I C.
Yelp
I'm a big fan of Meat Project and their $35 PP AYCE KBBQ THAT INCLUDES DELICIOUSLY & AUTHENTICALLY MARINATED KALBI (the most premium meat cut you won't find on any AYCE menu anywhere else, no lie)....
....BUT NOT THIS CENTREVILLE LOCATION. HANDS DOWN, NO CONTEST, by wayyyyyy far, the newer MUCH NICER FAIRFAX LOCATION is sooo much better than this one.
What an absolute disappointment this Centreville location is. Truly disappointing.
The menu at both locations is the same, the pricing is the same. What I like about Meat Project is - pretty much the only thing on the menu is their $35 PP AYCE. That's it. Very focused, simple, no other menu item distractions, easy peasy, no muss no fuss.
The icing on the cake (here and also Fairfax) with having a 1-item menu is that it INCLUDES KALBI. You won't find that anywhere else - I've searched. All other KBBQ AYCE places offer kalbi for an additional charge or to order separately a la carte (and it ain't cheap, that's for sure!). To boot, there are NO RESTRICTIONS ON HOW MANY ROUNDS OF KALBI YOU CAN ASK FOR - totally AYCE. And the kalbi is actually really tasty. Well seasoned and marinated, authentic Korean flavors, mouth watering tender cuts.
I will say that the quality of the marinated kalbi cuts, while good at this Centreville location, are better at the Fairfax location.
But even the $35 pp price point for AYCE that includes kalbi can't elevate this Centreville location up from 2 stars sadly. And it's alllllll due to how divey imo and sooo uninviting, "cold" and unwelcoming feeling the interior of the restaurant is. We just did not like the ambiance and the vibe at all - the food and service were fine but the setting was way off and detracted from what would have been a much more pleasant dining experience.
Party of 3 - we went early like 530PM on a Sunday night so we wouldn't have to potentially wait for a table (no reservs accepted). When we arrived, it was actually pretty busy but we were able to get one of the last open 4-tops available without signing in on the waitlist.
When you walk inside, the whole restaurant is sectioned off into 2 very strangely laid out dining areas. There's a wide hallway like waiting area and on either side of the waiting area are the 2 distinctly sectioned off dining areas.
The area on the left side is closed off with a glass wall/partition with a door leading into the space - almost like a totally separate, but much nicer part of the restaurant. We were told that area is for large parties. (Note: Parties of 5+ (they count your kids too) are hit with an automatic 20% tip.) The other (right) "side" of the restaurant has all 4 top tables - with chairs that were super basic and very uncomfortable.
We DID have an amazing server. An older Korean lady who was fantastic - she was super attentive, brought each round of meat out very quickly (but never made us feel rushed). She was an expert griller and knew her stuff - she cooked our kalbi (3 rounds) and bulgogi (2 rounds - also well seasoned and marinated and delicious!) to perfection. Mouth wateringly delish! No complaints about service.
Couple other things I liked about the AYCE meal:
* As I just said, this place helps you grill your meats - LOVE not having to do it ourselves.
* I love that they have the larger rectangular grills instead of the round black teflon ones that most KBBQ places have. Much easier to grill meats on the larger bbq surface.
* We never had to ask for them to change out our grill pan - they did that almost with every new round of meat they brought out.
* The portion sizes of meat brought out each round was plentiful. Not too much that it would overwhelm the grill pan but not a tiny portion where each person would only get a nibble.
* No hesitation with them happily bringing out round after round after round of meats to grill...and all in a timely manner.
* Unlimited rice, soups, corn cheese, banchan and sides - they all come with the $35 pp AYCE.
* LOVE that you can get a pitcher of draft beer - $24 - I'd say these days, that's a good deal!
But overall, Meat Project Centreville still gets a 2 star from me because the whole vibe, ambiance and inside aesthetic totally threw off our dining experience - thus, that was our first AND LAST time coming to this location. I wanted to try out this Centreville location for comparison and even just driving up to the building, my spidey senses went off...
MEAT PROJECT FAIRFAX IS WHERE IT'S AT AND WORTH THE DRIVE EVEN IF THIS CENTREVILLE LOCATION IS CLOSER. TRUST ME.