Manna Korean BBQ

A few days ago (thursday ¹⁄₇) me and a few friends came here to MOO (ex-​Manna) and noticed the gate to the parking lot was closed but could see some people sitting next to the front entrance bench smoking. Thought it was odd so I called — No answer.
Went on Unilocal (this page) and it said OPEN… ???
Friends and I decided maybe something happened from the recent rain — a leak or something and maybe they were fixing/​renovating the place. So we moved on to Star BBQ (which was not as good as before).
Then yesterday (Sat. ¹⁄₉) drove by this place and there was a new sign that said SHABUYA — Hot Pot AYCE! So Shabu Shabu?!?
Not sure if they also have K-​BBQ or the buffet style salad bar anymore but will go check it out soon.
Dang, why does this place keep changing names, food styles and ownership?

Just got here on a Thursday at 7:30 pm and it’s closed? I’m confused. Not picking up phone. And Downtown location has no info. Don’t waste your time driving there like I did, call ahead for sure!!!

I’m pretty hesitant to give a place the does not have bulgogi standard across the AYCE menu, but I’ll have to give Manna /​Moo BBQ a pass since it’s pretty fantastic in every other way possible.
I’ve been to quite a few of the KBBQ places in Ktown, even a few of the higher end ones. But this place was definitely on top of the lists as far as quality, price, variety. I’m dipping to 4 stars only because I think the service could be better, and it is definitely not THE BEST place, but a good one.
The thing that made me most excited about trying Manna was the sign that boasted not only the AYCE but also a salad bar. A salad bar? I had to check this out.
Consider it like banchan to the next level. Instead of the dishes that are brought out individually, you can gather your favorites from the salad bar, including additional grill items like mushrooms and onions. All the selections were delicious and go beyond the standard. When I visited, there were about three different sushi options. (It wasn’t the best, but it satiated.)
The quality of the meat wasn’t the best that I’ve ever had, but it was still delicious. The brisket was cut thin and the barbeque beef was one of the best I’d ever had.
Maybe I went on an off day, or maybe Unilocalers who had a negative reaction came on an off-​day. But I had a great experience here and I plan on returing here again VERY soon.

This is usually my go-​to for Korean BBQ. Relatively inexpensive, fast service (no bull). Ownership has changed hands a number of times over the years, but I haven’t noticed a dip in quality.
We always come for the AYCE and order the cheaper package. By the end, I am always waaaay too full. I’m getting hungry just thinking about this place!
More recently, they have added a self-​service sides area, where you can get of your butt and maybe walk off some meat calories. I kinda like this style, as the more popular banchan get eaten so fast by friends and family at the table.
Wear clothes you don’t mind getting soiled with BBQ smells!

So when this place was Manna, my family and I frequented here often. They liked the $ 18 AYCE menu, and the quality of meat was decent enough. Then all of a sudden, they are under new management. It is now called Moo’s BBQ. Upon arrival, it was apparent that something was different. Their bahn chan bar had different items — better items, like marinated raw crab and spicy skatewing. However, the quality of meat has gone wayyy downhill. I used to really enjoy Manna’s rib finger meat. It was so flavorful and quite tender and marbleized, and now it is really thin, unseasoned, and sticks to the grill. Their bulgolgi was also not tasty; it was too garlicky and did not have enough sweetness to it as bulgolgi should. All the marinades and seasonings have changed for the worse, as well as the textures of meat.
When you see this place, it can be very confusing as to what it is called. This place changed ownership three times now, and all three signs are still up. It was first called Tahoe, then Manna, and now Moo’s. Whatever it is called, it is a no go. We will not be coming back here especially when AYCE KBBQ is plentiful in K-​town.

Get some better quality meat for gods sake!
Servers are good thats probably the only thing decent about this place.
Food quality is equivalent to a beat up buffet, salad bar sizzler is even better.
When it was called tahoe this place had a much better twist. Fix your bathrooms too!

Oh, what can I say about Manna, besides the fact its a meat lover’s heaven.
After waiting in the long line of eager meat lovers, you enter the Manna arena, smoking of lung sticking and meat puffing fumes. They lead you to a table which has a grill where you make the magic happen. For $ 16.99, you get unlimited meat and various side dishes such as kimchi, glass noodles, salad, and egg tofu. It’s hard to know exactly what meat you’re getting if you don’t speak Korean but you can manage with pointing at the menu or other people’s tables.
I would highly recommend the boneless short rib which just melts in your mouth (kalbi), the thinly sliced beef brisket (chadol), and the black pork belly (it isn’t really black, just delicious other white meat). There is a certain order in which you should eat these meats to ensure you don’t get full on your first plate. I would start off with the beef brisket because its the thinnest and easiest to cook and digest. Next I’d go for the black pork belly, then lastly the short ribs which are extremely filling. When a group of 10 of us went, we managed to go through 8 plates and trust me this was extremely difficult even for starving college students. My piece of advice, pace yourself. If you keep asking for more meat, they pile it on higher as you ask for another plate. Finish everything because you pay for the meat you don’t eat. Make sure to bring a group of hungry people if you go because you get to try more, you have more fun, and you can make someone else cook the meat.
If you’re in the area, I would suggest taking a trip to Manna if you’re in the area because it’s truly an experience.
Happy eating!

We arrived a full 30 minutes before their posted closing time to be turned away by the manager at the hosting podium. He was chilly and dismissive with us from the word go, after looking my friend up and down with disdain in his eyes. This particular friend is a male Chinese fashion photographer who happened to be wearing a fake fur coat. I was forced, in the middle of Los Angeles, in 2015, to consider that there is a 99% chance that we were delivered a cavalier dose of overt homophobia by this manager. As far as I am concerned, this treatment necessitates a permanent separation between this establishment and our patronage.
I once planned a $ 750 birthday party at the Manna location in Little Tokyo and it was a more positive experience but I will never return to the Wilshire Blvd location again after this and will discourage all of my friends, most of whom are high income professionals both gay and straight, from going there as well.
I mentioned this crazy 1950s experience to my Korean friend who owns a mansion in Hancock Park who rolled his eyes and told me that he «reviles» this restaurant. Reviles. Hmmm…
Go fly a kite Mr Manager. You’re a huge huge huge fool and a big fat dummy. We will spend our money and plan our large parties elsewhere…

The management had changed since the last time I visited, which was a few years ago. That meant sides were now offered in a buffet line, instead of brought to the table. However, the quality of the sides hasn’t changed, thankfully. The brisket was tasty, pork belly nice and fatty, and the spicy sauce on the chicken was delicious. They give you a piece of meat fat to oil your grill, which is convenient. The service was not very attentive on this night, but I still might be back, since this could be attributed to the fact that we visited close to closing.

This used to be Tahoe. it was my go-​to spot for kbbq, then they went half-​brazilian then I heard it became Manna then I heard it wasnt. When we went there a few weeks back the Manna signage was covered but all the menus still said it. Confusing times…
We were seated at a big table, normally reserved for big groups, so we had to sit alongside strangers. Haha… We had separate grills of course but at first it was weird. They said there were no more individual tables and in retrospect, we werent given much of a choice.
The meat quality was ok. We mostly got brisket and pork belly. The brisket was decent. Pretty standard stuff. The pork belly was ok. Took real long to cook but it was a good change from the brisket. The serve yourself ban chan and other cooked sides was a first for us. I def loaded up on the daikon and the salty fish cake. There was also japchae and veggie pancakes that were tasty.
Service was good, the oil & vinegar tableside beats having to ask for refills. They left a carafe of water for us as well at the table. Everytime we pushed the service button they were there. They checked in on us often. No complaints from that standpoint.
It was a weeknight. No valet. It was self-​park.

This is no longer Manna, and under new ownership… now called Moo and the meat quality has gone way down, banchan bar is sad and kalbi marinade has changed. Way overpriced
Going back to the real manna in dtla

THIS IS OUR ABSOLUTE GO TO KOREAN BBQ PLACE! .PERIOD.
We have been going here for years, when it was still called TAHOE GALBI.
It has become the basis of our Korean BBQ adventures.
We have tried many KBBQ places such as All That Barbecue, Moon Daepo, Dream Korean, Road To Seoul, The Kogi, & even a few KBBQ places in Las Vegas… none of those places even comes close to Manna.
They are consistent when it comes to their seasoned meats.
Their Banchans are always full, & they never run out of stock.
They have rice papers, it’s funny because with the exception of Moon Daepo, & The Kogi, none of the other KBBQ places I’ve mentioned has rice paper at least when I asked at the time I was there.
We always order the following:
BEEF BRISKET, PORK BELLY, ANGUS BEEF, BULKOGI & THIN SLICED PORK BELLY
They also have a salad bar that has besides salad, they have soups, sliced churros (I know right?!) sushi rolls, different kinds of Kimchi, they also have this glass noodles that are to die for, but be careful because you wouldn’t want to fill yourself up with it, it is after all carbs!
When it comes to buffets, carbs are the enemy, remember that!
I also enjoy watching their projector whenever they would play K-​pop music videos, as I consume my Korean BBQ goodness!
The place is always busy, & perfect for large groups.
Parking is Valet during evenings & weekends.
They’re almost always fully staffed, however there have been days where we did eat here that they were under staffed, still it wasn’t bad.
They still delivered despite those odds.
As long as they’re open, I shall keep coming back to satisfy my KBBQ cravings.

Went here for a friend’s birthday. Of course, my first tip is to not wear anything fancy since your clothes will smell after. I also save my shower for when I come back from KBBQ.
Now to the meat of this review (pun intended). Kinda sucks that they don’t have a $ 10 option. Their cheapest is $ 18.99 each but you get a lot of meat options for that. We got brisket, bulgogi, pork belly and angus beef. The quality of the meat was very good. I also liked how they have self serve sides. They also have REGULAR sized plates! I hate it when KBBQ spots only have the small ass plates!
Service was good and they were attentive and nice. So no complaints there.
Overall, good quality, good service but wish they had a cheaper option.

I have been here multiple times even before they changed management and the name and it has always been a good experience.
They automatically have valet parking for $ 2 as soon as you enter the lot. I usually do not have to wait a long time to be seated even with a large party.
Your party gets their own grill and you gave two menus of meat to choose from.
The service is really good and the food is airways good. I always eave here so full from the all you can eat Korean bbq.
The beef brisket is the best and is a must have along with the pork belly and marinated beef. The rice paper is a really good side order to eat your meat with.
Even though I live in the valley, this is one of my go to places for Korean bbq.

We had a pretty good experience at Manna KBBQ recently. The boys (and these were 10 big, hungry boys) wanted to hit KBBQ one afternoon, moreso to celebrate a birthday, and they chose Manna. I had no involvement in the planning, in truth, I was tagging along cause I was in the area for work. They made a reservation for 6 but ended up getting off their tv gig early, so they came in at 430P. We were situated in a partitioned area, still in good view of the dining room, but separated, I imagine the staff didn’t want their rambunctious kind all over the restaurant haha.
We ordered a lot of alcohol and meat which came one after the other. The servers were cool, and even poked jokes our direction. Our grills were switched often w/​o the need for constant requests. They have a call button which summons someone to your table — I thought that was pretty cool, in lieu of having to flag someone down.
What I did appreciate was their buffet bar which had all the banchan, varied hot dishes, rice, noodles, soups and even standard sushi rolls. I liked that you could get only what you wanted, and as many times as your tummy desired.
At the end of the night, they did this champagne shower for one of our big boys, a 300+ samoan. Yup, you heard it, these little teeny guys booze showered this behemoth of a man, and everyone thought it was hilarious.

Haven’t been to this spot since it changed from Tahoe and I couldn’t tell a difference! If you’re looking for a solid AYCE KBBQ spot, this isn’t a bad choice at all.
For $ 18.99, you get a great variety of meats to choose from and you also get access to the salad bar with a bunch of different types of veggies and snacks as well. Although I would encourage you to stay away and stick to what you came here for: KBBQ. Don’t waste your stomach on non-​meat items!
My favorite meats were the marinated short rib and the spicy pork belly! Talk about delicious! It’s nicely marinated so when we cooked it, it wasn’t dry at all. Obviously, all of the meats were good and I don’t have complaints about any of them.
The service was awesome. They were attentive, quick and even cut our meats for us over the grill! Anything we wanted, we got.
I would definitely come back!

Manna you’re just full of surprises and I love you for that! Last call was at 11:30PM and with our arrival being close to 11PM I was expecting a couple of scowls and eye rolls but as soon as we walked in the door with our party of six we were immediately welcomed and seated! A good, efficient table set up is always something I appreciate and with everything we could ever need such as sauces and a big water pitcher to share, I was a happy camper not having to wave down a waitress every 3 minutes!
OH! and can we get to the soup/​salad bar for a minute! Honestly, KBBQ can get a little boring with just rice and meat plate after plate, so a little variety is always appreciated! The bar (which is included in your AYCE deal) offers sushi and kimbap, variety of soups like spicy tofu and seaweed soup, and endless salad options AND those amazing pajeon (korean pancakes) that are sooo addicting!
It was an amazing meal from start to finish and I would be more than willing to make the trip back to K-​Town and visit again!

My friend recommended this place to me since I was going to LA for my birthday weekend, & I am totally in love with this place! I wish they had one in the South Bay!
The meat quality is great for all you can eat! I love their spicy marinated beef, angus beef… Not so much the chicken, the chicken got a bit overwhelming in my opinion. Maybe it’s because I’m used to my chicken being fried ha ha.
I love their selection in the salad bar, there were so many items to choose from! They even have sushi!
Overall 4 stars & I recommend this place to anyone who loves an AYCE KBBQ.

NOW is the time to go!
Maybe because this place is still relatively new, their meat quality was really good… for AYCE Korean BBQ. There are wide meat selections and honestly, the quality was surprising for the expectations I had from AYCE. I also really enjoyed their salad bar with clean banchans and veggies!
Spacious restaurant is also perfect if you have a large party (which is the only time I would actually go to an AYCE BBQ) and parking is convenient.

Goodbye Tahoe Galbi, hello Manna! My friends and I came here for dinner a few months ago. I was a bit apprehensive because I got food poisoning when I had dinner at the old Manna, but thankfully nothing of that sort happened here! We didn’t want to bother with finding/​figuring out street parking so we did valet parking in the back for $ 2.
We had a group of five people and did the AYCE KBBQ of course! Which also gives you access to their «salad bar». The salad bar had an interesting mixture of food… salad, mushrooms, potatoes, dumplings, california rolls, and a variety of Korean side dishes. The food was not great but I liked having the variety so I went back a couple of times ;) For meats we got marinated kalbi, brisket, pork belly, pork rib, and chicken. The brisket was by far our favourite and we kept on ordering that one. The meat here is pretty good! Although maybe we felt that way because we were also consuming soju, pineapple soju, and Hite beer. Everything tasted pretty good!
We ended our meal trying out their macaron ice cream sandwiches, which are from Brick. They offer four flavours: vanilla, cappuccino, strawberry, and green tea. They have somewhat of a Unilocal check-​in offer… you can get a free macaron ice cream sandwich after checking in on Unilocal,but only if you also share on Facebook. We opted for paying for them: P And they were pretty good, I think we all enjoyed them.
I don’t remember the exact details, but there was some special offer involving champagne… I think. (Darn my horrible memory!) All I remember is that some girl was seated in a chair on the other side of a glass wall/​barrier, probably because it was her birthday, and they doused her with water? While a song was playing. And then afterwards they gave her a shirt to change in to, and a bottle of champagne? I could be completely off about this but nevertheless it was quite entertaining to watch.
My friends and I had a fun meal here; this is definitely a good option for KBBQ with their convenient location and easy parking situation. 3.5 stars but rounded down for this review.

Previously known as Tahoe Galbi.
They have two AYCE menus. They have the Gold Menu ($ 18.99/person) and the Black Menu ($ 26.99/person). I always go for the Black Menu because it’s the only one that offers galbi, Korean BBQ marinated short ribs, marbled with fat, and is always juicy and tender when you eat it. Yes, it’s worth it. The brisket is consistently good. I always order that first, because it cooks the fastest. I like making sure it’s nicely charred, which gives the meat a nice crunch.
Ban chan buffet! What a great idea. You don’t have to be stuck with ban chan that you don’t like. I like the chop chae noodles, and am glad that I can get a whole plate of that for myself. They have different types of kimchi. They’re not labeled. The ban chan buffet items are always changing, so what I may be describing may not be there when you go.
Service — it sucks! I have dined at Manna first thing when they open, so I’m the only customer there and yet, it’s hard to flag down someone to help you. If you want water refills, napkins, etc. You better ask for everything at once, or you’ll never get it. I always ask for a pitcher of water so I don’t have to keep asking for refills since they give such tiny glasses.