Flame Broiler — Restaurant in Irvine

Phew… this is going to hurt writing because I don’t normally give 1 star reviews but I can’t lie on a review. 😢 Today was the first time I ever tried Flame Broiler and boy was it one of the most disappointing food experiences ever. I should have seen the signs.

The first sign was, it was the only restaurant that was empty on this strip of about 5 restaurants. The next sign was when I went to get sauce from their sauce station, a swarm of fruit flies literally jumped out at me.

I ordered the “Steak Bulgogi” and it was one of the worst meat dishes I’ve ever tasted. The picture is after I poured sauce on top of it. Even still, it tasted like I was eating beef jerky but worst. It was literally like a Temu version of Korean bulgogi. It was that bad and I can eat almost anything, not a picky eater at all....

I am a huge fan of this flame broiler location near my work. Service is always quick, dining room clean, and most importantly, the owner is the most kind and welcoming individual. I used to come here for lunch several times a week but bummed out that I can't as much with my work being mostly remote now. Even after months, the owner still remebers my name. I am always impressed with how the owner returns my payment card with both hands, a sign of old fashioned respect that doesnt really exist today. I will continue to patronize this business whenever I can. Cant get enough of that triple hot sauce on my...

This is perhaps the worst managed restaurant I've ever been to. I've been ordering 2 chicken bowls for lunch here a few times a week, and I've almost never gotten charged the same price twice by the cashier, despite a giant sign on the window that says "2 chicken bowls for $11.48." Additionally, they're almost always understaffed. In fact, the only reason I'm standing here writing this review is because the kitchen staff is so overwhelmed, they literally yelled to the cashiers to stop taking orders and hold the line... So here I am, noon on a Monday, standing in line wondering if I'll be able get lunch...