Manna Korean BBQ

This place was just okay.
The saving grace of this establishment was the convenience to my workplace in West LA and the clean dining area. Instead of having to drive all the way to Koreantown after work in horrendous LA traffic (which as a side is the first attribute of why LA is one of the worst cities to live in), I could meet up with friends at the Culver City mall and enjoy a nice get together. Overall service was fast and prices were reasonable.
Manna has another site in Koreatown which I guess also shut down which is too bad because they had a pretty good location with a partly outdoor area, great for summers.
Leaving a restaurant smelling like the food is never ideal but smelling like korean bbq somehow wasn’t too bad.

I am SO SAD this placed closed down!!!
This place seemed very bare and modern but their food (banchan) and quality of meat was delicious!!! The banchan, especially their potato salad with bits of green and their lettuce salad with a good wasabi-​sweet dressing, was very good! They also had large chunks of potato in a sweet sesame oil, and good chap-​chae (Korean noodles with veggies).
Their beef brisket was good but the kalbi (short ribs) was extra delicious! It was very tender and marinated very well. Check it out if you’re in the area!
I should have told more friends to check this place out! :(

The prices are a little high but it is understandable as it is located in a place with high rent.
I think this place isn’t not as good as the original Manna. The quality is only okay and the banchan isn’t really memorable.
Their service isn’t that great. After a certain amount of time they stopped responding to the beeper even though there was only like 2 other tables. Lame.

Nothing like stuffing your face full of meat after a hard day of riding mammoth mountain and a 5 hour drive home.
Amazingly the place was packed and we actually had to wait and stare as everyone was grilling up their meat, and downing their beers. It seemed like they’re not used to a full house because there really wasn’t a host handling everyone who was waiting in the front.
There’s a new pricing plan for the AYCE KBBQ with two options «A» which has all the regular options which now costs $ 19.99, and a «B» which has only 4 meats the bulgogi (chix, pork, beef) and the beef brisket. Rough night for the service but i could see that they were trying their best to get to everyone’s needs.
I think i’ll have to try some of the other KBBQ places in Ktown next time, and just deal with the drive.

No atmosphere. The aim for a modern, engulfing, vast feel with the granite and the high ceilings, and it doesn’t quite work.
The tables are stupid. They have massive metal boxes/​ductwork under for the gas lines for the grill, and maybe for the air return for the smoke? (which is majorly cool– you don’t reek of kbbq when you leave) But the metal boxes actually OBSTRUCT the middle of the big tables they have, so your «groups» of people? Yeah, they end up separated by a big gap in the middle along the wall/​bench. Definitely hurts the mood and the group experience.
Cute waitress, but service through the night sorta fell off. Not sure why. And Blue Moon at a kbbq place? Awesome! But a little weird.
The food’s so-​so. Obviously we don’t expect it to the original in K-​town, and the brisket and galbi weren’t bad. Ban chan is forgettable, but that’s okay. The pork belly, though, managed to be one of the most flavorless pieces of pork belly I’d ever had…
And they do *NOT* serve beef tongue. WTF??? FAIL.
(thin sliced beef tongue at most kbbq places is really not that foreign to people, it looks close enough to thin sliced brisket to not cause any strange reactions, and c’mon, lots of other cultures eat it. Why not here? WTF?)

3.5 Star — but I give it 4, because it’s closer to 4 than 3…
I have to admit, I went to this place not expecting too much from it (I don’t like all you can eat KBBQ). We had some out of town guests and did not feel like driving all the way to k-​town, so we settled to this place because it was convenient.
All the meat dishes were pretty good, except pork bulgogi (we will not get this again).
Banchan was really good, I loved all of them. I might even have to say I liked banchan more than the meat…
Service was excellent. Very fast and friendly.
Easy parking at the mall.
Also liked the high ceiling, I think it really helps with the ventilation of the place.
I’m not dying to go back, but I definitely would go to this place again when I feel like eating decent Korean food but don’t want to drive all the way to k-​town.

So the mall down here in Culver City finally got renovated, and it looks better than half of the other malls in the LA area and now they have a pretty decent Korean BBQ, AYCE style of course.
It was me and my roomies who got to try this place out and from what we heard it was pretty good. So we thought might as well check it out and add another AYCE knotch to the belt. And I am glad I did :)
Large amounts of good food, they really do give you the right amount of food per person. Unlike some places which claim to have better meat for more money they’re hacking you cause this place had great food and a decent price.
I mean if I’m ever in the mood for Korean BBQ in Culver City then I’d definitely suggest here, only negative… not enough waiters for the # of tables so it goes kinda slow, and the kinda people who ate here when we were there were not your typical korean BBQ people.
But still, check it out and enjoy!

+1 for having an ayce kbbq place in the westside at ktown prices
+1 for good ventilation, located right along the grill, so you don’t leave smelling like smoke
+0.5 for spacious tables, lots of leg and elbow space
I guess a 2.5, but rounding down to 2. I had given it a three but after some thought, all the cleanliness and convenience doesn’t make up for the food/​service enough to round up.
That’s it. I would love to give it more, but I feel that the quality of the meal plus the service left much to be desired. The pork belly and beef brisket came frozen and stuck together. The banchan was ok, but whenever we buzzed for more meat or more specific banchan, we would have to buzz a good 5 times at least before a server came. And then it would take another 5 – 10 minutes afterwards for him to come around with our items, sometimes even longer. It would be understandable if it was a packed restaurant, but it wasn’t even half full. People gripe about the service in the Ktown location, but at least you GET service. Service at this westside location is nonexistant. Literally. They were nice enough when they did come, but still, what where they doing most of the time? I can’t even come up with a good excuse for them, and trust me, I tried.
Would I come here again? Maybe if I was seriously craving some kbbq and stranded in the westside. Otherwise, I’m going to head on over to Ktown, where the real kbbq is at.

My fiancée and I like Manna. The service may be slow, but we’re slow eaters anyway, so we don’t mind.
There two AYCE options: The cheaper one only has four choices of meat, the other option has eight, I think. Prices are reasonable, but they may have gone up since last I was there.
A huge plus is that the ceilings are high, so there’s less of a chance that you’ll leave the place smelling like smokey meat. Not that there’s anything wrong with that.
The crowd is mixed. You’ll get people of all kinds of backgrounds here. It’s a pleasant vibe and you’re more that likely able to get a table if you show up a little early.
So yeah, it’s good KBBQ.
Say it with me…
…for the Westside!

Well if you’ve read any of my reviews you’d know that my fave KBBQ place is in K-​TOWN & begins with Hae.
Now I’ve been to the Manna in K-​town and it was pretty good considering that it was the first place I actually had KBBQ. But then I moved on to bigger and better things. This Manna is actually really convenient. Not only do you avoid the hectic, hair-​pulling streets of K-​town but you also feel chic and clean before and after you leave the restaurant.
The place looks very modern. Very inviting to those who have never experienced the gloriousness that is AYCE korean bbq. Prices are the same I believe probably around ~$ 20 with tax [but don’t quote me on that one]. The meat is decent. I mean I’ll eat for sure and I’ll enjoy it. Be wary of the salad bc they use a wasabi dressing. So for those that don’t like the taste of wasabi or a little kick in their salad then be sure to ask for the dressing on the side.
Speaking of the sides… they have your typical kimchee, glass noodles, and such. For the beginner ayce korean bbq customer these are great introductions to the korean food taste spectrum. But for the more experienced eater you might want to just drive your butt to k-​town.
What’s nice is that if it’s your birthday [& you bring a cake… yes I know, stupid] you can get a nice birthday song with a free bottle of champagne & a nice champagne shower to go with it!!! Very entertaining I must say. But I heard it can leave a little sting in the good olé eye balls. So be careful!
Overall a decent place if you don’t like driving on the 10 freeway & dealing with parking/​craziness of k-​town. I’d go again if a friend invited me. Definitely a great place for group dinners too!

I honestly don’t know how this place has anything lower than a five star rating.
Even though I’m a ‘white boy’, I grew up eating Korean all over the country (used to compete in Tae Kwon Do, stayed with various Korean families along the way). I’m definitely not a novice in this KBBQ arena…
I stumbled upon this place with a friend, looking for ‘any place’ to eat at the mall, dreading the thought of BJ’s. $ 18 for all you can eat? If that’s even decent, I would have been stoked. I’m sorry, but this rates right up with Chosun Galbee… I’m not even joking. And, it’s about ¹⁄₃ of the price. Most places in this price range offer you the ‘filler’ cheap meats… and maybe five at the most.
FOOD:
This is why we go, right? $ 18 gets you EIGHT choices of meats. Two are the throwaway ones; Brisket and Pork Belly (which they load you up on if you order, like I did… but I got through it easily, as usual!). The rest… amazing! The meat was unusually tender, everything was a good cut with limited fat. The spices were dead-​on. I mean, I could go on and on… I’m telling you, this was at least as good as anything as I’ve eaten at Chosun. Most KBBQ reviews end here because what else matters, right?! Wrong… you get the bonus of the following…
ATMOSPHERE:
Super clean, very nice… and, get this, very well ventilated! You don’t smell like a campfire afterwords. Soooo rare, even in the high-​end places. For $ 18 a plate, you expect some backroom hellhole… very nice here, good for dates.
SERVICE:
You’re gonna laugh… I know, I know… you get what you get at most KBBQ places but these guys were great. «The button» works, haha (inside joke with KBBQ places). They are there as much as you want or will leave you be to talk to your company… they are pleasant, and, you get refills! It’s the small things like that which make it nice. Also, we were there for THREE hours (literally)… and they let us hang out, no problem, even though we ended up leaving around 11pm… awesome.
SUMMARY:
I honestly don’t know what anyone could «not» like this place. It is PERFECT on every level… I’ve been eating KBBQ for literally almost 28 years (and I’m only 34!) and this is one of the best so far. Seriously.
Better yet? There’s NOTHING in West LA regardless, fortunately, this is place is great on every level.
(Okay, I’m shutting up… so stoked I stumbled upon this place.)

Not Juicy at all.
Tried this place 2x. Both times were blah. I don’t know what it is about this place. It’s nice and comfortable and high ceiling. However, both times just wasn’t that good. I really like the Manna in LA too so I thought the experience would be just as cool but it wasn’t. Well the 2^nd time I came here was worse than the first time.
First time we got the AYCE and it was fine. 2^nd time we got the $ 12.99 with 3 meats to choose from in one plate, its not AYCE, but they give you enough meats to satisfy your tummy. I was on my last bite of my salad and meat when I see a yellow something in my salad. OMG I don’t know what it was, it looked like a bee but it didn’t look as mean probably ‘cuz it was dead in my salad! So I showed it my partner who showed it to the waiter who showed it to his manager and they decided to give us the whole meal FREE. That is the only reason why this place got a 2 star instead of a 1 or no star.
I will never know what insect drowned in my salad, but I lost all of my appetite and all energy to go back there again. I really appreciated the fact that they gave us a free meal but I just can’t bear the thought of eating there again.

Manna in a mall? How classy! I’ve always gone to the one with ghetto chairs, sitting under a tent in Koreatown in LA. This is so much nicer! Although I still love the old school style, this one allows for nicer clothing to not smell like BBQ after!
The grills are super nice, and I think there is a suction thing that keeps the heat from going up, and the flames from popping when fat drips down to the fire. Since I’m usually the main cook with the thongs, this is much appreciated!
UNLIMITED KOREAN BBQ BUFFET for 17.99 is always a winner. Similar to Chum Sut Gul in Orange County, they supply you with awesome choice beef, short rib, chicken, pork, etc.
SERVICE is quite good. We had a very large group for graduation, and we took over a whole side of the restaurant. They came out with the side dishes very quickly and the daikon paper came in doses. They even supplied large onions for the grill.
SOJU bottles were also served for soju bombs with HITE BEER. Winner with Korean BBQ !!!
CHAMPAGNE DOUSE. For the special person, the waiters will literally DOUSE you in champagne [no wonder the floors were sticky!!] Our graduate did NOT want to get champagne doused, so her lovely fiancé took on the burden. They brought out two bottles and went to town!!! They were very skilled at shaking the bottle and aiming at the most vulnerable places!!! No inch was spared, and our poor guy had to change completely into the Manna tee shirts provided. TONS of fun!!! It’s a must do for your celebrated person but wear something you don’t mind throwing after!

This was my first time ever having Korean BBQ, so keep that in mind during my review.
Came here on a Tuesday evening — easy to park at the mall near Target and we were seated quickly. My Brother-​in-​Law recommended the all you can eat meal for $ 16.99 each, so we had that along with a bottle of Soju and a big bottle of Korean beer for the table.
Ordered the pork belly, spicy chicken, brisket, and short rib. I loved everything except the pork belly — it was very fatty, but I guess that’s to be expected. The sides were good, especially the bean sprouts, the kimchee, and the vinegarry spicy sauce to dip everything into.
The bill came to $ 95 for 4 of us, and was definately a good value for the amount of food we ate and how tipsy we got off the Soju. Service was inattentive and forgetful, but they have these bell things you can hit at the table so you can call the waiter over — usually had someone at the table within a minute so you could ask them for the third time for some water.
For those with babies, there is no changing table in either the mens or womens room, so be sure to bring a pad so you can change them without them having to be on the cold tile floor.

KBBQ AYCE on the Westside for the same price as the East side at $ 16.99 and inside the mall TOO??? I just gotta try to believe what I heard! My oh My, I MUST say last Friday was the first time ever I had KBBQ without smelling like one after the meal was done!
The ban-​chan was nothing special, but the brisket, I think that was the best meat. Manna doesn’t normally marinated their meat, so if I have an option at Ktown, I wouldn’t come to Manna, but on the westside, I think they win big by opening it here with the same price. Liked the bulgogi and spicy chicken, but not the regular chicken.
Same concept as in ktown, u ring a bell, someone would come to serve your request, so service definitely was very good. I liked that they gave the egg more than once. I wish the rice wrapper were bigger, it’s so small that it’s so hard to compile things together.
All in all, I really enjoyed it and luv the fact I didn’t have to drive far anymore for kbbq cravings. The best part of the night was that I came out from KBBQ without smelling like one, their ventilation system was definitely top-​notch. For $ 16.99 on the westside, my dinner was a steal. I might come back if I really do have kbbq cravings at night, since this place opened till 11pm even tho the mall closed at 9pm.

Yes, elephant in the room — this Korean BBQ spot is in a mall
RANDOM.
But once we got past that I found that Manna had pretty decent Korean BBQ at an accessible location for a decent price. I think it’s something about being from NorCal… I just can’t get myself to drive one hour in traffic from UCLA to K-​town for Korean BBQ. Can’t do it!
The bf and I ordered AYCE for $ 16.99 each and enjoyed a great meal at Manna. Side dishes, daikon, rice wraps… they have everything you’ll find in K-​town though the authenticity may be just a little off.
Save yourself the drive and try Manna!

Came here out of sheer convenience and was pleasantly surprised that the $ 16.99 AYCE delivers pretty good quality meat. We stuck with the chadol baegi (beef brisket), jumulluk (boneless steak) and a little bulgogi and some marinated pork. My favorite is the jumulluk. They give you a selection of banchan although none of them were anything to write home about. It was your basic stuff and they didn’t taste anything out of the ordinary. Dduk (rice paper wrappers) and muu (radishes slices) were also provided which is great! I love eating my meat with the muu. Steamed egg in the claypot is also provided which I absolutely love! They were stingy either, offering us 2 pots for the 4 of us.
They were very good with refilling whenever we were short of something, although they didn’t do it immediately, but whenever we rang the bell or waved them over, they were quick with replenishing.
The best part of this place is the ventilation! They use the suction downward ventilators which suck the smell from under instead of above so you don’t really stink of kbbq when you’re done. That in itself is impressive enough!
I would definitely return again for the meat, but unfortunately, none of the banchan tweaked my interest. Still, for the price, the meat was very very good! 3.5 stars but marked up for the good experience!

On night two of my binging with out-​of-​town girlfriends weekend, I decided I needed to have that special soup my Korean mom always makes on New Year’s Day. I dragged my friends to Manna, the only Korean place I really know of on the Westside. Sadly, one of the first things I found out was that they didn’t have the soup. «Grandma’s supposed to make that!» explained the waiter when I asked him if they had it on the menu.
Not to worry — the menu was full of other delicious looking items that didn’t intimidate my non-​Korean friends or me (a Korean who sadly has much to learn about Korean food).
The waitstaff was super fun and friendly, but they didn’t seem totally with it throughout the night. Like, for example, there were five of us at the table, and they kept bringing us four of everything — four glasses for water (after we asked for water twice), etc. Not sure if they were doing it intentionally to save supplies or if they had some counting issues.
We ordered the bulgogi, two soon tofus, a dolsot bibimbap and the steamed dumplings. The best dish of the bunch was the bibimbap, although it didn’t come with an egg like I usually prefer. We actually ordered a raw egg and instead got one of those clay-​pot egg casserole things that was delicious but not what we asked for. The least favorite dish was the dumpling, which tasted too peppery and not so great. The one order of bulgogi was more than enough — although we didn’t get AYCE, it was a huge pile of meat!
One final strange part: granted, it’s been a while since I’ve been out for Korean food, but is it now normal practice to not give a bowl of rice for everyone? In fact we got no rice except for the bibimbap until we ordered a few more bowls. I thought that came with, just like the side dishes?
In any case, we polished everything off with frightening quickness (you could hear a pin drop at our table for about 10 minutes while we concentrated fully on stuffing our faces) and left full and happy, having paid only about $ 20 a person. I’ll have to hunt down my new year’s soup some other time!

When I put the first bite of meat in my mouth, it reminded me of all the reasons why I don’t go to Manna in Ktown. This one is just as bad. It’s a watered-​down, low-​quality version of what Korean BBQ should be.
The meat quality is mediocre at best. The banchan is lacking in flavor (did you try that nasty, über-​Americanized napa cabbage they claim is kimchi?). The sauces are unauthentic. The salad is just wrong.
Need I say more? This experience goes on my list of top 3 least satisfying Korean BBQ meals I’ve ever had.
Even though I knew I didn’t enjoy Manna in Ktown, I figured I’d give this location a try since it is one of the only KBBQ places on the Westside. We stopped in for their lunch special, which is $ 12.99 for 3 types of meat (not AYCE). That’s pretty expensive considering many Ktown KBBQ places offer AYCE at lunch time for $ 9.99. But I digress… The meat was brought out on cheap plastic plates that are divided into three sections, you know, like the ones that you get at a cafeteria or at KFC.
Yea, the ambiance was fairly nice (if you don’t mind the high ceilings that seem to mess with the acoustics resulting in all sounds being magnified so much that it starts to hurt your head). The service was not bad either. But that doesn’t change the fact that the meal was not delicious and the portions were too small.
Seriously, just get back into that car and drive 10 miles NE to Ktown.

This place is pretty good. It’s big and pretty bright in the daytime, which makes the place seem more cheery. And the servers are pretty attentive. And, speak English well.
I’ve already been here twice… despite the crazy ass parking at this mall ! Anyway, I like how I don’t have to go all the way to Koreatown for KBBQ. The side dishes were different both times I went.
The meat was good. the salad they bring out is okay. A little too much dressing. I’ve also tried their steamed dumplings. I didn’t really like it at all.
Also, this place has Tofu Soon. I haven’t tried it yet, but I will SOOOONNNN haha. Another plus because the Tofu House is so far.
Finally.. . my favorite part of the meal. is when they give us the Shikhye! I love that stuff. But what a tease. you only get a small gulp of that stuff.
Oh yeah, for lunch you can get 3 choices of meat. for 12.99. Not all you can eat. but you still get full.