Park's BBQ — Restaurant in Los Angeles

The meat quality is clearly very good, but the rest of the experience fell flat. We booked our reservation a month in advance and our visit was highly anticipated. We arrived on time to about a 10 minute wait for our table, and then got to ordering food- was about another 10 minute wait for the meats to come out.

Banchan were okay, I love authentic Korean food, and found that the recipes were geared towards a local palate as everything was too sweet for us. They were not replenished as we finished the two that we liked.

Grill was very smelly and I had a face full of gas fumes all dinner- if you have any respiratory problems like asthma, be very careful. I don’t recommend wearing anything you can’t wash immediately, and you’ll have to take a shower after. The extractors aren’t up to the task and the setup seemed dated and ineffective.

We had a nice Latino waiter who cooked the meats perfectly, so enjoyed the grill in the full swing of things. The galbi was probably the best of our P1 combo order but we wished that we could have had more variety without having to commit to larger volume of meat- we were only 2 people.

I don’t think the menu is well suited to only 2 as the portions of the other dishes is too large and I was skeptical of the quality of things like the pajeon/kimchi pancake as other tables’ looked soggy and not crispy. Kimchi stew was okay, again weirdly sweet with large pieces of rice cake that hadn’t been cut properly and melded into a giant lump, lots of soft kimchi but not enough tofu and pork.

Most disappointing was how rushed the other waiters made us feel. From the time the food came out, we only had 1 hour before they aggressively brought the bill and started asking us to get a move on- still with food being eaten. For the cost of the meal, I found it way too cheeky for them to try to get us out so quickly and without letting us finish/enjoy it. We left feeling indigestion from eating too fast.

Overall disappointing for something that was highly anticipated and a key part of our plans while in LA. There are surely better BBQ places in K town and just wish we had found one of...

Super good food. Bad service. Expect to be super confused when you’re there.

We were not told beforehand that it was a 2 meat order minimum. It was just two of us and we were already seated and we did not know this and it felt too awkward to just leave so we stayed. ordered 2 meat dishes. (cheapest option on the menu was $40)

We got a ton of free small dish appetisers. I thought we’d get a couple but I didn’t know we’d get 10 + a salad. Really wish we knew that before we ordered too. Server of course told us nothing and did not bother to explain what the foods were when they put it down on the table. I didn’t know what some of them were but they were yummy. Kinda wished they gave some explanations though.

The food was really good. Loved the kimchi pancake too. the rice dish was alright as well. But it was way too much for two of us. Our first meat dish (the $48 one) was pretty burnt because we did not know the food was ready to eat. We got the rib eye bulgogi and he was cooking it for us. He came by occasionally to turn the meats so we just assumed that he would tell us when it was done. Anyways, not sure why i paid $48 for a burnt dish ? ? (pic attached). The second meat (short rib) was yummy too but i don’t think we were ready for it just yet. Dude just started cooking it without asking while we were still trying to finish the other meat.

In total, it was $160 for just the two of us. We ordered a bit much because we were forced to with the 2 dish minimum and because we did not know there would be 10 free appetisers. Would have been worth it if half of it was not burnt.

Overall, had a really horrible experience. it was not about what was said but about what was not said. Left feeling really stupid and embarrassed.

The price would have been justified if we were treated like we were...

Some friends and I were looking for a place in ktown that accepted reservations and we discovered that this is one of the few places that do. They are also very strict about their reservations; I don't know if people regularly try to pretend they had reservations when they don't or whatever but they were GRILLING (haha) me about our reservation info because I got there first but I wasn't the one who'd made the rez and there was some confusion over the name, etc. We finally got it figured out, but jeez, they were not going to give up a table for just anyone, apparently. Also, we knew they were a higher-end kbbq joint and were prepared for higher prices but was a little taken aback when we read on the menu that everyone in the party had to order at least one bbq item. That wasn't a problem for us, but what if you were with someone who was a very light eater and you just wanted to share something? Oh well, SOL.

With those items out of the way, on to the food, which was very, very good. The quality, freshness, and preparation of all the items were exceptional. I was especially impressed with their beef "flower" meat--oh so buttery and tender, wow. Their marinated galbi was my 2nd favorite. Their selection of banchan included some items you don't normally see and were uniformly delicious.

The service was friendly but rather forgetful; we had to ask numerous times for refills of certain things, which was annoying, especially when you're paying premium prices. The decor is nice but not all over-the-top fancy, and I was amazed at how crowded it got in a very short span of time. I guess that's why they're not kidding around with the reservations. Overall my friend and I had a good time, but this is definitely for...