Manna BBQ

Reviews 4

WA

Walter Macalma

Manna is and has been the king of SD KBBQ for years. I mean there is a reason they have 4 locations (Convoy, MM, SM, Chula) and perhaps why “manna” means bread of life. Ok so it’s not quite LA KBBQ, but heck I’d put it against almost any major city. It’s consistent, imo affordable and despite some hiccups, worth it every time. Unless you go to the Convoy location early and on a weekday it’s really not worth it because of parking, original or not, no way, not with 3 other places. I’d drive 10-15 miles more if given the chances to go to another location, like this one for instance. Plenty of parking, parking abound, it looks huge, but it not that big inside, so don’t come looking for some crazy Chinese style banquet hall. Décor is standard manna faire, earth tone dark and light, marble, black chairs. The standard water jugs on refill (not carafe’s, they are not glass). The service is pretty good, so long as it’s not busy. Don’t be afraid to hit that button people, you need what you need and not everyone is so good they can predict the needs of the customer. Some people are more experienced eaters and use more of one thing that others. It’s AYCE and an hour, so if you are waiting for them to see you and you are too scared to hit that button and your time runs out, that’s on you kid. Price is good, unless you want shrimp I suggest B menu. They have been out of a few items on the banchan recently (hiccups) The “meat roll ups” or the sliced ribeye are great, always a top choice, the bulgogi and cubed version are also standard choice, pork belly is uncured and unsalted so thought they say it’s like bacon, it’s not. Be sure to change out the grate for less smoke, faster cooking and crank that, no one wants to wait 15 minutes for items to cook. Always get the egg, it’s included, save the rice for the later courses or you will fill up on 2nds and 3rds. I live closer to the San Marcos location which is even bigger. Manna is always one of the best options for KBBQ in San Diego. KBBQ always makes me miss living in Orange County. Protip:Because you take the smell everywhere with you after, you can’t lie about having had KBBQ unless you bring a smoking jacket.

EM

Emy Meyer

Date of visit: 9/19/2016 Scotty and I came here for dinner at 5:30 on a Monday, so there were barely any other people in the restaurant. As many other reviewers have also stated, this location seems to be much bigger than other KBBQ places - there is a lot of open area and the ventilation is great, so you dont come out smelling like meat, which is definitely a bonus. The waitstaff here was on top of everything - it definitely helped that there werent many people in the restaurant, but it was nice to see that they were extremely efficient, which I can assume means service would be good when busier. They do have these large carts which can get in the way of walking around, but you should probably be seated the entire time. We decided on the A2 all you can eat menu. With tea, tax, and tip, it came out to $30 per person, which wasnt bad for the quality of meats, side dishes, and service. My absolute favorite cut of meat was the marinated thin beef - the meat was still a little thick and perfectly seasoned. However, my least favorite was the bulgogi - it tasted like cheap pieces of beef and was super fatty. We also got the thinly sliced brisket twice, and pork galbi. Both of these were good and definitely cuts I would get again. We ordered the marinated short rib, but were too full to get to it. Since we didnt touch the meat, they took it back, which was nice of them to do since a lot of places would have charged us for that mistake. My favorite side dishes were the glass noodles, potato salad, cold spinach, and kimchi. We skipped the radish and bean sprouts. Our server also kept offering us rice, but we were good with just one bowl. We didnt order any of the other side dishes other than the rice papers for Scotty. Overall, this is definitely my new favorite place for KBBQ. However, I would definitely recommend going with a group of at least 4 people so you can get through more dishes without being ridiculously full. I was shocked that Scotty and I got through 5 selections (but barely).

MI

Minton H

Ive been to this Manna kbbq location about 5 or 6 times now and Ive enjoyed it immensely everytime with my family. I had previously rated it 5 stars but unfortunately my last experience here was quite terrible. Usually all of the staff here are very friendly and helpful but on my last visit there was an older mature aged waitress who was down right rude to us the entire time, from beginning to end. I went here to eat during the early hours of dinner with my wife and two little brothers. We were there to enjoy a nice meal and celebrate my brothers birthday. He was 9 and only now 10 years old this year. But after she asked him what age he was, he replied honestly and she straight up asked the child if he was sure and said she thought he was lying. I was shocked that she didnt confirm with me and instead called my kid brother out so I replied that he was telling the truth. The entire time we were there she would also bring out old and wrong orders of meat when we ordered food from her. We knew she was doing it on purpose because other waiters would fix it for us and bring us much better food when we ordered from them. When we went to pay it turns out she even charged the adult price for my little brother. Luckily we caught this and asked the cashier what the age a child was considered for the kids price and he fixed it for us. If it wasnt for that waitress I would definitely recommend this restaurant to all meat lovers with big appetites. The parking is spacious and this place doesnt get too crowded and it is great for large and small parties alike. It is an all you can eat, self cooking experience. A2 is definitely the better value and for me its all about the short ribs, beef tongue, and galbi. Make sure to shower afterwards because the smell really sticks to you but its definitely worth it.

TH

The Random Asians

So we were waiting for a table for our party of 9, and we get called in. They give us a table of 8 instead of 9 so we asked why. They said said some stuff about fire hazards so we understood. They also said that we had to wait about an hour for a table of 9, so we decide to leave. When were already in our car and ready to leave, they ran outside and told us to come back in because they now had a table of 9. I was frustrated with their service, and they had wifi, but they didnt even know the password! The music playing was alright, but when its someones birthday, they literally play the Happy Birthday song on the speakers instead of singing it, and it BLASTS your ears because its so loud. The food was just uncreative as well. They literally just give you a plate of raw meat and tell you to cook it on the grill attached to the table. I like the idea, but what if you undercook or overcook it and get sick? Do we need to sign a waiver or something??? Overall, manna bbq is not the place for me. If you like it and disagree, I dont care. We all have different opinions. ugh... I wish Pizza Hut still owned that lot.