Picnic Garden

The lunch price of $ 18 is very worth for a BBQ buffet. Some may argue that this isn’t traditional Korean BBQ because you have to get up to get your own beef, but I don’t care as long as the meat enters my stomach. They had an abundance of various meats: chicken, beef, and pork. And if you aren’t in the mood for that, they have Dukbokki, kimbap, dumplings, and much more. They are pretty quick to refill water and lettuce. The reason why they lost a star is because I think they are understaffed in the afternoon. Often times we had to cook our own food instead of having the waitress do it for us. I don’t recommend having a large party because she can’t cook as fast as we eat. I also don’t recommend dinner because $ 30 is insane.

always have a good time here. I usually just do lunch cause it won’t be crowded. Prepare to wait if u gonna go dinner time. They have a decent amount of items to choose. kalbi short ribs are amazing these kalbi they have is like… forget about it. Only thing i will choose over and over.

So, I went vegetarian a few months ago, but this place made me break that for a day.
I came here with my girlfriend’s parents, who are Korean and insisted that I have traditional Korean BBQ. We arrived (a short walk from the 7 stop) and then sat down on a Wednesday afternoon. The place was mostly empty and the service was awesome.
Had several different kinds of meat, the LA Kalbi being the best, but tons of others coming close behind. Everything was incredibly flavorful and wonderfully tender. Fresh lettuce to wrap the meats in, and plenty of it. I’m certain I had like a pound and a half of meat, and I fell asleep that night at 7:30PM. Super delicious, and a great deal.

I would have given it a better rating if they re-​filled up the shrimp. The pre-​seasoned meats are delicious. The sauces at the end of the bar are delicious. Staff is very attentive. The grills are small and pieces of protein are quite large. When you put protein down someone comes over with scissors to cut it down to smaller pieces. Wear summer clothes when you go, the heat from the grill on your legs can get uncomfortable. They have fans blowing down to keep the heat down but it’s unavoidable. I wish they had wipes for your hands. You have to grab raw meet with tongs and cross contamination is very possible thing. Good turnover is great. And you get a fresh grill plate numerous times during the meal. Def worth checking out.

RECOMMENDED
Although I’ve worked near Korea Town (West 32^nd in Manhattan) for 15 of the last 18 years, I’ve been intimidated by Korean food and have never dined in the many Korean restaurants there (embarrassing!). So… at the recommendation of my friend Simon, who graciously offered to drive the both of us to the land of Insane Driving and No Parking, and teach me the ins and outs of Korean BBQ, I experienced Picnic Garden on 4÷26÷16.
After circling the blocks surrounding Northern Boulevard a mere one time, Simon scored a spot directly in front of the restaurant. It was a good omen. Upon entry, we were promptly seated in the large adjacent room. The room was bright and loud. I enjoyed the festive atmosphere. I immediately requested a Korean beer (Premier). It was cold, complex and refreshing.
The lengthy AYCE buffet features both cooked and uncooked food, the latter for cooking upon grills situated in the middle of your table. There are three or four rice cookers with different varieties of rice. There is also a bottle of hot sauce at the buffet and I suggest that you, like me, use it to season your barbecued meats, chicken, seafood and vegetables. First, I brought some Bok Choy, Glass Noodles, Steamed Clams, Chicken Wings and Cabbage Kimchee to the table. All, except the Chicken Wings, were delicious. The Kimchee was not too hot and I regarded it as very accessible to those who are new to this type of food.
With regard to the barbecued items, I particularly enjoyed the Bulgogi and Galbi (both boned and boneless).Both were well seasoned. I did not mind the fat, which was evident on the boned Galbi. The Spicy Pork was also delicious. I did not regard the Squid or Pork Belly as highly. Both, when grilled, were kind of dry. Perhaps the tabletop grill does not do these items justice.
Service was friendly, efficient and accommodating. The nice waitress provided a large bowl of what appeared to be Romaine Lettuce. She always ran up to our table to cut our meat with scissors on a timely basis and graciously changed the grilling surface a couple of times.
I had a great experience at Picnic Garden and look forward to returning!!!

The service here is probably one of the worst you’ll ever get. I know it’s an all you can eat buffet so there really isn’t much service to begin with, but when you have to ask 2 separate waitresses for a cup of water and it doesn’t come until the 4^th time you ask, that’s a problem. The first waitress said yes and completely left. She ended up cutting oranges in the table adjacent to us with no regards to the water. The second lady passed by our table twice and was like «oh yes water» and left. It wasn’t until the 3^rd time we asked that we actually got the water.
I may not be a doctor or health guru, but common sense is that you can’t eat raw chicken in case of salmonella. Common sense, right? Not to the ladies here. She holds a scissor (the same scissor I saw her use for the table next to us, and probably all the tables when she makes a round) and starts cutting your meat, raw or cooked. We had pieces of raw chicken on the grill and a plate of cooked meat on the side ready to eat. She went ahead and cut the raw chicken on then grill, cut our already cooked meat, then went back to the raw chicken. Umm… Does something sound wrong yet? I’m 100% sure that’s cross contamination at its finest. I wouldn’t use a knife I just cut raw chicken with to cut cooked food, and definitely won’t use the same scissor to cut everything. Not a surprise I took the meanest dump when I went home. They also don’t talk to you so they come over bam bam bam and leave.
We came 1.5 hours before they closed, and almost every pot was empty except the more popular meats (see videos). They stopped refilling by the time we came, but with at least 1.5 hours left until you close, shouldn’t you still refill food for patrons? If not, then maybe you should stop taking customers or let them know there’s no choices. We barely had any choices of food except meat. Don’t get me wrong, meat is great, but at an all you can eat, that’s not all I want to eat you know. The only side of lettuce they gave us was soaked in water, I had to fling it off like an umbrella.
As others mentioned, everyone who works here WANTS TO GO HOMEEE. And when I emphasize that in caps, it means they really want to gtfo and leave this place. They give you the bill 20 mins before they close and slap all the food on the table to just cook everything asap so you can leave. They want you to leave, and they don’t do it subtly. It definitely shows when they say «Pay now we gotta close the register.» It’s not an option, it’s a demand.
Taste wise — the meat is flavorful, looks fresh enough, but what do I know. But the taste alone doesn’t make up for the crappy service and risk of food poisoning. For about $ 40+ a person, I expected way more. I’ve only been here 2 times and it was 2 total experiences. Maybe come earlier at least a few hours before they close so you guarantee you get some food.

I love my job because it gives me flexibility to travel all over NYC and discover gems I otherwise would’ve never tried. Came here with a bunch of my co-​workers and loved it. This isn’t just an all you can eat buffet, it’s an experience. I mean, how often do you cook your own meat while sitting in a restaurant.
I’m not much of a carnivore, and I still loved it. The beef was amazing and servers constantly came around to cut it up into bite size pieces and change the cooking tray. There are plenty of greens and carbs at the buffet to pair with your meat. This would be a good date night!
Price was extremely reasonable for lunch. $ 25 per person included meal, tax, and a nice tip!

It’s a 3.5, maybe? It’s my first time here we a group of 7. First and foremost, ⁶⁄₇ of us had to go to the bathroom for a number two. My group was eliminated with the poops one-​by-​one as the day went on. Guess who didn’t go?;D It was like the Hunger Games lmao.
ANYWAYS, it’s not bad for an all-​you-​can-​eat Koraen bbq. Although, it seems my group was charged the dinner price instead of the lunch price during lunchtime sooooo… But yeah, the selection for the raw marinated meat was vast. It was marinated all right; it’s just good for an all-​you-​can-​eat. We thought it was okay, some meat was more delicious and well marinated than the other. Of course, they also had already-​cooked selections, like wings, egg tofu, and fried rice. They also had kimchee, pickled radish, and all that.
I did appreciate my waitress changing out the grill every two rounds and cutting the meat for us. If you don’t want your meat to be cut, just let them know instead of giving them dirty looks in silence.

Bring peptobismol. This place is not what you expect. Or actually it is if you expect cheap meats, décor, and service. Just because it’s all you can eat doesn’t mean it should be a slop fest. The food itself way mediocre when you compare it to a real Korean restaurant that uses quality meat that has been well marinated. The meat here are very fatty pieces that just don’t taste like quality beef. The grills always have an overwhelming scent of Joy dishwahing liquid. God forbid you need to go to the bathroom, looks like the bathroom at a Chinatown karaōke place on Saturday nights. For the price, of course it’s worth it if you are eating huge quantities but what’s the difference if it hardly ever settles well. The ones in ktown are better but they want 30 bucks for one order of kalbi.
Korean food is where NYC is lagging behind California. They just simply can’t do it the same here. Quality AND quantity can go hand in hand, look at Texas. Here it’s near impossible to find.

Oh yuck!
So I was hesitant due to some of the bad reviews but my Korean friend said to ignore because this place is awesome.
*Siiiiiiiiggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh*
I shouldn’t have listened!
The food was just «ok». The cabbage kimchi and the pork strips (forgot the correct term) were good but nothing else.
Also, why the heck does the entryway to the kitchen (you must pass to go to the bathroom) stink like THE BATHROOM!!! I mean seriously! It literally smelled like a dirty, outdoor gas station restroom. Mop buckets, wet uneven floors covered in rubber mats. Never ever ever again! Ever!
PS if I would’ve seen the kitchen before eating there’s no way I would have eaten there.

Came with a group for a birthday dinner. The unlimited Korean BBQ makes it a novelty restaurant. You get many options; pickled veggies, salad, meats, seafood, soups, and rice. The prices are alright; dinner is $ 32 a person and lunch is $ 18. It was great, the food was great, everything came out wonderful. However, I did notice some hair in the food, and I thought I was seeing things until someone else posted about that!!! They should do a better job of keeping this place sanitary! That’s disgusting. This is one of those places that’s good to try, but I wouldn’t frequent for the very reason that I saw hair in the food.

Picnic Garden is one of many Korean BBQ places on Northern Blvd In Queens, but it is one of the few Korean BBQ buffets on the street. There are definitely many different meat and buffet options available at Picnic garden and I’ve never seen any buffet trays empty. I particularly like the sliced bulgogi and the short ribs. This place does lose some points for having a few things that gave me pause, there was literally a chunk of raw meat in the bathroom. Other than the bathroom cleanliness, Picnic Garden also loses points for the ventilation system which seemingly doesn’t work. Also it scares me that there are rumors about this place that I am unwilling to repeat here.
In coming here, make sure to bring clothes that you don’t mind smelling. Don’t wear a nice jacket. Try not to fill up on the buffet options despite how tasty they may be. Don’t be like me, get refills of lettuce and try to balance your meat and veggie intake. Also sometimes the waitresses will help you with cooking, don’t get in their way (no burnt meat).
Meat Tips: [haha meat tip]
Short Ribs: Get the flanken cut style (across the bone) (three bones), the english cut one (with one giant bone) gets a bit too tough.
Sliced Pork: Do not get the sliced pork, so bland.
Squid: Get it if you like it, don’t overcook it and let it get too tough!
Sliced Bulgogi (beef): Don’t waste time and put it on the grill slice by slice, just grab it in chunks. It cooks fast enough without delicately separating the pieces.

Came here to celebrate a friend’s birthday. We were seated quickly and customer service was good, worker helped us cut up the food and they change the grill really often! Beware of the slipper floors though.
Basically instead of them bringing you the food, it was like a buffet where you go pick out what you want. They had different variety of food that isn’t Korean BBQ, like noodles and sushi. They also had squid which was what my friend was raging about, it was pretty good and it was huge. They do charge you if you do not finish what you take, so don’t take too much of everything because you can always get more if it’s not enough!

Been coming here for years with family and friends. It’s a good price for lots of Korean BBQ. In terms of quality it may be average but the flavor can be customized in many ways with the abundant sauces and spices: D last time I came here, I really liked the LA Kalbi, squid, and spicy pork. The Kalbi was the best I think but the squid was sooo good. For the unmarinated porks like the belly and shoulder check out their spices for fennel, salt and pepper. Sprinkle some of it on as you cook the pork and it’ll taste 10x better. I wish they had circle daikon instead of cutting it into halves/​fourths. You can stay how ever long you like and the service is helpful. I like to stay for a couple hours and go for multiple rounds. Take a walk around the block and come back LOL. Eat until you get scarred from eating K-​BBQ for a while.

The worst Korean BBQ experience ever. HORRIFIC. WILL NEVER RETURN.
QUANTITY IS EMBRACED OVER QUALITY OF MEAT.
This was my first Korean BBQ experience and I was looking forward to it!
I went the night of my birthday around 10:45PM the place closed at 12AM and the waitress told us. We began to bbq our food. The meat is set up in a buffet fashion with meat ranging form pork belly to marinated chicken, and ribs. They have vegetables you can try such as broccoli and mushrooms.
So why do I give picnic garden 1 star?
Problems:
–We were handed the check at 11:45PM and told we must pay RIGHT NOW. We were trying to get our money together as a group of 5 in the process of trying to eat without feeling rushed. The lady came back at 11:55 and asked for the credit card in a rushed manor.
–At approximately 11:55PM the waitress came to our table, without asking began pouring all the meats and vegetables we ordered onto the bbq at the seating table and began mixing it with her metal tongs and cutting the meats with a scissor holding no regard to the fact that maybe we didn’t want all the four different types of meats mixed and that she didn’t do that to any other table. She did not apologize and the rushing continued to the point that she took the meats off the grill and I found myself eating raw chicken because she just wanted us out.
–We were unhappy with the service and with a bill easily totaling 200 dollars we left a 15% tip. At the end of not having a chance to eat what we cooked because we were rushed we asked to take the plate of food we cooked home. The response «no takeout box.» Before we left she approached us and said why we didn’t tip well, should we tip when were given raw chicken to eat along with being rushed and pushed at to leave. We didn’t have plans to stay long but pouring the raw meat and vegetables onto the BBQ without asking and not doing that to the table next to us is unacceptable.
–No apology for rushing us or feeding us raw meat was given. The food was mediocre and the meats lying on the buffet line was nothing appealing to the eye. At 5 minutes to 12 the man comes out and starts taking all the tongs from the food of the long buffet line and just slamming them down in a metal bucket as he removes them from the food with no regard to the loud boom boom sound it makes when metal hits metal and your trying to relax. On top of that they shut the music at 11:45 so its just dead silence, while the waitress is staring at you from across the other side of the buffet.
I thought Korean BBQ was cooking your own food but obviously this was personal rushed waitress raw meat bbq.
I WILL NEVER RETURN. SERVICE WAS HORRIBLE. FOOD WAS SUB-​PAR. NO ONE CARES IF THE CUSTOMER IS HAPPY. I DROVE ALL THE WAY FROM MILL BASIN TO PICNIC GARDEN AND ALL IT WAS, WAS A WASTE OF GAS, MONEY, AND TIME.

Oh man. Come here starving, because you will be STUFFED!
Yes, it’s AYCE. I actually liked getting all the non-​meat dishes haha, including the kimchi, japchae noodles and other veggies. YUM!
Anyways, the meat was great as well, haha. You can eat to your heart’s content here, but make sure you pretty much gobble everything up, or you will be charged for being wasteful!

You come here for tons of quantity and not quality!
The meat selection here is good and they even have some seafood. But everything is so so in taste. Nothing is very fresh or marinated well or good in quality. And the other stuffs they have on their buffet such as the sushi, kimchi, etc just all tasted awful
Their floor is also extremely greasy and slippery.
Err, I really would rather pay a bit more and eat better Korean barbecue elsewhere!

HOLY FREAKING COW THE KOREAN BBQ HERE IS GREAT.
(But not everything)
I’d moved from LA about two years ago and had been pretty disappointed in the Korean food scene out here on the East Coast for the most part only because a) Korean food here just isn’t as flavorful b) difficult to find specialty Korean restaurants c) prices of the Korean food is much higher here for the same or lesser quality than what I’m used to out in LA.
Well, this place has made me miss LA Korean bbq just a little less now that I’d tasted the meat here.
Granted, not all of their cuts are going to be amazing, but if you’re a meat-​eater and enjoy quality cuts of beef (wang galbi) and pork (sam gyup sal), then this place has it. And it’s all-​you-​can-​eat.
Their wang galbi is really good and has tons of great flavor (not overly marinated at all) and their sam gyup sal is really good as well. They have other cuts and other meats but honestly, they’re not really worth wasting precious stomach real estate for. Come here only for their wang galbi, sam gyup sal, and spicy peppers (and soju) and don’t mess with the other stuff as they’re not that great.
Their mandoo (fried dumplings) are decent, their green mix for your meat is pretty good and their assortment of banchan and spicy peppers are great.
If you’re from LA, this is not what you’ll be used to as you’d have to get up and get your own meat to cook (like a buffet). Also, there’s no bell to ring. Just old school yelling in Korean «JUH GI YO» for immediate service.
Service here was brisk but what I appreciated was how often they (offered to) change the grill, which I am not used to. Also, they’ll come by fairly often and cut your meat up with scissors and clear dishes for you.
Seating is semi-​traditional Korean bench style and can be very cramped with not only your friends but also with the tables behind you (there’re no seat backs on half of the tables) so be prepared to cozy up with your neighbors, especially if they’re drinking and getting loud.
Oh, fyi, don’t be put off by so many non-​Koreans being here if you’re not used to it (I’m not when I’m in LA the good Korean places are almost void of all non-​Koreans).
A downside is that they don’t have dduk to eat with your meat (rice paper). Oh, they also don’t have cha dol, which is my favorite cut (if the quality is good) and a mainstay of LA Korean bbq restaurants. Also, with the lowest per person price, they don’t serve ddeng jjang jigeh or steamed egg. There’s no dessert either, which is ok because, more space for meat (and soju). Oh, and their bathrooms are disgusting (which is normal for authentic Korean restaurants from my experience).
Upside that’s not normal that I’m used to in LA, is none of this blasting Kpop videos or music nonsense. Just the sound of sizzling meat, clinking of soju shots, and good company.
Don’t get me wrong, no Korean restaurant will ever replace Ktown in LA or the OC but this is a bright spot in a vast empty void here that I’m happy to take for what it is.
Parking: Small lot behind the restaurant
Price: $ 30/​person
Wait: Depending on day and time

Second time I’ve been here.
Their AYCE korean barbecue is so affordable. I definitely recommend coming here on a weekday for lunch. It costs $ 18 before tax and tip per person. Also, the place just won’t be as crowded, which really affects your experience. The first time I came here on a holiday, they «didn’t have any more lettuce» for our table, which sucked because you can’t eat korean bbq without lettuce. The place was packed, and the servers were too busy to change the grill pan and cut the meat. And they wouldn’t let us have our own scissors to cut the meat, so we constantly sat around like sitting ducks staring at the delicious BBQ charring away.
The second time I went, the restaurant was relatively empty. The servers attended to our every need really quickly. They constantly came to change the grill, refill our waters, and give more lettuce. For $ 18, the overall experience is definitely worth it. The barbecue is good, and I really love their fried mandu.
I would really recommend that you stay away from the squid/​seafood. In general, I don’t eat seafood from AYCE restaurants because the quality is so questionable. But we found a little piece of paper and a piece of plastic in our squid, which we easily overlooked cause we were hungry and at least it wasn’t a human finger.
Basically, don’t expect to be eating at a michelin star restaurant. Despite my low-​ish score, I really recommend you go at least once to try it out and see if you like it. If it weren’t for the series of unfortunate events that occurred during either visits, I would’ve been glad it give it four or five stars.

You think you like meat? Think again. After eating this much meat non-​stop for 3 hours, I am taking a hiatus from meat… but just for a few hours.
I came here last night with a few of my friends for all-​you-​can-​eat korean bbq. Firstly, parking was hard to find so try to carpool if you can. Secondly, since it was Saturday night, it cost $ 34.95. If you want a cheaper meal, I suggest coming for the lunch special or on a weekday (not Friday).
You cook the meat on the grill in front of you so it is a fun experience. It gets really hot in there and the smell sticks to your clothes so don’t wear anything nice and dress lightly. My friend knew how to cook all the meat so that’s why we had a good time. The waitress comes around and cuts the meat for you as well.
I’ve never eaten this much meat in my life. The beef ribs and short-​ribs were extraordinary. The spicy chicken and squid was really good too. I was not a fan of the lamb. I don’t eat pork so I don’t know how that was but my friends seemed to enjoy it. Overall, it was a really tasty experience.
I give this 3 stars because it was super expensive. The bill for the seven of us was about $ 259.05. With tax and tip, we each paid $ 44. I was pretty upset about this huge dent in my wallet but oh well. If you wanna splurge then go ahead. I recommend it.