Moodaepo II

After graduation my friends and I (6 of us total) came here for dinner.
Upon arriving the place seemed to be pretty busy. We waiting for a while ~30min, even though there were empty grills
But once upon being seated staff was very friendly and accommodating. Food requests were delivered and taken care of in a timely manner and meat was delicious!
But the best thing ever is that the staff played our music requests.
Honestly did not think they would let us but they made sure to play the songs we requested. Even getting out a pen and paper to get the correct spelling of the songs we wanted to listen to
First we asked for the KBBQ song
And then Drake,
Which they did and I absolutely love them for.
Thanks for making out post grad dinner a great one.
Logistics
Modaepo II is a pretty bug KBBQ place.
Prices range but my group and I chose the 17.99 $ option and there was a great selection of meats to choose from
Sides on the table:
House ginger salad, glass noodles, tomatoes, macaroni salad, squash, radish paper, kimchi, etc.
soda is served in cans and not fountain style
Meat is good quality
They also serve boba and macaron ice cream sandwiches
Little bit of a wait to get seated but once seated staff makes sure you are comfortable and accommodated with your requests

The spicy brisket and the octopus were excellent. And $ 18 for an all-​you-​can-​eat dinner? I mean, give me a break. It’s a no brainer! Seriously though, very good flavor, and the sides were all tasty as well. Not a 5-​star only because during the week they seem to be under-​staffed and service can be a little slow. Worth the wait, however; at least in my book!

I called almost 12:30 AM last June 7, 2016 and asked if they were open until 2 AM. It’s our first time in this restaurant, so I want to make sure. The guy who answered explained it well that if the night not busy they close at 12 but this night open at 2 am. I informed to reserve 2 people and will be there in less than 10 minutes. He said ok.
When we arrived, still busy. One guy who’s cleaning the tables told us that portion of the restaurant is close so he pointed out to go other side. But while going on the other side to sit, that same guy told us to wait again. My husband went to the restroom while I’m standing in front of the freezer for icecream. Until my husband finished, I’m still waiting there and nobody assisting us.
I told the guy from the cashier while he walked on our direction that I called if they can still accommodate two people and said yes and now we’re still waiting here. The guy said wait and continued walking. My husband and i walkout and went to thank you PHO, was seated after 5 minutes waiting for the table to be cleaned, busy and almost full. Had our orders and didn’t wait long enough to be serve, and our orders were not only phở.
I will never come to this Korean bbq ever. I don’t recommend this restaurant.

It was a fun lunch for our group with several families and friends and this place can surely accommodate us with their long tables and huge capacity dining hall. They also have high ceilings and lots of exhaust fans to get the smoke out of your cooking and they constantly replaced our grills once they get sticky and gets a lot of crud from the burnt meat. We had several teen age kids with us and boy can they finish their meat. AYCE is the place to bring these appetites and the parents can do well as well. Toss and turn the mothers in us with their tongs while the dads holler out to the attendants «We need more meat!» «I want mine cooked more.» while double dipping on your own chili infused dips. The servers hustle back and forth with more meat, more banchan please. It was a madhouse but was fun and I’m sure those Korean oppa had these same thoughts in mind.

Came here for dinner on a Tuesday night. No wait as it was half empty. Got seated right away but has to wait for service and once we placed our meat order has to wait about 15 minutes even though the place was not busy. Was hoping to order their shabu/​kbbq combo but was told they didn’t have that even though there was a big banner by the door advertising it and on their website.
Ordered the $ 20.99/person menu
Brisket: good quality and amount of fat
Beef tongue: not gamey, good thickness
Thin pork belly: let it grill until crispy, so good
Spicy shrimp: nothing special just shrimp drowned in chili sauce
LA Ribs: average (table next to us wanted to order the balance of their ribs. You get 4 per person. Apparently two different waiters put in the order but the table never received it so when they asked again was told they had met their limit. Such drama just for some ribs. They need better order tracking and it wasn’t all that great)
Pork jowl: less fatty and more meaty. Bland and not flavorful. Not even their marinated one tasted good which seemed to have just a sprinkle of garlic powder
The meat quality is good for the price point but don’t expect quality service.
$ 2 valet parking in the lot next to the restaurant

I came here at a late night and there was kind of a wait line, but not really. There were like 4 parties in front of us and it didn’t really seem like there was anywhere to wait without being awkward. I also had no idea why they had the separate side room that is enclosed with glass because I saw that there was no one sitting there, but wondered why they weren’t letting any of us sit at those tables.
I feel like they were a little racist because there was a party of two before my friend and I but they weren’t asian and they were seated after my friend and I and my friend is Korean, but doesn’t speak. I felt that that was just wrong.
It was also hard to get a waiter to come to you to order your next round of meat, all that idle waiting time just allows for the food to settle so you can eat less (I’m just guessing that that is their strategy).
The experience wasn’t one of the best KBBQ that I’ve had, but it also wasn’t the worst. My friend and I had originally planned to visit a different place, but that place had a wait time of over and hour and we were too hungry to wait that long so we searched for a new place that my friend knew off and bounced.
There were 2 parties there where there were people that were celebrating someone’s birthday and they had their TV’s play a birthday song!

$ 18 for all you can eat? UMMM YESSS PLEASE! The restaurant is hugeee, so I usually don’t have to wait for a table. I suggest to try everything! They don’t charge for leftovers. Prime beef brisket, black angus bulgogi, beef brisket bulgogi, and the intestines are a must try!
The bathrooms are nice and kinda weird. There are 3 stalls, and they have names on them! I guess, just pick a person and do your business. Servers are cuteeee & friendly! They are quick and attentive. Don’t bother trying to find street parking … There’s never street parking. There’s valet parking next to the restaurant for $ 2.

I love this place because it’s open till 2am but I’ve been there twice and seems like they don’t have the actual last call time. First time was last call at 1.30am and then they took 2 new tables in and we were consumed if we will get the service and more meat or not and the second time they started doing last call at 12.30am. on a slow night but at least we got to chill a little bit more and then again they sat a new table and we couldn’t ask for anymore meats and condiments.
Overall. The place is huge and nice with so many big screen TVs and varieties of beers and draft beers. They have many kind of Sojus and Wines plus the macaroon ice cream.
The service is nice. It depends on the server. Just be polite when you ask them for stuffs and I’m sure they would be more than happy to come to your table more often.
I’m sure this place is a must go especially they close at 2am and hopefully the management will make it cleared to the staff when the last call should be. I suggest 1.30am-1.45am would be the best since it shows on Unilocal what the business hours are and I do understand since I’ve been working in the restaurant business too that when it’s not busy at late night every one just want to go home and close out early. Keep up the good work please!!!

Patience is definitely a virtue. That being said, my group had to practice that a couple times at Moodaepo II but overall okay service and great food! We got the $ 20 AYCE option and ordered a lot of the LA galbi, brisket, samgyopsal, and garlic pork belly amongst other meats. The server also informed me that we could only order 4 meats at a time. There were so many options and we grilled the night away! We arrived on Saturday night at around 5:30pm and got seated around 6:30pm… I suggest you wait inside because I believe they called our party before but we were waiting outside and dancing… clearly not paying attention ahha. I definitely like the hustle and bustle of this place and respect all the workers that slave away for their customers. I also really appreciated the servers that spoke English. Though I am Korean, it’s always nice not having to whip it out haha.
However, there were a couple times when our grill was burning and the meat ordered did not come out. It just took several times to remind them that we were meatless **cries.
On a side note, I wish their music on the TV was synchronized with the music playing. They would show KPOP MV’s and play random songs like twenty one pilot’s stressed out. I think it would make the experience better ya know?
By the end of the night we were marinated with the kbbq smell… LOL That wonderful kbbq aroma lingers/​seeps into your clothes and is a great reminder of a delicious meal. I definitely ate my weight in gogi but no regrets. Me and 2 other guy friends were the last ones sitting and eating while 3 others tapped out half way through haha. But like I said, no regrets! In a perfect world, kbbq would be my breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Parking was right next to the restaurant at $ 2 plus tip.

Came here tonight with friends for a late dinner — they eat here often so we figured it would be a pretty solid place to get some AYCE korean bbq. And, honestly, it was good, but I wasn’t blown away.
Their $ 2.00 valet right next door was pretty convenient and the food was good, but the service was lack luster. In theory, the way the waiters work should be pretty efficient — every person seems to help wait on every table, which in general helps keep the plates and dishes moving pretty quickly. But, my biggest issue was that I had to ask for a coke 4x from 4 different waiters. No joke, it took me about 30 – 40 minutes to get a damn can of coke?!? Everytime I asked a waiter, they looked at me like I was crazy? I’m not sure what that was about. One waiter even walked away from me while I was trying to talk to him… it was pretty bad.
They also have items still on their menu that they apparently don’t serve anymore (Boba tea?!) I dunno Unilocalers… like I said, it is an okay place, but I have honestly had better korean bbq with better service in Koreatown.

PREPARE TO SMELL LIKE MEAT
All you can eat meat. Meat meat meat meat meat. There were three packages $ 17, $ 20, $ 26 per person and order of 4 meats at a time. And everybody at your table has to be on the same package. Lots of meat but no take-​home. I really would like to know what happens to all the left over food?!
We ordered all kinds of meat: brisket, Bulgogi, ShortRibs, chicken, etc but I stuck to brisket and ShortRibs (my two favorites of the evening). The other KBBQ places I’ve ate in KTown someone is cooking the meats for you, you buy combination meals, and ventilation is better. This place seems a lot more «hip», great tasty food for the price and portion but I’ve had better KBBQ few blocks away. I felt like o was in a club, music bumping, loud atmosphere and really hard to engage and hear the company your with. But it is a good place for larger parties.
Save room for dessert, the ice cream macro a are a hit. I had strawberry and it was fantastic.
Until the next review…

I went here with a 6 friends since one of my friends really likes this place. When I arrived, I was kind of surprised by how many non-​Asians or lack of Koreans were there. I thought this was both good and bad. Good because I like that it serves a really diverse customer base. Bad because I questioned why Koreans aren’t going here. Was this not good Korean food? I’m actually Korean myself and thought the food was ok but nothing to write home about.
I’m giving it low stars because the service was horrible. We were forced to tip since if you have a party of 6 or more, it’s added to your bill. They pretty much never come by to add new condiments, give you more napkins, or just help you in anyway. You don’t even pay the bill at the table. You have to wait in line when you exit to get to the cash register, so I’m not really sure what service I was tipping for. Also, the staff seemed not very friendly, but I think that’s just a Korean thing. I can say that since I’m Korean. Jk, sort of.
I won’t go here again since there are so many better options for AYCE Korean BBQ.

Surprisingly a very good experience! I’m not sure why I never went before. Minus it being A LITTLE too loud it was a good experience. I don’t enjoy having to shout things three times in order to have a conversation across the table. BUT it’s probably one of the better remaining KBBQ places in ktown.
Definitely good for groups. Very nice interior. The crowd here is 95% foreigners; my bff and I were the only Korean guests. And all of the servers seem to have functional English. Oh, and they have Stella on draft MMMM. Music can be glitchy at times but that’s overlook-​able.
I’ll definitely be back

Can accommodate large group reservations — like, 30 people large. That actually didn’t happen because 1) they misheard the request because it was supposed to be 20, and 2) some people backed out so it ended up being 15. But still, when we arrived, they had tables set for 30 people for our party. Not that I’ve tried, but I think it would be hard to find places that are willing to accommodate that many people unless you’re renting out a room!
The food is great. And their AYCE deals are reasonably priced. They have beer towers, which are great when you’re with a group that’ll chug away!
The other time I’ve been here before this large party was for a smaller group, maybe 6 or 7, for a birthday. They feature the birthday boy/​girl on their TVs when they sing the bday song, so that’s always fun to put them on the spot, hehe.

Figi water is $ 10? Better get a massage with that as well.
Food is great. But everything isn’t just about the food.
I understand the waiters wait on many tables at once and it can be overwhelming, but if you can’t handle it don’t work there and don’t give us attitude while you’re at it.
Found a little black dirt/​burnt like thing in my beer, asked to get another one in replacement for it the waiter takes it scoops it out with a spoon and brings it back. If that’s what I wanted done I would have done it myself. (After asking a third time brought me a new cup filled with some completely different beer)
Wait is horrible. You cannot make reservations. They will have tables available inside for up to 30 min but they won’t call anyone and have them seated. Idk what the reason for that is but that’s how they do it.
I probably will not be visiting this place anymore. There are much better places I can go to.

One of my favorite AYCE KBBQ joints at the moment. The place is clean, more modern than other kbbq places around, they play music (current not cheesy) and spacious. The food is good being that the meat is of a good quality. The choices are numerous. The service is pretty good. The grills are changed out often. I really have no complaints of the place other than the requisite smoke that permeates all articles of clothing you wear into the place but that’s a given at all kbbq joints.
The banchan was good. I love the daikon and glass noodles. The egg & vegetable pancake here is a little different. It’s made a little thicker. I like it though. Mac salad is one of the items. Not a fan of any mac salad but my friends seemed to like it. Didnt have the kimchi but that’s a given.
We ordered a lot of brisket. A LOT of brisket… The brisket they have isnt rolled up frozen pieces. They’re actually fresh looking and presented nicely on wooden & ceramic platter ready to be grilled. The pork belly was good. The bulgogi was too. I liked the smokiness of the pork belly. It just takes a long time to cook.
You see a lot of big parties here as their layout can handle those numbers with their long tables. You see beer towers and a wheel to spin for prizes. Moodaepo II is a good kbbq joint to bring a group of friends to. In fact, I’m having my birthday dinner there soon. They were able to reserve a table (s) for our party of 25. Hoping for a good experience eating there as the first 2 times I’ve been.
Bathrooms are modern and clean. Valet is next door for a small fee. I forget how much. Street parking is possible if not rare. AYCE prices depending on variety of selection are: $ 16.99, $ 19.99 and $ 24.99

Came here for my fiends birthday and boy is this place is a big hot mess… the music is obnoxiously loud so it’s hard to talk amongst a group… TVs everywhere… service SUPER sucks here… so make your order all at once or good luck getting the waiters to stop for you again… they are running around like crazy and never check on you.
Meat was mediocre… nothing to rave about… needed more sides that never came fast enough for our big group.
They have these huge beer towers that people love… so you pour your own beers at your table…
felt sick the next day so idk what it was… possibly the shrimp… won’t be back here ever again…

The Service: Once you place order… 2 hours limit! The service is efficient. Many staffs are on duty. Everything you ask for, they give it to you right away. Lots of seating area. BUT during dinner time, there is still wait line. Because it is a very popular restaurant.
The Food: AYCE Korean BBQ~ 3 prices, $ 17.99, $ 20.99 and $ 26.99. Fresh ingredient. LOTS of choices on the menu. Do come hungry!
The Parking: Don’t even try to find the street metered parking. Their valet service is only $ 2! That is right… $ 2 valet in LA!

More like 3.5 stars:
Service is definitely severely lacking, which is the case with most Kbbq places.
However, the food and the price (I believe it’s $ 18 for the first AYCE option) makes up for it. The bulgogi is definitely the best meat, in my opinion.
Just beware that the waiters aren’t the most attentive, so you’ll be waiting for awhile for them to bring out your meat and/​or you’ll be reminding them multiple times to bring you things.
Also important note: they have a parking lot !!!

Moodaepo is soooooooo much fun esspecially when you go with a good crowd.
I came here with a group of friends on a Saturday night and I’d highly recommend making reservations. The place fills up and waiting clearly isn’t the thing most people want to do when they’re hungry. From my understanding they take reservations for parties of six or more people.
They have different all you can eat combos which I think is the way to go. You’ll be able to try more options and you’ll definitely be eating like a King or Queen.
Moodaepo has the option to make things shareable and family style which kind of contributes to the atmosphere. I mean you are grillin’ together, sittin’ together, so you might as well be drinkin’ together.
Overall
Nice atmosphere, good food, and fun times!
Tips
They have valet
Mention it’s your birthday ;)