Cupbop - Korean BBQ in a Cup — Restaurant in Provo

The service was great as everyone was very helpful, the food was pretty good, but whoever owns this particular Cupbop is not putting their team in a good position to succeed. There's no reliable way to get water. They have something that uses big water jugs, but when I told them it was out, they said they have no way to fill one up with cold water and that it would be boiling... What?? Their sinks don't have cold water??? That's a problem... I asked how much a water bottle was and they were also out of those. They were very kind to give us another drink for our kids and eventually found another water bottle but it wasn't cold. While we were waiting, someone came out the door and said "3 B Bops??" Very quietly while we're outside pretty close to the road... I shook my head that it wasn't for me and they just went back in and set them on the corner of their counter. I realized it was for the family 2 orders ahead of me who was sitting at a table a little ways away from the door. So when the next person came out I pointed and said "I think those are for them" and they took them over. Who knows how long their food would have just sat there. Then when they finally had our 2 bowls ready after half an hour (it wasn't that busy), they only then informed us that they were out of rice and couldn't give us the two sides we ordered for our kids and it would be another 20 minutes... They were struggling to refund us, so after some back and forth, they gave us noodles instead so we could go and feed our kids. They did eventually figure out the refund, but it was weird that the amount it said it would charge was the amount minus the rice... So I'm worried they charged me twice.... Guess we'll see. Anyway, all of this took like 45 minutes, which is insane. Parking is also terrible since it's a weird location, they don't have fountain drinks, and they don't have all the same menu items that other Cupbop restaurants have. Overall, just a very poor experience. Hope they...

Man, it saddens me a bit to realize I had a 2 star experience. I’ve been getting Kupbob a couple of times a year since they opened. The last couple of times have been pretty… plain?

Provo location. The service is mediocre. The water was out, had to ask multiple times (warn me before I order a 7, haha) but they did replace it. It doesn’t feel very clean either. Perhaps because of eating in a small parking lot..

But the biggest disappointment is the food. It just hasn’t been as good or as carefully prepared as it used to be. Less sauce. Essentially zero cabbage stuffs, like none. This used to be a main layer. 50% of the meat was in a single huge block and was hard to break down. No sesame seeds… so by many clear noodles and not much rice. It felt like being taken advantage of, being oversold.

It feels cheap. It used to feel… delicious. That’s true of this location and the Draper location.

Also, saying this because it needs to be said and someone needs to tell them. The billboards saying “Get your butt to cupbop” are among the worst advertisements I have ever seen. Truly. Don’t insult, talk down to, and compel your customers. It is neither funny nor clever and therefore has no redeeming qualities other than your amazing yellow brand. Try something like “saucy Korean bowls” or “choose your spice level!” And show the 1-10. With a picture of some smiling people. Show some of that cabbage I’m missing while you’re at it. Actually, show a cross section of...

Recently some have agitated to remove the faces carved on Mt. Rushmore. Up till now I mostly opposed the idea, but now I understand why. Every century needs a hero. I have found ours. Not only should we not remove those Presidential grills from the side of that rock, we need to add one more face to the lineup: the mug that belongs to the Cup Bop employee whose employee name tag reads "Buttz", but is written upside down. I don't know who this kid is, but he changed my life. Nay, he changed the world.

I thought I was just going to order some Korean BBQ, you know, like you order a cheeseburger at McDonalds. But by the time he finished helping me navigate the menu, he hadn't just filled my order, he filled the void in my soul. I came for the pork/veggie combo spice level 10 but stayed for the spiritual guidance offered up by this 16-year-old cashier. If the Hindus are right and you recycle through incarnations until you become Optimal Human and enter Nirvana, Optimal Human mans the cash register at the Provo Cup Bop on Wednesday nights. That dude is the portal through which we're all trying to pass. If the Mormons are right, the Third Nephite mans the cash register at the Provo Cup Bop on Wednesday Nights. If the atheists are right... nah. The atheists can't be right. Nothing this perfect could arise...