Cho Wan Korean BBQ

It is a cheerful but not that cheap budget restaurant. The quality of food screams cheap and cut back. The meat is fatty and smells off. Side dishes are tasteless and salty. Hot buffet is stone cold with the exception of chicken wings. The price is a bit lower than other Korean bbq place but adding the satisfaction feeling afterwards (or unsatisfaction in this case), it’s not worth visiting at all. This place should be shut down for better establishment. Seriously poor food.

My wife and I used to eat here years ago and decided to drive out to Duluth and have lunch while we have off work. We were surprised by how downhill Cho Wan and their service has gone. We were one of three tables in the place so the staff became very pesky because one staff member would spend 10 minutes poking at the meat meticulously, and the second they finally left another staff member would come poke at the meat, and another, and so on so forth. They continued this until we finally became fed up with not having a second to enjoy our meal or start a conversation and we just decided to leave unsatisfied. When the staff wasn’t poking around at the meat on the grill they were just standing in groups of 4 – 6 around our table chit-​chatting and watching us eat. Very uncomfortable dining experience, especially if you don’t really like people watching you eat (and I personally don’t).
Aside from the pesky staff a lot of the food was cold and stale. Cho Wan opens at 11:30 and we walked in at 11:32, so I don’t know how all the food felt cold and stale. Once we decided to just pay and leave my wife tried to tell the staff member at the register that it was uncomfortable to dine there with the entire staff lingering around our table for the duration of our meal. The lady stared blankly at my wife and handed her our receipt. (no apology for the inconvenience or really any response at all…) The feeling I got was they were only concerned with getting our money and getting us out. Short-​sighted nonsense like this is probably why their business is declining in recent years. Honestly, this annoying lunch paired with the poor quality of the food convinced me to never go back. Thanks!

A great place to go for the most bang for your buck.
Cho Wan is perfect if you’re craving some Korean food and want to try alllllll of the food. Large selection of marinated meats, Korean side items, and sushi. A group of us went for lunch which was around $ 17 per person. For the amount of food you’re able to get, that’s a pretty decent price. You can cook the meat in the grill on your table.
While I enjoyed my meal here, it only made me crave my mother’s Korean food more because her food is delicious! The meat here doesn’t have the best marinade, and it’s not very spicy but it does the job.
Also, the directions posted on Unilocal doesn’t provide the most accurate location. Cho wan is located on the intersection of pleasant hill and satellite blvd, on the right where the verizon wireless is located.

First time eating here, my husband and I love this place! Even thinking about bring my parents and his parents to try this place!

I’m Korean, and i like Korean BBQ. With that being said, WHERE else can you go to get ALL YOU CAN EAT, and i’m not kidding about this, KOREAN BBQ and other meats? They cook it for you at the table– If they weren’t there to ‘turn over the meat’, we just did it ourselves. None of our meats got burnt. And they even came out and changed the top of the grill for us because we had cooked so much meat on it (there was 4 hungry adults) I don’t care if they don’t give the best service– (our service was okay– i think they were rushing us out because we were there for so long haha), but you know what? i still give them 5 stars because it is amazing that you pay only $ 18.99 per person for all you can eat korean bbq. they also had pork, seafood, etc all to cook at your table. SO delicious. And we will be going back again! When you are from NC, places like ChoWan are heavenly and a God-​send. Good food for cheap usually comes with not the BEST service, but i’m not going there for service. I’m going there with my appetite! And they sure filled it well!

I tried this place for dinner tonight. How can you screw up Kimchi? The meats also had no flavor. I won’t recommend this to anyone. For $ 20, you should be able to find much better food.

Not sure why I haven’t written a review for this place yet. I have been to this place several times in the last few years. This is not my favorite AYCE korean BBQ, but definitely gets the job done. I like it how it is also a AYCE buffet with korean food & sushi. Their sushi is edible. The only thing I don’t like it how they separate the korean people from everyone else. If you pay attention, you’ll see what I am talking about. One side is only Koreans while the other side is everyone else.

So I have been to Cho Wan more than 5 times. I used to be a fan. This will be my last visit. Cho Wan used to be my family’s place to go get Korean BBQ and also for the hot food bar. Their services is usually a okay to good. But tonight… it was so horrible… my food was burnt and I was so upset… I lost my appetite. (And that is pretty major for me… if you know me.) I usually can eat a lot even if I am upset. lol. But tonight… I had like two plates (at a buffet!!) and that is a big red flag! I usually can eat more than 10 plates at a buffet! lol.
Anyways, we arrived and walked in. There was gentlemen in front of us. just by himself… waiting. I’m not sure how long he waited… but then all three of us sat around and waited some more… even though there were tables available. Turn out… they didn’t want to give us the table that was available because they were saving it for bigger parties. So after about 10min of waiting… a lady come over and asked the gentlemen if he would like to share a table with us… without asking us if we would like to. The gentlemen rejected. And then they seated us… even if we came after the man. I wasn’t happy with this. But the man insisted so we accept. After we sat down and got our foods… we waited… and the lady that usually help with the process of BBQ and turning the meats was no where in sight… we put the meats on skillet ourselves… with just our chopsticks. I usually like to cook my own meat… but at Cho Wan… the lady that usually help with cooking the meats have the tongs and the scissor. If they have provided us those… I would have been happy.
So…after the meats been there for a long time… and was burnt… the lady was still no where in sight. At this point… we were waiting for her to come over and cut the meats for us. But because it was so burnt… we just took it off the skillet and throw it away.
So after a while of waiting some more… we got new meats and cooked it again and this time just ate it in the big chunks that it was… because the lady still was no where to be found. lol. After that night visit… I will never come back and will take my business some where else. Thanks for reading and hearing me rant! :)

Excellent selection of meats and sides. Service was nice as well. Will definitely return.

This place is a Korean BBQ buffet, so it’s a great place to check out Korean food if you haven’t tried it before. They offer a plethora of marinated raw meats for you to load up on your plate and take to your table to cook on the grill for yourself.
They have sushi as well but I usually don’t waste my time on it. The Korean stuff is usually better. And apart from having the meats, they also have other dishes like seafood pancakes, buckwheat noodles served in a cold broth, cinnamon punch, and much more. You’re bound to find something you like here.
The service is nice but not so great on the English speaking front, however they do pretty well despite that. Prices are very fair for what you get.

We always enjoy the fresh meat and kimche when we go here. Lots of yummy ways to eat your freshly cooked meats, with squash or the fried vegetables on the opposite side of the table. Try our favorite; lettuce wraps!
The sushi here is not great. There is a wide variety but it is not anywhere near top quality. The soups are yummy, and if they have raw seafood available go for it! When we visited (for lunch) they only had a few options of pork and chicken, both very tasty.
The service is sub par. Don’t expect to be waited on, prepare to flag down a waitress or quiet if you would like a refill. The lunch prices are fairly cheap for the fresh quality of the BBQ that is cooked in front of you.
The neatest thing is this– the cooking of meatsin front of your seat! The grill has been clean every time I go in, and the servers will offer to cook everything for you if you prefer.
I recommend also cooking some of your veggies, such as onions and squash.
Dinner prices here are expensive, unfortunately. The interior isn’t the newest or most interesting but a window seat will suffice.
This establishment is alright. The one I will probably continue to go to though, for the price and food quality.

Love this place! The bbq AND all you can eat sushi! Servers are very friendly! Minnesota sooooo needs this!!! Great price and atmosphere and the bbq and sushi are great for the $.

So after being loyal customers of Iron Age, a good friend, my brother and I decided to try this place out… Huge mistake, the assortment of kimchi was tasteless, the meats were of a much lower quality, the sushi looked old and was under Plastic wrap, the waitress was good about filling up our drinks… And that’s it. Every time I tried to adjust the meat on the grill to keep it from burning she would swoop over and stir everything around, the hot items on the bar were pretty tasteless and lack luster. The kicker was when we were brought our checks she asked us to sign them right in front of her before we were finished with our meals… Overall, maybe an ok place for lunch, but at the same exact price of Most of the higher quality Korean bbq buffets around, I will certainly never return…

Chowan is a korean bbq buffet and more! Definitely our family’s go-​to for korean bbq. It has little sushi rolls (not the highlight of the buffet) and a buffet of hot foods like noodles, seafood pancakes, vegetables, soups, fruit, and cold sides.
The price is comparable to the other all-​you-​can-​eat korean bbq restaurants in the area. They have seasoned chicken, pork, pork belly, beef, squid, shrimp and other meats. These are more options than I have seen at the nearby places.
If you get tired of eating solely meat, there are tons of other options to help satisfy your hunger. Usually ordering korean seafood pancakes at a restaurant will run you more or less around $ 10. Here it is included! The rice cakes are also delicious! They also have pan fried dumplings, vegetables, wings, etc. I mean what other korean bbq AYCE place includes all these items?!
The only thing I can gripe about is the service. They have ladies that come by to cook the meat you pick up on the plates with tongs. Well they do NOT come by often and then get mad if you flip the meat yourself. So you are forced to be sneaky and find an extra pair of chopsticks to flip it yourself OR watch your precious meat burn!
The only thing I would add would be a frozen yogurt station, but now I’m just getting too greedy!

Yea!!! All you could eat Korean BBQ. Get ready for some action… Get your chop sticks and dig in. You’ll be in Korean heavens. The meal of Korea has landed in my tummy and made me smile… be your own chef and cook your own meat. What ever you want. Buffet all the Korean you want… Beef and pork… Make sure you have a friend to carry you out.

This is my 2^nd time here but I only come back home once a year. I forgot how much I miss this food, makes me miss home even more. You really have to appreciate the complexity & artistic nature of this cuisine. .not to mention the health benefits. It’s nothing like Japanese or Chinese or thai; a very unique experience. I came on a night where my taste buds were treated to variety of flavors (fried mackeral/​croaker, Kim chi cakes, pickled radish, mushrooms, potato noodles, rice patties in hot sauce, korean bbq sauce, yummtastic bean dip & your choice of meats with seasoning for your personal grill + more. .don’t worry about the sushi section b/​c hey don’t no one got time for that!).
The waitress urged me to get some meats on the grill so without hesitation I answered the call to every man’s primal need to feast on meat, chose the squid in bulgogi sauce & tender strips of steak along with some dipping sauce + garlic + amazing sesame/​scallion seasoned soy sauce. Everything is just turned up a notch from what you know or think it should be. I couldn’t stop dipping all the little a la carte items in special soy sauce, korean bbq & fermented bean dip. If you think you’re ready for the taste explosion in your mouth. .you’re not. It’s an exclusive party in your mouth that only a true foodie w/​a complex palate can appreciate. The all you can eat bbq grill at night is worth it alone. make ya feel like gangham style!

We waited for a long time while there was available table. Dishes are not as good as they looked like, and I can’t say I enjoy the environment there. Cold, noisy, crowded, bad smell… won’t come again.

Sighhh, I was having high hopes for this place after a long day at work.
Yes it is an All you can eat Korean BBQ, buutt the quality of the buffet entirely is disappointing. Some of the food items didn’t seem as fresh, like the dduboki and other hot items just seems reheated from previous nights. The meat isn’t as tender, more chewy than preferred. Yes the meats are marinated, but honestly I prefer Iron Age brisket instead. They have shrimp, chicken, and even pork belly to grill, none really were that great to me. The desserts sucks big time, the fruits weren’t cold, it seemed like it was lying out all day, and there aren’t as much varieties for desserts as there are with other buffets. I’m totally disappointed, and went because Unilocal reviews were urging me. However after my experience, I won’t be back. It’s better at Iron Age or Honey pig.

First to get started. I love this place. I have been going to this AYCE Korean BBQ establishment for years now. This is located off of satellite rd right next to Verizon wireless.
I usually go straight to the BBQ portion of the buffet. The great thing about this place is you select your meats at the buffet station. The servers grill and serve the meat at your table. The cooked food portion of the buffet includes Korean pancake, veges and your Chinese buffet norm. The cold side of the buffet consist a variety of raw marinated meats (3 types of beef, chicken, raw pork, raw squid, and raw thick cut Bacon) Sushi (sucks too dry) fruits and Kimchi .
Service: is never a problem here the female staff is always friendly and very tentative.
Price:depends of the time of the day. Lunch time is the cheapest on Monday-​Thursday unless it on a Holiday. Dinner is more expensive Friday-​Sunday and Holidays are the same price as the weekend dinner rate all day.

I love me some Cho Wan! Went here for our first stop to eat for lunch! It was only $ 10.99 for all you can eat Korean BBQ cooked right in front of you. So delicious! So worth it! I would come back here everyday if we had this in Orlando (I’d be the size of a blimp).
The cooked food on the other side is decent too! We had some of the kimchi pancake and seafood pancake and other things. But you definitely want your main focus to be on the raw meat that they cook in front of you. My favorites were the beef and the pork. The chicken just doesn’t taste as good. Go crazy! Normally, one dinner portion of this in Orlando is already $ 15. SO WORTH IT!