Mapo BBQ

Came here again for galbi and it was pretty solid. It’s $ 38 per order, geez when did galbi get so expensive, but it’s a good amount of meat. It’s cut a bit thicker than other places so it doesn’t seem like a lot, but I think it’s comparable. The side dishes are okay and the service was typical of Korean restaurants. Not sure if it’s the best, but probably one of the better places to have galbi in the Flushing area.

Great Korean barbeque restaurant, but 1^st you have to find it. A little buried away in a small section of Korean barbeque restaurants. Finding parking is a nightmare, but fortunately they contracted out private valets to park your car if you so desire, listen, use them, it’s worth it.
The place is very small but gives you the illusion that it’s bigger by lining one side of the wall with mirrors. One of the big draws of this place is the use of wood charcoal and cuts of Angus beef kalbi. After ordering the banchans start arriving at our table, they give you plenty of little plates of deliciousness that literally covers up every square inch of your table. We especially liked the Korean steam egg (Gyeran jjim)
The smoke from the wood really infuses a nice light smoky flavor. The beef is tender and tasty. They give you plenty of romaine lettuce for you to wrap up the kalbi and fill it with all the sauce, paste and banchans around your table to wrap up a delicious pocket of yumminess!
We ordered the pork belly as well, though not as flavorful as the beef, the variety of banchans and sauces woke up the flavor of the pork belly. As a note the pork belly is not cooked on the wood charcoal, but instead on a portable gas stove top pan. The Service staff here is top notch, our waitress not only took our order but cook and cut up the meats for us as well. Our waitress was grilling the kalbi with one hand and grilling the pork belly on another grill with the other, she was a multitasking beauty.
We also ordered a casserole of seafood tofu. The tofu was silky smooth and the kimchi broth was delicious. The casserole had clams, shrimp, squid and of course tofu. It went well with a bowl of rice. A Great big shout out and thank you to the guy’s who help set and take away the wood charcoal pots.
Now get ready to dish out some dough because the meats are not cheap. The price you see on the menu is a serving size for 1 person, not 2. You don’t get a lot of food for the price, so if you’re really hungry, get ready to shell out some good money. The quality is there and you’re going to pay for it. A definite winner though when it comes to Korean barbeque.

I stopped in here for lunch with my girlfriend and I don’t think I would’ve ever found this place on my own. You need a Korean friend or a real local to find this gem. The prices are a little high but he quality of the food is what you pay for. All the meats are super fresh with ample amounts of «small dishes» to compliment the meats. I ordered the kalbi and nam myung (cold noodles) which were perfect for hot and humid days.
Also the fact that there was a table of Korean women behind us making dumplings made the entire experience all the better. Best part of that was, we got to taste the dumplings seconds after they were made.

Very good meat, good portion, authentic Korean style. They gave us plastic bags for the winter jackets so they won’t smell like smoke. Side dishes were above average. I enjoyed the indulgement. If you can only eat beef once per year, Mapo BBQ wouldn’t be a bad choice. The place was filled with Koreans and other eastern Asians.
Two of us ate here for $ 100 including tip.

We loved this place!!! Thank goodness I’m able to speak Korean because almost every waitress spoke Korea. The food was really good, the Kalbi was fresh and tasted great! my family loved the place! Their banchan are also really good! there were tons of them as well! its not a fancy place, its a neighborhood joint and I loved that about this place! We their seafood pancake was really good as well, not too greasy or heavy, their chapchae was also good. I recommend you try this place out!

$ 40 a head for galbi, some really well seasoned and tender beef. The best galbi I’ve encountered so far. A decent portion, but do not assume that beef is the main source of food.
Instead, the banchan is plentiful. Multiple kimchis, radish, fish cake, roasted corn, soft shell grab, sundubu, greens, and more. Work on these many little plates the meat is cooked for you by the great service.

I’m not one to update reviews, but this place demands it. The mapo kalbi is still tender, but marinade is a tad sweet. Don’t think about getting the $ 16 mandoos, the stews, stone rice pots bi bim bap, or noodle dishes. They don’t do these dishes well at all. The sides are a hit or miss, but the best is the corn and egg. My biggest gripe with this place is the owner. They push you to eat as fast as possible and get the hell out of there to turn the tables over. It’s annoying to be rushed to eat after ordering $ 40 entrees and given dirty looks until you pay the check. They are also mad stingy with refilling the sides. Don’t even dare ask for seconds or they will probably spit in your food. For a restaurant that only has 1 good dish, they could be smarter in the way they treat repeat customers.

This is a traditional Korean BBQ place so the only expectation was the quality of meat, which was awesome. I used to go there every 2 weeks because Staffs were great, very friendly. I liked how they particularly grilled the meat longer and cut it in smaller pieces for my kid.
Definitely will go back again.

I was thinking the same exact thing as my lunch partners; is it Kalbi or Galbi? Such novices we are. I also pondered if that juicy, tender, charcoaly, marbled meat that we kept ordering was Kobe or the likes thereof, but it’s called Kalbi/​Galbi. Oh, what the heck do I know? I’ll just google it later.
When I come back to Mapo BBQ, I will try to find parking immediately, which is hard to do, ’cause everyone has a freaking car and residential and commercial street parking sucks! No, maybe I’ll just take the LIRR, because it’s directly across the street from Mapo. Yup, that’s what I’ll do, I’ll take the train instead. That way I’ll get to the restaurant faster and then get to sit my derrière down quicker and then get to order nothing else but that Kalbi/​Galbi and maybe I’ll include that awesome seafood pancake while enjoying the assorted banchan. Yup, that’s my plan for my next visit, which will lead me to being one very content woman who will need nothing else and if you follow my lead, you won’t either.
RATINGS:
Price: Above Average (If you keep ordering more meat and a bunch of everything else like we did)
Service: Way Above average (We lacked nothing)
Atmosphere: Average old school cafeteria-​like
Food: Above Average
Unilocal Peeps: Way above average
I would be remiss not to mention that thanks to Unilocal I had the opportunity to share this meal with some L.I. Unilocalers, Christina J., Cindy L. and Steve M., cool, easy to talk to fun bunch.

The line to put your name down is an absolute cluster — walk to the very back and give your name; the lady will give you a number but that number may or may not be in order… just be sure to hang around and pop your head in once in awhile or they’ll skip right over you.
Besides that, the service was amazing, the sides were plentiful and the meat… oh gosh, the meat.

The best kalbi restaurant!!! Although the portions of meat aren’t that big, the numerous side dishes that come with the meal make up for it. The meat is perfectly marinated and grilled to charcoal perfection by one of the many ahjumma waitresses who by the way speak both Chinese and Korean.

I came to this place with my friend. We had a cod and vegetables broth and a pollack and vegetables broth. Both of them comes in hot stone pot. It was served sizzling. They were hot spicy and tastes very good. The fish were fresh and the broth of the combination of vegetables and cod or pollack was delicious. You can ask them to make them plain or mild instead of hot spicy. They are pretty good in either way. The side dishes were mostly good.

where is Mapo 2? I’m looking for that restaurant, but seems like shutted down already.
wanna have a leng mian so bad

Great Korean place. We drive all the way from Connecticut just to eat here. The food is good and authentic. The BBQ is as close to eating in Korea that I can find. The Korean staff are very friendly and the service is great. Huge bonus is the free valet parking!

So for all the hype, the food wasn’t allllllll that, it was great but it wasn’t WOW.
What wow was the service, they pretty much rushing us when we were eating and at the end they keep asking if we already take care of the bill or not. I was a little disappointed, good thing we didn’t have to wait long for the table.

This was my first foray into the infamous Flushing area for food. And I had the Grand pleasure of doing so with some friends & fellow Unilocalers Cindy L., Pat F., & Steve M.
I need to say thank you to Unilocal,because where else can you get a group of strangers to meet each other in a totally unknown place to any of us, for a delicious shared meal?! Then we had the nerve to continue on to bar down the street for some cocktails, football & a few games of pool!
The place was a little tricky to find but when we got there Cindy had already gotten us a table. It was a small place & simple in Décor. What I loved most was that it was real hardwood charcoal grills in the middle of the table. It really gave the meat an amazing flavor, oddly it wasn’t smoky, just really really good.
We started off with the Pork Belly & Kalbi, only to be told we had to order 2 meats for the grill. Huh?! Isn’t that 2 meats?! The waiter went on to explain (Thank goodness for Stevie because his Spanish helped us with the waiter) that the Pork Belly gets cooked on an electric grill so that doesn’t count. Oooooh ok, no problem we’ll take an order of Pork Ribs also then.
Of these meats I thought the pork would rock my tastebuds, but NOOO! They were good, don’t misconstrue my meaning. But the GALBI or is it KALBI?! Holy Geez Moley! Talk about tender & flavorful! I cannot say I’ve had a better cut of meat more tender AND flavorful. My mouth is watering just reliving those moments.
And the Side dishes were OFF THE CHARTS! I don’t know the proper name for them but we had a table full of yummy goodness. Favorites that come to mind are the roasted peppers with small dried fish, maybe tiny anchovies not sure but that was my favorite out of all the side dishes. Then there was the steamed eggs dish that came out bubbling hot, so fluffy, so differently delicious. There was macaroni salad, I wasn’t a fan but my table mates enjoyed it. Grilled Corn, Kimchee Pancakes, Boiling hot Tofu Seafood soup (AWEsome!), multigrain rice, roasted garlic, onions, fried eel lacey stuff, Kimchee, Lettuce, etc.
After all of that yeah we still wanted more, Hey! We’re Unilocalers! Would you expect anything different?! So we ordered the Beef Tongue & another order of the Beef Galbi/​Kalbi. Sooooo Scrumdillyicious!
I will say the food was great, but the best part was spending time getting to know my fellow Unilocalers. What a privilege it is to be blessed by Unilocal with such great cool people. And the bill came to $ 57 per person including tip, not cheap but we ate well & it was worth it!
So please come here. Even if you don’t get to eat with my crew the food will still be good.

I found my new favorite Korean bbq restaurant! Worth the trip from the city. It’s right by the Murray Hill LIRR stop, which you can take from Penn Station. Their side dishes are good and I really enjoyed the corn and steamed eggs. The galbi is tender and grilling with wooden charcoal makes the meat taste more smoky. So good! And the seafood pancake was nice and crispy. ~
Taking away a star because it’s a bit pricey for the neighborhood.

I love love this place. The waitresses are so friendly, you feel at home. They are not frugal with their side dishes. I always gets the Galbi BBQ meat with spicy cold noodles and of course I cant forget the soju! Perfect combo! Writing this review actually makes me want to go tomorrow for dinner! Can’t wait! Hehe

After trying out a dozen other Korean BBQ restaurants in nyc, I STILL feel like Mapo BBQ has the best quality meat, no doubt! I recently visited Mapo and discovered that they have introduced a new dish: BBQ beef tongue! It’s not as great as their signature dish Marinated Galbi (*you must try this at least once*) but it’s worth a try, the portion is good.

I went here tonight for kbbq. We got 2 orders of the marinated galbi for ~$ ³⁸⁄₃₉ each. As expected for the price, the meat was tender but the marinade was quite sweet. They also only had lettuce for wrapping and not the radish. Service was also not that great. Instead of refilling side dishes, they just take it away. My friend ordered naengmyun and never got it. Waitress finally realized it after we practically finished. At the end, they also rushed us with the check and was rude about signing the tab. We obviously know to sign, give us more than 30 seconds while we decide to give tip on card or cash okay? Goodness. Worth it? Nah. I’m not coming back. I usually like going to hahm ji bach down the street and I’ll stick with going there over mapo any day after this first experience here.

pro
1) Best KALBI!!!
2) It’s always busy and crowded which means that the food you get it’s always gonna be fresh and new
3)waiter and waitress are very kind. The owner is very nice as well.
4)Other Korean restaurant in flushing, It’s always korean and other asian people coming
but this restaurant is always full with diversity group I love it! My none– asian friends feel less awkward!
con
1)you do not want to bring your car good luck finding parking spot
I NEVER CANT FIND PARKING SPOT (or I am just very unlucky :/​)
2)I personally don’t like their side dishes that much.
It’s not like oh i hate it, I do not mind eating it, it just not that amazing
3)It is expensive compare to other restaurant and you don’t get that much either.
4)Since this is legit kalbi place you can’t really order porky belly (samgyupsal), unless you order at least 2 people’s portion and 1 kalby

Korean food is simple and comforts the soul and tummy. the best restaurants do not mess with this simple philosophy unless they have a deep knowledge of the traditions. a typical korean bbq place serves meat from the short rib. cut crosswise and grilled on a low maintenance gas grill.
YOU WANT BETTER. MAPO IS BETTER. real hardwood charcoal is delivered to your table. the meat itself is a luscious marinated cut of premium steak, marbled and deep red in color. the scorching hot charcoal will result in a bite that is seared just right. wash it down with a korean beer, soju, and some of the delicious jjigae that comes with every bbq order. finish with a bowl of nengmyun. every good kalbi house must also have great nengmyun. Mapo checks both off the list. Good Eats!

Well, I’m sold. I’ve had some kbbq in my days. You know, living in L.A., you have your fair share. But I was not prepared for what I got here. And those side dishes… !!
So we came here on a recommendation — apparently you have to try their galbi. We walk in during dinner time and it’s about half-​full. The server ajummas greet us pleasantly and, unlike some of the reviews I see here, remain so for the rest of the meal. I mean really attentive, giving us refills of side dishes when we didn’t even ask, the whole yard.
And man, those side dishes! You get some good ones, including really good fish cakes, mung bean cake, kimchi (cabbage & cucumber), and… gaejang (spicy raw crabs). Summary of some of the good, memorable ones:
— Gaejang is awesome, and they brought out twice as much when we ran out. We didn’t even ask.
— Cucumber kimchi is predictably good. I love cucumber kimchi.
— Macaroni salad is above average
— Korean miso stew was amazingly good. Taste of the stew really stood out over other places.
— Steamed Eggs may be the best I’ve had…
And then the meat. It was the thickest Korean ribs I’ve ever had, and the taste matched the looks. It was so good and really beyond my expectation. Wrap that up in lettuce with a dollop of the miso paste, a piece of garlic, some kimchi, and some onion salad, and it’s just da bomb.
Now, at $ 38.95 per serving it is STEEP. Frankly, it’s almost Peter Luger steak price and I’m not sure it’s worth THAT. And so the 4-​star rating is really because of the value thing. I’m still more inclined to go to Woo Gook or Baekjung and come away just as full for ²⁄₃ of that price. But I’m in generous mood today (see Dubs food truck) and this is New York, so it’s highly recommended even at that price. After dropping $ 170 for 3 when all was said and done and not feel like I got taken? Must have been good, right?
Table-​for-​1 Factor: Well, I suppose when they’re empty, but not really seeing myself sitting here by myself.

Man, what happened to this place? I’ve always enjoyed coming here for great BBQ for years, but after today I’ll think twice before coming here again. They jacked up their price!!! $ 38 for kalbi per person? What do you get for $ 38? 11 bite size beef cubes! Yes sir… count them…11. And they are ½ size of your chicken nuggets. See my attached picture. The 11 beef cubes are so small, they decorate the plate with 2 pieces of grilled bones to fill the plate. Wtf! The waitress was so pushy for 2 people to order 2 beef. We told her we want seafood pancake and other food, and she kept on insisting for us to place 2 orders otherwise we will not be grilling on the table. We stuck to our guns. The tofu soup was $ 14 and the seafood pancake was $ 19. The check came out to $ 79 for 2 people without tip. This dinner cost me a small fortune!

Wth did we just stepped into? We decided to try Mapo BBQ since our usual spot is closed, and Mapo wasn’t crazy crowded as usual. We kept trying to order the pork belly only to get denied bc we are not ordering the kalbi. I KNOW! I kept asking the waitress to explain her Cray Cray logic– why can’t we order something on the menu again? Were you sold out of pork belly? «No.» So why can’t we order it?! «It’s not worth our time to cook it on the charcoal grill.» Really?! Then why have it on the menu?!
Aside from all this the kalbi was good despite the pressure to get it. (2 stars)
2 kalbi dishes, no alcohol $ 80 w/​o tip for 2 ppl. Enter at your own risk.

Pretty decently good korean restaurant. Family style, wood chip embers underneath the bbq grate. Fire in your face kind of deal. The embers sit in the center of the table. The servers cooks and services the ordered meat dishes for you or request to do it yourself.
I think the restaurant is pretty small that only has about a dozen tables. Service was very fast. They pretty much want you to eat fast then leave for the next group of diners.

Mapo BBQ is known for their SUTBUL KALBI! And that’s exactly what we ordered.
Banchan, kalbi, and the charcoal for the BBQ all arrive quickly after ordering, and the waitresses will assist in cutting the meat as it is grilled in front of you. Before you know it, you’ll be packing kalbi, onion, rice, garlic, jalapenos, and ssamjang into lettuce wraps and trying to stuff the entire thing in your mouth in one bite. The kalbi is tender, juicy, and super flavorful. SO GOOD!
After BBQing, we followed tradition and had naengmyun. We tried 2 different types of the cold noodles– one in an icy broth, and the other in a spicy sauce with no broth. Both were very refreshing after all the heat from the BBQ, and the texture of the noodles were on POINT!
I see a lot of comments/​complaints on the price of this restaurant. Yes, a serving of kalbi costs $ 39… BUT we ordered 3 servings for 5 people and it was more than enough. We were stuffed by the time the noodles came out and rolling out of the restaurant by the time we were done.
With tax and tip, everything came out to $ 37 per person which I agree isn’t cheap enough for an everyday meal, but it’s certainly not expensive enough to stop me from coming back for more delicious charcoal-​grilled juicy kalbi!

I am amazed by a few things when eating Korean bbq. First, the banchan selection that arrive as you sit at the table is quite fortunate. Not sure how the restaurant owners make money with this selection. Thank you. Second, never get in the way of a sharp pair of scissors in the hands of a Korean woman! haha. Finally, the hot Korean charcoal is hot and not so smokey.
For ordered marinated kalbi ribs and pork belly for our bbq selections. The pork belly has 3 layers of yumminess. I generally prefer leaner cuts of meat. However, the pork belly is tremendous. The kalbi marinate is full of flavor and is always cooked to perfection.
I have a fondness for this restaurant. The parking is easy and the restaurant is clean and orderly, with great service.

I went to this place because it was on «My next [Yelp] review awaits.» This is one time the automated suggestions was aware that my attention was required. Good thing I was in the mood for Korean BBQ. The first thing I noticed when I looked at the window, were a lot of colorful advertising outside their window and what was advertised on the posters is also true about their business card which is a self-​proclaimed over the top 5 Star rating of themseves. Let me advise you to take that claim with a Big Grain Of Salt.
Surprisingly when I got inside, I was the only other party in the restaurant. Seating for the most part is spacious though it is a fairly small restaurant, enough for say about 9 parties of 4 people per group.
Once seated, the boss and waitress wanted me and my friend to take the seat by the corner of the cash register which found uncomfortable so the only option they gave us was the corner by the door. We really wanted the opposite corner which they said is only for a party of 4… Later they happily seated a party of two to that table.
Though the restaurant was empty at the time, the waitress rushed me to order, the problem was they didn’t have my Pork (#3 on the grilled foods page) and she recommended for me to go elsewhere. Consequently I was waiting for my friend and when she came, the waitress told her that we have to order 2 items from the grilled menu page in order to get Banchan which I knew was a scam to get more tips, the waitresses talking about a minimum $ 76 order whereas they mentioned on the table and menu «with ANY grilled order.» Any other KBBQ Restaurant I’ve been to provides Banchan on the house regardless. Of course like suckers, we ordered 2 grilled items and also ordered the Cod Fish Soup and Cold Noodles with Beef and Egg. At this point the waitress who speaks Mandarin told us «Korean people don’t come here much it’s the Chinese people who come here because they have money.» I found this to be racist but it was used as reverse logic to «justify» how much we ordered but of course she’s doing it to justify her tips. ;-)
The Black Angus they are proud of was not the quality you’d expect from a KBBQ of this «supposed» caliber. As a matter of fact, it was sort of like a Whopper from Burger King except the Whopper does taste better.
The Cod Fish Soup gave me a semi upset stomach as the fish was near spoiled and when I say that, I mean it was likely way past due and they probably chilled it in vinegar and salt to preserve it the best they can.
One look at the Cold Noodles and I said no thanks. It basically looked like a once tasty noodle soup submerged in slush and the noodles were grey. My friend described it as sour and salty and the beef was hardened like a tough jerky.
Perhaps what really turned me off was that we did not get half way through our meal and as soon as they brought the cold noodles, they presented the bill which was $ 119 before tips for 2 people. Let me say any restaurant in Chinatown/​or Flushing that is decent would not only charge only a quarter of that price but you will most likely be satisfied and not be rushed in such an a manner. The sneaky boss even super powers up the AC on our table to try to rush us out. But we inevitably took our time eating.
Looks like I won’t be going back to this joke they made to themselves. I give them 5 stars for being malicious.

Too Overpriced, bad service, horrendous and dirty place!
People who gave 5 stars to this place are people who never tried good food and service ever in their life!!!
I chosen this place because of the reviews on Unilocal,usually korean BBQ places if you order 1 portion is enough for two. So I was planning to order only one. I saw the price and I thought it might be because is a big portion. I order two portions and it was a portion for kids meal… Hahahahahaa…
This place is way overpriced. Side dishes the worst ever.
Outside of the location has a huge sign with the NY times comments and column, but I’m sorry NY times you chose the wrong place to make a article on your pages. This place is horrendous.
The waitresses are very rude.
This restaurant is very disappointing.
I’ve had better BBQ and for reasonable price!
And because of a few crazy people who spend their money like nothing and supports this kind of places they still overcharge customers and still in business…

MMM pretty tasty kalbi! The reviews don’t lie. I wasn’t expecting much but it was satisfying. Also, food coma inducing.
Note: you need to order 2 kbbq dishes in order for them to cook at your table. Otherwise, you’ll just get a plate from behind the kitchen. That’s what we did and it seemed like the portions were abysmal. But then we tasted it and it was sooooo delicious!
Kalbi. That’s all you need.