Kim's BBQ — Restaurant in Rolling Hills Estates

I left Kim's BBQ speechless, but not in a good way.

I truly cannot fathom the glistening reviews. Here's the deal - with every bone in my body, I cannot recommend coming here as the price to quality ratio is not worth it. I spent around $100 for KBBQ that was overcooked, low quality, and tasteless. It saddens me to even write this review because I promised to never write something below a 3 again.

Obviously, this review is based on my own experience, where the staff cooked for us (just like at Baekjeong and other KBBQ spots). But in truth, even if I told them I wanted to cook for myself, which I usually do, the meat quality+sides+sauce wasn't going to improve my rating any higher.

I was there to observe their process for this review, which is why I did not intervene.

For reference, you get thinly sliced brisket, pork belly, pork jowl, a choice of bulgogi or beef belly, and rice. Of course, you get the classic side dishes (banchan) as well.

BANCHAN REVIEW: Oh my god, I would have been okay with selection being BORING if it wasn't for it also tasting extremely normal. It's kimchi, pickled radish (ssam mu), and macaroni. No potato salad or cubed potatoes, just straight up macaroni. And it was forgettable!

Now, before I get into the meat, let me begin by saying the waitress/waiter (there were two) cooked for us. I did not ask them to cook for us, but they immediately just started cooking. I personally hate this, but some KBBQ places do it so I let it happen. Usually if someone is cooking for you it means they'll pay attention to your meat and make sure it's an amazing experience...

It was not.

Here's why: They did not give us time to eat/chat; they just straight up started throwing on the next meat after the previous one was (over)cooked. One waitress walked away, where I immediately started scavenging the grill to throw meat onto my plate before it overcooked. Another time, a waiter came by to cook pork belly and then walked away for 5 minutes before flipping. Pretty sure it was ready to flip the moment he walked away. Again, I was here to observe just like any other restaurant customer, so I did not want to step in for the sake of experiencing their service like everyone else.

Thinly sliced brisket: This is your classic KBBQ meat. I was already extremely hesitant because the meat came out all at once and the brisket had NO marbling at all. It was all red with no fat - so I knew it would be an extremely lean cut. I wished I had taken a photo of this, but they already threw it on right when they came to my table.

Pork jowl: Wow, I usually love pork jowl but it was extremely tasteless and overcooked. Even with the jalapeno brisket sauce (which was very poorly done), it was probably worse than a $20 AYCE KBBQ spot.

Pork belly: Overcooked, the waiter literally disappeared.

Beef belly: This is why my review has TWO stars. The manager/owner (an older fellow) came by and probably noticed the look I had when his employees were cooking. He did not speak a single word and just started throwing the beef belly on. Beef belly (photo attached) was thin like expected, but this time it tasted GOOD! I felt like I finally had a glimpse of what their food should actually taste like.

Except... that ends the combo experience. Honestly, so glad that the beef belly was the closer. But considering everything I had experienced up until then, I was already just trying to pay and leave.

I forgot to even comment on the poor attempt at veggies, too. Onion + asparagus, awkwardly there on the grill.

$100 down the drain, truly. I cannot stress how much money I could have saved if I had just went to H-Mart and cooked everything at home.

Here's my advice: Don't let your staff cook for people if they're not even going to be competent. If you have "expensive" quality meat, then don't treat it like it's not... I thought this was...

Would absolutely love to give this place a better review, but post-pandemic, I am certain this place is tone-deaf to the current economic climate. The sampling of sides is minimal, there is one shared salad (small bowl) for two-three people and many offerings do not complement the meal well. The offerings are expensive for the quality of cut meat portions. The food is mediocre at best, portions are small and the staff rushes to cook the food for you and gently guide you out. Not the typical relaxing bbq experience and for 100 dollars for two people for basic bbq and two sodas, not worth it. Fountain/soda drinks are not refillable, you can not box/take away your rice or side portions (said by staff) because “they go bad too quickly” which is laughable (rice should be fine, remember kimchi is a fermented vegetable and American cucumbers can survive a bit of vinegar in a refrigerator). The sink in the bathroom was not functional, so make sure to bring hand sanitizer. Was disappointed given the build up and excitement of having more variety on the hill. We will not be returning and I do not recommend this place for good bbq. Head down to GEN for better flavors and value. Skip this stop, one star...

I am a meat lover. I’m pretty serious about meat actually. So I do not like to leave any negative reviews about a BBQ place as long as meat quality is good, especially a Korean BBQ place. However, it really makes me sad that I wouldn’t recommend this place for eating meat.

To summarize, I felt like I went to a gourmet burger joint and ate McDonalds.

At first glance, the place looks really nice. Workers are nice. The place is quite packed. You look at the menu, it’s quite pricey. But then, it’s a “fancy” Korean BBQ place so we thought maybe meat is top class. Unfortunately, it was not.

Marinated beef, you couldn’t really taste that it was marinated. Thin sliced brisket, a Korean version, is known for its juicy fat taste. Their’s was missing the entire fat part, dry. Beef belly was just not up to its level.

I felt like this would be a place where people who don’t know meat go to eat because it’s the nearest to them and that it’s expensive.

I have to admit though that workers there, including the old owner looking man and woman were very nice. This is why I give 2 stars...