Gen Korean BBQ House — Restaurant in San Antonio

Gen Korean BBQ in San Antonio – The Ultimate Meat Lover’s Paradise (And Yes, You Need the Brisket Sauce!)

Alright, San Antonio, buckle up—because if you haven’t had Korean BBQ yet, you are missing out on one of the greatest culinary experiences known to humankind. And if you have had it before, let me tell you—Gen Korean BBQ is about to set a new standard for your taste buds.

I’ve been a die-hard Gen fan since my Mira Mesa days in San Diego, where Gen reigned supreme as the go-to spot for all-you-can-eat, grill-it-yourself, meat-fueled bliss. But now that I’m in Texas, I had to see if the San Antonio location could live up to my high expectations. Spoiler alert: It did. And then some.

The Meat of the Matter (Literally)

If you’re new to Korean BBQ, here’s the deal: You sit down, they hand you a menu packed with all kinds of meats and marinades, you pick as much as you want, and then—you become the grill master of your own destiny. It’s a beautiful system.

Now, let’s talk wagyu brisket—because if you don’t order this, you are legally obligated to hand over your meat-lover card. It’s thin, it’s buttery, it’s life-changing. But the secret weapon? That Brisket Sauce. I don’t know what magical alchemy they’ve got going on in that sauce, but it transforms your brisket from “Wow, this is good” to “I have seen the face of God.” Seriously, just drown everything in it.

A Korean BBQ That Also Says “Why Not?” This is the first Gen location I’ve seen to have non-Korean selections. I’ve eaten my way through Koreatown in Los Angeles,, but where else are you gonna find Pollo Asado and Al Pastor alongside your bulgogi and short ribs? It’s like they said, “You know what? We love meat in all forms, and we’re not afraid to show it.” I respect that. And honestly? The fusion works. You can throw some al pastor on the grill right next to your pork belly, and it somehow just makes sense.

If you haven’t had Korean BBQ before, I cannot stress this enough: You are depriving yourself of joy. It’s interactive. It’s flavorful. It’s the best possible excuse to eat unreasonable amounts of meat while pretending you’re doing an important cultural activity. And Gen? Gen is one of the best. The meats are top-tier, the sauces are next-level, and the experience is pure fun.

Whether you’re a seasoned Korean BBQ vet or you’re about to pop your KBBQ cherry, do yourself a favor—go to Gen, order wagyu brisket, and get very familiar with that brisket sauce. Your stomach will thank you. Your friends will thank you. Your soul will thank you.

Final Verdict:

⭐ 5 out of 5 sizzling pieces of pork belly ⭐ Would eat here again (and again, and again) ⭐ If I could legally marry the brisket sauce, I would

San Antonio, you’ve got a winner. Now go forth, eat irresponsibly, and for the love of all that is good—USE THE...

This will most likely be a long one so I’ll just start off with saying, it isn’t worth it. This is the 3rd KBBQ place I’ve been to in San Antonio and the 5th one I’ve been to overall. This was probably the most disappointing out of all of them, maybe tied with KPot.

Sides: They give you 4 options of sides and 4 options of meats you can order in one round. The list of meats they give you is long and the menu is digital. So you’ll be scrolling for a while until you can actually see what you want. The dumplings felt stale around the edges. The japchae was nice, and the banchan was disappointing. They have banchan laid out on all the tables for who knows how long until someone sits down. I work in the service industry so I understand the importance of being fast with your service but seeing all the banchan filled tables gave me the ick.

Meats: We got shrimp, spicy chicken, brisket, and the Gen premium steak (I think)? Shrimp came first and the little antennas began to stick to the grill (which didn’t seem oiled). On the menu it says it’s marinated but it so wasn’t. I love shrimp and my friend and I barely even touched it. The grill is also small you can grill much at once. Then the spicy chicken which I didn’t eat but my friend enjoyed. Then the brisket (which is my favorite) it seems hard to go wrong with brisket but somehow they managed it. They gave you a large plate of THINLY (like they gave you so much because the pieces were so thin and they needed to make up for it). I tried their brisket sauce and it was alright but I prefer to eat brisket with sesame oil and salt. Again seems simple but their sesame oil tasted so off and even nutty?? We got pretty much full off the tower of brisket they gave so when it came to the steak it was pretty lackluster.

Service: The server wasn’t memorable she didn’t check on us much, and only did to change our grill when it was burning and covered is shrimp residue. I went to the restroom where the music was blaring and as I was walking back two large men in suits (who I assume to be management) were staring me down with a strange look on their faces. I gave them a look back and they laughed at me? It was such a strange encounter.

Overall I will most likely not be coming back as I just didn’t enjoy the food and the way the management looked at me gives me a weird feeling. In case you’re wondering my top 2 places for KBBQ would be DaeGee in San Antonio and then Gangnam in Austin. (Still haven’t...

My friends and I are HUGE lovers of the Gen KBBQ chain. We go pretty frequently, and we've always had a great time and experience with both the servers and food. I'm originally from Houston, so our main location is the Gen by Westheimer.

I took a trip this past weekend to both Austin and San Antonio for my birthday. Since we were in the area and it was nearby, I decided to end the night with one of my favorite KBBQ places, which I was happy to hear that San Antonio finally had a Gen. Figured since it was a chain and I've had plenty of experience going to Gen before, it shouldn't be so different. Of course, I turned out to be very wrong on that thought.

Server was extremely nice, but very, very slow. I tried to give her my best understanding, as it seemed like she was the only one serving that night. I used to work in the food industry, so I always do my best to give servers the easiest times. But as I continued to observe the other tables, I noticed my table was ignored/forgotten a lot more consistently than others. Still, I remained patient and never bothered her to come over.

We were there for nearly 3 hours because of how much we were forgotten and ignored. We only had 3 chances to order more food before the server went MIA. Our flame kept going out as well, so if she forgot to relight it we were stuck with a cold grill waiting for her to come back and help us. The rest of the time was spent literally just waiting, hoping she remembered us. When she finally came back around, we just gave up at that point and asked for the check. .....Which took a whole other hour to receive, in which WE ended up having to go up to the counter ourselves to ask for because they forgot us... AGAIN.

It was insane. We contemplated walking out, but I've never in my life done that and it just didn't feel right. One of the workers finally came to us to give us the check up front, in which there was no apology or explanation to anything. Just spoke to us like nothing happened.

I was so devastated, as I absolutely love Gen and have never had this experience ANYWHERE. Even worse, it was my birthday!!! All I wanted to do was to just eat!!!😭😭 I couldn't help but to cry a little afterwards. It was such an awful experience. We sure as hell ain't never coming to this...