(Kari's Rating 6/10) I came here on my birthday, but I didn't have another person so I wasn't able to use the discount. I did know that going in, so I wasn't too disappointed. This place has gotten really popular, it was extremely busy and I know it was a Friday night, and I was seated right away without a reservation. I haven't been here in a few years but instead of having robots come around and bringing your food, they have all of the food for barbecue and Hot Pot self serve on the wall. The server was relatively attentive, they changed my grill a few times and asked if I needed anything. I know a lot of Korean barbecue/hotpot places are doing the self served method, but it didn't make the experience a special as it used to be. I think a lot of these places are valuing profit over service. The quality of the food was relatively the same as I remember, except the vegetables were out in the air a little long and they were a little dried out. This used to be one of my favorite places for a meal and I think this is the last time I'll be here. Which makes me kind of sad. I'm wondering if social media has changed this place a little bit. read more

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Located in Chinatown, Jiang Niu is a delicious Chinese BBQ spot serving up quality cuts of meat with delicious sides as well. Upon arrival the palace looked clean but beware that parking may be a bit tricky to find in the area. We had a reservation for a party of 6 and were seated promptly and set up quickly. They originally placed all 6 of us at a table with only one grill so we requested to move to one with two and they happily accommodated us. Once we were all settled in we ordered our meats and hit the side bar to prep. The side bar is simple but good. Featuring sides like dumplings, white rice, and fried rice. The sides themselves were all pretty good so if meat is less of your thing then you can still get sufficiently full off these alone. The sauces they had were good as well, specifically their sesame and chili oil, although they have about another 5-6 sauces to offer. When we returned to our seats the meat arrived and it was time to start grilling. We ordered many different cuts and every single one was good to great. The biggest hits were the bone in rib, boneless short rib, and pork belly. All the meat cooked quickly and somehow the grill didn't get too charred or mucked up by the cooking process. By the time we were done eating we were stuffed and happy with the quality of the food we just ate. They do offer dessert but the options are much smaller. If you're in the area looking for a good, cheap AYCE buffet then this is definitely the spot for you as it checks off all the marks you need. read more

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Nothing can beat having a birthday dinner at jiang niu! You can have your free meal if you can dining with one more person ( 2 persons or more) Jiang niu offered wide range of meat and vegetables for AYCE. I love all the beef, pork and vegetables. You should order the corn with cheese and rib eye!! One of the staff was very nice and offered to cook for us, and we can focus on eating!! There are not a lot of people on the Wednesday night, and no need to book a table. read more

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This place SLAPS. So many delicious options on the menu. I just tend to reorder the same ones I like. They have a good variety of marinated options, non marinated ones, soups, and apps. And just so much more. This is heaven for meat lovers lol. They have a hot bar with carbs and other heavier sides, which is a TRAP (fills you up fast). But honestly, I don't blame you for grabbing some... they look amazing! Next to the sides, there is a sauce bar. Everything was fully stocked which I like to see. They have just about all the sauce you need. The tables were a slightly icky and dirty and I saw a piece of hair when I was seated, but other than that, this place is generally clean. Always top of my meals here with some smores and ice cream!! Always a great experience here everytime I come. read more

Jiang Niu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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A hidden ayce gem in Chinatown! The prices are unbeatable and the choices for ayce is amazing for the bbq option. I wasn't a big fan of the hotpot option but would definitely do the bbq again. It's not the cleanest place but it's pleasing and the workers are absolutely amazing! They take wonderful care of you, will definitely be going again! read more

Made it to our reservation on a Saturday evening at 7pm. We were sat right away, and given details on how we can order items on the machine sitting at the table. Orders came to the table pretty fast. The small appetizer buffet arra and sauces were a great touch. They were kept full throughout our stay. Everyone was extremely friendly. We did however have to keep asking for water/refills, sometimes waving someone down. Perhaps offering a pitcher of water or two for groups of 6 could be added. Music was playing but at a good level so you can still have conversations at the table. Meat quality in my option was good. Would definitely go back. read more

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Had such a fun Korean-Chinese fusion bbq experience!! The decor is so modern and clean, and our servers were super efficient with the food coming out at lightning speed. We were there on a Friday night and they let us sit there for 3 hours! You order from a tablet with no food limit, and there's also some cooked food, Chinese cold dishes, lettuce, and sauces buffet style for grabs. Watch for the two hour time limit though - tablet won't let you order more. For sure, get the short ribs and the garlic beef ribs! The garlic beef ribs first round were SO incredibly tender and flavorful. Lowkey prefer this over korean bbq (even tho I miss their side dishes) because of the nicely marinated meats. King oyster mushrooms and garlic scallop vermicelli were nice surprise. Seaweed soup is straight up msg, but we all loved it. Chilled tofu is so refreshing for an in between bite! Finally, definitely end your night with the smores. Idk what crack they put in it, but I was literally obsessed. read more

Jiang Niu - Assorted meats - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Ambiance - super cute interior with the hanging ropes, great for small groups and large parties Service - super speedy, but never really explained anything (how to cook the meat, how much time to cook the meat), super attentive with switching out our grills Food - my group did the AYCE, food was good but I just wish the selection was bigger read more

Jiang Niu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

My wife and I have been to our fair share of these types of places. We went to the Chinatown location. We only focused on the bbq as there are better hot pot specific places and this allows us to focus on the bbq. Pros are friendly service, attention to our drink glasses since we did not hydrate throughout the day and dirty plate clearing. Cons are low quality of the galbi and keep marinades out of the meats since there are dipping sauces. We did not like the tip recommends are post tax not pretax and the cash back were rolled up in balls. read more

It's been quite a while since I tried this spot and the first time was good, but could use some improvements. I like the sauce and seasonings for the meat but the meat quantities were small but since it's AYCE you can order multiple times, but the selection is a little limited. With all the grills, I thought the ventilation could be better in the space too. read more

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We first went to Jiang Niu when they opened but certain things weren't available on the all you can eat menu. Glad that the kalbi and kimchi fried rice is available now. We came in on a Sunday night around 5pm without reservations but we seated promptly even though the restaurant was busy. We ordered garlic beef slices, marinated beef navel, spicy pork belly, kimchi fried rice, beef fried rice and doenjang soup. We actually ordered about 5 orders of the marinated LA bone-in short ribs and 2 orders of the cheesy corn. The foods were delivered on a cute robot and the server even surprised us with a cheesecake with sparkly candle while the robot sang a happy birthday song to the birthday girl. The servers changed our grills frequently and made sure we had enough water throughout the meal. We also loved the smores as sweet way to end the meal. read more

Jiang Niu - All the meats!! - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Saw this place in YouTuber Mike Chen's video when he did a Food Tour in Chicago and we finally had the chance to try it. Let me just say we were pretty satisfied coming out. I like that this isn't located in the super busy area of Chinatown. It was relatively near but nowhere near as busy and you may actually have a chance to find street parking right in front. But another good perk is that the building has a garage for itself with a decent amount of spots. Another bonus to that perk is that you don't have to pay for parking in that garage! Very rare! The restaurant itself was very clean, spacious and modern! It wasn't too over the top in terms of decoration and it wasn't too loud. I was originally surprised that they didn't have many vents that hover right above the grill but I didn't come out smelling like meat too strong. Service was pretty good. Not too much interaction because the servers were robots. But they still relatively checked up on us and were very polite. Meat cuts were pretty good and flavorful! I really had no complaints and I enjoyed it all. i say give them a try, it'll be worth it! read more

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Great food, taste of every cut was superb. Super clean and great ambiance. Took my family here abd they loved it! read more

Jiang Niu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Of all the AYCE KBBQ spots in the city I think this one has to be my favorite! They've got plenty of different meat selections and for $36.99 it's such a good deal considering you get more premium cuts like kalbi and other premium beefs. Some of my favorite meats to get are the marinated LA bone in short ribs, beef navel, garlic beef slices, and spicy pork belly. What separates this place from other AYCE KBBQ places is the side dishes here, they have more Chinese side dishes along with the more traditional KBBQ sides. My favorites are the sweet and spicy mixed veggie salad, the Smokey sour spinach salad, seafood tofu soup, cheesy corn, and also love the bbq buddy set! The service is good here, sometimes your items will come out on the robot and sometimes servers will deliver it. You order from an iPad so super super convenient and easy. The meats also sometimes will come out on a super cute cow shaped cutting board which is a nice touch. read more

Jiang Niu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Best Korean bbq meat I've ever had, very high quality beef meat. Got the all you could at happy hour so it was a great price. Went on my birthday so the waiter even gave me my food for free! Food came out very fast when ordered as well, every time I come into Chicago I will be back read more

Jiang Niu - All you can eat, flank steak and chicken thighs - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I have been going to this bbq for the last couple of years, especially during my birthday as they have free AYCE meal if you go on your birthday with a paying adult. Now they have changed their policy. You need to bring two paying adults to get the free AYCE meal. I was very disappointed at this. I also didn't like how they changed their serving system. You need to go to the cooler and bring your meat. And the hotpot is not worth it. Their bbq is amazing, and they should be serving bbq only. I regret getting both read more

Delicious food with incredible options, quality ingredients. The meat was piled high and the staff was pretty friendly. Went with a group of 4 and we truly enjoyed our experience. The service could have been a little more attentive but overall, would come back. read more

This place was just ok to me. Love the vibes inside though! My group opted for the premium ayce and we were definitely stuffed by the end of the meal. We started off by getting the small ferris wheel that requires 8 items. The large one requires 11 items. Definitely a fun thing to get for the table! The reason it was just ok for me was the meat. Flavor of the meats were lacking in my opinion. It was still good though. For the price here, I would rather go somewhere else. We also got the seafood pancake on the side and it was very soft and fluffy. Overall a nice spot but I've had better. read more

Jiang Niu - a ferris wheel with a variety of pastries on it - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Honestly, I'd give the food a 2.5/5 stars but the service and ambiance rounded the rating up to 3. I came here for a free birthday AYCE special and I can say that I will never pay $37 for an AYCE experience here. Even if the price is better than ordering a la carte, the food was not worth eating $37 worth of. First of all, the banchan didn't even include kimchi which was a red flag. It was only an extra $1.50 but usually, I expect kimchi to be free. Secondly, the meat was pretty bland except for the garlic beef. Even the marinated meat was not as flavorful as I was expecting. The only sauces they had were peanut sauce (which I couldn't eat with a nut allergy) and soy sauce. I will say that the whole experience was fine. The service was good and there's free parking in the back which is a rarity in Chicago. Maybe come for their happy hour or on your birthday because that's when it's worth it. read more

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Great food and services! I have always had a great experience! I took my families there many time and it never let us down! read more

Went for happy hour lunch on a Thursday. Parking was rough but luckily they have 2 back parking options. It wasn't busy so we were able to keep ordering from the happy hour menu. Small portions so make sure to double up! The s'mores for dessert were a nice touch! read more

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It is not worth 40 dollars a person. The meat is always running out. There is no other kinds of vinegar except white vinegar.

I would say Jiang Niu is a "kbbq inspired, Chinese bbq." The marinates, side dishes, and dipping sauces resemble more Chinese flavors than Korean ones. With that said, my boyfriend and I really enjoy coming here to get our bbq fix (because all the good kbbq restaurants are far from us). They have a decent amount of yummy meats and sides to choose from. However, we came last month and then again yesterday, but it seems like their menus had changed? There were still really good (and new) options, but one of our fav isn't on the new menus anymore :'( Nonetheless, we still enjoyed ourselves and would definitely come back again in the future. The inside is pretty cute for a nice lunch/ dinner date or even a hangout with a group of friends. The servers do their best in getting everything you request too. TIP: Finishing up your meal with roasting s'mores is a must!! Also, if you want salt in sesame oil to dip the meat, just let the servers know and they will bring some to you c; read more

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We were there over the weekend with a party of 13 and they were very accommodating. It was a little chaotic and overwhelming because of self-serve area was really small. But the food quality was decent, the service was good, and it was not bad for the price. read more

Our server didn't really explain anything to us even after we said it was our first time doing Korean BBQ. Because of that, we burned most of our food. Once we got the hang it we were full of burnt food (cause u have to pay al a carte for what you don't eat). I didn't really enjoy my experience. read more

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Amazing food and service for a cheap price during happy hour. Great ambiance as well. read more

Jiang Niu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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The service here was so amazing!! It was the most note worthy aspect here for me and makes me want to come back. Everyone is very attentive with when we ordered to cleaning up and refilling our waters. Food was good! Unique taste to the bbq ayce in the chicagoland where I feel it has more chinese flavor compared to normal korean bbq. They have a lot of variety. The squid and shrimp were so juicy and tender where you know it's good quality. On the other hand, some meats were a bit too overseasoned where it became salty, but good if you ate with vegetables or rice. We particularly enjoyed all the salads and sides as they were a good pairing to the protein! Also could not believe a beer was $3!! A rare find when drinking alcohol in the city. read more

Jiang Niu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I keep returning here since it is so good! Everything is so flavorful and service is fast and the best. The waiter and waitresses are so accommodating and top tier! I find myself craving Jiang Niu often. I noticed that ventilation is a lot better near the front of the restaurant and worse when you get seated in the back. Honestly the food is so good that I can care less about the ventilation. I just make sure to shower and do laundry immediately after. If you're lucky if you come on the weekday there are less people and less grills running so better ventilation. read more

Parking is free. They have a garage that has spaces on the bottom as well as on the very top. If you park on the top, it's a short walk. The lot on the inside can be a little tight. You can have a free meal here on your birthday with ID. It's ayce and the price is reasonable. For the price, the food is of good quality. Yes, you have to cook your own food. People if you're too lazy to do the whole Korean or Japanese bbq where you have to cook it yourself, then don't come here. This is Chinese bbq same concept. Highly recommend if you want something different in Chinatown. read more

Jiang Niu - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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Food: Decent Price: Not worth the food Service: Great Like the other grill at your table places. Just not quite as good as far as the taste of food is concerned. Would I go again? Absolutely. Will it be MY idea. Absolutely not. Just being honest. Please, keep in mind... three stars isn't considered bad on my scale. Like I said previously. I would absolutely go back. They have these cool little robot servers. They bring you your food and wait for the human servers to... well... serve you. That was really different but okay. I'm down with that. The human servers were kind and patient and helpful. They have bathrooms (that could be maintained a smidge better). And they have a complimentary parking garage. All in all a solid experience for my family to make some memories. read more

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Jiang Niu was my first Korean BBQ experience...and it didn't disappoint! Our friends who live in the Bridgeport area were dying to take us to their favorite Korean BBQ spot. Jiang Niu was busy on a Saturday night at 7pm (which is always a good sign). The interior was bright and welcoming with large booths and greenery. It's definitely helpful to go with someone who can show you the ropes, because us newbs would have been pretty lost without them! We went with the $35 AYCE and got to ordering! The ferris wheel BBQ was so much fun an a great chance to try a variety of items. We all loved the garlic beef and the pork belly. So flavorful! With the ferris wheel, we were able to try more menu items we probably wouldn't have ordered, like the squid and shrimp. Some of the traditional items like the house beef fell short me. For sides, we ordered white rice, a salad, and edamame. The salad was so yummy! A variety of sauces and toppings also come for each person individually so you have the ability to customize the meat/your dishes however you like. The grills were a little bit hard to work with, especially because the meat would often stick to it despite having them changed out by our server a few times throughout our meal. Despite that, it was so much fun being able to cook the food ourselves! We really enjoyed trying all the different cuts, flavors, and marinades. Another fun surprise was the ROBOT going around serving food & interacting with customers! It even sang someone happy birthday at one point. This was a great Korean BBQ introduction, and we're excited to explore more spots in the city! read more

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Been to Jiang niu a couple times, have enjoyed both experiences. The inside is really spacious and well lit, it's been busy both times I've went as well. The service didn't suffer because of how busy it was, staff seemed friendly, and the robot service was very cool - something I've never seen before. If I remember correctly, it can be BYOB. I'm by no means an expert on Asian cuisine but I've had my fair share of KBBQ, and it was very enjoyable for me. You do have to cook your own meats - which I don't mind at all, compared to going to Daebak for example and having the servers doing it for you. The food came out fast, the proteins itself were very delicious, kimchi fried rice was very flavorful, and I definitely got my moneys worth both times coming here with the all you can eat option. Definitely a nice place to check out if you're a fan of bbq. read more

We were easily able to make a reservation for 5 on a Friday night a few days in advance. We all had the AYCE and added on the Kim chi fried rice. The Kim chị fried rice was great (everyone's favorite). The other food was just fine. The food quality was good, but we would've liked more marinated meat, veggie, and dessert options. The biggest issue was the cooking itself. For the table of 5, we only had one small burner. The center flame wasn't evenly distributed and the size of the flame was hard to control. It was hard to cook food evenly and hard to cook very much at a time. We would cook 1-2 pieces per person, only to have to wait 5-10 min for the next batch to cook. There was a lot of down time. It was particularly challenging to cook larger proteins that we didn't want to burn or eat raw (e.g., chicken). It would've been better if we had two burners- 1 burner for every 2-3 ppl, would be perfect. Despite the burner issues, we still finished within 2 hours, it was just a very disjointed and slow meal. The services was very good. Everyone we interacted with was accommodating and nice. The restraint itself is clean, though you'll still smell like meat after you leave. I would recommend the Kim chi fried rice, but pass on the AYCE. read more

Really like the food here. If you're a member (which I believe is free to sign up) you get free plates each time you come. Very accommodating of large groups, came here for multiple celebration already. While their meat is great, their sides are also pretty good. I always need the cheesy corn and salad to pair with the meat. Downfall: poor ventilation. With any BBQ place it's expected you're going to come home smelling like BBQ but I feel like it's more if you come to Jiang Niu bc they don't have an immediate vent. Their ceiling decor also holds dust and the smoke smell. read more

Very cute place. However, The selection, quality and flavor of the food did not meet my expectations. The meat lacked seasoning or flavor. Even the sauces were flavorless. I did the all you can eat option for my daughter and I to get the fun Ferris wheel at our table. Apparently I wasn't able to get the Ferris wheel option because the portions were too small. To be honest the waitress did not explain this well at all. I ended up paying $80 bucks to eat and we didn't get seconds of anything because it all tasted blah. ANDDD I didn't even get a Ferris wheel?? What in the world? There really were no vegetable options to grill either. The corn on the menu was filled with a artificial Cheese, it was not good. I would have enjoyed some asparagus or broccoli or something. They offered none of that on the menu. The real surprise for me was the cost. I paid $80 for two people and it was not worth $40! The robot was cute. The grill was fun. The chicken was ok but that was about it. read more

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It was my first time to this restaurant. The location is nice enough, decor is simple and it's not super smokey inside. We were seated immediately on a Friday night around 7. My dining partner had been to this location once before but they are also new to Korean BBQ. I've had it before but it was years ago in the suburbs, where the service is apparently more thorough. Be sure to watch the video that plays on loop once you're seated (although it was blocked from my view by the angle and a pole, so I didn't see it until our meal was done). Then you'd know what to do and ask for because the waitstaff do not offer any help. I think the robot server would have been more attentive and personable than our waiter, but that was only being used for delivery and a human still handed us the food. So there were a few opportunities for them to ask us IF WE WANTED DIPPING SAUCES. I was so caught up in the experience of cooking my meat and trying to enjoy the ambiance that I didn't question why the meal was so plain. My dining partner keeps things simple and doesn't use them, so they didn't think about the sides either until I mentioned them. We both had the ribeye, which was decent. I got the black pepper steak and my dining partner got the house marinated beef. Both were rather gristly and most of it ended up being inedible. We cooked little strips from the meat we awkwardly salvaged since we only had the scissors that are supposed to be for cutting up meat after it's cooked (according to their video). The head-on shrimp were okay, mainly because I ate them plain. I opted for some pineapple to end our meal because I had just found out about the dips and I was really disappointed. We went out into Chinatown to get a tastier dessert treat than this place could offer. I should have been better prepared, but a little guidance would have made our meal more of a 3 star dinner, however the meat is still not great quality. Thankfully they didn't try to charge us for the uneaten meat we left that was mostly gristle. read more

** note this review is about their orland park location which I couldn't find on yelp*** Take out order Beef fried rice Need a magnifying glass to see the beef No bean spouts no onions Zero flavor Barely any egg Peas and carrots tasted disgusting Mom's order Sweet and sour chicken A lot of pieces in the tray so we were impressed but after biting into them realized it was all breading with a hardly a morsel of actual meat Will not be going back read more

Jiang Niu - Beef fried rice Where's the beef ?? - Korean Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

We did the all you can eat option for $34.99! Overall, I thought it was decent but the meat quality's not the best. The marinade on the meats weren't that strong, so my parents didn't like it as much as some other places with stronger flavor. The shrimp also tasted a bit off for some reason. We got two of the soups as well, the seafood tofu soup and the seaweed soup. The seafood soup was spicy but didn't have depth of flavor, but the seaweed was pretty good. I wanted to do the meat Ferris wheel I saw other people post about, but didn't see it on the menu :( My personal favorites were the pork belly, corn cheese, and Sichuan peppercorn bean curd salad. The corn cheese has sprinkles in it, which is kind of weird on first glance but the sweetness was kind of nice. The white button mushrooms were also pretty good, and the sweet potatoes were sliced thinly & were tasty too. They give you a few sauce options, like a sweet teriyaki type sauce, peanut sauce, and a cumin spice blend. There's free indoor parking which is great! I'd recommend it if you want AYCE. If you can eat a lot, then I feel it's worth the money, but if you aren't going for AYCE, I would probably look somewhere else. read more

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Came here for a birthday dinner on a Friday night. Definitely recommend making a reservation so that you don't have a wait since it is fairly busy on the weekends! Reasonably priced for all you can eat and the selection of meats, veggies, and sweets offers you a great experience. The drink prices were also very reasonable. It's a little loud inside due to the amount of people and making the food, it also is slightly Smokey in the restaurant if people burn their own food. read more

Great value and we went for our son's birthday so his meal was free! Great service and good quality food!