Ombu Grill — Restaurant in Layton

This was quite the experience! We had a good time but it would have been better if I’d known how to order and what to do. They are definitely lacking in the clear instructions department! So it’s essentially all you can eat, but you share with your table. Most of the tables are for four people. They give you a menu and want you to order about 8 items or less to start. Most of the food on the menu is raw, but they also have cooked items. I’ll get back to that. So you’ll have a circular griddle in the middle of your table. They put parchment paper on it, and you cook your food on top of the parchment paper. Yes, you are cooking your own food. This includes options like raw chicken and pork so be sure you know how to cook the type of food you are ordering. The food comes on a plate for each type you order, and most of the raw food is not seasoned at all, with the exception of a few marinated options, so be aware and season how you like. They do have seasonings and sides like kimchi at your table. Our server did not show us how to turn the heat down or off, so we had some burning happening, which I noticed other tables did, too- so be sure to ask them to show you your controls while they are at your table. After your first round of food is cooked, they will come replace your (now burned) parchment paper. Ask for this sooner if you don’t want to cook on burned marinade. Also important is to make sure everyone at your table has some cooking tongs, so you can all keep things cooking evenly and retrieve cooked food from the griddle to put on your plate. Back to the raw part- there are many delicious options to choose from that are already cooked, so it’s definitely possible to come eat here and not cook anything, or just make an attempt at cooking and still be well fed. The already cooked options we tried were wonderful and I might consider just coming for that next time. Overall, we are glad we came and it was a fun adventure with friends, and we’d like to do it again- I just wish things were better explained...

We visited the Layton Ombu last night for the first time since it originally opened, and unfortunately, the experience was extremely disappointing. Both the service and the quality of the food have noticeably declined.

To our surprise, they’ve implemented iPads for placing orders at the table. While I understand that this is becoming an industry standard, I don’t think it suits Ombu’s original style. What we loved about the old format was the personal touch—servers would take your order directly, allowing for half portions or slight modifications, especially with sauces or sides. That experience felt more interactive and accommodating. The new system feels impersonal and rigid, taking away from what made Ombu special.

Worse, the food quality was not what we remembered. Shortly after getting home, I became violently ill and am still feeling unwell the next morning. It’s disappointing, especially because we were genuinely excited about this location when it first opened.

The service also left a lot to be desired. Our server didn’t change the grill until the very end of our meal and was largely inattentive throughout the evening. It felt like we were an afterthought.

We won’t be returning to the Layton location, and unless the Salt Lake location hasn’t adopted the same iPad system, we won’t be visiting there either. If you’re looking for a more traditional Korean BBQ experience with better service and food, I’d recommend Top Pot in Salt Lake instead.

Ombu in Layton has unfortunately lost what once...

First time at Ombu to celebrate my husband’s birthday with our entire family (party of 8). Everyone was looking forward to this experience. When we arrived it was very busy but, we had reservations. The server had my grandchildren stand by a wall to measure their height to determine what price they would pay. After each measurement she blurted out free, child, regular price. My 9 and 10 year old granddaughters paid the same price as the adults. That was the first dissatisfaction of the experience. Our server assigned to our table could barely speak English. We placed our orders on the electronic device and waited “awhile” for our food. We all ordered water and asked for 4 kid water but only 1 was brought to our table. Finally some of our food arrived but it was slow going on grill - not hot enough (both grills). You would think that they would turn it up when food was brought to the table. The server was reminded SEVERAL times that he didn’t bring all the items we ordered but, still that didn’t help. We ordered kalbi ribs they brought 3, then 2, then 1 out after each order was placed. The server then suggested we order something else…why? The parchment paper made all of the food greasy. Overall experience not good. There definitely was a language barrier, food orders not served in a timely manner, needed to track down server bcuz of items still waiting on, turn grill up/down. Will we visit again?? for the price we paid and service we...