K-Town BBQ — Restaurant in Saugus

All-you-can-eat restaurants promise abundance, indulgence, and satisfaction. Unfortunately, our recent visit to one such establishment delivered none of those things—instead, it left us with food poisoning, frustration, and a lingering sense of disbelief. What should have been a joyful evening of shared meals and good company quickly turned into a cautionary tale of poor hygiene, lax policies, and staff behavior that ranged from indifferent to outright hostile.

From the moment we walked in, the signs were there. The dining area was poorly maintained, with sticky floors and cluttered tables. Despite having a reservation, we were made to wait an additional 25 minutes with no explanation or apology. When we were finally seated, we noticed something unsettling: several people from nearby tables were coming and going with plates of food, yet none had wristbands or receipts—nothing indicating that they had paid. It became increasingly clear that the restaurant was allowing certain guests to eat for free, or perhaps simply not enforcing any kind of control.

We attempted to focus on our own experience, but it was hard to ignore the chaos. The buffet stations were haphazardly stocked, with lukewarm trays and food that looked like it had been sitting out for hours. Dishes were mislabeled or not labeled at all, posing a serious risk to people with allergies or dietary restrictions. We should have turned around then and there—but hunger and the sunk cost of time pushed us forward.

Within hours of finishing our meals, several of us began to feel ill. Nausea, stomach cramps, and vomiting followed—symptoms consistent with foodborne illness. By the next day, three members of our group had to miss work and one ended up in urgent care, where the physician confirmed it was likely food poisoning. When we attempted to call the restaurant and report our experience, the response was dismissive at best. We were told that “no one else had complained” and were subtly accused of trying to scam a refund.

Even more infuriating than the tainted food was the staff’s attitude. Rather than apologizing or expressing concern, they were rude and impatient. Questions were met with eye rolls or shrugged shoulders. When we mentioned that some guests appeared to be eating without paying, the response was simply, “That’s not your business.” Perhaps not—but when paying customers are subsidizing freeloaders while being served unsafe food, it becomes everyone’s business.

This experience wasn’t just disappointing—it was unacceptable. An all-you-can-eat restaurant has a responsibility to maintain food safety, ensure all guests are treated fairly, and respond professionally when something goes wrong. This place failed on all counts. We left not only with physical illness, but with the bitter aftertaste of being disrespected and ignored.

We hope this essay serves as a warning: sometimes, you get far less than you pay for—and sometimes, you pay far more than you should, with...

We are a party of three adults and two kids. When we arrived, the host was very nice and patiently explained how to order and informed me about the children's prices. We were really looking forward to K-town BBQ. If the food was good, we planned to hold a big birthday party here next month. However, after we sat down, we waited a long time without seeing our waitress. When she finally took our order, many of the dishes we ordered never arrived. Each time we tried to call the waitress, it took a long time, and we waited a long time for our food. When our water ran out, it wasn’t refilled, and there was no explanation for the missing dishes. Every time we called the waitress or make eye contact, it felt like she couldn’t see us.

I even asked the host if she could help us with our order since we waited for a very long time. I suggest that everyone avoid ordering any cooked food from the menu; they won’t serve it to you. We only got our cooked dishes when we were about to leave. The Japchae I wanted for the kids never arrived, and the steamed egg they brought was overcooked, and burned. Leaving the kids with hardly anything to eat. Meanwhile, the table next to us, which arrived later, was already being served cooked food and meats. The meat portions were also very small; each time we ordered, it was gone before we could enjoy it. We kept waiting for the waitress to come, and the grill almost got burned. Overall, it was very awkward and a terrible experience.

I initially thought I’d just brush it off and wouldn’t return, chalking it up to bad luck. But then I realized why she treated us this way; K-town BBQ mandates a 20% tip! No wonder she didn’t want to pay us any attention, as she’d still receive the 20% tip regardless! The most frustrating part was that it took us 15 minutes just to get the check and another 15 minutes waiting to get our credit card back. So, you’re stuck waiting and waiting. In the end, I reduced the tip to 15%. However, they revise my tip amount back to 20% according to my credit card company without my permission. I am really upset. So please, everyone, don’t go there; you’ll end up waiting and getting frustrated like I did. This place is a...

Came on a Sat night at 545pm and there were only a few tables. Around 630pm, there was a wait. So try to get in before 6pm if you plan to go during dinner. We've read mixed reviews online but decided to try it for ourselves.

When we first got in, we were greeted by the owner right away. She was very friendly and explained the menu. We had a vegetarian in our party and she suggested due to limited options on the AYCE menu, she said she could order off the to go menu (has a good amount of vegetarian options). This was very helpful to know as we didn't know there was a to go menu option.

Our server was very friendly as well and attentive. The service here was great (just as most reviewers mentioned). The food itself was really 3 stars. I rated 4 mostly for the service. If you've never had Korean BBQ or if you live in the area, then this may not be too bad. But as someone that's had KBBQ elsewhere, there are other, better spots. I know AYCE would not have the best quality, but there should be more options that are not marinated and more varieties. Many meats were marinated the same, so they all tasted about the same. Also with so much marinade, it caused the grill to need to be changed more frequently and created a lot more smoke. The lack of ventilation made it difficult to enjoy, especially when it got so smokey. Besides clothes and hair smelling after you leave (as expected), your face and skin smells too. Most places nowadays (hot pot and kbbq) has installed or added better ventilation). With this place being newly opened, we thought there should be better ventilation.

They have a small unlimited salad bar, ice cream and sauce area that you can get yourself. The cooked items like steamed eggs, chicken wings, fried gyoza all took a long time to get. So there could be lack of kitchen staff. The garlic noodles lacked flavor, tasted like plain boiled noodles. Vegetarian Bibimbap, this lacked a lot of stuff that normally comes with it, it only came with few pieces of bokchoy and...