Tri-Valley Korean Restaurant BBQ

Enough parking spaces. We arrived around 7:30pm on a Friday. Seating was no issue. The atmosphere was pleasant, and the place appeared clean.
$ 19 /​person Unlimited meat for the grill — Bulgogi, kalbi, pork strips, and chicken. I only wished they provided veggies to throw on the grill. The side dishes were delicious as well.
Staff was nice and helpful.
This place was good, but I know a better one in Artesia for a lil’less money.

Review Note: Although in the same location this restaurant is now under new management and a different name, but is still features Korean BBQ.
When I knew I would be spending some time in the Dublin area I set my mind on Korean BBQ. Although when we drove up there was a grand opening banner on the store front, the same clean and stylish interior of the restaurant made me feel right at home even with new menus and waiting staff. While my memory is not that great, I can honestly say that the short ribs and Dack chicken grilled for us (off the dinner menu) were out of this world. I don’t think metaphysically beef can melt in your mouth but this stuff came pretty close. Not only was the main dish fantastic, but the pickled gim chi sides (that could be refilled for free) were delicious, and along with the white rice I was in a good, good place.
The waiter was very friendly, and was helpful in telling us which vegetables were which. I almost didn’t have the sweet ginger drink at the end to cleanse my palette because I didn’t want to lose the taste of the great grilled food, but, I was thirsty.

I love Korean BBQ, and this restaurant did not disappoint me in the slightest. My sister and I got there around 5pm, early I know. We were the only people there yet, so we had excellent service. We ordered the Bul Go Gi and Jap Chae. Since we had two orders, they fired the bbq on our table up and we cooked it there. I found the meat to be very tasty. The side dishes (banchan) were more than adequate for the two of us, and they brought us more of any of the types we wanted extras of.
Sure, it’s not cheap, but I don’t think I’ve ever been to a GOOD Korean BBQ place that is. For the amount of food you get, and the fact they bring you more if you want it, I found the price to be more than reasonable.
I’m glad I’ve found this place because I’m sure I’ll be going back.

Tried this place for lunch for the first time last Saturday. I should have checked the Unilocal reviews before going! The food is definitely overpriced. We got a seafood pancake, a beef soup, and fish soup for close to 50 dollars! The amount of food was not substantial. The taste was actually okay, but the price and bad service put me in a bad mood.
One of my favorite things about eating Korean food is the small plates of veggies and other stuff. They definitely skimped in this area. The small plates did not taste that good, there were small portions, and they didn’t offer to refill any. Also, the reviewers are right, after they give you your food, they pretty much ignore you. There were only 5 tables of people so it’s not like it was busy.
I will not be going again.

2 Korean girls walk into a restaurant… I wouldn’t exactly write home to mom about this place. But it’ll do.
Since I’m from LA where Koreatown is just 10 mins from my house — comparing this Korean BBQ place to any place I’ve been to in LA just wouldn’t be fair… so considering where I’m at in the East Bay, I can’t complain. It served it’s purpose.
Bulgogi + Kalbi + gas flame mixed with charcol = Yummy BBQ.
The banchan was skimpy, but for us it worked out fine, since there were just two of us.
Service — well it’s not different than most mom and pop Korean joints, and considering there was seriously just a mom and pop for service — it’s not like I was expecting red carpet service or something.
Price — well, for the BBQ — it’s pretty par with any Korean BBQ place. Around 23 bucks for the Kalbi, less than 20 for the Bulgogi.
The Bulgogi was cut in strips that looked like bacon. I couldn’t stop laughing.
Would I come again — sure, especially if I’m in the mood for Korean food and the East Bay and I don’t really want to drive to Oakland, San Jose or SF…

Got my Korean fix out of the way!!! YAY me!
Went here for lunch today, overall everything was alright nothing too special, i was feenin’ for the Bulgogi and man, that was some expensive beef for a small order. I also had the Jap Chae, which is like a clear noddle stir fry. A bit on the greasy side but your boy was starving. My friend had the spicy chicken lunch box special. the place is very clean, has two TVs and you can actually cook at the table, but i recommend that if you have a large party and lots of time. I never tried there soup, ill be sure to have that next time, Overall experience was a positive, nothing bad except we were the only two people eating there, no one came in when got there and no one came in when we left. must be the price, lol, anyways if your up for some Korean BBQ and in the neighborhood, go on and stop by, its all good!

I’ve eaten here twice. I can’t complain on the food. The food was good. I had there BBQ Chicken which was pretty tasty and the Kimchi chige.
The service was not that great. They take your order and bring you your food but good luck trying to get them to come back around again. They some how forget that your there even though there is no one else there.
Place could have potential if they had better service and from other reviews better prices. I just always assumed Korean food was expensive. If there’s places that aren’t someone let me know!

Overpriced.
I want to give this place the benefit of the doubt, but this meal was unsatisfying. My father and I both ordered bim bim baps, and you could barely notice the fried egg. There was way too much rice.
I usually like to wait till I’ve been to a place a couple of times before writing a review, but I don’t think I’ll ever come back.

This is the second time we’ve had food from here, but the first time we ate in. The place is very clean. The menu has standard Korean fare. The food was just okay. Dishes that were spicy at other Korean restaurants were bland here, not bad, just bland. It was a little pricey but the portions were adequate and they were very friendly to our four year old. There is not a kids’ menu or child portions.
We probably would eat here again, but more because it’s close to home, and the Korean restaurant selection in the area is limited.
A note on the take out. There is nowhere to order or wait, but they were very helpful. You can kill time at Big Lots, the dollar store, or some of the other shops while waiting.

The place is moderately fine décor yet service is just basically right. I have to give a three-​star rating just because the workers there should be very friendly from the start but they’re ok as they’re improving the value of restaurant service. I got the Bibimbap, which is delicious and hearty. Along with banchan, it should have a balance of taste between sweet and spicy. It’s fine to eat there but I strongly recommend you go eat at lunchtime where the price is cheaper than dinnertime. Also, it’s better to have groups to come to this restaurant so they provide excellent all you can eat service on dinnertime, as I talked to the management.
Just to remind them, be very friendly from the start and provide better food at reasonable prices. No wonder as I saw the ratings of this restaurant, they should bump up and praise for a wonderful experience.

My friend Ryan and I went here last night. We got the all-​you-​can-​eat BBQ special, it was awesome. I’m happy to be their first 5 star Review. The two waitresses who served us were super nice and friendly. We also ordered a couple bottles of Soju which were very reasonable at $ 11 a bottle, pretty smooth taste too. They brought us out an assortment of side dishes and did not hesitate to replenish our meat or side dishes when they ran out plus they did not rush us out the door after closing time. The cuts of Korean BBQ beef were fresh and tasty. I’m thinking maybe we got them on restocking day due to the very fresh cut of meats we were served. I’m cool with that!
Super nice people, reasonable drink prices, tasty food, an overall great experience.

While the location is good (there aren’t many Korean restaurants in the East Bay) and the restaurant décor is nice, you want to avoid this place.
All you’ll find is high prices, very poor service, and so so Korean food.
My family and I wanted to have a nice weekend dinner and we decided we could go for some Korean food. We remembered passing by this restaurant so we decided «why not?». If I could have seen into the future like Nicolas Cage in NEXT I wouldn’t have stepped in the door.
The restaurant itself was not full at all, yet it took 5 minutes of waiting around and then having to wave down a waitress to seat us. We looked through the menu (pretty typical Korean BBQ) and decided the standard Kalb, bumblebee dishes. Well we sat there for a good 15 minutes before the waitress came back. And THAT was the last time we saw the waitress at all. Completely zero service. It seemed like the waitress knew some of the other customers in the restaurant and were catering to their needs while ignoring the regular customers. We finished our food and promptly left.
Avoid this place like you avoid buying bikes from Walmart.

This place was not too bad. I actually haven’t eaten Korean food outside of my house before (I had a Korean student live with us for a while), so I can’t really compare this place to others. I had Bul Ko Gi (#2) for lunch. I like the salad (because of the dressing) and most of everything else except for their kimchi and fried potato croquette of some sort… that was cold.
The beef, we felt, needed more sauce to it. It was a bit dry for my liking. The waitstaff never checked-​up on us, so our drinks weren’t refilled when they needed to be, and I agree, it was quite dead – especially for lunchtime.
We took our food home and cooked up the beef with some ginger sesame teriyaki marinade, which definitely beefed up our beef. We added the broccoli to some fried rice we made (rice, scrambled eggs, soy sauce, garlic) and it made that delicious… so, we just made something delicious out of something that was just OK… :)

Let’s just say one of the worse experiences I’ve had at a restaurant… okay not as bad as Figaro in SF, but this comes close. A bunch of us from work had gone out to eat at this place thinking… mmm, korean bbq sounds really good right now. While we were waiting for our co-​workers to come, four of us decided we’d do the unlimited meat fest. Apparently it’s all or nothing at this place, your whole party has to do it otherwise no one can. Then we ordered our food, took forever to get to us, AND my friend didn’t even get the beer he ordered. We were thinking, they better not charge us for that. After I aged 10 years, we finally get the check and they over charged us for two of the dishes! They charged the full dinner price when clearly on their menu it was 3 dollars cheaper! Okay we understand that there was a full blown korean family party going on next door, but they completely ignored us and it took us almost 2 hours to finally leave the place. The food is overpriced and not quality enough. Never will be back ever again.

I took my mom’s Korean food cherry away from her that night, unfortunately it wasn’t as enjoyable experiance as I had hoped it be.
For a large restaurant that it is, it was quite dead. That and being that it was dead why did they feel the need to sit us right next to the squirmy, whiny 3 year old?
Plus I felt that we were being ignored by our waitstaff, they gave us some coffee drink stuff but no water? Also I noticed they guy speaking Korean got excellent, attentive service throughout the meal, while my mom and I, well, got ignored.
The food itself was ok, my mom enjoyed her beef bowl, I got the beef tofu and it was just ok, I’ve had better in San Jose, plus I didn’t get an egg to throw in it, what was up with that?
All their little sample things were interesting and fun to try, and some were just kinda gross.
Bottomline, I won’t be back, and if they keep ignoring their non-​Korean customers like they do, I don’t think they’ll be around much longer.

We went here a little while ago with our family because we wanted to try it. We were disappointed with the portions because they charge a lot of their food.
Too expensive for a place that you have to cook your own bbq meat that doesn’t have much taste, and you leave smelling like fried food and oil.

I haven’t been there in awhile, but I gave them two chances and I was very dissapointed.
The Meat was ok, but the service was terrible. It was busy and the owner was eating dinner at 6pm and trying to help out when possible in between chomps of his dinner. Unacceptable.
Also, I orderd Kalbi at the table and then 20 minutes later they tell me I have to order at least 2 servings. I say fine, cook it inside. I then waited 30 more minutes for it. It took us way to long to get menus, water, and any kind of attention.
Granted, I haven’t been back in awhile, but I don’t know if I would try them again as they are overpriced for what is offered.

I was originally going to give this place only 3 stars, but their tofu soup is just too good. I usually get their lunch special. It is a bit pricey, but that is typical for Korean food. The King fish is pretty good here, but I would not suggest it to people who don’t like lots of fish bone. The chicken and spicy pork is decent too. The sides are pretty good also. Although, I do prefer a spicier kimchi. The lunch special also comes with my favorite soft tofu soup. I love how they make it nice and spicy. They do also accomodate to people who don’t have a hardcore spicy palate.
If you like tofu soup, you need to come here. So YUMMY!!!

I don’t have korean food too often, and of course it comes down to personal preferences, but for me the only two pluses of this place are that it’s is close to me, and that it is clean and pretty sensible.
I came here for the dishes and not the BBQ so i don’t have much to say about that, but i ordered the Sol Dat Bi Bim Bob and for about 12 bucks i got myself some food, but not much else. Also, when they sent us a little bowl of salad before the meal i almost had a heart attack. i was like «No table full of tiny plates with delicious little snacks on them??? NOOOOOOOO» But sure enough they came and i felt a wave of relief. When they came though it wasn’t really anything special. I didn’t get that «Wow what the hell is that» sort of feeling when they came and i always like saying «Wow what the hell is that» Also, the kimchi tasted like my mom’s moonshine kimchi (read: nasty and, like actual moonshine, will make you blind.)
When my Bi Bim Bob came it had the standard Bi Bim Bob stuff and i guess i was fine with that. However i expected a little bigger portion and maybe a little more out of what is basically a 12 dollar scalding hot bowl of rice. Oh well, dumping hot sauce all over it will remedy all flavor concerns. As for service it was nice that the staff was mainly korean but that also meant some patchwork english so miscommunications may become a problem, but it shouldn’t be that big of a deal. So, 3 stars for being so… mediocre.

So I came home for the weekend to have lunch with my mom. I didn’t know what I was in the mood for, so I asked her what she wanted. She told me to decide and listed off different cuisines in the area. Once I heard the word «Korean» that was the place I wanted to go. I haven’t had/​seen (maybe I didn’t look hard enough) Korean places in this area, so I was excited to try it out.
This place is new as the whole plaza is new. Everything was clean and pristine. When we went, it was already late in the afternoon (around 2), when we got there, there was only one other group besides us. But after that 3 more parties came in, which I think is pretty busy considering that it’s that weird time between lunch and dinner.
The menu was new and nice. Rather cool looking as it was clean and silver, the pages between plastic. Their selection of food was rather large. Definitely the best time to come here would be between Mondays and Fridays from, I think it’s, 12 – 3 PM, as that’s when they serve their Lunch Specials, which seem decently priced. Alas, it was a Saturday, so no Lunch Specials for us. For regular pricing, it isn’t so bad. It is a little higher than some Korean restaurants I’ve been to by $ 1 – 3.
The service was friendly. Our server did have a little trouble understanding when my mom asked if their man du in the man du gook had beef in it (oops, I forgot my mom doesn’t eat beef). It was cool that they let her substitute the beef in the dol sot bibimbap for chicken. I, of course, ordered my usual mool naeng myun. I love the stuff. I should start ordering other things though. Apparently according to our server, it is a very popular Korean dish. I think she was educating my mom, because I’ve eaten it enough times to know how awesome it is. My only complaint about the service is that I wish they would come more often to refill my bori-​cha (roasted barley tea).
We got a salad for a starter. It was strange. Their dressing wasn’t much of a dressing. It just tasted like lettuce to me. Then came the banchan, which was okay, but definitely not the best I’ve had. Some of it was bland, others were good.
My mom’s dol sot bibimbap came. It was of a decent size. I had a taste of it and it was rather bland, which I hear is typical of bibimbap. But I’ve had rather flavorful bibimbap. My mom put in a lot of their soy sauce, which she figures is low sodium (I think it was fine), but it wasn’t flavorful enough for her. Too bad she can’t take spicy sauces, because with the gochujang, it was rather good.
Now, here’s the reason for my 4 star review (otherwise, I’d give this place a 3). Their mool naeng myun is the best I’ve had. I think I like it better than the places in LA. Their broth was flavorful and didn’t need much more vinegar to make it that nice tart flavor. After eating naeng myun with mustard, I don’t think I can eat it without it anymore. The noodles were chewy and awesome. The sliced pickled radish that it came with was delicious with the noodles. I think my only real complaint was that they didn’t julienne their cucumber very well, as some pieces were still stuck together instead of in separate small strips.
I definitely want to try and come back here to try out their other offerings like their soondubu or kimchi jjigae (though the stone pot for those seem a bit on the small side from what I saw), and definitely their barbeque. After all, it is a barbeque place. I like that they have the grills out on the tables. I find that places that cook the barbeque for you sometimes overcooks the meat (I like my meat medium to medium rare, mmm… juicy).
Update 07÷02÷07:
I came here twice within the last week. I had mool naeng myun again, which was still good.
Today I got the dweji bulgogi. It was okay, a little too sweet for my taste. And as for portion size, it was decent, but compared with other place with the price, there are definitely other places that give you a lot more for what you play for.
Both times I went, I didn’t get the little yogurt drink they gave my mom and I the first time. Made me sad, but I wasn’t about to ask for it.
Minus half a star.