TURN OFF AND IS JUST...

⭐ 3 out of 5 Stars Aesthetic Over Authenticity: A Korean BBQ Experience with Room for Growth

I recently visited this Korean BBQ restaurant with my family for the first time, and upon walking in, I’ll admit the place made a great first impression. The white sofa seating, elegant glass displays featuring Asian-inspired centerpieces, and ambient lighting gave the space a luxurious, upscale feel, something quite different from the lively, grill focused charm of an authentic Korean BBQ house.

Traditionally, Korean BBQ spots are known for their cozy bustle, filled with the aroma of sizzling meat, stainless grills built into the tables, and a communal energy where diners cook, share, and converse freely. The setting here, while beautiful, leaned more toward fine dining than authenticity.

From the start, our seating experience was a bit rocky. We were immediately shown to a table right between the main doorway a high-traffic zone that offered little privacy. After voicing my concern, the host suggested moving us to a new table, which unfortunately was right next to the kitchen doors, another high-traffic, noisy spot. When I politely requested a quieter, more private seating area, the young lady hesitated but eventually allowed the change, though it seemed to cause her some discomfort.

Curious, I asked about the rigid seat assignments and was told that staff are assigned specific sections to keep service and “tips” distributed evenly. While I understand the American approach to tipping, it did strike me as ironic, since in true Korean BBQ culture, tipping is not customary and can even be considered impolite. Of course, we are in America, where gratuity is often not only expected but automatically applied for groups, so I took it in stride.

The menu offered an impressive variety of meats and cocktails, which was promising. However, I was surprised to find no leafy greens or perilla leaves available for wrapping the cooked meat, a staple in traditional Korean BBQ. When I inquired, our waitress suggested a salad option instead, which arrived as shredded iceberg lettuce drenched in vinaigrette. Unfortunately, it was soggy and missed the mark completely.

The meats arrived in small portions on oversized plates, and while presented nicely, the flavors were average, nothing particularly memorable. Side dishes such as kimchi, radish, corn cheese, and rice were underwhelming and lacked the bold, fresh notes expected from a Korean meal.

Despite these missteps, I will say the service itself was friendly and attentive throughout, which I appreciated.

Overall, this restaurant succeeds in atmosphere and presentation but falls short on authenticity and flavor. It’s a beautifully decorated space with attentive staff, but as a Korean BBQ experience, it leaves much to be desired. 3 stars with...

Went to Gen BBQ today. We ordered the dinner menu for two and got brisket, pork ribs, beef short ribs, pork jowl, brisket (again), steak, as well as doenjang (soybean paste stew) and soondubu (soft tofu stew).

One-line review: Not worth the high price — you'd come back with diabetes. Do not recommend. Flies everywhere.

Meat: In short, the meat had no flavor and chewed like paper. There was none of the savory, tender quality you'd expect from fresh, quality meat. The marinated meats didn’t have a subtle sweetness — they were so sugary it felt like eating spoonfuls of syrup rather than meat.

Dipping oil (sesame oil): Tasted so watered down I wasn’t even sure it was sesame oil.

Side dishes: Tasted strange and lifeless — the kimchi seemed reused and was downright unpleasant.

Doenjang stew: Tasted like a spoonful of MSG with a dash of soybean paste.

Soondubu stew: So bad even my husband — who usually eats anything — pushed it away saying “ugh” and refused to eat more. Do not order this. Strongly not recommended.

Service: So slow that we honestly questioned whether the food would come out before the restaurant closed. Wrong dishes were brought out or some didn’t arrive at all. Waiting for the next round of food was so tiring we just wanted to go home. The grill heat was also too low — even thin slices of meat took forever to cook.

Other issues: All four bathroom stalls had no toilet paper. Complaint: A staff member dropped a plate. The food bounced off the floor and splattered onto my black outfit — and they just walked away without even asking if I was okay. They didn’t clean it up the whole time we were there. Flies flying around and no effort made to control them. We didn’t even order rice, but they brought it before our drinks — in a lidless bowl. By the time we actually ate it, the surface was dried out, and we had to keep swatting away flies.

Conclusion: A total disaster. Not recommended. A waste of money and probably bad for...