Big Wok Mongolian BBQ

Big Wok Is the Last Great Mongolian Barbecue Buffet Left in Los Angeles | Eater LA

All-you-can-eat Mongolian barbecue at Big Wok in Manhattan Beach felt like a cheat code: endless custom stir-fry bowls of thick wheat noodles, sliced zucchini, crunchy bean sprouts, and sliced beef doused in a spicy, garlicky sauce that let me build whatever mood I was craving. The dining room is bright, comparatively shiny for a decades-old place (modern chairs, clean banquettes), service is excellent and attentive, and there are plenty of signs to guide first-timers through the process (use a glove at the buffet). My friends and I loaded plastic bowls with shaved frozen meats — beef, pork, chicken, and lamb — then piled on diced broccoli, onions, jalapeños, bell peppers, cabbage, carrots, mushrooms and more before moving to the sauce bar, which offers barbecue sauce, ginger water, lemon water, garlic water, chile oil, “dragon” hot sauce, minced garlic, and teriyaki for endless customization. The wide circular steel grill at the center is a show: cooks pour out the bowls, splash water to create dramatic steam, and skillfully stir everything into quick, sizzling plates that come with sesame-seeded shaobing and the option of steamed white rice. A prominent sign warns, “Leftovers May Not Be Taken Home,” and the whole experience felt like a filling, affordable feast — one of the last Mongolian barbecue buffets in Southern California and proof that satisfying lunches for under $20 are still possible in LA. The restaurant even displays a romanticized origin story at its entrance and on its website (which hasn’t been updated since the mid-aughts), though that tale is largely fictional compared with the dish’s actual history. - Matthew Kang