Heat KBBQ By MGD Hollywood — Restaurant in Thousand Oaks

I recently had the pleasure of dining at Heat KBBQ in Thousand Oaks with a group of friends, and I must say, it was an unforgettable experience. In fact, I'd go as far as to say it's the best Korean barbecue I've had in a long time. Coming from Ventura, I'm thrilled to have discovered such a fantastic spot closer to home.

Located on the second floor of a small shopping center, Heat KBBQ offers convenient parking options both in the front and upper parking lot. Upon arrival, we were promptly greeted and seated by the friendly staff, who were incredibly helpful in guiding us through the menu and recommending new dishes.

One standout recommendation was the kimchi fried rice with egg on top, which I was initially hesitant about but ended up being one of my favorite dishes of the night. The appetizers, particularly the Hollywood tater tots topped with cheese sauce and flaming hot Cheetos, were a delicious start to the meal.

The assortment of different pork bellies with various flavorings was a hit at our table, and I couldn't get enough of the lemon marinated pork belly. Additionally, the japchae was bursting with flavor like nothing I've ever tasted before.

I must also mention the fantastic variety of meats we ordered, although I can't recall everything we tried - they were all amazing. The taco kit was a fun and unique addition to our meal, allowing us to enjoy fusion food in a creative way.

As an all-you-can-eat experience, Heat KBBQ definitely requires you to come hungry, as you'll want to try everything on the menu. The staff and service were exceptional, and I was blown away by how extremely nice everyone was.

Overall, Heat KBBQ exceeded all expectations, and I can't wait to return for another incredible dining experience. Thank you to the entire staff for an...

We’ve tried every iteration of a KBBQ restaurant this space has held over the years. While we were really excited to have “an LA based KBBQ place” so close to home, I have to say this was one of the most mediocre meals I’ve had in a while.

On the plus side, the staff and the service were fantastic. Everything came out fast, everyone was friendly, and we felt like the service saved the night for us.

As for the bad stuff…

No liquor license yet which surprised us given how long the location took to open (and the seemingly minimal renovations they had to do). It’s part of the KBBQ experience to have some soju along with your meal and we were bummed to miss out on that.

The meat quality was honestly so mediocre. Not very thin, not very flavorful. The pork belly was the highlight but unfortunately all of the beef we ordered fell really short on flavor and texture. Hot sides/apps were only okay with the exception of the Korean fried chicken which was made to order and came out hot, fresh, and juicy. The side of fried rice was particularly bad. It seemed like it had been sitting out for a long time. Super stale and almost crunchy? The rice paper seemed stale and basically disintegrated as soon I tried to construct a bite. The tortillas for the taco kit were also ice cold and crumbled very easily.

The ventilation system didn’t seem to be working super well. We experienced a LOT of smoke from surrounding tables. throughout our meal. The noise level was also a bit much with loud music combined with the general volume of conversation/cooking.

All in all, I’d choose nearby Janchi or Gen over Heat. Neither of those places are fantastic, but the meat is simply better and the menus at those restaurants seem more focused on BBQ and less on miscellaneous sides or apps...

WARNING - FOOD POISONING Updating to 1 star after speaking with the manager Tiko

Very fun atmosphere, the food tasted great, and we had a great time AT the restaurant. However both me and my husband and our friends got terrible food poisoning. I myself am pregnant and had to be hospitalized for treatment, it put both me and my baby at risk.

We have all been to KBBQ plenty of times and never got sick from anywhere else. We cooked everything thoroughly and didn’t set any cooked food on raw meat plates.

This was absolutely terrible, endangered both myself and my baby, and was the worst food poisoning I’ve ever had in my life. Enter at your own risk, fun experience at the restaurant, but awful sickness resulted from our dining here. Also, the robot never came to our table 🥺

*update: when we called the restaurant to let them know as a courtesy, so they could make sure this doesn’t happen to other patrons, he tried to gaslight us and tell us it couldn’t have been from their restaurant. Very dismissive, if this is the care they take in their clientele they do not...