Beque Korean Grill — Restaurant in Santa Clara

We “discovered” Beque Korean Grill on a desperate search for quality all-you-can-eat buffet, and left a satisfied customer.

Beque Santa Clara is stashed in a small crevice of a larger mall. That strip is oriented perpendicular to El Camino, easy to miss even after you enter the main mall - which I did on occasion. But after this visit, my mental map of Little Korea shifted eastward. With all 9 tenants in the small yard obviously running Korean businesses - more than in the main mall, I cannot think of another place that screams “Koreantown” louder.

When we entered the packed restaurant an hour and half before closing time, there were already two parties waiting. Twenty minutes was not exceedingly long, but the wait wasn’t very comfortable because they left the door open.

Once seated, wait staff will take your order in batches. (In addition to all-you-can-eat, they also offer à-la-carte ordering.) And of course, you will have the usual pickled vegetables. Do not skip this detail: most all those little dishes taste exquisite. I always enjoy these appetizers, but rarely get excited about a particular one - because most Korean places in the area serve reasonably good ones. But this place is extraordinary.

As to the main meats, qualities vary. We found the pork shoulder (Dwaeji bulgogi) particularly tender and flavorful. Squid is always good. Shrimp is large and juicy. But avoid pork belly that is too tough. Their ribeye beef steak isn’t too thrilling, either.

In the end, we found our way of ordering rounds. That gave us very full stomaches and satisfied tastebuds. This, at a price, eh, how to describe it? There used to be an all-you-can-eat Korean buffet near Hankook Supermarket; I think it was called “King’s Buffet” although I cannot be sure. (To be honest, I thought Beque was that one because they were both close to Lawrence.) That one had much bigger space, so they ran pick-your-own-food style; it had better meats, lots of seafood, salads, soup, and other choices. I last went there ten years ago. The price back then was double the price today at Beque.

Taste of food is even harder to describe, especially at a buffet. So, I will try to convey it by way of comparison. I couldn't find any place like the King’s Buffet today, but there are two places in downtown Mountain View offering all-you-can-eat Korean barbeque. One of them is slightly more expensive than Beque Santa Clara, but their meats are extremely limited and mediocre in quality. The other is slightly less expensive than Beque, also with limited meats that are Okayish, none outstanding like some at Beque. Coming back to the pickled appetizer salads: not even King’s Buffet can compare with Beque Santa Clara.

In other words, Beque Santa Clara is a quality bargain. You just need to find your...

Will never return again. I visited this place about a week ago with two other friends. I'm of Korean origin and a huge fan of Korean BBQ so i was expecting a lot.

Let me start with the goods - the service was nice (the lady was really kind), they gave us generous portions, and the interior had a contemporary feel to it. So before the food came out, I was really feeling good.

Now here is why I will never return to this place again. We ordered three meat parts: pork belly, beef brisket, and marinated steak. The pork belly came in frozen. Completely frozen. And even after being grilled, the meat was tough. The beef brisket was the most bizarre. On the grill, it started sticking to the pan and the meat tearing apart. I have never seen a beef brisket that does this. All i can think of is the brisket was of the poorest quality or the meat was really old, or perhaps not even a brisket. The "brisket" was once again tough. The marinated steak was the most edible, but once again, you could tell that the meat wasn't fresh and hence, tough in your mouth.

If this restaurant operated as such in Seoul, it'd close down in a month guaranteed.

I'm not sure whether this was just this one time or not, but I will not be taking chances with this place...

Wow!! We got the best and most friendly service here!! I am saying wow because most kbbq ayce places we've been to have the most rude or unhappy employees. The team at Beque is great and were so nice to us even during the crazy dinner rush. They filled our waters, filled our rice and banchan, all with real smiles. From menu A we chose pork belly ans bulgogi and added a plate of galbi. Between two people it was too much, so next time we're going to ask for smaller portions so we can try more meats. There was so much meat to cook that there wasnt even time for the hot plate to burn and get yucky.

We finished our order because they had the sauces we really liked and preferred: the sesame oil w salt and the gochujang salty bean paste. The banchan was a nice selection. The kimchee and daikon were bigger sides so we only had to request refill once. The hot plate was nice quality and didnt burn but cooked our food fast and just right.

Cant wait to try menu B next time with seafood. The meat quality was very good we...