Baekjeong, Los Angeles and San Jose

Reviewer: Foodnut.com Baekjeong 3465 West 6th St. #20 Los Angeles, CA 90020 213-384-9678

Why did we dine here? – Baekjeong (butcher in Korean) is a extremely popular Korean restaurant run a flamboyant former wrestler, Kang Ho Dong. (There is a huge cardboard cutout picture of him by the front door)  They specialize in Korean BBQ using USDA Prime Meats.

The Yelp reviews (4.5 stars) were excellent for this Seoul-based chain, and the place has gotten a lot of press. (L.A. Times calls it Korean BBQ at its basic best) L.A. is home to a huge Koreatown with food far superior than the San Francisco Bay Area. We make an effort to have at least one Korean meal during our Southern California trips.

On our visit on 2016, we dined at their Orange County location in Buena Park. Food quality was about the same.  This restaurant is in a new Asian strip mall with 95o C, Daiso, Hmart and several other cool stores.

We dined at the new San Jose, CA Westfield location in August 2023, when it opened.  This location is much more glitzy, almost adopting a k-pop loud scene.

Baekjeong LA is situated in a slightly run down high ceiling room, which gives it an underground feeling.

Insider Tip – The lines are a lot shorter during lunch. No reservations.

Cuisine – Korean BBQ
Location – Los Angeles, Korea Town
Opened – 2013

Service – Baekjeong had reasonable service. We did have to hail them several times, but service is far better than most Korean restaurants.
Verdict – Baekjeong impressed us and fulfilled our need for a superior Korean meal. We highly recommend this cool place with solid Korean BBQ. Other L.A. Korean restaurants we’ve tried include:

• Genwa Korean
• Kang Ho Dong Baekjeong
• Soowon Galbi

Marinated Short Rib BBQ

Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Yes. 1 Hour? Yes.

Baekjeong Signature Dishes – Korean BBQ ribeye, marinated boneless short rib, pork belly

Baekjeong’s Menu has many ala carte Beef and Pork options along with some stews. Several Combo dishes make it easier to order.

Baekjeong Food Picks:

The table came preset with lots of banchan including: bean sprouts, salad, secret house sauce, pajeon pancake, radish soup, Kimchee, kabocha squash, and several other small dishes.

In Buena Park, they shorted us a couple items including the kimchi soup that our neighbor had, so we had to ask to get everything.

Just like in authentic Korean restaurants, the waiter cooks for you over charcoal logs. You just kick back and watch. They even cook the egg and cheese corn right to the side of the meat.  The San Jose location used gas grills, not charcoal.

San Jose 2023 Food Review

Big emphasis on drinks at this new location

Cucumber Spritz ($14) is perfect on hot summer day. 8.5/10

Moscow Mule ($13) is a bit on the sweet side but solid. 8/10

Ccool Citron ($14) is a well done balanced cocktail. 9/10

Hodong Ramyun ($11) is a nice hearty bowl of noodles.  Makes eating so much meat more palitable. 8.5/10

Beef Combo ($91 small for 2-3) You can order a combo or individual meats.  The individual meats are pricey but give higher quantity. Thinly sliced brisket, marinated short rib, and ribeye with rice, Kimchi stew. A good amount of meat for 3 people.

The brisket is thinly sliced like a hot pot restaurant. Not preseasoned. It is perhaps the weakest of the 3.  7/10

Marinated Boneless Short Rib has a nice garlic sweet marinade.  It burns fast, so they cook it quickly.  Nice flavor profile. No need to dip it. 9/10 – Choosing only marinated meat is the ticket for us.

Ribeye is not marinated but is tender and decent. Needs a quick pinch of salt and perhaps a dip. 8/10

LA 2016 Food Review

Beef combo ($47.99 for small) thinly sliced brisket was very thin and required some of the special sauce to bring out flavors.

Marinated Galbi or short rib was so good that we ordered a second order. ($61) tender, juicy, and cooked perfectly. Make sure the server cooks the bone and pulls the tendon meat off.

Seasoned prime boneless short rib ($57) is a sweeter version that we like even better.  It comes a bit watery and messy when raw but cooked up to  mean marinated chunks.

Premium Seared Pork Belly ($33) is unlike most slices of fatty meat.  This is actually pretty lean.  Really nice flavors and not too greasy. Highly recommended.

Prime ribeye ($57) hit the spot with its high quality meat and liberal quantities. (Two 8oz portions) The waiter cooked it just right and cut it up for us.

Kimchee stew was good, but the meat is why everybody is here.

OK: (Order if you like this dish)
None

Pans: (We would not reorder these dishes)
None

Do you agree with our review? Have you found other similar restaurants that are better?

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