V Wagyu BBQ — Restaurant in Lake Forest

We dined during their “soft opening,” so if you’re reading this later the experience may be different. I am going to give a very critical review and free consulting. I promise, if the recommendations in this review are not considered, this restaurant will fail. Food is a hard business with bad margins, and ownership here needs to rapidly evolve.

Korean barbecue should be effortless and communal, but this restaurant’s poor design choices turn it into a logistical nightmare.

Ambiance & Entryway:

The entryway is tiny, barely fitting five or six people before it feels packed. Once inside, the dark tones and papier-mâché dragons create a sleek, intimate atmosphere—unfortunately, the practicality stops there.

Service:

From the start, service struggled. We weren’t offered water, and despite multiple asks, it never arrived. The food came out so slowly that some grills burned out before being used. The real issue wasn’t inattentiveness—it was a system doomed from the start. They are overwhelmed by poor menu construction.

Food Timing & Portion Sizes:

Portions were oddly small. The “pork belly” was cut so thin it was just bacon, requiring 20-30 tiny scissor cuts to feed your table instead of 3-5, turning a simple process into an exhausting task.

The plates were far too small. We asked for a larger plate, which they said they didn’t have, so we ended up eating off of plastic children’s plates.

Essential Korean barbecue sides—fish cakes, seaweed, daikon—were missing entirely.

The sheer number of non-barbecue dishes overwhelmed both the table and the servers. We received a beautifully plated dish of five peeled cherry tomatoes—lovely, but wildly impractical in a high-volume barbecue setting. Similarly, lobster and shrimp were served in-shell, making them impossible to handle fresh off the grill without burning yourself. It also requires the person cooking to hand peel each shrimp or lobster. Do you want one person fingering each piece of seafood?

Recommendations:

Reduce Plates & Use Box Presentation

The Wagyu box was a great idea—apply that across the menu. Instead of 10+ individually plated items, consolidate them into 1-3 elegant boxes. This would: • Maintain the upscale aesthetic. • Reduce table clutter. • Allow for easy clearing by placing empty dishes back in the box.

Cut Unnecessary Cold & Non-Barbecue Dishes

Oysters, delicate salads, and overly fussy small plates slow down service. Stick to Korean barbecue essentials and remove anything that doesn’t scale well.

Reduce Server Interactions by 40-50%

We had around 30 separate interactions with staff, each handling a tiny task. Instead: • Train busboys to change grills. • Have servers bring multiple items at once rather than one at a time. • Streamline table maintenance to reduce unnecessary interruptions.

The Verdict

The food was good, and the space was beautiful, but the experience was a mess. The menu feels like it was designed for aesthetics, not efficiency, and the staff is stuck trying to manage the impossible.

If you want to watch a restaurant struggle under the weight of its own ambition, this might be entertaining. Otherwise, wait until they rethink how Korean barbecue should...

Japanese BBQ place that is a bit rough around the edges, but with top notch meat and grills to match, it definitely has potential. I recommend sticking to meat orders and skipping all the sides. There are two main dinner packages they give- one featuring American wagyu and the other Japanese A5 wagyu with a few other trimmings. We tried the Japanese one. When we came in we could immediately see that it was very smoky. Definitely hope they provide increased ventilation. Meat was very well marbled (see pictures) and the grill is EXTREMELY powerful, giving a fantastic sear. They even give you some beef fat to help grease the grill/plate, but it's so hot that the food didn't stick anyways. They give each person a tray with 3 sauces (seasoned salt, teriyaki, and a spicy one. The spicy one is the only one I liked. First came some raw vegetables to grill. There was also a side of blanched cherry tomatoes marinated in in a yuxu sauce, which was very refreshing and delightful. Next was a mushroom soup that came in a tea kettle. Cute presentation but it was soso. Next came an abalone salad and a beef wrap (literally a vegetable wrapped with beef seared on one side). The main course is served in a wooden box with a little over the top ceremonial flourish. A tiny sake bottle puts out a lot of smoke (I'm guessing it's dry ice). All the meat was very well marbled and tender. A quick sear on both sides and it goes pretty quickly. After that came I think it was 2 very thin slices of ribeye; gorgeously marbled. they gave a bowl of ponzu to dip meat in, which was much better than any of the other dipping sauces. The penultimate dish was a hot stone bowl of rice and a bone marrow that they mixed in. The rice was a tad undercooked (it was a tough short grain, I think it was calrose) and unfortunately I could not taste the bone marrow due to being overpowered by soy sauce. Finally the dessert was a small slice of cheesecake dusted with an unnecessarily copious amount of powdered sugar. The cheesecake was kind of a new York style and much too sweet (I'm sure the powdered sugar didn't help). The service is very ritualized which I didn't particularly care about but I guess it might be fun for a date night. I personally didn't like any of the sides, but I thought the meat was top notch. As of this writing, v wagyu bbq is a BRAND NEW place so I think it definitely needs some time to get into its groove; and I look forward to...

From the moment our meal arrived with a dramatic dry ice show, we knew we were in for something special!

The tasting menu for two is an absolute steal at just $118--perfect for a date night or special occasion. Every bite was a flavor-packed experience, and the variety of dishes made it feel like a true culinary journey.

The meal starts with an array of appetizers, including wagyu carpaccio and wagyu tartare. Then comes the showstopper--the Wagyu Deluxe Box, loaded with premium cuts that are buttery and tender. The seafood selection (shrimp & oysters) adds a delicious surf-and-turf balance, and the artisan fried rice bowl ties everything together beautifully. Just when we thought we couldn't eat another bite, dessert arrived: a creamy, indulgent green tea cheesecake that was the perfect sweet ending.

Beyond the food, the ambiance is modern and inviting. Plus, parking is a breeze with a free lot in the plaza!

If you're a wagyu lover (or just someone who enjoys an unforgettable dining experience), this spot is a...