KINGKONG Korean BBQ — Restaurant in Vancouver

WARNING! READ BEFORE EATING HERE!

Let me tell you a story about King Kong Korean BBQ. This restaurant is a disaster and everyone in the general public should know about it.

About a year ago, my mother, sister and I went to King Kong Korean BBQ for lunch. The meal was fine, no issues. My fiancée showed up as the meal was ending to pick me up and decided to sit down for a few minutes to chat. No one in the restaurant asked if he wanted water. No one asked if he wanted a plate. No one asked if he wanted to order food.

While we were sitting there, my fiancée decided to eat some leftover rice I had on my plate (about a 1/3 full). When my mom went to pay for our lunch, the waitresses stated that she needed to pay for my fiancée’s meal. They wanted to pay for a meal that he did NOT consume. That he did NOT order. Of course, my mom told the waitress that she was not going to pay for an entire additional meal that he didn’t eat. This waitress contacted her manager. The manager relayed to the waitress that my mom didn’t have to pay for the additional meal.

About 20 minutes later, the manager of the restaurant (Daniel) decided to text my cell phone regarding the unpaid meal. Daniel had my phone number because my fiancée was a previous employee of King Kong Korean BBQ (he only worked there for about a month). We told Daniel at this point in the encounter that his issue was with my mother not paying for this “extra” meal - NOT with us. We explained that HE told my mom that she didn’t have to pay for the extra meal. This did not stop Daniel from calling my cell phone and demanding to speak to my fiancée. When my fiancée spoke to the manager (Daniel) - he yelled at him through the phone and demanded he come pay for the meal. This did not happen. His phone number was blocked at this point.

Fast forward to today. It’s my birthday and we decided to try eating at King Kong Korean BBQ again - simply because it’s decent food, despite the horrible management. My friends and their daughter joined us for dinner. We were seated, given waters, and had our order taken. When the waitress came back to bring us our order, she stated that both my fiancée and I are: “Not allowed to be in the restaurant because of the bill issue last time.” She then continued to put food on the table (rice bowls, vegetables, etc). Why? I don’t know.

I stated to the waitress: “That issue wasn’t with us, it was with my mom. If you’d like for me to come pay for our meal now BEFORE you serve us, I can. Right now.”

The waitress stated: “That’s not the issue. Daniel said you are banned from the restaurant.”

I stated: “It’s my birthday. Do you want us to get up and leave?”

The waitress stated: “Yes, Daniel will see you on the cameras and know you came in. You’re going to have to leave.”

She asked my friends to leave - who had NEVER BEEN TO THEIR RESTAURANT BEFORE. She 86’d complete strangers who weren’t involved with the prior situation. She asked paying customers to leave the restaurant (when they only had two other tables seated). They asked us to leave, even though we weren’t involved in the prior situation with my mom. Can you imagine how embarrassing that is to have a waitress tell you you’re banned ON YOUR BIRTHDAY? Over something you DID NOT do?

I don’t know how King Kong Korean BBQ keeps their business afloat with the disregard of their customers.

Stay away from this business, they are shady and should be avoided! The manager is never at the restaurant if you have issues with service, food, etc. Thank you for coming to my TED...

MUST READ PRIOR TO VISITING. This review may come off as funny but I'm truly about to call a health inspector. All of what I have stated in this review is completely true and have added photo evidence for proof.

I don't normally leave reviews, but after what happened at King Kong Korean BBQ, I feel morally obligated to warn others.

It all started with the side dishes, which looked--and tasted--like they'd been pulled out of a sink drain. Soggy, room-temp, and wildly depressing. The kimchi had all the flavor of damp paper, the bean sprouts were limp and lifeless, and the rest looked like it had given up on life halfway through being made.

Then the meat arrived. And dear god. Every cut was gray, chewy, and completely unseasoned. The steak? A true monstrosity. I took one bite, started chewing, and then realized it wasn't going anywhere. I was choking. Not in a dramatic way--I mean literal hands-in-my-mouth, pulling a slimy wad of meat out of my throat like I was performing amateur surgery at the table. I made eye contact with God for a second and even he looked disappointed.

We were so baffled by how awful everything tasted that we genuinely thought we were the problem. Maybe we were cooking it wrong? Maybe there was some magical Korean BBQ technique we were missing? So we asked our server for help--and he completely dismissed us. Didn't explain anything, didn't offer tips, didn't even pretend to care. He just muttered, "Just put the meat on, I'll let you know when it looks okay to eat," and walked away like he had better things to do than prevent food poisoning. Spoiler alert: "looks okay to eat" is apparently code for raw and chewy enough to double as resistance training for your jaw.

While I was still recovering from my near-death experience, the staff came over three different times to tell us to "come to the front and check out." Mind you, we still had full plates of untouched food (because it was all vile), and there were only two other tables in the entire restaurant. What was the rush? Were they trying to free up the space for the next health code violation?

And just when we thought the worst was over--my boyfriend was struck with a sudden, violent wave of diarrhea. Three bites too many and my man had to sprint to the bathroom like his life depended on it (because frankly, it did). And guess what? No toilet paper. Not a single square. He had to text me from the stall begging for supplies. I'm not kidding--we have photo proof of this humiliating toilet paper crisis. I can't make this up.

As I sit here writing this review, I feel genuinely nauseous. My stomach is cramping, I'm sweating, and I'm 90% sure this place gave me PTSD and possibly a parasite. King Kong didn't just ruin dinner--it declared war on my digestive system.

And for the cherry on top of this gastrointestinal nightmare, they charged us $80 for the privilege of choking, gagging, and watching my boyfriend sprint to a toilet with no paper. Honestly, the only surprise was that they didn't hit us with their advertised $10-per-unfinished-plate surcharge--which, considering how inedible everything was, would've been a bold move. I guess they showed a sliver of mercy by not charging extra for the piles of untouched disappointment we left behind. Small blessings, I suppose.

King Kong? More like King Wrong. Do not come here unless you have a stomach of steel and someone in your party who's highly trained in the...

I arrived at 7:30 PM, and the server told me that I couldn’t order from the menu until after 8:30 PM, but I could have BBQ at 8:50 PM. By the time we sat down, it was already close to 8 PM.

When we had one plate of meat and half a plate left, I asked the female server, “Can I order more meat?” She replied, “No, you must finish all the meat before ordering more. Otherwise, I will charge you.” My goodness! Weren’t we supposed to be able to order another round once we had eaten most of it? I decided to just let it go.

Shortly after, the male server saw that I still had a plate of meat and asked if I wanted to order more. I told him what the female server had said. He then told me, “You can order now.” I thought his service was okay.

It was my first time dining here, and I didn’t pay attention to the closing time. Later, the male server said that this would be the last order. I asked why, and he explained that the restaurant closed at 9 PM, so the kitchen needed time for cleaning. My husband said, “Alright, let’s hurry.” The whole meal felt rushed.

What was ridiculous was that they automatically charged me a tip. Isn’t tipping supposed to be at the customer’s discretion? Why was it automatically added? I asked the female server about this charge, and she gave a vague explanation, saying it was written on the menu to inform customers. I told her that she hadn’t explained it clearly when we ordered. My husband said, “Forget it.” But this felt misleading.

I took my kids to have BBQ during their school break because everyone said Korean BBQ was delicious. I never expected it to turn out like this. Anyone planning to eat there should think twice before going. As for me, I will never dine there again. The service at this restaurant is far worse compared to T-Town Korea. It was also my first time having BBQ at T-Town Korea, and the servers there not only recommended drinks but also cleared empty plates promptly. They constantly checked if we needed anything, asked if we wanted more water or anything else.

However, at this restaurant, not only was the grill slow to heat up, but the service attitude was also completely different. The server just casually asked, “How’s the food?” and that was it. No wonder there were only two tables having BBQ. But when it came to collecting money, they were fast.

It looks like I was not only ripped off this time but also chose the wrong place, making the whole experience...