Sanya Korean BBQ — Restaurant in Los Angeles

tl;dr:

Pros: Extremely competitively priced A and B nonpremium menus Competent side dishes Most of the menu isn't marinated to hell Corn cheese (yes, this is an extremely important perk)

Cons: Premium C menu has all the good cuts but it comes at a steep cost Mostly frozen meat; meat is occasionally of questionable quality (weirdly colored ribeye steak, for example; didn't get sick but could be an issue) A and B menus are cheap but have none of the tastier options (rib meats in particular) Brisket is extremely chewy I think the kimchi tasted questionable Frozen meat, which I do tend to see at lower quality KBBQ establishments. Short ribs are limited to one per person per meal (so you can only order one per person total)

Full review:

I haven't gone to KBBQ in Ktown in forever since I prefer Korean food more, but a friend and I met up here. The A and B lower priced menus are priced extremely competitively if I will say so, but they have extremely limited choices. I ended up paying for the highest priced C menu for both me and my friend since she drove all the way from Irvine to pick me up in LA. For the price and quality, Sanya is definitely a miss in my view.

The brisket was frozen when served, which wasn't a good sign. After cooking it, which took a while (chadol shouldn't take long to cook), the meat was quite tough and didn't melt in my mouth like good brisket should.

The "sirloin" steak on the menu is mislabeled. It's actually a ribeye. I don't know if it was thawed from frozen, but the color of the steak was a bit funky. That being said, the meat itself was pretty good. Melted in my mouth. Unfortunately, it's only available on the C menu and has a limit of one ribeye per two people per meal, which was understandable but somewhat disappointing.

The short ribs were limited to one per person per meal. A slight plus here was that the meat wasn't marinated. I see a lot of established places such as Gen marinate the bejeezus out of the short ribs so that they fill people up faster with all the empty sugar. Unfortunately, the piece I had was full of pure fat and gristle. This is a C menu exclusive as well.

The rib finger meat was frozen as well, but it was admittedly quite tasty. It was probably the star of the show for me that meal. It is also unfortunately a C menu exclusive.

Side dishes were competent. Unfortunately the kimchi tasted a bit questionable to me.

Honestly a 3-star review is extremely generous, but I don't have the heart to absolutely trash a rather hole-in-the-wall place and I did enjoy my meal for the most part. That being said, I'd heavily recommend a...

I've been coming to this place since 2007 back when all you can eat was 9.99$. I've seen people come and go, service increase and decrease and increase again, it has its ups and downs, the remodeled, got pest control, all that stuff. First time going since February of 2025, I went today, Bill came up to about 125$ for 3 adults, 2 toddlers, no sodas or ad on. I payed like other times. I remember they was always a 25 to 35% service charge fee so didn't bother leaving a tip today. Lady swiped my card came back and pointed to me in my face saying "oh, you left the tip part on 0." I said "yes, that's correct" you have a service fee. She explained they no longer charge that fee, but, BUT!! She gave me the biggest ugliest face and attitude, I honestly felt exhorted, harrasment, amd made me feel so down. Yeah, service got better, but since when are you entitled for a tip? Your family of the employeer, you been there for 20+ years. I do a great job in my lime of business and don't think people have to pay me extra for doing my job. I am already getting paid as it is. It's so sad, to have to leave that place feeling down because of someone's attitude. Just a heads up, expect that when you go. About 10 years ago, I witnessed the same lady chase someone to the parking lot, saying "you didn't tip me, don't come back". So sad she...

Sanya is and has for many years been one of the best values for KBBQ in all of Ktown. For a reasonably priced and delicious AYCE, I believe you can't do any better.

Sanya's go-to are 3 sets of AYCE options - you want to do option A because it's the cheapest and the selection is still quite ample. Their beef brisket is my number 1 - their beef bulgogi a close second for a sweater, fuller flavor. The sides are divine - their potato salad easily a highlight. But the picked vegetables, salad bowl, and kimchi, all refillable to your heart's content, are not to be taken lightly. Rice is also provided and refilled for free.

While the price has risen a bit over the years, $14 for AYCE dinner remains probably the best value in town. If you wanted to spend your heart out, there are obviously flashier places with fancier meats, but you're coming to Sanya for a delicious experience that doesn't break the bank. While the parking lot is small, I tend to have good luck finding space there. If you can't, here's a trick: if you're going late, just keep driving west down Olympic - you can actually park on the street for no charge - works just about every time.

Sanya's a long-time favorite for any fan (or soon-to-be-fan) of KBBQ who doesn't want to go broke eating it, and I think it'll stay that way for a long...