Josun Korean BBQ

Daniel is the bomb he hung out with us and the food was
. We ate all the food and I was hungry so I got more beef and chicken!
Plus they got the house music jumping!
The service was great and Daniel did everything to have our group happy and full!
Thanks so much for the great time! new hangout spot.

It was my first time here and I was not disappointed. Everything was delicious! The sides were the best I’ve ever had, and the marinade on the short ribs was really good. Tried the short ribs, beef tongue, and beef bulgogi. I’ve had better bulgogi from other places, but their beef tongue was the best!

I really enjoyed the food, but the experience is a little odd. While the big banner says «All You Can Eat» the menu warns that anyone leaving meat on their plate will be charged $ 10.
They bring. you a number tasting plates plus a bowl of scrambled eggs and another of rice. This is a pretty healthy amount of food. You wonder though, whether failure to eat your veggies will bring the fine.
Next they bring a large platter of meat dishes which included shrimp. The shrimp were boiled heads and all and not deveined. I tried one and did not care for it. As I contemplated ordering more of the other dishes I remembered the warning and chocked down the shrimp.

I just had dinner there today, being very curious about the name of the restaurant…
Alright to business,
Pros:
— Banchans (both variety and quality surprised me, it was really really really good for the price)
— Sol long tang (Beef. brisket? with rice noodles in broth) (If you had the stereotypes about Korean food being fairly heavy in flavor, this could be your ultimate cure.)
— I will need to mention that this is the only restaurant who re-​supplies barchans without even asking, that is a big plus from us.
Cons:
— fairly terse menu, not too many traditional stuff to look for (check the soup section and you know what I am talking about).
Overall, it’s pretty tasty for the price, and has very good service, thus I think it would well worth a 4-​star from me.

This is probably the first time I’ve ever been grateful for Tajima’s being too packed to wait for. My friend was really hungry and didn’t want to wait so what happens? We end up here and surprisingly enough, I didn’t go out of control and do an AYCE Korean BBQ.
I’ve read several negative reviews and I just have to say that my review is solely on the one meal I had, which consisted of spam tofu soup (soon dubu) and their peach soju.
On a cold winter’s night, this was the meal that warmed up my soul and you know, the rest of my body. The tofu soup was delicious — flavorful, hot, and just the appropriate combination of tofu/​soup/​spam. The only thing that would have made that dish better would have been if the spam had been grilled beforehand. I’m such a sucker for grilled spam. Anyway, the peach soju was nice. I’m not a big fan of alcohol so anything that doesn’t taste too much like it is a bonus in my book. My friend said the peach soju was too sweet for him, but it was perfect for me. The alcohol hit me like a train and I was basically out for the rest of the evening.
Customer service was fine. A friendly waiter took our order and a waitress came by every so often to check up on us.
Thanks Josun Korean BBQ. You were just what I needed to bear the cold winter’s night in San Diego.

firs thing first, I’m from LA. so, my korean standard is pretty high…
the lady is kind and atmosphere is nice. however, the food didn’t come anywhere near LA. I had cold spicy noodles, which lacked in taste. it was good, but too thick and not flavorful. all I tasted was flat and bland. bf got the stone pot bibimbap, and she gave us no sesame oil. that was okay though, compared to the noodles…
the other fam got goat stew, people said it was good but I thought overall, too meh about it all. left full, but not fully satisfied

I often come in here to eat alone after I finish class. It’s always empty when I come in, which is really nice. I enjoy the peace and quiet. The service is good, very friendly. The jigae (soup) is always bubbling and scorching when brought out, just the way I like it. The choices of side dishes aren’t bad at all!
I just got hungry writing this review. Hot jigae from Josun sounds amazing right now, as I shiver under multiple layers of blankets, freezing my toes off.

I think I’ve tried almost every Korean barbecue place in Kearny Mesa and this is my favorite, flavor wise (get the spicy chicken… unreal)

Great little spot for top notch Korean food and awesome service. Came in for lunch on a weekday and got the royal treatment from our adorable server. Had the all you can eat basic menu. The bulgogi was delightful, not super salty like a lot of other places when it’s AYCE. The shrimp on the basic menu was a nice surprise. Highly recommend!

This place is the best to have Korean food in San Diego! It’s not fancy but clean and decent price and great food!

I read the reviews and saw pictures. Thought it was pretty decent and wanted to try it out. Also, I was craving for black bean noodles!
I came here one night with my boyfriend and his mom. They didn’t have black bean noodles on the menu but I remember seeing it on Unilocal… so my boyfriend ask the guy server if they do, and he said yes, they just don’t have it on the menu. When I heard that, I was happy and ordered that. Both my boyfriend and his mom ordered a bento box, one is beef short ribs and the other is teriyaki chicken.
My boyfriend and his mom was disgusted with their bento boxes. The rice was really soft, almost like porridge. The meat didn’t have any flavor and was super dry. It tasted very different to them. I hated my black bean noodles! When it was served, the smell was not right… it had a bad smell. At other places I’ve been, black bean noodles never had that smell. I tried it and omg… disgusting! They used different noodles also. It was white clear noodles. I’ve only ate the yellow noodles with black bean sauce. But… I still ate because I didn’t want to waste food…
Never coming here again!

After working a 15 hour day, of course i didnt want to waste any time cooking, i was attempting to go to Tajima, since i know they open late but there was a line and i was hungry, so I decided to be adventurous. Josun was in the same parking lot and i wasn’t about to waste anymore time driving around. I walked in, the place was empty but they welcomed me in.
I ordered the pork tofu stew (sundubu) $ 10. As in most reputable korean restaurants, the Banchan (side dishes) came out first, they were good, no complaints, there was one preserved thing that i didnt much care for, it was like 1 large leaf, it had sort of a licorice taste to it which i don’t like, but other than that i finished all the banchan.
The tofu stew came out boiling hot as it should, but i thought the color was lighter than im used to, but im sure each place has their own way of doing it. Its like at a taco shop when you’re used to a deep red salsa but then they have the chipotle salsa which is lighter in color, it was more like that color. It was tasty, but i did wish there was more pork. I also thought it was strange that it had finely diced pieces of dikon radish in it, still good just something im not used to seeing in tofu stew. Overall it was okay, and it satisfied my starving belly.

It’s funny when I see huge crowds wait to be seated in certain places in the Convoy area. Suckers. Enjoy that growling tummy while I sit here already enjoying my food that’s just as good, if not better.
Listen, unless you’re picky with your Korean food, like dimly-​lit places, like being around too many people who will drown out any conversation you’d like to have, love to starve and torture yourself before finally being given a chance to eat, or… dare I say it… you’re nothing but a follower, Josun Korean BBQ is perfectly fine.
Great food, attentive service, alcohol, late hours, plenty of seating.
Maybe I’m just an old grandpa type now, but I don’t see why I’d want to subject myself to unnecessary waiting and trouble if I can just get my food almost immediately with nobody in my way.
If you’re feeling adventurous enough, they even have all-​you-​can-​eat options. Option A gives you 5 kinds of meat for $ 19.99. Option B gives you about 8 kinds of meat (I think) for $ 24.99. And Option C gives you a ton of stuff that I can barely handle! And I forgot the price for Option C.
You know how Korean restaurants start you off with those little side dishes? This place gives you 10 of them. Some might find that important, so there you go.
If I were you, I’d park on the street. The lot for this place fills up fast for Tajima. So don’t be caught among those sheep. Sometimes they might block you in by parking in your way.
Now, I’m not taking away from other restaurants I’m referencing or mentioning. I just think that just because a place is more popular doesn’t mean it’s better. With that said, Josun should be a consideration if you want good quality Korean food for what San Diego has to offer. Forget MSC just for one night please.
One more thing to add: It currently says that this place is good for ‘brunch’. Not true. Lunch and Dinner, yes. Brunch, no.

Only $ 45 for everything we ordered!
«Everything» meaning a bowl of bibimbap, beef soft tofu, fried pot stickers and a bottle of Soju. We didn’t order KBBQ because we didn’t wanna smell :p
I’m being generous with the 4 stars because finding good Korean food in SoCal isn’t a challenge unlike the Bay Area, but the value for your money is good. Most entrees don’t break $ 15 (except for the KBBQ) and that’s a plus for me.
Go here if the wait times at Tajima are ridiculous.

Good lunch specials. Sides are different and unique from the other places around here. Had the broiled fish with kimchee soup. Good portions and would definitely come back here again.
The fish was nice and crunchy on the outside and moist inside. Fish was bland but it offset all the sides very well.

Big fan of this place. Once you walk in you get a good feeling you’re in for a treat. Everything on the menu sounds delicious. I want it all. Ordered a tea and the pepper cod soup. Tea comes out quick and it’s excellent. Should of asked the brand. The teeny bopper Korean music show was pretty entertaining too, but felt a little pervy at times.
Soup and banchan comes out at the same time. No egg for the soup. Get busy on the banchan while the soup cools down. They were nice enough to give a single individual 7 dishes. All good, but nothing outstanding. The one that stood out the most was the pickled perilla leave. Theirs has a very distinct flavor with a hint of licorice taste. Would of loved to have some white pepper and chili powder on the table.
Soup is great. Nice slow spice and heat on this bowl. Solid chunks of fresh delicious cod. Gotta be a little careful of the bones in this dish. Great soup and another great Korean experience in SD. Can’t wait to get back here and dive face first in that goat stew. This place is a winner.

Many places come and go from this location… I don’t know what it was before, but I have no doubt that Josun will eventually close, not because it wasn’t good or anything but because we came on a Thursday night and nobody was in here… Except the servers friend and nothing really stood out, it’s something you can get anywhere on Convoy.
We ordered the pork tofu stew and the bulgogi bibimbap. The pork tofu stew was good and they certainly was not stingy on the tofu. Not too spicy and flavor is good. Their bibimbap on the other hand, the bulgogi meat on top of it was literally like a small spoon full. Not fulfilling. Plenty veggies and rice but what counts (the meat) wasn’t there to make you full. We also ordered the egg soup and that was good. Sides were plentiful and had some unique ones that I haven’t seen elsewhere.
Our server was cool but he was more about chilling with friends then customer service. Which is cool since there was no one in the restaurant but at least be attentive to your only customers right? We didn’t care but I can see how others will not be too patient as we were.

Ate here with family tonight. The prices seemed fairly decent for the amount of food you get. Typically, Korean food isn’t really my thing but I did like the hot pot of chicken, eggs, noodles, and vegetables I ordered (just over $ 10). Parking is a plain olé headache here. This seems to be a consistent theme for the Asian restaurants in this area. Tight spaces, crazy drivers, and not enough parking spaces in general.

Pretty solid family-​owned Korean BBQ place on Convoy Street. Our table put in a «standard order» of Bibimbap and Beef Tofu Stew. While the taste didn’t blow me away I have to say the value is pretty good — our table of 4 ended up paying something around $ 45 and that included a flight of soju!
Side dishes were good and requests for a refill were handled quickly.
Solid place, great value, and a good alternative to Tajima if you’re not set on Ramen.

Josun Korean BBQ is a small family restaurant in Kearny Mesa. Very traditional — to the point that their English skills aren’t that great. Lucky for us, we had a friend who spoke Korean!
As a group, we ordered:
— Budae Jigae — This dish is large enough for sharing. Translated to «army stew», this dish originated from after the Korean war and included a mis-​mosh of ingredients (spam, ramen, tofu, enoki mushrooms, among others). To me, this is good to get and eat after a night out.
— Goat Soup (Black Goat Stew) — This dish is also large enough for sharing. To me, goat stew is great for one of those cold days where soup is needed to stay warm. The soup is usually very salty and with lots of spices. It is served with a dipping sauce (usually with sesame oil flavor)… but I pretty much never use the dipping sauce! Rumor has it that for men, this is used to increase virility and for women, it increases protein, iron, and calcium. This dish is not for the faint of heart — it is meaty, gamey, and minerally tasting (as Andrew Zimmern would say), but oh so delicious!
TIP: Parking Lot for the Plaza is usually full. Parking on the street is recommended!
ENJOY! (Will be back to get actual Korean BBQ next time!)