Jong Ga House — Restaurant in Oakland

This was not my first visit to Jong Ga House, and it is most certainly not my last. I frequent Jong Ga House when I’m craving korean bbq that reminds me of home.

I have celebrated several birthdays amongst my friends here because it is perfect for large groups and they even throw in a birthday discount ($22.99 for the birthday person), two scoops of ice cream, and they play happy birthday through the speakers across the restaurant! They never fail to provide excellent, attentive service as well as authentic Korean bbq that keeps you wanting more.

This is also one of the more affordable all you can eat (AYCE) kbbq spots in the East Bay. Lunch & happy hour (9pm-11pm) is $29.99/person and dinner is only $32.99. Compared to other spots that charge nearly $50/person and often have slower service or marinades that don’t quite capture traditional Korean flavors, Jong Ga House knocks it out of the park in every category.

I especially love that they offer Mul Naengmyeon (cold buckwheat noodle soup) and bibim naengmyeon (spicy buckwheat noodles) on the AYCE menu. These noodle dishes pair perfectly with freshly grilled Kalbi, so it is always a delight to be able to order one of these with my meal here. Mul Naengmyeon is always served with a side of hot mustard and vinegar to mix in to taste. It is such a refreshing dish that brightens your whole meal, make it as spicy or as sour as you want! Pro Tip: Be sure to cut your noodles into smaller pieces, they are super-duper chewy!

Everything here is an absolute hit, but you have to try their Kimchi Pancake, Caramelized Fried potatoes, and, of course, the corn cheese! (Usually I order one of each per 2 people) You don’t have to worry about filling up too fast on the sides—the portion sizes are thoughtful, and you can always let them know if your table wants more or less of a serving.

In addition to their banchan (complimentary side dishes that you can refill at most Korean restaurants), they also offer Booricha (roasted barley tea) which helps to cut the grease of some richer meats, like pork belly and intestine.

Beyond the food, the stellar service has kept me coming back. During one of my first visits, I came with a party of eight, and one of our friends was vegetarian. The staff kindly let her order from the regular menu while the rest of us enjoyed the AYCE KBBQ + hotpot combo. (FYI: the hotpot add-on is available for parties of 5+ for just $10 more.)

It’s the little things that they continue to do that make them my favorite Korean bbq spot in the east bay. Come give this small business a visit and eat...

Absolutely amazing!!! I've come here ever since I was a little kid, and it's really good. This restaurant is a truly authentic kbbq, the waiters do speak fluent Korean. Came here recently around lunch and there was no wait! Me and my plus twos were seated rather quickly. We ordered the all you can eat, which is pretty worth it. Keep in mind that you have to finish eating in 2 hours, and that if you have leftover meat you have to pay extra! Anyways, at each table there's two complimentary sauces, one is really salty and another is kind of like soy sauce. Soon, a waiter/waitress will arrive and give you the banchan (side dishes), which are amazing. I highly recommend the fried potatoes. After that, you order and then you.... wait. Usually the wait is five to 15 minutes, it varies a lot because there's rush hour and all the staff members have to cater to all the customers. Once you get your food (aka raw meat and stuff) you just grill it and BOOM! it's delicious. Dipping it in the sauce is great- it kind of cools it down and just adds great flavor. This time we also order some noodles (i forgot the name) that were cold, which actually tasted really good. I'm glad I come here, because the food is just great, if you cook it well haha. But the meat is actually pretty good quality! You can also ask for lettuce to wrap the meat in, and they'll give you a paste as well (not sure if its ssamjang or doenjang, I don't know much about Korean culture but I love it). I highly recommend doing this because it's really good!! I also add some banchan in the wrap which is delicious. Keep in mind the banchan is complimentary and you can always ask for more! Anyways, this restaurant is just awesome. Please come here. You won't regret it. AND DON'T FORGET ABOUT THOSE POTATOES! THEY'RE MY LIFE AND SOUL /lighthearted...

I have no idea why people like this place. To my Korean taste buds, virtually everything here tastes off, and not in a good "inventive" way. Hell even their meat in the all-you-can-eat KBBQ has an oddly fishy note to them. But for some reason I keep finding myself here, despite the fact that the cooking vents are extremely ineffectual.

But the last straw that came upon the last time I got dragged here was the worst freaking service ever. Our server (Kevin) could not remember drink orders, could not remember our stew, couldn't even remember that we asked for a fork for our toddler: we literally had to ask three times and only a different server got us the fork (but she still forgot about our stew). Kevin did helpfully bring us a meat that we definitely did not order, and I had to have a back and forth with him before he finally took back the meat and scurried it to another table. The tea/water service was literally non-existent (our cups just stayed empty the entire time) and we basically had to flag down other servers on their way elsewhere to get anything done. I don't think it was just us because I looked around and saw another table being served by him with an exasperated person impatiently sitting as well. Oh yeah and on my way to the bathroom I had to guide my toddler around raw meat that had been left on the floor for God knows how long.

Do yourself a service and go to literally any other Korean restaurant: Gogi Time and Ohgane are good nearby KBBQ choices; further afield you can go to Pyeongchang Tofu House, Bowl'd, Gangnam Tofu, Berkeley Social Club. Virtually anywhere else you'll get some consistently competent service and you won't have weird...