My wife and I came out for a much needed date night and met Steve and Jose who seemed to be the higher ups of Gen. absolute class and great vibes throughout the night. Nothing but laughs to make the date night elevated. To add onto the great night, our servers Lexi and Isabela were absolutely phenomenal and attentive throughout our whole meal. 10/10 will be coming back read more

The flavors are really good. I will definitely recommend to increase the kimchi items. That's the only aspect to improve the way the service and the food is good The Latin bus boys provide enhancement to the service read more

Of all the GEN locations, I'd say that the Cerritos location is the best one. They actually have 2 locations here so the newer building is the overflow location. Food wise, it is more Americanized IMO and I'd suggest getting the non-marinared meats as some marinades can be salty. It was nice to see that this location had some Mexican influenced meats like Al pastor or Carne asada but I didn't get a chance to order either. Use the Yelp wait-list tool. It is your friend. If you are a regular at GEN, get the gift cards from Costco to save some money. read more

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Got a take out lunch here with beef bulgogi, clear noodles, a small salad, plentiful rice, and a couple of won ton type of appetizers. This is located in a large outdoor shopping area with lots of stores and places to eat. So it's convenient and parking was okay around 1pm on a weekday. The decor is quite nice inside, neon lights, loads of Korean snacks, fresh macaron cooler. As you'd probably expect, it smells heavily of grilled meat! Luckily I wasn't going straight home to my dog - he'd be unhappy I partook without him. The food was very good - strongly seasoned and spicy, but in a good way. Portions were generous and it was a nice variety for a take out lunch plate. Normally, I think this is meant as a sit down, experience cooking yourself type of Korean BBQ, but I really wanted to start with a single portion as I was here in town by myself and couldn't commit to sitting down and having a full grill your own lunch. So mission accomplished, I tasted the food and it was very good. Would come back again with the family to have a full sit down meal. read more

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I've been coming to GEN Korean BBQ for a while, and unfortunately, I feel like the quality and overall experience have really gone downhill. The brisket and galbi were always the two main cuts we ordered, but this last visit was disappointing. The brisket was chalky, dry, and crumbly, and the meat quality just didn't seem like what it used to be. They've also moved to a tiered dinner menu/pricing structure, which makes it feel like you now have to upgrade to a higher tier to get the better-quality selections and experience that used to be part of going to GEN. Even the side dishes are much more minimal than before. Another strange change is the atmosphere when you first walk in. Instead of being greeted by a clear hostess area, the front is bombarded with retail packages and products for sale. It almost feels like you're walking into a grocery store rather than a restaurant. The first thing I want to see when I enter a restaurant is the host stand, not a wall of merchandise. Then once you sit down, there's even more advertising at the table, including displays and samples promoting their retail products. It just feels weird and overly commercial. I came to have a Korean BBQ dining experience, not to be marketed to throughout my meal. Our grill kept going out. GEN used to be one of our go-to spots, especially for the brisket and galbi. Between the decline in meat quality, minimal side dishes, tiered pricing, and the restaurant starting to feel more like a retail showroom, I'm not sure it's worth it anymore. Sadly, we'll probably stop coming here. read more

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Great Experience at Gen Korean BBQ House! Had a great time at Gen Korean BBQ House! The atmosphere was awesome, the music was on point, and the customer service was excellent from start to finish -- especially our server Gabriel Gabe, who was super attentive and made the experience even better. The meat was fresh, flavorful, and definitely quality you can taste. I went with the dinner option today for $31.95, and I definitely feel like you get your money's worth. Great food, great vibes, and a fun place to enjoy Korean BBQ. Everything came together perfectly -- good music, good service, and GOOD FOOD! I'll definitely be coming back again. If you're looking for a Korean BBQ spot with a great atmosphere and quality meats, give Gen Korean BBQ House a try! read more

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I am combining my two yelp accounts, so this review is from 9-29-2021 "Cmon, do i really need to explain this? Its Gen, always top quality and great service, even though there was a 45min wait. Well worth it." read more

Food is always good at a Korean bbq place because you cook it yourself duh. But at Gen they're always busy and for some reason they only have like one waiter everytime I come. I've came here over 20+ times and always the service is kind of slow, but overall it's yummy. But also, their rice is always mushy. As an Asian, bro it's not hard to make rice out of a rice maker. That's all thank you for listening LOL! read more

Before going here I checked the reviews and saw the complaints people had about the staff not being attentive or not changing your grill so I was expecting that this may be an issue. However our waiter brought us water and drinks right away, the food came out faster than any place I've been to, the grill was changed so many times I lost count and only one time we weren't able to flag our waiter down right away because he was rushing by with a full tray to a table. So the service was amazing, as for the food, or was great and the Hawaiian steak and the short ribs are a must. Very busy but with a reservation it only took about 5 minutes till we were seated and even though it can be considered loud for most restaurants, we were still able to have proper conversations. This is a chain and the friend I was visiting on California had taken me to this Korean style bbq place at another location but the food here was just as good. Definitely a place to check out if you are in the area. read more

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Gen Korean BBQ is a great meal and experience. The wait to be seated seems to always be at least 30 minutes, even for two, but once seated ---BAM, go time! Drink order, grill set up, salad and accompaniments arrive and meats are ordered and coming. They have a massive team of servers and backs, all young and all very tuned in to turning tables with fast, excellent service. They notice when the grills need to be exchanged before you need to ask. One of the last bastions of excellent service with no self serve BS! Great value!!! read more

I usually try to avoid heavy populated restaurant because of how hectic it can be. This is one of those place but the food is really good. This options and tiers of meat really caught my eyes. I went on a Thursday evening while it was a little packed. My servers were really putting in work ; shout out to them for really making sure my table was doing well. Everything came out in a reasonable amount of time. I do wish there was more sides like Mac salad and the side portion were a little bigger but to each their owns read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Overall for bang for your buck value kbbq. It's hard to beat Gen. For lunch pricing at $21.99. It is a bargain relative to the price. My favorite meats my family and I enjoy are beef belly, sirloin, and beef brisket. The Kim Chi fried rice is ok, and side dishes are also fine as well. This place gets packed during lunch hours with each waiter covering multiple tables, I want to say upwards of 10+ For a value oriented kbbq place, that is to be expected. Despite this, our waiter Ethan had great attentive service considering how busy he was. Overall I give this location a 4.2, highlights include the price to value ratio. Low points would be the crowd, and some of the hot dishes are a miss, for us that would be the bulgogi fries. Despite this, using Costco gift cards for even more a discount. This place is a must for the value oriented. We will be back for sure. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Side dishes, forgot to take pictures of the meat. Was too hungry - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Reserved a table for a large group in advance. Came in and were seated almost immediately. Place was starting to fill but what caught my eye was that the servers were a bit overwhelmed with the amount of tables they each had. Not an issue that's their fault, rather management for not having an adequate number of employees on staff or proper distribution of tables. It took about 15 mins to be helped once we were seated. Outside of that, the flow was much better once we were helped. Food came out at a reasonable time. The quality of the meal was great. Enjoyed all of the meat / chicken we tried. Overall positive experience. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Quality has gone down pretty significantly. The meat is super dry now, even when it's cooked medium rare, and the grills smell like the soap wasn't properly rinsed off after washing. They leave the sides on top of the table for god knows how long so they're warm and dry. The service is also bad. Our waiter kept forgetting to bring items we asked for. There are a bunch of little flies everywhere. Oh and BOTH rice bowls had bugs in them. If you zoom in on the picture, you can see the ant. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - an ant - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

No one answers the phone. I even called when I was there and they were not busy and no one answered the phone. When I went in person to make a reservation, they confirm my reservation. Later that day I got a text with the reservation for the wrong time. It's very difficult to get a hold of anybody even when they're not busy read more

Had a to-go order for the 4 meats, 3 sides combo meal & 2 meats, 2 sides combo meal. The sides are ridiculously small. Pretty much 1 bite size each seriously?? Had I known they would be so tiny, we would have ordered the sides by the pound. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Tiny side size of potato salad, kimchi, and cucumbers. - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

YOOOOOOOOOOO! Pulled up because this spot had the best deal in my area -- $21 lunch AYCE KBBQ? Say less. At that price I'm basically legally obligated to show up hungry. Honestly, I'm a simple man. Just bring me beef belly, pork jowl, tofu soup, and I'm living my best life -- and yeah, they got all that for $21, so I was feeling like I beat the system. BUT THEN... plot twist. We ordered jalapeños... and they came with a complimentary baby black beetle . Not on the menu, not listed as extra protein, just vibes. Imagine if I had actually eaten that... I would've unlocked a new fear and probably a superpower I didn't ask for. At that point we're like, "Alright, they're gonna take care of us, right?" Maybe comp one lunch, maybe apologize with some dignity... nah. They said, "Best we can do is one melon alcoholic drink ." So basically... cheers to trauma. They still charged us for both meals like everything was normal. Like sir... I didn't come here for Fear Factor: KBBQ Edition. Service though? Not gonna lie, they were nice. No attitude, just... casually serving insect surprise like it's part of the experience. Overall vibe: standard AYCE KBBQ spot, nothing crazy... except, you know, the uninvited guest at the table. Would I come back? i dunno... but I'm inspecting my vegetables like a detective every-time ‍ read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Baby beetle - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Typing this right at the table because I can't believe how low Gen has come. My friends and I were hungry and hadn't eaten all day and I swore up and down it would be great. I've seen my server 4 times in almost 1 hours and 45 minutes or so. Our grill would NOT heat up and our brisket literally took about 30-40 minutes to cook. We asked for ribs that took more than an hour to get to us. Our refill for my brother and friend genuinely took 40-50 minutes. My refill of coke never came. I'm extremely disappointed in Gen today and how they basically didn't feel like helping us today. Shoutout to our server Dom for this experience. read more

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Haven't been to Gen Korean BBQ in years. It's a solid AYCE spot for the price. Came here with coworkers and overall it was decent, but a few things stood out. Ventilation wasn't great, so expect to smell like BBQ after. The floor in our area felt slippery like it wasn't cleaned properly, and the tongs/plates we were given didn't look fully clean, we had to ask for replacements. Food was decent, nothing amazing, but fair for what you pay. Overall, it's an okay spot if you just want AYCE, but the cleanliness and ventilation issues bring it down a bit. I might come back occasionally, but not out of my way. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

GEN CERRITOS--DINNER on July 6, 2026 I came here for dinner that started at 3 PM. The server had a very long nail that was dipping into the salad and the side dishes. I was grossed out. I told her I have a problem with her long nails dipping into the food. She asked me if I wanted another server. I didn't answer. I had a big sigh. I just lost my appetite. I couldn't decide whether to walk out or stay. Anyway, a new server arrived at the table and informed me that she would be replacing the previous server so I stayed. I explained to her that I'm not a difficult customer. I couldn't eat the salad and side dishes that had been contaminated by the previous server's long nails dipping into my food. She offered to change the salad and side dishes. When she arrived at the table, I noticed she wore a pair of black gloves. I don't see the rest of the staff wearing gloves, except for the ones collecting the dirty dishes. Does this solve the issue I brought up? This establishment failed to uphold one of the Four Cs" of food hygiene: Cleaning, Cooking, Chilling, and preventing cross-contamination. In this case, I'm referring to the prevention of cross-contamination. I'm not sure what else goes on in their kitchen. Also, the ambiance was not comfortable. The table was so small, even the server commented on how small the table was, the smoke from the meat was going to your face because there was no exhaust. Over the years, I was a big fan of GEN! My visit yesterday was my last! read more

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Shout-out to Paco for his excellent service! Even though he wasn't our waiter, he noticed our grilled was missing items, stepped in right away, and made sure we got everything we needed. He continued checking on us throughout our meal. Thank you, Paco, for your attentiveness and outstanding customer service! Gen Premium steak, Hawaiian steak and short ribs bone in are always a must at Gen Korean BBQ. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Carne Asada and Hawaiian Steak - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Walked In a you can feel the humidity... did not wait to be served. A customer was wiping the sweat of his face and said it was to hot. Not a place to enjoy your food when you're sweating and no ac on. read more

Our server Ryan was dope. Very helpful, always checked up on us, and just an all around great. Definitely coming back and looking for him read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

The quality has dropped throughout the years. Who ever cuts their meat shaves the meat where it's so shredded. All the meats are sweet. Asked more banchan and the kimchee was icy. Didn't even have time to thaw it? Asked 3xs for salad and saamjang. What's the point for putting it in your iPad? Really it's great for big parties because it's AYCE but service is bare minimum and the quality is horrible. There is better kbbq really. AVOID!! read more

Came in on 1/18 around 7:30 PM and the waitlist moved pretty fast about 20 minutes for a party of 5, which was a pleasant surprise during peak time. Food overall was solid. The cheese tonkotsu was definitely a standout and one of my favorite items. Everything else was good, nothing bad, just consistent and satisfying. Ambiance is energetic and fun, but it can get pretty loud with the background music and crowd, so keep that in mind if you're looking for a quieter dinner. Overall, a great spot for groups and a lively night out. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Gen - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

We started going to GEN's Cerritos location even though Torrance is much closer to us because the overall experience was noticeably better. The meat quality was better, the sides came out promptly, and the service was quicker and more attentive. We probably visited around eight times this past summer with our kids because our daughter was on a major Korean BBQ kick. Unfortunately, our last two visits may have us trying another location. The service was extremely lacking, and our server would disappear for 15-20 minutes at a time. During our most recent visit, we waited 25 minutes for rice paper--and only received it after asking a second time. It's disappointing because Cerritos had become our preferred location, but the service is now starting to feel just like the Torrance location, which is exactly why we stopped going there. Hopefully, these were just two off visits and the service improves because we genuinely enjoyed coming here as a family. read more

Went to Korean barbecue yesterday and a roach crawled on the table while eating we went to the manager. We didn't even make a scene!!! and the manager only gave us $15 off our meal!!! which should've been free. Very crazy!!!! Never coming back to this location! read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

the worst service on a Sunday This use to be the best place to eat not no more Everything took so long to get read more

This was my first time being seated in what seems like a separate building from the main GEN location, which honestly confused me at first. Once we got there, I also had zero phone service, so I couldn't really look at the menu online -- not ideal. That said, our server John completely saved the experience. I believe he's a manager, and he was covering three sections at once. You could tell he was stressed and under a lot of pressure, but he was still doing an amazing job. He was running around nonstop like a chicken without a head -- I genuinely wanted to tell him it was okay to breathe Huge respect to him. Where we were seated, the door opening constantly let in cold air. My boyfriend liked the breeze, but I absolutely did not. If you tend to run hot, though, that seat would be perfect. One thing I did appreciate was the block of onion they give you to clean the grill between meats -- super convenient. I wasn't a fan of their hot sauce, though; it tasted like spicy ketchup to me. Now the food -- all of it was great. Meats we ordered: * Brisket * Beef belly * Hawaiian steak * Spicy pork bulgogi Everything was flavorful and cooked well. For appetizers, we got the cheese corn and bulgogi fries, and both were fire. The dinner menu has a lot of appetizer options to choose from, which was a nice bonus. Overall, great food and an outstanding server. The layout and seating situation weren't ideal, but I'd still come back -- especially knowing how solid the food is and how hard the staff works. (Would have been 4 stars if it wasn't for John) read more

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Honestly, one of the worst dining experiences I've had. Our food was served at room temperature, which was already disappointing. It took approximately 30 minutes just to receive our drinks and refills. We waited 45 minutes for our Bulgogi Fries, and when we ordered another serving, it took an additional HOUR to arrive. Having to wait that long for something as simple as Bulgogi Fries is unacceptable. The service was extremely slow, the food wasn't served at the proper temperature, and the overall experience was frustrating. We came here to enjoy a meal, not spend most of our time waiting for basic service. For the prices you're paying, I expected significantly better food quality, communication, and customer service. Unfortunately, this experience completely ruined our visit. read more

I've been coming to GEN Korean BBQ off and on for years, and last night's Thanksgiving visit with my son was one of the best experiences I've had there. We ordered beef bulgogi, brisket, garlic chicken, shrimp, short ribs, and popcorn chicken. Everything was flavorful, but the short ribs were easily the standout--tender, juicy, and perfectly seasoned. In the past, I've noticed that when the restaurant gets extremely busy, the service can slip a little. But this time, even with a moderate crowd, the service was excellent. The staff was professional, attentive, and genuinely helpful throughout our meal. The atmosphere was relaxing and made for a great dining experience. Overall, GEN delivered a solid meal with great service, and this visit reminded me why I keep coming back. Happy to see them at their best again. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

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Have not gone to this spot in years and I don't know why because it was definitely great food & experience. I enjoyed all their side dishes. Friend and I went to eat dinner during World Cup season. They offered a deal on soju if a game was playing while dining. Staff was friendly. Did not wait as much to be seated. Great place for family and friends. Will definitely be back more often! read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Here for dinner and upon sitting down, utensils such as tongs and scissors were not throughly cleaned. There were still left over burnt meat marks on both tongs and scissors. We ordered out 2nd round of meat within 20 minutes and waited for roughly an hour for our second round of meat to be skipped. We had also ordered soup.. the soup was ordered when we sat down. We were told that soup was being made after checking in on the soup after 20 minutes and after an hour of waiting.. (mind you patiently waiting).. they had ran out of the soup. We understand they were busy however tonights service was not the greatest. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

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This place is eh. Service is slow. The meats are similar to other places but things don't come out fast enough. Their banchan is scarce and everything else is just ok for the $30 lunch option. I don't know if I will come back, but it's worth trying. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Came on a date with my husband on a Friday night. It was right before it got full so we were able to get seated quickly. The menu was easy to go through and the service was great. As far as food, there were limited side options compared to other kBBQ locations we have been to. We enjoyed the friendly atmosphere and the helpful staff. But unfortunately we were not impressed by the food. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Typical Korean bbq place...great options and priced to compete with others. It's kind of dark and smoky, not sure if it was the time of day, but just a lot more than usual spots. Service is friendly but they can be consumed and miss rounding back, but nothing major. read more

Super bad service, waitress take forever to help us out and the iPad service sucks! It doesn't work and you get the premium package for $51.89 but it takes forever! Never coming here again! Their menu it's limited and the portion of side dishes are miserable! read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Service here has consistently been disappointing. The wait times are long, and even after receiving a text saying you're next to be seated, you're still left waiting another 10-15 minutes because it's an "automated system." That feels frustrating and disorganized from the start. Once our party of two was seated, we waited about 10 more minutes before anyone acknowledged us. During that time, multiple managers walked by our table without offering support to their servers, even something as simple as starting drinks or sides would have gone a long way. We also noticed our server greeting a larger table that was seated after us, which made the delay more noticeable. When our server did get to us, the service still wasn't great. It seemed like he may have been overwhelmed due to how busy it was, which is understandable, but that's where management support should step in. Instead, management appeared to remain at the host stand, focused on the tablet or chatting with employees, rather than assisting the floor. Overall, the experience felt poorly supported and uncoordinated. read more

I used to love going to Gen years ago. But it's been a while since I have been so I decided to give it a try. I actually was here for sushi in the same plaza, but the smell was so good, I wandered into Gen instead. I came early on Sunday so it was not as packed, but I can see it definitely getting crowded as I was leaving. Their banchan definitely has become sparse since I used to go, with only a few basics. But, I am not a huge banchan person when eating meat, so I was ok with it. I started off with brisket and beef belly. Both were just OK. I looked through the rest of the all you can eat menu and nothing else caught my fancy (especially because I knew that the thicker cuts would not be tender). So, I filled up both meats and the had a pork belly at the end. I would say that the meat was just average. The only other thing I do want to mention is that the service is very spotty here. It's so busy, it's hard to get consistent service. Also, things would get forgotten (I had to ask for garlic several times). The bussers filled in and shout out to the busser that helped us, he got all the things that were missing. Overall, I had an OK experience with average food at Gen. Not sure if I would come back here anytime soon, but if the craving hits when I'm in the area. I would definitely consider it. read more

Gen Korean BBQ House - Inside - Korean Near Me - Cerritos, California

Once you walk into the restaurant, the smell of Korean barbecue fills your face with smoke which some people like and some people don't. I know that some people don't want to leave the Korean barbecue place smelling like Korean barbecue if that is you this place is not for you. There is no direct ventilation over the grill which makes for the strong smell getting on your clothes. I personally do not mind. When we first came into the restaurant we were greeted and it was a short wait. One thing that I was surprised with, that because it was Friday, even though we came for lunch, it was dinner prices I personally don't understand why this is the case, but it is what it is. It took a long time for someone to greet us and for us to get water. We had a long day traveling and we are kind of getting impatient. Our server was OK for the most part a little bit on the slower end and not as attentive as I would've hoped. I'm not sure if this is just Korean barbecue in this area but we had to cook and cut all of our food. There was no help, which wasn't a problem, but just a surprise. This is an all you can eat place with a lot of options and various food choices other than barbecue/meat. Most of the meat items that we had ordered was pretty good in terms of flavor and it was tender enough. Some of the meats were a little grizzly and chewy, particularly the kalbi, but the flavor made up for it. The kalbi 2.5/5 They had a lot of different side options like I had mentioned the ones that kind of stuck out to me were the kimchi fried rice to be lacking. My gripe with the kimchi fried rice was that it didn't really have that much kimchi a flavor was OK but they drizzled the gochujang on top and it was a little over the top. 2/5 I would say that the bulgogi had a good amount of flavor and was pretty tender. Would get it again. 3.5/5 The soondubu was pretty decent, I just wish I had an egg inside. 3.8/5 The Banchan was a little lacking, and the kimchi was just OK, slightly better than average but not by much 3/5. The sauces were, eh, not that great, but most meats had enough flavor that you didn't need it! Overall, I would say that for the price, the quality is pretty good for what you get a good compromise for a lower end price point but still tasty food, good for a budget kbbq! Overall, not bad! Service was a bit lacking but food was good for variety and quality wasn't too bad for how affordable it was. 3.5/5 read more

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