Manna BBQ

The food and service is amazing!!! I’m coming back!!! The ambience is very casual, the food comes right on time, the servers are very nice! Every single piece of meat that you’re served is full of flavor!!! Great place for friends night out!!!

Cannot express how much I love this place! Everything is good and you just want to keep eating even when you’re full! I get addicted to the BBQ and just want to go back 2 – 3 times in the same month! The meat is delicious (the beef options are my absolute favs), the sides are too (love the kimchi), and the seasonings for dipping are awesome (although I am not fooled when they say it’s just a mix of soy sauce, salt and pepper, it’s just too good for that!) Staff is friendly and helpful and will keep an eye on your stove to make sure your food is cooking at optimal temperature.
Great place to come with friends too!

I love Manna BBQ. it is my favorite restaurant. I went to convey branch before. Once it established in San Marcos branch, I change to San Marcos. The food and service are always good. I always choose 25.95 all u can eat. I like its green onion salad, but the waitress told me I only can order one time of green onion salad last time. That is the reason I didn’t give 5 stars. I know the green onion price is increasing. But we have three people, we can only order one time, one people they can order one time too. Manger should consider to change this policy, anyway green onion will not as expensive as your quality meet, right???
Thanks

I was 5 minutes away from here and was fighting between this place or driving two hours near LA to get my kbbq fix. Let me just say. I fully regret not driving the two hours LOL.
–Firstly, a TWO HOUR TIME LIMIT? WHAT??!
–Super over priced ($ 22,$ 29,or$ 36)and I’m so confused why this place has four and a half stars? Maybe bc people writing reviews have never had top notch kbbq before~
–the bulgogi is aight and yeah so is everything else. I would like it if it wasn’t so dang much.+$ 22 for a list of like less than 15 okay-​ish meats?
–And I was husslin’ to get people to change the grill HAHA. My waitress argued to me about it saying I needed to cook the rest of my meat before changing the grill? like I’m sorry I do not want burnt taste on my meat but whatever! Probably won’t come again… Next time take that two hour long drive over coming here. YOU’RE WELCOME.

My husband and I just relocated here and wanted to find a good place we could be regulars to. Searched and found this place and it was amazing! From walking in the gal up front had a nice big smile welcoming us. The servers were both very nice ladies and didn’t forget about us! We never had to wait for ask for more! And for $ 21.99 all you can eat is even more surprising! Not sure how some are saying it’s pricey! I thought it was cheap! Considering we came from Vegas and our kbbq bills was always $ 100+
Place is clean and cute! Thank you for the wonderful service and food! We found our new spot! :)

Meat lovers heaven!!!
Vegetarians, beware! Lol.
I have NEVER been here prior to a few days ago when my boyfriend decided to stop by and he wasn’t joking when he asked me how hungry I was. It literally is all you can eat however, the catch is, you’re kicked out after 2 hours!
No problem here, as no matter how hungry I am, I would probably not be able to sit still for that long anyway! There’s three lists you can choose from apparently, A1, A2 and I guess a third — which is the most expensive. We picked the 2^nd and on it is a list of meats they bring out and get this, you get to cook! on the middle stove in front of ya! Who knew!
I am not a very picky eater unless it comes to weird things, particularly organs! But I have to say the beef tongue looked just like bacon and was pretty damn yummy! That, and the marinade on that beef bbq. Mmmmm
You also get your usual sides; rice, noodles, cabbage, some white slice that tastes like Cole slaw… and it’s not cheap! But I totally think it’s worth it.
Only tip*^ wear your stretchy pants because you won’t be able to walk out of here without popping a button… or bring a wheelbarrow because you might need someone to roll you out

Wasn’t super impressed w this place food wise. We went with some friends so it was a fun night and the atmosphere is cool but I didn’t think the meat was that great. We were being very careful not to overcook anything and almost everything we had was chewy and dry. Also, there is a time restriction on all you can eat (2 hours), everyone at the table has to agree on the same option 1 or 2 (there is a price difference between the two) and there is a limit on the amount of beef you can order. That’s pretty annoying since they advertise all you can eat. So basically all you can eat BUT in 2 hours and without exceeding the beef limit. Lame. We paid $ 75 per couple which was ok with us and we expect to pay that much when we go out and all have food and a glass of wine or beer. But we were underwhelmed with the food.

came here to get our kbbq fix. Since the OC was far.
The prices are a bit pricey. But I will give the stars for the meats.
Pretty good!
The marinated kalbi is the best. So tender. Buloggi was tasty. The brisket was ok.
The service is straight fwd here. Language barriers but the waitress were nice.
It took awhile to get a grill change.
I’m spoiled from Ktown in LA and OC. I know, I’m sorry!
I will probably give this place a second chance, since there aren’t very many Kbbq in the area.

Solid KBBQ experience.
I’ve been to this location twice, and had a great time at each visit.
Compared to the Manna BBQ on Convoy, SM (San Marcos) doesn’t give as much meat per serving. It doesn’t really matter in the end since it is an all you can eat.
The servers at the Convoy location are a little more attentive, but that’s nothing pushing the button can’t fix. I had Gavin on my second visit and he was pretty awesome. Treated me and my family well.
The best thing about this location is that the parking lot is pretty big, and the wait isn’t very long. I went on a Saturday night around 6:30 PM, and there was a lot of parking, and they seated us within minutes.

The A2 has sufficient selection of food. AYCE buffets is definitely unhealthy, but I get a pass for today. Excellent quality, good value for money.
When we are done eating, we all smells like BBQ as usual. Lol

One of my favorite place to eat Korean food.
Great food and side dishes are just as delicious. I just love the beef tongue, always order more than 3 rounds.
The staffs are really nice and helpful, they walk around and keep asking if I need more meat.
Would be nice for regular hangout or even birthday party

My first trip to this location was last Wednesday. I’ve always gone to the one in Convoy but since a couple of friends and I decided to go for lunch before class, we came here.
First, the place was empty. But that’s probably because we got there before 12. We were seated and our waitress took our orders. She was extremely nice during our stay. We ordered 2 orders of brisket, 1 of kalbi, 1 of nukansal, 1 of bulgogi and 1 order if pork belly. And of course they were delicious! Our waitress always checked on us and always made sure that we had what we needed/​wanted.
One minor problem was with the rice paper. However that is my fault. The waitress warned me that it may be firm because it hadn’t becone soft yet. But I still asked for it and she was right. I should’ve listened to her! It is nice to know that the waitresses know what’s going on with the side dishes!
The only real problem I had was the bathroom being exposed. I sat on the side of the booth that was facing one of the bathrooms and it just felt weird to see people go in and out of there.
Overall, I really liked this location! Staff was nice, food was the same quality as the Convoy location, and the location was clean.

AYCE kbbq where it comes with two levels. We ordered the lower one but left satisfied and full. Beef brisket and short ribs were my favorite. They don’t have limits on how much you can order which is nice. I also shared the steam egg with my mom which we both really enjoyed. They have a little call button you can press for fast service which was helpful. Servers were friendly and accommodating every time they came to check on our table. Overall good food, but I wish they had more side dishes. The salad they give however, is delicious, and I couldn’t stop myself from getting more during the meal. Dressing was on point!

Manna BBQ is conveniently off the freeway in San Marcos with an amazing AYCE that will leave your pants bursting at the seams after a 3-​hour wish-I-didn’t-have-to-leave meal session.
— AYCE $ 21.99
— Grill yourself
— Fast service
— Variety of food
— Super-​high reviews
— Don’t complain with special requests
— Buzz for service
I normally stray from the All-​You-​Can-​Eat (AYCE) places, especially one that is near a sushi place that has been «Grand Opening, 50% off» for the last 6-​years. Fortunately I stopped in with some friends that over-​eat here regularly and bragged about the high reviews and quality of food.
The A2 menu option with the best deal and we found ourselves ordering multiple portions of the Baegi, Bulgogi, Pork Galbi, and Pork Bellies.
I was there eating with three other guys and we must have placed 10 – 12 orders of meat, in addition to some extras. We all liked our meat grilled to different levels of done-​ness so the grill-​yourself option worked fantastic.
Each table is fitted with its own little grill that’s blasting on high heat for you to cook your own raw meat. They will replace it if food starts to get stuck after hours of cooking **Ahem**. In addition there is a little buzzer to call for the attention of your server, even though I have only had to use it when paying my bill.
This isn’t a place to visit often if your health conscience, but for food lovers that like to splurge every so often this is the go-​to.

This wasn’t my first korean bbq and I don’t take giving a 1 star rating lightly. I would give it a 3 or 4 but our experience started out awful.
We came in celebrating my fiancés birthday and mine at the same time, a little after one and a little before another. We were seated promptly and the prices were quite high for a Korean bbq. Usually it’s in the 15 – 20 range, this is the highest one yet at $ 23, 27 and $ 36. I’ve never seen such an expensive korean bbq so I thought it would be something special, it wasnt. The menu was small and there were only a few great things on it. Bulgogi of course is always good, but the other items were questionable.
Our server was quite rude and tried to order for us, and when I said I wanted pork gogi she made a strange face and was like. «Oookay». Like I had made a mistake. It was good, but this is only the beginning.
She kept coming over and cooking our food for us, to the point of where we were tempted to leave it and let it burn because she kept taking our cooking utensils and doing it herself like we were children.
She did not really let us make the choices on what we wanted and the attitude persisted, and when I was cooking what I wanted she said I was doing it wrong and took all the meat off and started cooking another plate that we weren’t ready for.
The other servers were good, and it seems like they changed just before we left when it started getting busy at night, so nobody else had to suffer her reign of terror.
I love kbbq and the food was good, just a very expensive, awful experience overall. I won’t be returning to this one for a while unfortunately.

Oh manna, I love your dipping sauce. Please bottle it and sell it at our local Zion. I am not a vegetarian, but I am definitely not a big meat eater. My friends were craving some Korean BBQ, so I came along. I enjoy seafood but we usually opt for the $ 21.99 ayce menu versus the $ 26.99. All visitors in your party must opt for the same menu. They won’t split it. The main difference is that there is a few more selections of beef, along with seafood: mussels, squid and shrimp. The staff is very attentive and not stingy with bringing out additional meat or side dishes. There is a buzzer at each table, but it’s rare that you will need to use it since your waiter or waitress will always be nearby to assist.
There are three manna locations in SD and I have visited only two. This location is far superior to its counterpart in Clairemont. Plenty of parking and while the restaurant is always full, I’ve never had to wait for a table on a Thursday or Sunday night even with groups of four people. This location is also well ventilated which helps you from having to dry clean your clothes right after.
There is also a large private room that they open for large groups or parties. Ideal for your celebrations and birthdays. I definitely recommend if you’re in north county.

Jennifer was a very nice server. She was attentive and made sure we had enough to eat and gave us good portions. She even offered to have our grill changed which we did, 3 times.
The dude who changed our grills was very nice as well.
If you didn’t know: there is only a 2 hour limit per table (I don’t eat that long but just informing my fellow people)

Can’t believe I missed this review as I have been here so many times! Definitely 5 stars for the food quality, taste, cleanliness, service and location!
If it’s your first time, you need to know that they bring you raw stuff and you need to grill them yourselves, but they also provide cooked side dishes. With all the choices, you can be overwhelmed by what to order because the menu is big! Normally we go for the basic menu since the items we like are available in both menus anyways. Here are some of my favorites: beef tongue and brisket (thinly sliced, tender and buttery), galbi (if you like a thicker cut and beefier taste), chicken bulgogi (just like the texture of good satay chicken on skewers but with Korean flavors), steamed eggs and rice paper. We prefer the rice paper over white rice but it’s your own preference of course. Sides have unlimited refill, and my absolute favorite are the jap chae (glass noodles), pickled broccoli, Kim chi and the ever-​so-​creamy mashed potato!
There’s a bell on each table where you buzz for your server. Most of the time they’re quite attentive that you don’t even need to use the bell. All of them were very friendly carrying a smile and were willing to help you with anything, which is rare for an Asian restaurant. They still offered good service even when they were busy!
Although it’s all you can eat, it’s best to order what you can finish and not to waste food. Typically for 2 people, 4 orders of the raw stuff plus the sides are more than enough.

I wish this was here when I lived in soCal but glad I get to visit. The meat is great and everything they give you is authentic. I guess what is bad is that I’m Korean and know everything that it can come with. For example– just having lettuce for the meat is a staple. Although the salad mix is pretty good too– sometimes you just want a wrap.
The staff was OKAY to say the least. I remember asking a bunch of times for certain items like jalapenos, garlic or some other flavored sauces. We came on a Sunday night so it was busy but they did have a 2-​hour seating time limit (smart in my opinion). The place was clean and when it came to reordering meat (all you can eat)– it was GREAT!
I’d come here again!

ALL YOU CAN EAT. AYCE.
My birthday was yesterday and I was craving Korean BBQ. I live in North County and authentic Asian restaurants are definitely limited up here. I had originally been looking in the Kearny Mesa area, and had bookmarked the Manna BBQ down there. But a friendly Unilocaler messaged me and told me there was one in San Marcos off Nordahl. Which was awesome that he did! San Marcos is way closer to me than Kearny Mesa.
Location: Off Nordahl, across the street from the Walmart shopping center. Right next to the Baskin Robbins.
Price: From a quick glance and quick ordering, it looks like there are 3 options, A1, A2, and A3. $ 21.99, $ 26.99, and $ 37.99
We picked the A1 for $ 26.99 AYCE. The extras that came with it were seafood options of shrimp and octopus, and the steamed egg. I think I’d stick with the $ 21.99 option next time because I could live without eating seafood at Korean BBQ.
Came with a group of 4 on Tuesday night at 6. There were a few tables going, but pretty empty and we got a choice of sitting at a booth. Everything was delicious! We went through like 7+ plates of bulgogi, kalbi, steak, shrimp… just writing this review makes me want to go back. Soooo full afterwards! Had 2 first timers with us and they definitely enjoyed it as well.
The wait staff could have been a lil friendlier with smiles on their faces, but whatever. It’s kind of the stereotypical service you get at an Asian restaurant. Not being racist, just a cultural difference. But when they found out it was my bday, the smiles, song singing voices, and clapping definitely came out! They turn on a song and all the wait staff sings to you with a dessert treat.
I am for sure coming back:)