Book Sae Tong

Great taste and SUPERB SERVICE! A gang of aunties took turns to take care of us, serving dishes after dishes, grilling meat for us, and teach us how to eat the meat with rice paper along with sauce etc. The food price is reasonable. In fact, combo C (three kind of meats, soup, eggs, etc.) 59.99 $ fed us 3 people easily. The place is small yet cozy and I guess it is good for people who love drinking and hanging out together.

Their Asado is so good here!!! I called in to preorder them since they take about 30 mins to cook. Also, their thick pork belly was amazing!!! I enjoyed eating non-​ayce kbbq here! The place looks old and a bit shabby, but food is great!

This is this forth time coming here and we have to preorder the asado which tastes so delicious
The parking is crazy cuz it’s in a little plaza on 8^th street and vermont but the restaurant only has few spots
The meats are usually out before we get there and they are recooking at the table
So juicy !!

So after I found out about this place, I’ve been coming here about once every 1 – 2 months. And after every time I leave, I leave telling myself I ate way too much and drank way too much but I probably just had the best meal ever. This hole in the wall Korean bbq is hands down my favorite place in K-​town. The best things here are the tong galbi (thick cut short rib) and the tong samgyupsal (thick cut pork belly). My absolute favorite is when they cut the galbi meat from off the bone and serve that. It’s so chewy and delicious. it’s like fatty beef gum.
It’s kind of pricey and sometimes they run out of the tong galbi. However, if you want cheap, you can go to AYCE or something and be served dog quality beef. Also a tip, if you want to be ensured the tong galbi, call before you go to pre-​order the tong galbi. That way too, the meat will be ready when you get there as it does take a while to cook. I’ve gone there before without telling them to reserve some galbis and they ran out. Oh well. at least it means they probably get a fresh batch daily and you’re not getting frozen crap.
I’ve always had great service here. The workers perfectly time the cooking of the food and is always refilling the banchan, mostly the pico de gallo. Try offering the owner lady a shot of some soju as she’s down to drink, converse (only in Korean or Konglish), and hook it up with a bottle of soju (if you’ve ordered a bunch already).

I’ve been coming here for awhile now and it’s amazing. The meat is really good with fabulous service!

Great food and great customer service. Though they aren’t fluent in English, they still regularly checked on us and helped us cook the food. It also is not all you can eat but the prices are pretty good still (we got a combo A and total was $ 38 for two people).
They also have a free parking lot. There was no wait on a Sunday night.

We chose this restaurant based on a friend’s recommendations and we were meeting him and his wife there for dinner. We got there and as we were waiting, we noticed the waitress going from one table to another taking shots of soju with the patrons.
We went there for «whole galbi» so we were willing to overlook the run down restaurant and the waitress ahjooma pounding soju. Then, we found out that they ran out of the «whole galbi.» It was only 7:30 on Sunday night. We were disappointed but willing to find some alternatives so we ordered the thick slab of black hog bacon.
Bacon starts to cook then the waitress brings our side dishes. She tells us they have run out of some of the side dishes. «Really? Now, you tell us,» I thought to myself. Then, when we asked for the steamed egg, they apparently ran out of that as well.
Thick slab of bacon was good but how can you mess that up? What they had for side dishes and kimchee were just awful. Moreover, the waitress became extremely rude when we asked for things. Not sure if it was the alcohol kicking in this ahjooma’s blood system but we couldn’t stand it anymore and left.
We drove couple blocks down to Parks for more quality food. I may never get to experience their «whole galbi» but honestly I would rather pass. You can get slabs of beef ribs at Bristol farms that are better quality and cook it yourself at home.
This place was by far the worst Korean BBQ joint in Ktown.

Great food. Customer service is even better! The owner was very attentive and super friendly. Hidden gem in Koreatown. I can’t believe I didn’t know about this place. I highly recommend! You won’t regret it.

The correct spelling is Book Sae Tong, not Book Sea Tong. All about the tong galbi and tong sangyupsal!

I have been coming here ever since I started working at our Los Angeles Branch. When I first got to the company we would all come here to eat together for lunch. Back then Je-​yuk-​bok-​eum was my favorite. But for lunch for me and my co-​workers I always order the dak-​bool-​kogi. It is so good!

Great service and good food. Its in a ghetto strip mall but their cuts of meat are wooow. Order the whole galbi. Be sure to get there early bc they run out.
Service was amazing. Our lady server was so attentive, refilling our banchan, cooking our meat, and conversing with us.

Been here only twice, but only because it is kind of out of the way for me. Both times I only ordered the «tohng galbi» which, I was told, was their specialty. The cut of the galbi is unique and the meat is extremely tender and flavorful. On top of that, they cook and cut the meat for you. It is a bit pricy, but well worth it.
Just thinking about this place makes my mouth water!
Must try at least once!

Absolutely delicious!!!

First time at a KBBQ and it was all I could have hoped for. We had the kindest women taking care of us, showing us how to cook the food, what everything is, and how to eat it. For 3 people, we got the Combo deal for $ 50. It came with 3 different kinds of meat and tons of side dishes. This was complimented with some herbal wine and rice water. Both delicious and refreshing! Yum yum yum. I would definitely go back. Thank you for the great service!

Hole-​in-​the-​wall, family ran type of restaurant — which are often the best and most authentic restaurants.
We were on vacation and had looked into grabbing KBBQ for dinner, and my friend had done her research for a great place except that it didn’t come across our mind to make a reservation, and the wait was an hour+. So we decided not to wait and wandered into Book Sea Tong instead.
There was a lot of confusion as the workers there did not speak English, and this was our first time ordering KBBQ, so we were very confused as well. However, I guess we managed to communicate that we wanted a combo with an assortment of meats.
1. Generous amount of food. With the combo being around $ 50, it can probably feed at least 4 people. It came with different cuts of meat, veggies, soups, egg pancakes, side dishes, salads, rice, and etc.
2. The dipping sauces were sooo gooood. I have no idea what they are called.
3. My favorite cut of meat is one that is very similar to bacon. I think we got 4 – 5 different cuts of meat in total?
4. Even though the Korean ladies did not understood what we were saying, and we did not understand what she was saying, she was very nice! She came over, put the meat on the grill, and chopped the meat up when it was done. She also showed us how to wrapped the meat with rice wrappers, salad, a bit of veggies, and dipped it into the sauce!
I have noticed that most of the diners were Korean (which must mean that it’s relatively authentic LOL?). Overall, I am super happy we stumbled into this place for a cheap and fantastic meal! The other place we were planning to go earlier would have costed us a lot more judging solely from the interior furnishings.

Like a fellow Unilocaler stated below… this really is a hole in the wall spot. It’s located in a plaza that no one would think of going into to eat one of the better meals I’ve had in ktown lately.
I came here with my family after my dad swore he’d take us to a new kbbq/​Brazilian BBQ fusion restaurant. What? I was wondering how that was possible but i decided to trust him and tagged along. This place is a Brazilian BBQ place where you can grill the meat kbbq-​style. They serve salsa and some sauces that they make in house and it is sooo fresh and amazing! The quality of the meat is so tender and just as tasty as the one you’d get at Mgrill (a popular Brazilian BBQ restraurant). The woman who owns the restaurant is so kind and truly understands what customer service is. She goes by all the tables and chats with everyone. She cut up all our meat for us and it was such a pleasure being served by her. It’s sad to see such little reviews :(this place truly is a gem and i’ll definitely be back with more people. Y’all are missing out!

Definitely a small gem in the middle of Ktown~!! It didnt seem much at first since theres a kbbq place at every corner in LA, but I was blown away by their Tong Kalbi…
This place is for the true meat lovers who dont mind that its not an AYCE place or marinated meat. You just get a chunk of the un-​marinated kalbi, bones and all and dip it lightly in salt if u want. This is how you really get down and appreciate meat!
I also got the Tong Samgyupsahl (thick cut pork belly). wow delicious as I am a true pork fanatic! Wrap it in the romaine lettuce with some kimchi, garlic, pickled jalapeño.. or whatever you want and stuff your face!
Both meats were excellent and of course I had to finish the meal with daenjangchiggae and noorungji~ soup is good and the noorungji is homemade, just the way I like it.
Its a small hole in the wall, owned by a very nice korean lady. She was so helpful by cooking our meat and bringing extra fresh/​specialty side dishes! Love it here and will be back to enjoy the true taste of Tong kalbi & samgyupsahl!

I’ve had KBBQ many many times in different locations/​different restaurants in SoCal area. This is the ONLY place where I give a 5 star for the services! Most of the KBBQ restaurants are always always crowded, you wait 1 hour at the door to get seated, plus 15 minutes to order your food, then plus 15 minutes to get your food and you can never ever find a waitress to help you in time when you simply just want iced water or napkins. (Tip: For those of us who do not speak Korean, it is always a good plan to bring along a friend who can speak fluent Korean to K-​town BBQ, there is a significant difference! Trust me!)
Well, those things will never happen here. The service here is always fast, me and 5 friends came here a while ago on a sunday evening (typical rush hour in K-​town bbq restaurants) We got seated very soon, orderer our food quickly, and TWO waitresses came to our table and help us bbq! Yes, thats right, TWO waitresses came to help the same time. Although they dont speak English fluently, but they seems to be very professional and certainly knows how to make everything we ordered extremely tasty!
Last but not least, this restaurant is located in a smaller/​quieter plaza on vermont street. It is certainly not as well known as the Kang HoDong or Genwa bbq, but the service is way better & faster and food tastes good. So, if you are looking for a place which is quiet, great service, average food taste with 15 $-20 $ per person price, this is the place!

My fiancé and I came to this restaurant tonight to break our Korean BBQ virginity. The fiansizzle’s brother and gf have been raving lately about how delicious Korean BBQ is, and we’ve been feeling super unworthy of calling ourselves foodies since we’ve never tried it. Thus, tonight we decided to scratch our KBBQ itch so we can finally feel adept again in our food knowledge!
Anyway, we ventured in and honestly had NO CLUE what we were doing. I immediately informed our server that we needed suggestions, and after a confused expression, she sent over someone who I could explain our scenario to. I told our server we were newbs, and she very kindly pointed out a number of suggestions on the menu. We ended up going with Combo A, which is normally beef brisket and pork loin, but our helpful server let us sub-​in marinated beef for the brisket. After getting the main stuff (and some delicious Hite) ordered, I asked the server about kimchi and explained it’s a fav of mine, so she said she’d bring a small order. Within minutes, she brought over 3 KINDS of kimchi for me to try! She asked which I preferred, and I told her I really liked them all, so she left all 3! Yay for me, kimchi heaven!!! The fiancé wasn’t quite as excited (as he thinks it smells horrid), but he tried them and actually liked all 3!
The rest of the food also came quickly, and after the beef cooked, our amazingly sweet server showed us how to go about enjoying the BBQ (what things to add into different bites, different combinations of condiments to try). Without her guidance, our experience wouldn’t have been the same!
All in all, great food, great service, and definitely not a one night stand!!! We’ll be entering into at least a dating relationship with this place, but don’t worry, we’re not the jealous type… try it out for yourself, we’re happy to share!

This is the best Korea BBQ place in my opinion. Great service and food. They even have Asado (Argentina BBQ. You have to call 2 – 3 hrs before to make a reservation) It’s not a typical all-​you-​can-​eat place but definitely better that other places. Servers do not speak much english but you won’t have problem. Try it.

I lived in K-​Town for a year and found this little gem. As the others have mentioned, the servers are not fluent in English. I don’t speak Korean but that didn’t stop them from being welcoming. My wife and I love going to this place. They already recognize us as regulars and are always friendly. They even gave us gifts one Christmas.
It was one of our first authentic (I’m not Korean so i could be using the word loosely) Korean BBQ experiences so it was quite overwhelming when they didn’t speak fluently. we also didn’t know the protocol as far as who should be handling the food that’s cooking in front of you because we noticed that the others handled the food themselves. but out server always insisted that they do it for us.
I also notice that the servers are always interacting with the customers, even with us despite the language barrier.
Best bulgogi and sirloin we’ve ever had. we’ve tried other korean bbq places, even some that are all-​you-​can-​eat, but we always find ourselves coming back to this place.
I’ve since moved out of K-​Town but we always make it a point to drive through LA traffic to visit this place. Definitely our favorite Korean BBQ restaurant.

OK… for you non-​Koreans… this place might not be what you are used to.
Servers are not fluent in English and this place is not AYCE.
But for us fluent Korean speakers, they place might be the best hole in the wall Korean bbq in ktown.
Try the un-​marinated whole short ribs and pork belly. (they usually run out of the short ribs so call ahead!!)
Their soups are pretty good too!

We came here as a backup after being unable to get into our usual go-​to Korean BBQ on Father’s Day (big mistake not to make a reservation that day). We were both intrigued and slightly intimidated by the lack of any English on the signs outside, but not to worry: the menu is in fact more or less bilingual, and the staff speak English well enough. Be aware that the name of the restaurant is only in Korean, so you’ll have to look for the address unless you can read hangul.
Service in fact was both prompt and friendly. The atmosphere is definitely more cosy, family-​style, hole-​in-​the-​wall compared to some of the more elaborate BBQ places in Koreatown, but the food was quite good. We had the beef brisket and pork bulgogi, both quite good. Interestingly, the meat here comes with generous helpings of vegetables that get grilled along with the meat. There are multiple side dishes, including the classic seafood-​broth infused omelette/​custard dish, a vegetable stew, an incredibly good egg and scallion pancake, and lettuce leaves and rice paper for wrapping.

I came here for lunch and I really didn’t enjoy it at all. The beef wasn’t very flavorful and the hot sauce tasted like it was dumbed down with ketchup, not hot at all. Maybe this place is better for dinner, but for lunch it’s just no good. I def don’t plan on going back here anytime soon.

Came here with 8 people. Service was fine, food was average, it si what you expect from a KBBQ. I probably won’t come here again, there are a lot of other places. BUT if all of those places were nuked, I’d come here.

This is a review combining my first and second visits to Book Sea Tong. According to the owner, it means «a lot of people.»
I would have written sooner, but I forgot to take a business card and even though I drove by this place several times, all signs were in Korean. This time I took note and took a business card.
What makes this place different from other K-​BBQ places I have been to has to be the side dishes that come with your meal. (Check out my pictures)
The side dishes are really good and you can have as much as you want. They have really tasty kimchi. The mushroom caps are sweet. Make sure you let them sweat a little upside down on the grill to release their juices.
I wish I could remember the name of the other side dishes, in any case, give this place a try.
Yes, it’s in a strip mall. Yes it’s not at all fancy; but the food is really good. I enjoyed the kalbi and the bogogi.
A meal for two including tip was about 51 dollars, no Soju this time.
If you are in the mood for K-​BBQ and don’t like long waits, try Book Sea Tong.
They also have an really extensive lunch menu. Lots on it; good prices.
PS, I thought the purple rice was really tasty!