Mountain San BBQ — Restaurant in Los Angeles

I’ve never been more impressed with a Korean barbecue restaurant. Peng has been my long-standing favorite that menu spot, and Sean Kirby has been my number one take out spot. But this place both blows them both out of the water.

Everything in the menu is intentional here. From the lack of added MSG in their side dishes, they use a fruit juice in their name and broth, and the intentionality of the slightly thicker cut of meat allows the meat to soak up the marinade more evenly. The gyeranjjim (steamed egg) is nothing to overlook, because it’s not nearly as salty or inconsistent as many others restaurants. I really liked the sauces they had, especially the sweet garlic dip, apparently all made in house. They have a sweet and somewhat spicy marinade with onions and jalapeños similar to Baekjeong that is set apart by a sly hint of wasabi.

Each item on the set was placed intentionally in its order. There was even thought that went into the charcoal used in the grill and the type of grill that was used for each meat. They’re also trying out glass noodles that are typically found in Korean japchae in their bibimyun, which gives the dish a new element of chewiness that’s lost on thinner noodles.

The ambience of the spot makes it a great place for a first date, a night out with friends, or dinner with your family. They are stocked with a healthy amount of Soju and beer, so this is the perfect place for a weekend night out. But if you’re driving, good news! It’s located super conveniently in Koreatown Plaza, so validation gets you three hours of parking for free. This place is in the heart of Koreatown and combines, my other most frequent restaurant mount noodles with this new Korean barbecue set menu. All the menu items from Mountain Noodle are still available here but with the twist that you can enjoy them alongside a healthy heaping of Korean barbecue.

The spot is for Korean palates created by Korean palates, so don’t expect any of the overly sweet, greasy mainstream stuff at most other Korean...

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Recently went with some friends to try the newly opened Mountain San BBQ on the 3rd floor of Koreatown Plaza. The space is large and well-ventilated—no heavy greasy smell, and our clothes didn’t smell like BBQ afterwards, which I really appreciated.

This time we ordered the Premium Beef Combo, which comes with four types of beef. The portion is generous and good for 2–3 people to share:

🥩 Beef Belly I quite liked this one. It’s cut with a nice balance of fat and lean meat—kind of like a beef version of pork belly. Once on the grill, the fat sizzles out and gets crispy if you cook it a bit longer, which adds great flavor. It can be a bit greasy with sauce, so I preferred wrapping it in lettuce with kimchi for a fresher bite.

🥩 Rib Eye Cut pretty thick, so you need to keep an eye on it while grilling. The marbling is beautiful—tender and juicy without being tough. I think it’s perfect at medium doneness: crispy on the outside, tender inside. This was my favorite of the four.

🥩 Short Rib (with sesame oil + salt) This one is simply seasoned, letting the natural flavor of the beef come through. There’s a bit of chewiness from the connective tissue, but not in a bad way. Dipping it in sesame oil adds a nice nutty touch—very satisfying.

🥩 Marinated Galbi A classic Korean-style marinated short rib with a sweet soy-based sauce. The flavor is exactly what you’d expect from Korean BBQ, with a nice bone-in texture. My friend really liked this one, though I personally found it a bit on the sweet side.

🍳 It also came with a pot of steamed egg and a bunch of side dishes (banchan). The banchan are refillable—I liked the kimchi, pickled radish, and bean sprouts a lot. Not too salty, very refreshing. The tofu was especially good—I asked for...

AHH just found one of my new fav KBBQ spots in Ktown!! I always went to Mountain Noodle so it was sad to see it go, but really happy they opened up this new restaurant because the meat is actually a game changer. Even the way they marinate their meat is a love letter to authentic Korean cuisine - tender and juicy that pairs perfectly with the side dishes and sauces!! I'm all for a good marinated onion and cabbage salad - it's the simple things ya know.

My friends and I got the Premium Beef Combo for 3, perfect portions as we were 3 people, and they had meats with each their own unique textures and flavors - my personal favorite was the tender beef sirloin and of course, the marinated cuts. I'm no professional when it comes to meat but it literally has that perfectly succulent and fatty premium quality to it that's not too dense or greasy. Would highly recommend getting their side dishes like the classic steamed egg - so silky soft and light - and they also had a mung bean pancake which I LOVEE!! It has that kinda warm, earthy flavor to it with a delicate crisp on the outside and Had to get the soybean paste stew because it goes so well with the meat and it was perfectly seasoned, but we also got the naengmyun noodles (both cold and spicy) which was actually so fire - savory + refreshing + chewy - perfect for the upcoming summer.

The inside is pretty spacious and they also have free parking for 3 hours with validation at KTP (a blessing). The menu is also cracked and has so many diverse dishes that can appeal to all palates, trust. Shout out to the service as they were amazing and also very helpful with handling the meats; the people here really are passionate about their cuisine and culture so mad respect to them, and I'll definitely be bringing my family next time!!

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