Gen Korean BBQ House

If you're in the mood for an all-you-can-eat Korean BBQ feast, Gen Korean BBQ House delivers a flavorful and exciting dining experience. With a massive selection of meats—including beef, chicken, and fish—as well as fresh salad, vegetables, rice..., there's plenty to satisfy every craving. One of the highlights is the tableside grill, where diners can cook their selections to perfection. This interactive element adds to the fun, making it a great spot for groups or a lively dinner outing. The atmosphere is high-energy, with a club-like vibe that sets it apart from more traditional Korean BBQ spots. On the night of my visit, a DJ was playing, further enhancing the upbeat ambiance. While the service was decent, it wasn’t particularly outstanding—servers were attentive enough but didn’t go above and beyond. Overall, if you're looking for a vibrant and dynamic dining experience where you can enjoy an unlimited array of Korean BBQ favorites, Gen Korean BBQ House is worth a visit. Just be ready for a lively setting that feels more like a party than a quiet meal!

Gen Korean BBQ is an absolutely beautiful restaurant, from the moment you walk in, you’re greeted with great ambiance and top-tier service. As it was our first time there, our server took the time to walk us through the entire process, making sure we understood everything and felt comfortable. Her attention to detail and kindness made a big difference. The quality of the meat was outstanding. We highly recommend trying the Gen Premium Steak (picanha) and the Hawaiian Bacon, both were incredibly flavorful. Every bite was delicious. We ended our meal with the Mando Tango, which was a perfect way to close, sweet, tasty, and beautifully presented. Special shoutout to Xeena, the manager on duty, who personally checked in with us throughout our meal and ensured everything was perfect. Her attentiveness elevated the whole experience. We had a fantastic time and will definitely be coming back soon! Highly recommended.

Allan gave us really amazing service and absolutely amped our Saturday night work dinner up to 11. The food was all so fresh and deliciously seasoned and it kept coming. Allan was absolutely on it, refilling the drinks before we even realized they were empty and keeping the sides stocked. He was also full of energy and really gave the birthday tables and amazing shout out. The whole thing was a party experience. I really enjoyed myself.

We came here for lunch since there was no wait and got seated right away, but that’s where the positives end. We had a party of 7 and were only allowed to use one grill, which made no sense, other KBBQ spots always let us use both. Cooking for 7 on one tiny grill? Come on. Service was also disappointing. Our meat had already finished cooking, and everyone had taken bites before we were even served water, which took 20 minutes. Just look at the photos I shared, we've already finished most of the appetizers weve ordered and not a single glass of water in sight. Place was NOT busy for service to be this unacceptable. Will not recommend, please go somewhere else.

After 4 years, I’m back at Gen! This is one of my favorite KBBQ spots, and it’s my first time writing a review—especially after such a fun night with great friends. A quick tip: it’s better to gather your whole group before getting seated since there’s now a 2-hour limit (though it didn’t feel too strict—we stayed a bit longer, hehe!). Also, they don’t take reservations, so make sure everyone knows what time to meet. The front desk was helpful, and Travis, who served us, was friendly and easy to talk to, he made sure we had everything we needed. I love Gen for its fun vibes, great service, and delicious food. So happy to be back at this awesome restaurant!

We loved our visit here. We got caught in 5 o’clock traffic leaving the airport and decided- let’s null off and eat and wait out the traffic a bit more comfortably and less stressfully after traveling long distances. We chose Korean to load up on fermented veggies like KimChi and enjoy the fun (& great food) a Korean restaurant usually delivers. We were not disappointed! The staff was exceptional from the staff that changed the BBQ racks to the manager that came and helped us cook to the awesome waitress that helped us make new and adventurous decisions which is exactly what my nutritionist at VA and the mindful eating coaches say is important- keep healthy variety in one’s diet. Why not? It’s fun too! We decided to go with the Premium selections, we were celebrating a bit, and that allowed us to try anything on the menu, unlimited- except alcoholic beverages. The atmosphere was nice and relaxing. 😎 Really enjoyed it.

I love eating here. Everything is delicious. The staff is amazing. They all work as a team. The place is clean and well maintained. Shout out to Tracy, our waitress for the day, she is amazing. She made sure our orders were correct and was on top of everything. We didn't have to wait to make our next order of meats. I absolutely love this place.

I really wasn’t impressed with this place.. I’ve been to a Gen in LA before and the service was terrible but I thought I’d give this location a try. They sat us in a booth directly under a vent blowing super cold air.. we asked to move so they moved us one booth over.. we saw them try to sit another group there and they asked to move for the same reason so obviously they’re aware of this strong vent and still try to seat people there.. The server was very nice at first but he definitely pressured us into getting the premium menu. That’s fine though I don’t mind upgrading if it’s worth it and I think it would have been if our server Allen would have not told us “don’t worry I know what you guys want.” He had a lot of energy and excitement and he kind of took control of our food.. didn’t really let us order much of what we wanted and just started sending us stuff from the premium menu.. we didn’t know what we were getting and we couldn’t really ask cuz he was no where to be found.. the food was okay.. we didn’t leave satisfied

I brought a few people here for a business dinner. One is Korean I was curious if would like it. He loved it. The place is huge. Warn blue lights. Service could have been quicker so we ordered the maximum number of items each round for from the all you can eat menu. We thought we could go through 4-5 rounds but had enough after 3. Here's what we liked: premium beef premium chadol (brisket) woo beasal (short rib) marinated short rib bulgogi waygu marinated steak pork riblets red wine pork belly We went on a Thursday evening and were seated right away.

Bryant was the manager who seated us and the only person we interacted with except for a waitress at the register when we left. This is absolutely the dirtiest place I have visited along with poor quality service. A group of 7 of us were made to sit at a table that didn't fit us as seen below with the picture of one of our party forced to sit in the aisle as they only give TWO GRILLS FOR PARTIES OF 8 or more. The Manager seated our party at a table too small to contain us, leaving one person sitting eating a person in the aisle. We promptly asked to move to a table that would fit us all safely and with two grills. The manager appeared Bryant upset that we asked to move. He condescendingly informed us that the policy is 8 person are required for two grills. I asked to see the policy and was informed it isn't in writing. Apparently, Gen Korean BBQ has a lot of unwritten policies. The manager Bryant moved us to a larger table that fit us and had two grills. Manager Bryant informed us that due to our party size we would only be able to use a single grill. The manager moved us to a dirty, greasy table. Please see pictures.Unfortunately, the pictures wasn't able to pick up all the grease and leftover food left on the table that the manager, in a fit of anger, seated us at. However, please note the bottom of the little table sign to see all the old brown/black grease built up along the bottom. We eventually walked out. Service? The whole time we were there no one approached us. We ended up having a good meal down the street at Manna, where we had none of these issues. This was on 7/14/24 at 1pm.

I've been meaning to write an updated review about Gen for a while now but never got around in doing so but my last visit here inspired me to do so. My husband and I went to Gen in the middle of the week for their lunch menu. I believe Gen is one of the only AYCE kbbq places that still has a lunch menu. There was a good amount of people there on this random weekday so we did have to wait a little bit for a table. We waited maybe less than 10-15 minutes. But there was no one at the host stand. It was just us and the group ahead of us awkwardly standing there. There was an employee that I believe hadn't clocked in yet sitting at one of the tables. All of a sudden she stood up and asked us all how many people in our party. We got sat at our table. It looks like they had refinished some of their booth chairs. Instead of it looking like one long seat it now looks like two seats together. I think our server's name was Vicky. She was the person who randomly stood up from a table to ask us how many in our party. I have to say it seems like she doesn't like her job. Not once did she smile or seem like she even cares about what she's doing. I mean yeah there are some people who don't like their job but in a customer service job even just being nice can mean the difference between a 15% or 20% tip. I remember when we were ordering we had asked for specific banchan (side dishes). We had asked for the potato salad, spicy radish kimchi, kimchi, cucumbers, and pickles. She dropped everything off except for the potatoes. My husband and I thought to ourselves "Oh maybe she forgot since we did order a bunch of stuff at once" and gave her the benefit of the doubt. Once she returned and she asked if we needed anything else my husband said "Oh can we get potato salad?" And she rudely responded "Uh we are out of potato salad that's why I didn't bring it out the first time." How would we know what you guys are out of because for one thing you didn't tell us when we ordered it, second you didn't tell us when you dropped off the other side dishes, and third we don't work there to know what you are out of that day. We were kind of taken aback but tried to not let that ruin the meal. The meats we got were pretty standard and comparable to other kbbq restaurants. We got bulgogi, pork belly, and honey soy beef belly. The beef belly was very good! The other sides we got were jap chae and their KFC. I feel like the flavor of their jap chae hasn't definitely changed. I don't think it tastes as good as it was before but it gets the job done. But what is really disappointing is the new KFC. I don't know if this is all Gen locations but this one in particular uses frozen chicken nuggets (imagine like McDonalds chicken nuggets) and then drizzles the sauce on top. Now if I had never tasted the original KFC from Gen I would think ok this tastes pretty good. But since I have tasted the original, this is a super disappointing change and I hope they change it back. It used to be extra crunchy and crispy, meaning it was delicious. It's now very subpar. I am glad that they brought back the spicy kimchi radish. That was my favorite banchan from before that they had gotten rid of but for some reason had returned. For some reason our table's fire kept going out. It was super annoying because we kept having to call people over to keep restarting the fire. So 1 star for the kimchi radish and 1 star for the refillable soda since that can be rare at AYCE kbbq restaurant. Overall, I think this Gen is going to be a pass for me. Manna is just down the road and you can get higher quality meats for just about the same price.

Whenever we come to visit, usually twice a year or more, our last evening's dinner is here. Over the years tonight we noticed a definite difference in service and delivery of food to our table. The first round went fine but Vinny pinch hitted and helped place our next set of meats and had someone change out our grills even though he wasn't assigned to us. Every so often food was delivered to the table abruptly and the dish of raw items dropped off not informing us of what it was. Our order of assorted vegetables never arrived. The music has literally grown louder and with a booming rhythm. Hubs said it's quieter in the back of the restaurant by the restrooms. Sad that in the past servers would make your evening and take your order when your grill was ready for more. This time we waited and waited. We had to ask to have a chipped plate exchanged and also ask for the sauce and banchan for our table, This never happened in the past. Also our bill was brought to the table before we were completely done. Not a very welcoming gesture at all.

Still my favorite kbbq spot! They now have a new Premium menu where u can choose rib eye steaks, wagyu briskets, premium taco samplers, and even build your own ramen. It's a little higher in price but if u want the fine meats, then try it out. We stuck with the basic menu which has everything we want. It does look like they added a few new things to the menu like some of the appetizers. Just remember to go on an empty stomach.

I've been here on an extremely busy Friday night in the past, and service was better than what I received on a relatively empty Tuesday night this week. Our server told from the beginning that he was busy, which is understandable, but usually that means that we would still see our server at least a couple times. When they did come by, they would not even make eye contact with us when we placed our orders. The sides: they are weirdly stingey about side dishes here. Most other KBBQ places give larger amounts of sides if you ask for them. Here, no matter how much you ask for, they only give the tiniest little amount of each- it's their policy, it's just odd for an all you can eat restaurant. For size reference, the servings for sides were about the size of a sauce plate you would use for soy sauce. You'll have to try your hardest to flag down your server to ask for more, and hope they remember. The meats and appetizers: bulgogi is reliably good here. The premium steak, however, was half the size of when I last visited (last year). The quality of the meat is good. Ambiance: it is darker here, with blue lights, and louder music than other KBBQ places.

I've never had Korean bbq this bad. The marinades were bad, the Gamja was clearly from powder, the jiggae was so watery. They even made rice badly, who screws up rice!? The bathrooms were also revolting and there was food they neglected to clean off the seats.

Love Gen!! But the service is lacking. Third time here and each time the service has declined. Food is always great! Today however we are a party of 3 and got sat. We order waters and soju, sohu and sprite. The asked for the menu or QR code. After some time., no water. Or soju, or sprit. placed our order and asked for rice paper and radish.. as well as meats. The meats come out .. where's the water? Soju? Waters? They changed our grill. The fire goes out. Where's the water? Soju? sprit? They relight it. More meats. Where's the rice paper? Where's the water? Radish? Soju? Sprite?? It was on going. We finally get waters. Soju and sprite by asking for it! Also asked for the rice paper and radish again. It was just disappointing. We will come back again. Maybe an off night but this will be our last if it doesn't get better.

Seems like there has been a giant overhaul to this establishment, employee stated there has been a change in management. Gen was definitely in our top 3 of AYCE KBBQ, but not anymore. The quality has plummeted compared to our last visit in November. The service was horrible in our most recent visit, and it wasn't the servers fault. The poor guy had to serve all the tables by himself during lunch hours, while what I assumed was a supervisor that just hung out at a table with a customer who he knew. I have a lot to say about the quality of the food now, but I'll just leave this picture of the chicken nuggets they served as Korean Fried Chicken. Absolutely pathetic.

I've been here a few times and it's always busy. It's nice and upscale inside. The atmosphere is a bit loud and smoky from all the meats being grilled. The selection seems endless and their appetizers are plentiful. The portions they serve are actually decent as well as the meat quality. I feel like it takes a while for the server to come back to take an order for more meats. This location okay, but I prefer their locations around the LA area, even being from San Diego.

First time visiting a Korean BBQ type establishment and it was very exciting! Fortunately we went with experienced friends because I was out of my element here. Just walking in the front door brought on great sensory overload in sights, sounds and smells. I used Yelp's waiting list feature for our party of 5 and it seemed to work well. We were whisked to probably the worst table in the restaurant. There was a constant vortex of cold wind above and below the table. It was a 4 top booth and the 5th person was brought a chair for the end of the table. How awkward. Anyway, I wasn't having this so we requested another table which they graciously accomodated. I have to point out that Yelp lists this place as "Full Bar". It in fact is NOT. It was the only reason we selected Gen Korean BBQ among all the other choices. That was too bad. The menu is a dizzying array of choices, prices, sides, etc., I could barely follow along. We settled on a few basics like bulgogi beef, steak, shrimp, Korean Fried Chicken, etc. Everything was good, although if I overcooked anything I guess I have to review myself LOL. The Calamari Steak was probably the most off-putting thing. Looks like a bar of soap that jiggles on the grill pan. It eventually stopped jiggling. I wondered what the scissors were for; that is to cut your meats. That was interesting. The whole thing was quite the haptic, interactive experience. I was tired when we were done.

Located in Mira Mesa, this Korean bbq joint is great for accommodating large parties. They have multiple tables that can seat 6+ and plays good music. Lunch price is $19.99 and dinner is $29.99. They recently added a premium menu that you can add for an additional $20 that comes with pricier meats. We did not opt for that and just did the regular dinner. Some items that my party and I got were beef brisket (aka prime chadol), beef belly, pork cheek, Hawaiian steak, prime steak, spicy pork bulgolgi and a few appetizers. The service was good in the beginning, then started to decline as the place got more busy. There was a point where we sat for a good 25 minutes before our server made his way back around so we can order more meat. Other than that, the korean bbq is very standard.

Came here for a birthday and it was all of our first time there. The wait time was kinda long but we felt like any Korean bbq place you would be waiting for a while. When you walk in you feel like you are in a night club. It's a little bit dark in there and the music they play is really loud. The food and the quality was good. The service was fine, they were attentive to us when we needed something. The only negative thing for us was that the music was extremely loud and it was very hard for us to talk or hear what each of us were saying. We asked them if they could turn it down a little bit but it didn't seem like they did since the music level just stayed the same. The positive thing for us was that we had fun!

We just had an awful experience here earlier tonight - probably one of the worst ever. Today is a holiday and their management clearly didn't anticipate supplies needed. They ran out of pretty much 75% of the menu items. For the K-ramyun, it looked like top ramen in a carryout bowl. Eh? We wanted one spicy, one regular for the little one. Well, I got my spicy one but the little guy got his almost an hour later and served it spicy. We asked for a regular k-ramyun but second server said they ran out. Took it back, then tried to serve it again, and we explained again, not spicy. So dude takes it back and did I dunno what with it, maybe watered it down a bit, gave the appearance it was not spicy, but oh it was still spicy. Little guy was spitting it out and complaining. The "premium wagyu" was like 70% fat, looked like bacon. The long bone was actually pretty good but very difficult to grill. The best was short ribs and sirloin. For the tab, they stuck it to us with a hidden cost "upgrade". Huh? Wife was pissed off. Little guy was dry-heaving, the food was so bad for him. They didn't have a bag for him, but waiter brings out a long black garbage bag instead. $180 tab and we dealt with this s#;t show. Wife complained to greedy mgmt and all they were willing to offer was 10% and even after I had paid, they were trying to charge us again. Just about everything that could go wrong with service, food, & mgmt kind'a did. We can never revisit this place. That and their f-bomb music in front of kids. Mana is quieter and half the cost anyway.

The food os good for the price. But one question. Why does the music have to be so freaking loud. It ruined my experience.

Gen KBBQ is a great spot for larger groups to get together! There is a lot of seating but it can get busy during the weekends, especially for dinner time but just check in early with the people in the front and it should be okay. That being said, it can get pretty loud and I believe on Thursdays, they have a live DJ. Dinner pricing is 3pm to closing, but they have so many different meat options and appetizers to choose from. One of my favorite spots to go to for AYCE KBBQ. The servers are also friendly. Plenty of parking is available, but it is a shared lot with a movie theater, Barnes and Noble, Ulta, Old Navy, Ross and more, so it can get crowded.

My family and I came in around 6pm on a Sunday. We were seated pretty quickly which was nice. We got the premium menu, which cost about $50 per person. They didn't have half the things on the menu so I kinda wish they warned us before we decided to go through with that menu. They didn't have kimchi, kfc, sesame oil (I asked for some and they gave us a neutral oil, but I like sesame oil for its flavor), mayo, and the green salt. Five minutes into our meal they ran out of the long bone short rib and the beef tongue. The rice wasn't jasmine rice, it seemed like some sort of microwaveable longer grain rice, which tasted alright but was hard to eat with chopsticks. What they did have available tasted good though, we enjoyed the long bone short rib while they had it and the premium wagyu. The cucumber mint lemonade was good but took a really long time to get to our table. Our server was great, she visited our table often. They also offered to change our grill pretty often too without us having to ask so that was also nice. I'm not sure if it was just super busy or if the manager just didn't put in the orders but it would've been much more enjoyable if everything we asked for wasn't out of stock.

Allen was the best waiter we've had in a long time! He was on top of everything and gave amazing recommendations.

We were craving KBBQ and wanted to check out Gen in the area. We've been to a few other Gen's in other cities so was curious to stop by here. We came after peak lunch time on a Friday. It wasn't super crowded (5 other parties besides us lol) so we thought service would be attentive but it was sooo slow. Servers kept forgetting what we asked for. At one point "the kitchen was backed up" and a few of our orders were delayed. Meat quality is fine and what you'd expect of an AYCE spot. Banchan is average. Their menu shows "hot sauce" but they didn't have that and only had "K spicy sauce" which was not as good. Rice was overcooked. The lunch deal price is so good we'd come back for that. We stick to the few meats we like and it satisfies the craving. If you're looking for higher quality meats, banchan and service, there are definitely other options!

Finally got to check out Gen Korean BBQ, albeit for lunch. They've been on my radar, but I think they get packed during the weekends so I'd guess that'd be a good thing. Their lunch runs M-Thu from open to 3pm, and the menu is extensive...33 items! They don't have as wide a variety of banchan that I've seen at other KBBQ places, but they do have both rice and radish paper, picked cucumber, and Kimchi so I'm good. The wife and I also ordered the corn cheese and cheese tonkatsu...the latter being a fried pork cutlet with a layer of cheese inside. Both were good, but we were here for the meats. We ordered the rib fingers, spicy calamari, beef bulgogi, beef brisket, pork cheek, pork belly, and the Gen special steak. All were great though we did put in re-orders for the steak, bulgogi, and brisket. Super good and very delicious! I'm sorry I didn't include any food pics...I guess I was that hungry. Service was also great. We came in a little after 1pm so there wasn't much of.a rush. I've read other reviews about the music being overbearing, but we thought it was at a good volume where we didn't have to yell at each other to have a conversation. We were seated fairly quickly, and Kyle promptly got us our waters and initial food order. Kyle and his colleagues were on point checking up on us, taking reorders, and changing our grill (twice!). Definitely hitting up Gen again in the future!

Food was pretty good. Fun musical vibe to the location. We did the all you can eat. Price was decent. Service was a little spotty. They kept bring us things we didn't order and forgot the things we did order. Hits: Brisket, Bulgolgi, pretty much all the meats we ordered were great. Shits: Korean fried chicken and corn cheese were weak. The Korean fried chicken was literally chicken nuggets with sauce. Probably frozen. Kind of stingy with the kimchi given with the Banchans.

We love KBBQ & I hadn't been here in a few years so we decided to come back. Their meat selection is mostly marinated meats which was OK If you're into that, but they have very few non-marinated options. They also changed our grill way too often imo. They weren't doing it in between cooking which was really the problem. Our waiter would have us remove the cooking meat and put it on the new, cold grill... it was weird I've never had them do that before. Ruined the quality of the cook on the meats for sure. Limited sides, I do like their sauces. Service was great other than the weird grill switching thing! We're not super picky about KBBQ but we weren't really impressed considering the long wait time.

Everything about this place is a YESS! The selection. Of meat, poultry, pork& seafood and veggies is amazing quality . The venue is definitely a great vibe ! Staff so friendly and attentive. The amount of food , quality and for the price is above and beyond . I will be sure to plan each big party I have going forward at Gen !! This has been one of best experience in restaurant I've had in a while !Great place . Oh and playlist music choice at the restaurant puts the cherry on top of everything else awesome !!

Great Korean BBQ! The meats were pretty good. The only thing that wasn't was the underbelly that was tough and all fat.. also I think the steak should have some seasoning on it. They were out of soy sauce which was quite disappointing:( But that was it, everything else (and service) was great! I found odd was that they brought the check up really quick and we still had a lot to cook.. kinda felt rushed. But nonetheless we were able to cook everything, so that's all that matters.

Gen is a spot my group of friends and I visit constantly 2-3 times a month occasionally. Our last few visits have been terrible. First let's start with the food. The quality has plummeted so much that you wouldn't even believe you're in the same restaurant. The food all tastes old and not fresh by any means for whatever cut you decide to get. They say you can order 5 plates per table but they'll bring 2 or 3 and forget about the rest. This last time we went it happened even more and we went when half the tables were empty. Everytime we ordered food our server would ask us "Are you sure you can finish that?" We were a group of 6 guys that had just sat down to eat and yet no matter what he kept asking. Next let's move on to the service. While gen does have some great customer service at times there have also been times where it was awful and this time was one of those. Our server rarely came by our table and when he did he would not wait for us to get our order together. We had to reorder so many items because they were constantly forgotten as well. Lastly the manager was the worst of all. I unfortunately did not get his name but we had called about an hour in advance and stated that we would be coming in a group of 6 and if we could have a table with 2 burners as there was 6 of us and we wanted to eat. We were told it wouldn't be problem since they weren't busy. Well we get there and rest assured they aren't busy the entire place was empty. Our host tells us she can't give us two burners because her manager won't allow it. We politely ask to speak to the manager to see if they'll allow us a two burner as they normally don't mind even when we come on busier days. The manager proceeds to tell us that the second burner at the table we're sitting at doesn't work. We say alright no worries. 10 minutes later our server tells us another couple is going to sit next to us at the burner the manager claimed didn't work. Overall this was by far the worst experience we've ever had but it wasn't the only one that was bad. I'd highly recommend checking out other Korean bbq places that are much better than this one all over San Diego.

My friends and I came on a Saturday afternoon and it wasn't busy at all. The reason why I'm giving 2 stars is because I didn't appreciate not being informed of all the things that were not available when we were sitting down. I feel like If we knew that almost a good chunk of the menu wasn't available early on, we would've gone to another place. Also, they have good music, but it's way too loud in there. We could barely hear our server or each other. The plus side was that our server was nice and the drinks were good.

I have been to this location multiple times and each time, the experience was different. The first and second time the servers were very attentive and the food was good. I love the music and vibe here. The third time, it took about 30 minutes before the servers came to get our order for more food again. Overall, would recommend.

1. Premium Steak was so tough we couldn't cut it with the scissors. 3 diff ppl plus the server tried to cut it. We each cut one or two slices off and gave up. It was too tough to chew and it was medium cooked. Brisket and Beef Bulgogi were great as well as the rice paper. Shrimp still had shell on. Host got mad that two guests could not make it. There was no dessert options I could find for my friends bday. Everything was so fast paced more than other KBBQ places. They said we had 90 mins. They sat us at 5:30pm and last call for food was 6:30pm. We didn't even bother to ask why because we were full at that point. When we left there was about 50 ppl waiting to be seated. Very popular spot, decent price at $28.99 a person. Great lighting, decor, music. Only two working toilets in women's restroom. Please fix the 3rd, there was a line.

The ambiance of this place is cool. They play 90s-2000s r&b which already puts me in a mood to have a good time. My friend and I had fun singing to the music as we enjoyed our meal. The food itself is decent. It's not the best KBBQ I've had, but it's tasty. My favorite was the honey soy beef belly. They have unique marinades that are nice to try, but I'd personally skip on the red wine samgyupsal even though it's recommended; it may just be an acquired taste. I think what sets this place apart from other KBBQ spots in SD are the fun drinks they make! If you're in a mood for a pick me up with a fun cocktail and yummy food, this is the place to go to. The service is nice and you could get seated fairly quickly, with the ability to join the waist list before you even get there. Overall, it's a nice experience.

Food was good, the service this time around was the worst i've experienced in a while. Our server sucked and barely ever went to our table, didn't even give water the first 20min we were there, despite saying the kids needed water, then we ask for rice paper, only to be given what's looks to have been sitting for a while, and DRY! We actually had to go to the back and ask for our food 3 times. The server then says the reason for the delay, was due to waiting for fresh rice because he can tell we are "real asians"? wtf? Then when asked for new rice paper, it took them an hour to bring it out. To top it off, the server dropped plates on the ground, which made food splash on us, and dude chuckles and says a lame ass sorry! not sure I'll be coming back to this spot.

It's very loud in here. I can barely hear the server talking. Fun music but could lowered a bit. We came here on a Friday night. Parking was hard to find. But found one after circling a few times. There's only one AYCE option. We ordered the steak first, beef belly, pork belly, garlic calamari. I also asked for a side of garlic. Steak was tough and chewy. Beef and pork belly were very bland. The calamari is a winner. Only half of our grill has heat. The other half did not have any flames under it. The garlic was gross. It had mold. Disgusting. If the servers werent attentive and friendly, I would have given this place a 1 star for the calamari.

Honestly I think we were just unlucky. The server told us he was covering for another server on break. His section got really full and didn't have any time to help us. We didn't get water till after our first order of meat was done and I we still had to ask a busboy to get them. We asked for a grill change 4 times, a busboy, a manager (twice) and finally the host got us the new grill. Missing orders and late side dishes. The food was good. But I am not sure if that even helps the overall experience. I looked around they were on top of it just not for us...

Not a"gen" ... I mean come on... Literally got 3-4 servers + 2 managers just hangout by the register while we're waiting 15+ mins for our order.. Not even busy like 7 tables occupied during the afternoon.. Terrible.

Super delicious selection of meats, sides, and sauces. The ambience is a bit like a nightclub, pretty loud but fun. Everything is all you can eat and if you order right, you can definitely get your moneys worth. The salad is delicious Green, and all the other little sides you can get are super yummy as well. We love the short ribs pork and beef. You grill your own meats at the table and it's a fun experience. The service is very good and they come change your grill often so your food isn't burnt.

I have been here once during COVID period but last night's visit exceeded my expectations. I'm so glad I gave it a second chance! Despite it being a busy Memorial weekend, the restaurant was bustling with energy. What truly made the evening exceptional was the outstanding service provided by Allen, our waiter. He effortlessly managed the hectic environment while ensuring that every guest felt well taken care of. Allen's remarkable service, made it a truly memorable experience. I know me and my family be returning again soon! Just an FYI: When you place yourself on the waitlist through Yelp and receive a text notification shortly afterward indicating that your table is ready, just know it's the restaurant's system's way of prompting you to check-in in-person with the host. Upon arrival, you'll be directed to another line physically, where the host will assist you in being seated.

I've come here several times but I've noticed the quality steadily decreasing. I came with a large group a few weeks ago and our food came out incredibly slow. The waitress was amazing though! She had a lot of energy, checked on us often, and communicated to us really well! We had a large table with 2 grills and while one grill got every order quickly, the other grill only had 1 order come in an hour. The meat quality was very low, we didn't even really enjoy the food once we got it and cooked it. I feel like this had been a trend with many KBBQ places, so sad that Gen is one of them I do want to emphasize that all the staff, from the host the server to runners, were all great! We were unhappy with our experience but left a large tip because all the staff were friendly, professional, and def doing their best

I've been here since they first opened. The quality and the portion had changed therefore I have it a 3 star. It was really good when it first opened and couple times before thereafter. Location - this is located in the movie theater plaza. It is next to tmobile and bath and body works. Service - we came on a Tuesday night at 630. It was busy. They do not seat you unless your whole party is there. The host was really strict and not as friendly. However our waitress was really really nice! We really liked her and she was always so on top of it. I do remember back when this place first opened, most of the waiters were korean so when I ordered, they would understand what I was ordering, but it did change where not that many waiters are korean so we did order the meat by numbers which wasn't a problem. You have only 90 min to eat and they are strict on that. Food - the quality and portion has changed. The quality of the meat isn't as good as before. The portion and size of the meat is small except the pork belly. Growing up, I have been to many korean ayce BBQ restaurants because that all my dad would want to eat... so when comparing this place to others as well as other Gen kbbq restaurant locations, this one is just ok. Also.. bummed they don't have the egg dish anymore or beef tongue. Would I go back to this place - yes.

It's been a while since we have been to Gen in Mira Mesa. I don't know if they are under new management but, customer service and food choices have improved but, some original choices were a bust! They have new kitchen items (already cooked items) and their Japchae has improved immensely in flavor from prior visits. Rice was a huge disappointment as it was very soggy! Not sure if we just came on a bad day for the rice but, for Islanders rice is a huge deal for us! Their prices are still acceptable with inflation being outrageous! It's about $35 a person not including drinks. You still have to have your whole party present before they can seat you. We went on a Friday evening about 5pm and we maybe waited 10min until we were seated which was great! Some items have been swapped out for new ones. No more beef tongue. They now have a fish katsu (I think the fish is catfish as it had that mud taste to it, not a fan). The cheese corn I usually love was not up to par as the corn was not sweet. New kitchen item is their spicy bbq ribs (delish)! Despite some flops on some of their dishes, it's worth the drive to dine at Gen!

This Korean BBQ food place truly Slaps! All of the Gen's restaurants service and ambiance sets the mood like no other. Everyone's friendly and hustles. The foods fresh and delicious. Decently priced. Love all the free unlimited sides your given. The sauces are on-point and the green salt is FIRE! Hot grill gets changed out & my water was refilled without even asking... Great experience over all!! Highly recommend.

Contrary to some of the reviews re slow service, we had the best experience for my son's graduation dinner. The service was great, our waiter was definitely busting his tail getting our food to us and handling every special request we made. We were all very happy with the food, service, and atmosphere. My son had the BEST time and was so happy we had his grad dinner here at his favorite restaurant. Thanks Gen!

I don't think I've had a good experience at any location of gen, but this location was the worst. My friends and I had come in to celebrate a birthday, so our party was quite large (about 16 people). We were sat across 4 grills, and one of them was not working well. Our server did her best to fix it but after it going out several times, we couldn't get a hold of her and had asked other waiters/ bussers. No one seemed to want to help or offer us a new placement. They seem pretty understaffed and management needs to do a better job. The food that we were able to eat was mediocre. I enjoyed the sides that we did get, but overall, for that price, I'd rather choose a different AYCE kbbq spot.

We went to Gen this evening for dinner. When we first got there, they were seating customers that came after us before us. Then we got seated, waiting 10 minutes for service, another 15 or so more minutes for our drinks - our first round of meat was ready before our drinks even got to the table. I ordered a Diet Coke and was brought a rum and Coke and I don't/can't drink, even bringing me a new drink took 10 minutes. We then had 2 server changes... and asked for another round of meat. They brought 3 plates of chadol, which we only asked for one, they brought us a piece of premium steak - and we didn't order premium, and another plate if bulgogi. When the check came I noticed that we had a charge for "extra food" for $4.99. I went and asked the manager what the charge was for, he replied it was for the leftover food. Which I explained that we didn't order all the food and he stated we should have given it back, which we couldn't as the servers would drop and leave. He then stated that he wasn't the one the one who put that charge on and he would send out the other manager. One of the servers walked up to me and said "I don't know what's going on but I hope you have a better rest of your day." At this point my husband came over since he saw the manager yelling at me and saw him throw his arms up. The manager comes back maybe 5 minutes later and he's on the phone complaining about me stating it's "only $5 I don't know why she's even complaining". I then stated, "you can let the server know the extra $5 that should have been her tip is because you charged me wrong." My husband started talking to the manager and the manager then started yelling at him stating she came up to me yelling, my husband said this is you and I we can have a conversation without yelling. The manager continued to yell and the servers and hostess are now staring. I paid the bill and left the server a tip, after I paid then the manager stated he would give the $5 back, at this point who cares I already paid. The manager started talking about being a manager - which I've been before and started to state you don't treat customers like that, when my husband sent me outside. He stayed in talking to the manager and told him this is not how you treat customers and now your staff are looking at you. The manager stated he doesn't want to look like a "little bitch in front of his staff" which at this point he looks worse than that yelling and cussing at customers. My husband asked him if it was the other manager who put the charge on and left 5 minutes ago how did/does he not know we didn't finish the food? And of course he couldn't answer that. This whole situation went on for a good 15 minutes. Needless to say we will not be going back to that Gen if that's how they treat customers. I wasn't mad about the $5 it was the principal of the situation, we didn't order all of that food, we didn't have food service when we first got there. Such a horrible experience and it's sad because we like the food there.... Management needs to be trained and learn how to deal with customers. The best part about this is we were told everyone was getting the $5 charge. So what you're giving extra food so you can UP CHARGE customers - such bad practice... better look at your check when you eat here.

I've been to Gen a handful of times. It used to be really good but it has gone downhill in service in a BIG way. The last two times I've gone, our table was so overlooked. It took 15 minutes for a server to greet us after we were seated & at least 20 minutes in between waiter check-ins. Nothing came out all at the same time from the meats to the sauces to the banchan so we couldn't enjoy everything together. Even getting a refill or another round of meat was like pulling teeth. We arrived at 2 pm with the restaurant fairly unoccupied so it was bizarre to be forgotten so many times on multiple visits. Even though we arrived in time for the lunch pricing, they charged us for dinner pricing. The meat is very tasty, but not any better than any other Kbbq spot around. Multiple bad experiences - will not be back.

3.5! Came on a Wednesday evening with my parents and boyfriend. We were originally trying to go to The Fire Spot but the wait was over 2.5 hours long at 6:30pm, so we decided to downgrade our plans... We probably joined the Yelp waitlist around 6:50pm and the wait was about 58-78 minutes. We were ultimately seated around 8pm. Fortunately you're able to do remote waitlist unlike many other places that close their waitlist and force you to wait at the restaurant, so we joined and then made our way over. -1 star because it was soooo freaking smoky inside. Literally you could see the haze in the air and it just smelled like burnt/cooking meat. I feel so bad for the staff there to have to just deal with it. Service was average to good overall for a kbbq joint. I didn't have high hopes reading some of the reviews but I thought the meat quality was decent and actually better than some other Gens I've been to in the bay. I esp liked the pork cheek and beef belly, but the brisket here was a bit too lean. I do feel like getting the attention of a server can feel like pulling teeth and like I'm inconveniencing them. We also had to ask for finger short rib 3 times over 30 minutes before they finally told us it was out of stock. Definitely need better communication between servers and the kitchen, and maybe invest in a tablet ordering system or something like other hot pot and kbbq places. They also kept giving us stuff we didn't order and didn't have radish wraps :(. Also wish they would turn down the music and AC and get better ventilation! Overall for $30pp it's not bad, but there are definitely better options in SD!

I'll start off that I've been to this location before with a party of 4 or more a handful of times. Always great service, good food and drinks. Yet, my last visit with just me and my friend really fell flat. We were seated on a Wednesday night about 8pm. The waiter was courteous and fast at the start. He informed us they were running low on some menu items which is fine. As the dinner progressed we were checked on less and less and had to flag down another server for assistance in ordering more food. At this point, every server seemed to be too busy for their amount of tables. Maybe they were understaffed that night? Maybe training new people? Please tell me if you are new or understaffed for the night so I can adjust my expectations! I will say the food we did get was as good as all the other visits. When I go to AYCE kbbq places I will order as much as possible upfront and only ask for more when I'm out or about to be out of something. We still tipped well in cash. However, my last visit will probably be my last visit to this location.

What happen to this place? It use to be so great.... Me and my Husband visited Gens and we were very disappointed. We were greeted and seated fine, after we were seated we waited about 10mins for a waiter/waitress to come by. Not too bad she took our drink order and we ordered some meat options right away my husband ordered a soda and I ordered a water. Waitress brought two waters and we thought, okay she'll bring the soda when she brings the meat. Waited about 10-15 mins for raw meat to be brought out... we got the meat and we ordered corn cheese and a bowl of rice each... (we finished the meat that we first ordered) so we waited and waited and waited nothing eventually we flag someone else down and we ask them if they could please bring us our corn and rice so he did and about 5 mins later our waitress comes by with our rice and corn and we were already eating the ones they brought to us. We once again are waiting to order some more meat we flag someone down again and we try to order with him he kindly tells us I'll let your waitress know. We wait for the waitress... nothing so he kindly took our order and brought us some meat. Still no soda by the way. I was so hungry going in that when we got our food we started eating right away and after a couple of sips of my water I look down at my cup and noticed lipstick stains on my cup. I don't wear lipstick. My stomach turned. At this point I just wanted to leave me and my husband agreed to not order anything else because we didn't want to wait anymore. We asked for the bill which was a bit of a wait. We were charged for the soda we never got which we just wanted to leave so we said whatever... we wanna go... we went on a Wednesday afternoon. It was not busy. I really try to be patient and understanding. But after seeing the lipstick I was just done. The ambiance is okay still playing good music still friendly when being greeted. But it was just too much. Probably won't be back anytime soon. :( which is a bummer because I used to love this place.

I really like the vibe of this place and, the lights and music are always on point but I would say 50/50 the service is good. I understand there are so many moving parts to this place and you have to appreciate the hustle it just is disappointing when there is no hustle and the servers forget your order. Last time I went the our server was sent on break and they had someone else cover their section and he was way too overwhelmed to do both. Or his fault but it ruined our experience. We ordered meat twice and still never received our drinks from the bar. We we're basically done for the night when the alcoholic drink pay he's came out and we were an hour into our meal. Plus lots of things we ordered never came out, (meats rice paper cheese corn) It just put a damper on the night and we couldn't enjoy our meal the way we usually do at Korean bbq places

Sad to say they changed EVERYTHING. Is it under new ownership? New investors? Seems like they changed all locations to their new menu. Came on a saturday evening, wondering why the line was not out the door like usual.. now I know why. New staff as well. Was looking forward to the usual KFC & other appetizers but after seeing that even their KFC was completely different from before I knew then that everything wasn't going to be the same. We miss the old Gen menu! Bring it baaaack!

Checked in on yelp and when I went in to let them know I'm in the area. They said since I'm a party of 1 that I'm going to have to wait longer. Even tho there's a system in place. Shouldn't it be you check in and wait for you turn? They were worried about taking care of a party for more money than just following basic first come first serve. That's why there's a system in place.

Decided to give Gen another shot after multiple visits and food quality declining each and every time . Safe to say the downward trend in food quality continues. Please reference photos below . This visit was absolutely my last one .