Past Memories — Restaurant in Garden Grove

Korean BBQ House – Where Smoke, Sizzle, and Smiles Collide

Fresh off a food high from Casa del Rey, we kept the flavor train rolling and hit up Korean BBQ House in Garden Grove the next day—and whoa, talk about back-to-back culinary victories. This place wasn’t just dinner—it was a full-on experience, equal parts campfire cookout, meat lover’s paradise, and family bonding therapy (the delicious kind).

We sat down, fired up the grill, and things escalated quickly—in the best way possible. My son went full carnivore mode on the beef, grilling it like he’s been doing this his whole life. Perfectly marinated, juicy, with just the right char—he was in his element. If there had been a trophy for “Most Focused BBQ Enthusiast Under 12,” he’d have taken gold.

And the kids? Oh man, the kimchi rice and grilled octopus were hits. I half-expected some picky eater drama, but nope—those little food critics dove in like they were born in Seoul. The kimchi rice had that perfect balance of heat, tang, and umami, and the octopus? Tender, just spicy enough, and charred to perfection. Not a single “ew” or “what is that” was heard—just satisfied chewing and chopstick clacking.

The vibe in there? Cozy chaos. It smelled like heaven (if heaven has a meat smoker), the energy was upbeat without being overwhelming, and everyone looked like they were having a good time—because they were. You grill your own food, you talk, you laugh, you maybe smoke out your eyebrows a little—it’s all part of the fun.

Korean BBQ House is now locked in the family memory bank as one of those meals—the kind we’ll randomly bring up years from now, like “Remember the time Elijah grilled 10 pieces of beef like a little BBQ boss?” Yeah. That kind.

Two days. Two meals. Two totally different cuisines. One happy, full family. We...

Eats: Seafood Pancake, Fried Squid. Drinks: Yogurt Soju, Lychee Soju

St. Patrick's Night, after failed attempts to find a bar without a 2 hour wait, I took my group here as I've always had great food, great drinks, and great service. It was slightly past midnight with about 4 other parties seated, suggesting that the Saturday night crowd was probably somewhere else for St. Patrick's Day. No matter. Our main objective was to down as many drinks as we can. A large order of mixed soju would give you about 15 shots at a regular price of $20. Not too bad. The Yogurt Soju was perfectly mixed and was also the waitress suggested best one. It was. Our other soju choice was lychee which went down a bit sweet so we mixed it 50 50 with 100% bottled soju. They served as the best creeper shots, because by the end of the night we would be wondering who was driving.

The food was in large group servings that our hungry group would not even finish. The combination of the food that we ordered would be a bit of an oily overload, but what else would you expect. Fried squid was battered in tempura batter and came out a bit chewier than your typical crunchy calamari. The seafood pancake was not skimped on the seafood so we were pretty happy. I suggest that with another drinking group to order one fried dish and a second non-fried dish to balance it out. We ended up using the freely distributed shrimp and onion ring chips that they give out to all tables in order to negate the oil (poor attempt I know).

It was not a busy night at all, but relatively service was prompt and friendly. From suggesting drinks, to always having someone watch over our table, when we needed service we got it. Pushing the service button immediately had someone walking over. Great way to...

So many recommendations from friends to come here for food, hearing that this spot had food comparable to Soju Belly. Well, we ended up here on a Saturday night and it was a lacklustre. We came in with a buzz, and continued on with some soju and beer. For a Saturday night at 11pm, this place was a lot slower than I had imagined it to be. Very Korean bar atmosphere and surprisingly clean. Food was Overpriced for what it was.

Corn Cheese - $13 - We needed to order this for our friends first time but if it wasn't for them seeing that price tag for corn cheese is unimaginable. Seafood Pancake -$25 - Missing some crunch and the lack of mussels in this gave it a pretty soft taste overall. Spicy Rice Cake w/ Ramen - $19 - The ramen was an additional 3 dollars and they cracked half a ramen portion onto the side. For 3 dollars. Taste was decent and the amount of hot dogs was favorable. BBQ Beef - $25 - good flavour, not a lot of char and pretty chewy.

Overall experience was regrettable. Maybe we came here on an off night but with so many other options I can’t imagine how good the food could be to justify these prices for what we ate that night. It’s a...