Gen Korean BBQ House — Restaurant in San Jose

I had one of the worst dining experiences of my life at this Korean BBQ. My two friends and I were just trying to go out and enjoy our Friday since we don’t really see each other often.

We found a hair in our food, told the server, and he said he’d change the grill and let the manager know. 10–15 minutes went by — nothing. No grill change, no manager. When someone finally came to change the grill, they asked if we wanted it changed, like no one had even told them what happened.

Another 20 minutes passed, still no manager. I was literally scanning the restaurant to see if I could spot the manager. When a “manager” finally showed up, all she did was ask where we found the hair. Then the actual manager finally came and said she would “check with her kitchen team to see what happened.” Seriously? There was a hair in the food — what do you mean “what happened”? Then she tried to brush it off, saying everyone in the kitchen wears hats and “it could’ve been anything.” This was a dark, small, curly hair — and we had already been waiting 30–45 minutes at this point for someone to even address us.

Her solution? Offer us a couple of drinks or take one person off the check. We decided to take one person off and just try to move on — until we found another hair in the meat. This time, the manager actually brought the hair back to our table, made us look at it, and said, “Oh, it looks orange,” basically accusing my friend. My friend has long reddish hair, but she wasn’t cooking or reaching over the grill — and the hair was short, like a beard hair.

At this point, I told her we were done and wanted to leave. There were three of us total, and while we were sitting there angry and talking it over, my friends mentioned that when we first sat down, they had seen a hair on the grill but stayed quiet because they thought it was theirs. I told the manager this, but she STILL tried to blame us, insisting the last hair “had to be” my friend’s because it looked orange.

Then she came back with the bill, and we were charged for two people and two sodas. Absolutely zero effort to make things right. The manager was slow, defensive, never smiled, and handled the entire situation horribly from start to finish.

We were decent people and still paid and tipped, even though this experience made us want to walk out without paying because of the horrible service.

Over the course of our meal, we ended up finding three hairs total in our food. I’ve never felt the need to write a review until now, but this place was completely unacceptable. Save your money and go somewhere that actually cares about its customers.

We were decent people and still paid and tipped, even though this experience made us want to walk out without paying because of the...

Terrible Experience at Gen Korean BBQ!!

I've been to several Gen Korean BBQ locations, but this one was, without a doubt, the worst experience I've ever had.

We were a party of two and asked to switch to another section as soon as we were seated. The server told us the section was closed, yet only a few minutes later, other customers were seated there. This felt dismissive and unfair right from the start.

Then, we ordered all meat dishes but were unexpectedly served pork--which we do not eat. When we questioned the server, she didn't seem to care about the mistake. Thankfully, we caught it before eating, but this could have been easily avoided if she had paid more attention.

We also noticed that we didn't receive the small plates of Banchan, which are standard at other locations. When I asked the server why, she rudely replied that I should be the one to ask for them. I've never had to do that before, and it just added to the poor service experience.

After these incidents, the server completely ignored us. She never checked in to see if we needed anything, and our grill was left unattended, causing our meat to nearly burn. We couldn't even cook the rest of the meat properly because the grill wasn't replaced in time.

I tried multiple times to get the server's attention for a new grill, napkins, and other items, but she blatantly ignored us--even when I called out to her directly. It wasn't just our table either; I noticed she didn't smile or show any basic courtesy to any of the other customers around us. Her attitude was consistently rude and unwelcoming, and it was clear she had no interest in providing decent service.

I usually leave a 20-30% tip when dining out, but this time, I couldn't leave anything due to such disrespectful service. While I don't like calling out specific names, this experience was unacceptable. The server, April S., displayed a level of rudeness that should not be tolerated in customer service. Management at this location needs to address this kind of behavior to prevent further negative experiences. Your servers should know how to treat customers with basic respect--because what we experienced was not even close to that.

I would not recommend this location if you expect even halfway...

Today was supposed to be a wonderful day. After the kids finished their sports activities, two of them wanted to have barbecue. So, we went to Gen Korean BBQ, a place we often visit for family dinners. There were four of us, and since it was right after the kids’ game, we arrived at Gen around 5:00 PM. After waiting for about 10 minutes, we were informed that a table was being prepared. (This time falls between early dinner and peak hours, and there were plenty of empty seats—about 50% of the restaurant was unoccupied. I suspect either the evening staff hadn’t fully arrived or not all sections were open for seating.) A host named Charlie led us to our table. However, the table was located in a high-traffic area near the main walkway for food delivery and restroom access. Considering our two kids are quite active, we politely asked if we could switch to a booth or a table closer to the wall to avoid potential accidents, as bustling servers carrying hot dishes like soup could pose a danger if the kids were moving around. What followed was an astonishing response. Charlie said, “If you know the environment might be dangerous for kids, you shouldn’t bring them here. They should eat at home.” Words can’t kill people but can hurt them, I didn’t really expect such an awful words can come out from a beautiful lady’s mouth.

Shortly after, another woman, possibly a manager, overheard the situation and stepped in. After understanding our request, she promptly reassigned us to a safer, wall-side table. I want to commend her for her quick and effective handling of the situation. We actually really like this restaurant. The staff are incredibly busy during peak hours and have to server multiple tables. I understand that today’s society calls for mutual understanding and empathy. This isn’t about pointing fingers or assigning blame. That said, in 2025, if communication between people carries such hostility, and if restaurant staff could not only excel at table service but also upgrade their communication skills and tact, customers like me might be inclined to tip more than the usual 20%. Here’s to hoping for a better...