Yakini Q SJ — Restaurant in San Jose

As we approached the 100-day celebration of my daughter's birth – a milestone in our culture – my excitement was tempered by the unexpected challenges of event planning. We had originally planned to host the festivities at Koi Palace, but as the guest list burgeoned to 80 people, we found ourselves entangled in a web of last-minute fees and stringent minimums. With the pressure mounting just a week out from the big day, my quest for the perfect venue turned frantic.

It was during this flurry of phone calls and scouring of reviews that I stumbled upon YakiniQ. The glowing testimonials caught my eye, but it was my interaction with Chris, the manager, that truly ignited my hopes. His demeanor wasn't just professional; it was personable and genuinely accommodating – a beacon of calm in my storm of stress. Without hesitation, Chris offered to open the restaurant early for us the following Sunday, ensuring that our celebration could go ahead without a hitch.

The event was nothing short of magical. From the moment our guests arrived, they were cocooned in the warm embrace of YakiniQ's hospitality. The staff moved among us like a symphony – each movement, each note of service, in perfect harmony. And then, the food. Oh, the food! It became the star of the show, with each guest becoming an instant critic, lavishing praise upon the succulent array of meats and the symphony of flavors. My father-in-law, a man whose standards for Korean cuisine are etched in the bedrock of his Seoul heritage, declared the quality of meat unmatched, a testament that echoed around the room.

Hosting duties meant that my wife and I could barely sample the feast before us, which only stoked my resolve to return. That opportunity came last week. Sitting down to dine at YakiniQ, the anticipation was palpable. I was eager to see if the experience would hold up without the rose-tinted glasses of event adrenaline.

I am thrilled to report that it did – with flying colors. The feast before us was a tapestry of taste and texture. The meats – a mosaic of beef and pork cuts – were not merely cooked; they were crafted, with each bite a testament to the culinary mastery of Korean BBQ. The sides were a cavalcade of tradition and innovation, while the drinks complemented the meal with the precision of a well-conducted orchestra.

YakiniQ is more than a restaurant; it's a gastronomic journey through the heart of Korean cuisine. Its ability to turn a frantic, last-minute event into a cherished memory is a credit to its staff and leadership. And for those who seek the zenith of Korean BBQ in San Jose, look no further. YakiniQ doesn't just serve food; they serve memories, plate by delectable plate. I can't just recommend YakiniQ – I urge you, implore you, to discover its culinary delights for yourself. It's an experience that transcends the mere act of dining, becoming something to be savored, cherished, and remembered. Tell Chris,...

The food was great and the service once seated was amazing. However I had a major issue trying to get seated. Just due to that experience I have to rate this the way I rated it and never coming back.

I put my name for a reservation for 2 and given a 1.5 hour quote. I was fine with that. 3 hours later I was stuck on queue 3 and saw multiple parties enter. I checked in with the guy at the front and he said he'll put me on the next available table which he pointed at. 5 minutes later he sat two parties of two and A party on the seat he just pointed to me at. I checked my place in queue and I'm still position number 3??? That's when I started to get upset. I asked him what happened and he told me that he got confused on which party I was. This boggled my mind since he knew what I looked like and didn't question it when he sat a different party instead of ours. Besides that I don't quite understand why the heck he'd be skipping people in the queue which is probably why I didn't get my table until hours after.

A few moments later the people he sat in the seat by the entrance door requested to move inside closer to the middle of the restaurant. He allowed them to move and said that we're able to sit there. I didn't like the idea that the party sat there for about 5 minutes before moving. I asked them to set us up with new side dishes and water since the ice was nearly all melted and gave me a remark saying that they didn't touch or eat anything.... I told him I'd rather just get a new set since they were there talking for quite a while near the food and I'd just feel comfortable if they replaced it which I don't think I'm being difficult. He looked visibly upset and walked away and never replaced it. I'm a very patient person, and never write low reviews completely based off of their service but my god this had to have been the worst experience dining in a long time.

Recommend to check in multiple times to try to cut to queue otherwise you'd never get seated here. They need to just honor the queue system. Give the party 5 minutes to check in and move them down or out of the queue if they're late. Seems simple enough. But there's just no order at...

Overall conclusion: The dining experience at SJ's Yakini Q was somewhat disappointing

Starting with the positives: All the meat is fresh. It's indeed good-quality fresh meat. The owner, seeing our dining time was up, voluntarily took away an unfinished chicken gizzard (though it's very debatable whether we actually ordered it)

The negatives are numerous: The so-called Wagyu is just beef with a bit more fat. The meat quality is less than 80% of SF's

The ordering system is chaotic, with no paper menu, only QR code ordering. Some dishes on the menu say "one order per person," so we assumed everyone had to order. Initially, five of us placed five separate orders on our phones. In the end, the food served was less than a third of any one person's order. I don't even know who ordered which dish, but those who confirmed ordering a particular dish didn't get most of their other dishes, wasting a lot of our time and leaving us unfinished when our time was up.

Most snacks are paid. It's fine if they cost money, but there are too few types. A big reason we came here after eating at the SF branch was that their cold noodles, seafood pancakes, rice balls, and barbecue were all delicious. This branch charges $2 for a small bowl of cold noodles, and there are no seafood pancakes or rice balls. It's not that a buffet can't exclude these, but claiming that eating barbecue alone is better than SF's, or even Wynn's, is a bit much, isn't it?

The service is almost non-existent. We requested a waiter several times in the service system, but no one came. Our ordered dishes didn't arrive, we ran out of water, and the grill wasn't changed. When the dishes finally started coming, the store was about to close. We hadn't finished eating, but they took away all the condiments and started timing us, causing us to nearly choke.

Upon entering the store, there was a huge mosquito on the wall. Any customer who queued at this branch tonight can confirm this.

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