Manna BBQ

It was my first time at Manna but not my first time at a Korean BBQ restaurant. The food was good but nothing too spectacular.
My husband and I went for the first time last night for our 5 year anniversary and we went with high hopes from all these raving reviews. I was mildly disappointed. I come from LA and we have an AMAZING Korean BBQ location. Their waiters are rude but the food is to die for. I was expecting something similar but it wasn’t really up to par. The bulgogi was the best meat they had. The other meats had little flavor and I found myself constantly dipping meat into their house sauce that was offered. They use a gas stove top instead of charcoal so you don’t smell like smoke and meat when you leave the place, which is a plus.
Their service was lovely. Our waiters were nice and very patient with us. Even the guys who came to change our stove top was out going and made us feel welcome.
I would definitely recommend this place to a friend who hasn’t tried Korean BBQ.

Come here for a food feast celebration! It’s all-​you-​can-​eat type of restaurant. It’s a great place to take your starving party to come (family, colleagues and friends)
They have lots of space for big parties.
After sitting down, we opened the menu, tons and tons of food! There’s many varieties, pork, beef, chicken and seafood! Many of us ordered 2 plates each and starred cooking our dinner. What a fun way to show your talent!
Overall. We were happy with food varieties, price and seating space. So bring your parties over for a food feast celebration!

Short story. Just stick to the plain meats. Avoid venturing into the flavored meets or noodles
Rest of the summary: Since balboa is packed and San Marcos is far. Love and hate relationship with the food here. It’s not as good as the other two.
I’ll give solid 2 for the meats that aren’t sautéed and IMO are solid but still a little chunky with fat prices (you can’t really mess up on plain meats)
The rest below I’m beginning to wonder if the taste is being tailored to the demographic makeup in the area:
Banchan have gotten a little better since it opened its getting closer to the taste as you’d expect from many of the Korean restaurants in Convoy
Flavored pork belly is incorrectly made and isn’t what you expect; as it had only gochu garu (pepper grinds) and it’s supposed to use soybean paste
The soybean paste soup was dark and salty. It’s supposed to be light in color. It was a big dump of paste. I suppose the cooks are not Korean because they don’t understand it and figured more is better (??)
The steam egg keran jip was way salty and likely due to use of a very salty broth and it scorched when it came, it was too burned to eat
The cold noodles didn’t taste anything like korean mul-​nengmyun, If you eat at another BBQ place and order the noodles you’ll know what I meant
THe Bibim noodles didn’t taste the same it was sour as heck. Which is incorrect. Should be sweet and spicy in that paste sauce. Also the radishes and veggies that go into it were old and turning brown, highly suggest that you avoid eating aged pickled items as its not healthy
The radishes used in the noodles were so ripened they deteriorated and I just couldn’t eat it (likely an indication people don’t really eat the Korean dishes except the meats)
Lastly the green salad they served was mixed with a really old and a fresh batch so it was troublesome to constantly have to pick and throw out the old lettuce.

Oh Manna, where have you been all my life?!
Came here on a Sunday night at 7pm with my boyfriend and got seated immediately. Being broke college students, we chose the A2 option ($ 21.99/person), and I was more than happy with the selection! The workers were so friendly and accommodating since it was our first time.
Must try the bulgogi and the brisket! The beef tongue wasn’t anything spectacular in my opinion, but it’s worth a try if you’ve never had it before. They offer a good variety of sides, and their salad portions are HUGE. Watch out for the 2 hour maximum and make sure not to over order! They will charge you for any unfinished meat. Overall, I can’t wait to come back!

This location is walking distance from us now. I should walk there next time.
What can go wrong with Manna? Not much. Always consistent. Our favorites are brisket, bulgogi, galbi, and steamed egg. I love their jap chae noodles, potatoes salad, and their salad.
I don’t eat rice with kbbq because I don’t want to get full so those are my go to items.
For $ 21.99 per person which is A2 option. Not bad!
This location is less busy than convoy and plenty of parking. Make the drive. It’s worth it.

Decent Korean style BBQ. (You order the food raw and cook it yourself). For lunch I’d saw it’s a bit on the high side both in price and time it takes of you work a job with strict hours it may be difficult to swing. Dinner is a better option, no time constraints and better value for dinner. One complaint is the whole place is not ventilated optimally so the smoke smell is strong.

See Check-​in comments. OK, but this was our first and last visit to Manna!
We ordered the more expensive A1 option. Underwhelming relative to the competition!
Nice ambiance and well ventilated. Music on the other hand was too loud and hindered conversation. It was clearly aimed at Millenials.

I don’t understand the rave reviews. The meat quality was OK. The ban chan was greasy, and they don’t even auto refill them when you finish your ban chan. They take the dish away. I guess these are San Diego KBBQ standards.
The staff was nice though!

My boyfriend and I got the «A2» combo, came with different various meats and sides. It was $ 21.99 for option A2 (most basic)
This location is not as busy as others like the ones in the convoy area and a much bigger location as well. The parking lot is huge so no worries on trying to find street parking or squeezing into tight parking spots. Also, it has a lot more ventilation so you don’t smell like Korean BBQ after dinner :)
We waited about 10 min to sat which they told us 20 min so not bad! The bus boys and waiters are cleaning each table right after each party leaves so the service was quite fast.
Each table has a call button next to their table to ask for some service whether you want more meats/​sides/​drinks, etc. of course they had the usual steamed egg and kimchi pancake. The kimchi pancake was a little too spicy for my taste but flavorful.
Customer service was friendly and very attentive.
I love when waiters pay attention like «water with lemon» I always ask and at some restaurants they forget the lemon… But not at Manna BBQ!
We got brisket, spicy pork belly, marinated angus beef (a little too sweet for me but nothing salt and pepper can’t handle) beef rib fingers (delicious, taste like steak) and beef tongue. I just liked the brisket and angus beef. My Bf ordered all the others ones. I asked the waiter please «HEAVY on the brisket and rice paper» YUM! I try not to drink a lot of water or eat a lot of sides so that I can get my money’s worth ;)
I’ll wear sweats next time so I for sure can get my money’s worth!

OMG MANNAAAAAAAA.
Here is a haiku about Manna BBQ:
Ahem.
Delicious brisket.
Get into my ****ing mouth.
Help me I’m choking.
That’s pretty much me any time I come here– THE FOOD IS SO GOOD I CANT HELP IT.
OK I get that it’s $ 25, BUT COME ON. ITS FREAKIN MANNA.
TL:DR version is over, if you want to stop reading, by the way. But please, keep reading– There are some real gems in here.
Anyway…
If you’ve never heard of Manna, get out from underneath that proverbial rock you’ve been hiding under and get wise, kiddo.
The formula for Korean BBQ is…
STEP 1: you (as a table, NOT individually) pick a menu to choose from (they have a couple of them at different price ranges, but the A1 is decidedly better, and don’t you let no one tell you nothin’ different, see?).
STEP 2: Choose which meats you would like the nice server to bring you and you cook it at your table (There’s a grill in the middle of it, its awesome, trust me).
STEP 3: Eat said meat after/​while gorging on a multitude of sides and other delicious fare to choose from (but not TOO much– you’re here for the BBQ, after all).
STEP 4: Rinse/​repeat steps ²⁄₃ as many times as you like within 2 hours
Its kind of hard to eat for 2 hours straight, but this one time, my friends and I actually pulled it off here, and it was AMAZING (until we had to get up and move around– then it wasn’t amazing).
You really cant grasp how good good Korean BBQ is until you’ve tried it, but Manna gets it right, and it is really delicious. The waiters are more than happy to help you with the meat if you’re intimidated and/​or don’t know what you’re doing– you know who you are, evil meat ruiners…
Let me give you an overview of the best* stuff on the A1 Menu:
Fresh Shrimp–
Don’t get me wrong, I LIKE the shrimp, but they don’t give you that many at a time. Plus,
it’s SHRIMP. Where’s the beef?!
…Oh. here it is:
Brisket–
Fatty, delicious slices of cow chest. GET THIS, its life-​changing stuff.
Bulgogi–
Thin tangy marinated beef slices. Kinda sticks to the grill, so change the metal grate after
finishing this one.
Tongue meat–
Yes, its tongue meat, but are you really going to live forever? CARPE DIEM, BRO
Finger meat–
No, cows do not have fingers. Finger meat comes from between the cow’s ribs.
Galbi–
These are marinated beef ribs, sans the bones from which they derive the name «ribs.»
Baegi–
Galbi’s next door neighbor from the lower chest
Jumooluk–
Short ribs– Well, they’re short ribs. What are you gonna do?
Samgyup Sal–
Pork Belly, very fatty, but oh so good.
*Its a relative term, so DON’T HAVE A COW (yes, pun intended), man.
And that’s it. Go get some Manna. Review’s over. Shoo.

First kbbq tasted in SD. About 10min wait for a Sunday dinner time.
Service:
They don’t have assigned servers. So you can grab whoever and they will get your order and do so pretty quickly. Great service.
Food:
We chose the A2 option (non premium/​generic selections) for $ 21.99. Not the best but not bad either. The briskets cut is thicker than other places but not a big deal. Bulgogi is on the sweeter side compared to other places. So if you like it sweeter, than you will like this. Otherwise, i cook it together with the non-​marinated briskets to even out the sweetness. Don’t like how they remove the bone side of the short ribs. Some may like it better but some customers prefer eating that cartilage around the bone. So if you like that, you may not like it here.
Love the tarty soy/​vinegar sauce here and their sesame oil is much more flavorful (toasted scent) than many other places. Their kimchi is ok. The little sides are ok. The soybean stew soup is quite spicy and the fermentation flavors are quite potent too. Just an fyi.
Ambiance:
Just like many general eateries. Cleaner and newer than a mom and pop but not all fancy. I always like how many kbbq places play pop/​edm like music. This place has a few tv’s hanging around playing sports etc. The guys are always happy with that.
Price:
Would prefer a bit more varieties for the cost but not too bad either.

Good Korean barbecue. Only had to wait about 10 minutes or less on Saturday, and the restaurant was not very full, possibly just understaffed. Considering they just opened, I expected a longer wait, a packed restaurant and lots of staff ready at 8PM on a weekend. But I’m glad it wasn’t!
Overall, service is good and if you need help, there is a call button on the table. Quality of meat is good and the portions you get are enough to where you can try a few different things if you have at least 3 – 4 people; however for just two of us, we really only tried 4 – 5 different dishes before getting our fill. Side dishes are limited but what they offer is good — they had a kim chi pancake that my boyfriend liked but it was a bit too soft and not crispy on the outside as they usually are. And, of course, I will always test the rice paper; it was soft and fresh, perfect for wrapping meats in a carb blanket!
However, the menu is small, but then again, we opted for the lowest tier at $ 21.99 A2. Of all the options, which included pork belly, intestines and chicken, that we never order, what was left were 5 meats that we actually enjoy.
Here are a few notables we ordered:
STEAMED EGG, which is very good and very filling! So tasty, one of the top 5 eggs I’ve had at an AYCE place!
LA GALBI, well-​marinated! Not too sweet which is a deal breaker for me. Soft and perfectly chewy, as usual. My favorite. :3
CHADOL or brisket, it was frozen when they served it, but it was good, always a go-​to for most since it cooks quickly, however, it is slightly thicker cut than other places
JUMOOLUK or boneless short rib — hello, this is my favorite ever cause it’s cut for you! But it’s marinated just like the LA galbi. My go-​to!
NUKANSAL or rib finger meat — chewy, but juicy. It’s only lightly marinated but tasty. Thick cut!
As you can see, we ordered the meats that were thicker in cut and more or less, similar in marination and texture. We got full fairly quickly and didn’t get to try the bulgogi, but I enjoyed what we ordered! Everything was good. I have had slightly better in OC, yes, but as a new location, I think they’re holding their own!
(Please excuse any typos of the Korean names of the meats! :))

Hubby wanted to come here after a long day of touring breweries. I was stuffed from beer and snack foods but consented because he was, after all, our designated driver. And when you can’t/won’t drive yourself, your D.D. is king.
So needless to say, I did not get my money’s worth. I had some brisket, beef tongue and finger meat and was pretty much done in 20 minutes. Hubby had just a bit more than I did, favoring the finger meat which is flavorful but chewier.
Even in my bloated, uncomfortable state, I could see that this was a quality KBBQ joint. The service was friendly, amazing and quick and the food was pretty darn tasty. First time the potato salad in the banchan was actually good. The salad was seasoned and the rice paper was fresh. Nothing to hate here! I just wish I was in a position to eat more.
For OC people, you’ll probably notice that for what you get, you’re paying a tad more here than in Garden Grove. All in all, I think it’s worth it for the better service and good quality meats.
The best part? We didn’t smell like walking BBQ’s when we walked out!

Okay. I think me and my husband are the only ones who doesn’t like Manna.
Our party of three decided to get S1. S1? What’s that?! That’s the premium option here, worth $ 38 pp. $ 38!
We were seated right away as they weren’t as busy this particular Tuesday night. They were very prompt with their service. They immediately gave us waters, banchans and also my boricha after I asked for it.
We ended up ordering brisket, kobe prime, rib eye, prime short rib and beef tongue. When they brought over the brisket, I noticed that they were cut thickly than normal. Sure enough, they were chewy. Kobe prime was really good, fatty and flavorful. Short rib and beef tongue were also chewy. We didn’t get to try any other meats because they gave us such big orders. Now, I understand that that is usually a good thing but in this case it wasn’t. We were really disappointed.
Maybe this was an off day. maybe someone in the back changed the settings for the slicer, hence thicker cuts — I don’t know. I am not sure if we are willing to give this location another try.

I’m so glad that they have a manna near me now! Came in at 5:05pm on a Saturday, got seated at 5:30. The server took our orders right away and we got our meats really quickly, within a few minutes.
My favorite meats are the beef bulgogi and the chicken bulgogi. I really like the way they marinated them. I also really like the boneless short rib cubes. The stewed eggs come out nice and hot, and they give you plenty of sauce and salt and pepper for your meats.
If you don’t want a lot of a certain thing, or only want to try some meats, you can also get half servings. You can try a lot more options and you won’t end up being super full after only like a couple plates of a couple meats.
Service is fairly quick, you don’t have to wait so long after you press the call button. They keep checking up on you constantly, and they make sure that you have everything you want. They did miss a few things when we were seated though. We were missing a couple spoons, the cooking utensils, and a plate so we had to get it ourselves from the utensil table conveniently next to us.
If you write a Unilocal review, then they’ll give you a free mochi ice cream. If you want mochi ice cream, do the review. Seriously. It’s NOT worth what they’re charging for it. You could probably get a whole box for yourself for the same price at an asian supermarket. They only take 2 pieces, cut them in half, then put them on a plate that’s drizzled with chocolate syrup.

I don’t know what Manna means. I am not Korean. But I do love food. I like to imagine that Manna is a place where boys become men. And men compete to see who is the MANLIEST man. In the words of the wise, meat aficionado Ron Swanson, «I need five courses for dinner and each course will be steak.» Are you MAN or NA (h)? Yes, silent h.
A Manna location in Mira Mesa! Omg srsly so many alliterations. Manna. Man. Meat. Mira Mesa. Mmmmmm. Marry Me, Manna. Say what?! Oh sorry.
I have heard for years among local foodies that Manna is the undisputed «best all-​you-​can-​eat kbbq» joint in SD. So with that, I made many attempts to eat at Manna for years but always ended up losing my patience and heading to Roadem or Taeguki instead b/​c of the insane line that always forms outside the original Manna on Convoy. I think they still do not allow for reservations or perhaps you can but I forget the caveat. This location is nice! Clean & not as busy!
MEATS
Put simply, you’ll get to pick from pork/​beef/​chicken in assorted ribs, chicken, pork belly, bulgogi, and intestines too, for the more daring folk. My fave is the Jumulook beef cubes… but you can’t go wrong really. Just depends on your preference.
Just note that if you leave too much meat/​cooked/​uncooked uneaten, you may be fined. This situation has never happened to me, so I couldn’t say how strict they are.
TASTE
Mouth-​wateringly delicious!!! Try everything! Some people «marinate» the meat a bit as it cooks. They should provide you with some salt & sesame oil. You can put some of the sauces/​sesame oil/​custom sauce mixture on the meat as you like. I’ve heard traditional Koreans also enjoy cooking the kimchi on the grill a bit as well, but it’s up to you.
SIDES
There are subtle differences depending on which option you choose, but if you go with the simpler, less expensive one (A2), you get steamed egg, a stewed soybean soup (salty and bland, do not order), the scorched, hard rice (not my cup of tea) & radish (also not my thing).
Additionally, your table will come with what seems like a dozen little side dishes which are AYCE too. Love the variety, quality & taste.
SERVICE
There’s a «2 hour limit» rule but if you come with serious carnivores who do it right, your grill will never be devoid of meat & you’ll finish happily within that amount of time. They don’t seem to be TOO strict with it. There’s a convenient button at each table that you can push for service and order your next 2 orders of meat. They seem to come out at a reasonable time and don’t make you wait for very long.
TIPS & FYIs
It’s roughly $ 21 & $ 28 for dinner, depending on which option you choose. I think the A2 is reasonable, but not sure if the $ 28 menu (A1) is worth it. Take a look at the menus before ordering to decide. Also– the whole table must order one or the other, FYI. Come early, and come hungry! Whole party must be present to be seated. TONS OF PARKING. They play a bday song for you on your bday which is really corny & funny at the same time.

This location is not as busy as the convoy location, and there is a lot of spacious parking also!
Service is excellent, they are always around and clear off your plates that are empty and always ask if you would like anything else.
My fav is beef tongue and bulgogi. I usually get A2 because it’s the cheapest and has everything that I like.
The atmosphere is also very cool. They play hip music and when it’s somebody’s birthday it gets really loud and some automated Korean song comes on!
Can’t forget that if you write a review they give you complimentary mochi!

I was excited when I heard an all you can eat Korean buffet was coming to Mira Mesa. This type of gluttony is only reserved for the elite of the elite of eaters (I love you Joey Chestnut). Joking aside, this part of town needed new AYCE blood that they could sink their fangs into.
Manna BBQ took over the Pizza Hut that used to reside in this building. I was surprised how empty the parking lot was that afternoon around 12:45p. Maybe others didn’t want to pay $ 21.99 for an afternoon lunch. You can choose the A1 Premium AYCE option for $ 27.99 (which includes seafood and more meat options).
We ordered the cheaper A2 AYCE and tried:
~ NUKAN SAL: BEEF RIB FINGER MEAT: so so good
~ LA YANGNYUM GALBI: not bad but too fatty
~ CHICKEN BULGOGI: dark meat and loved it
~ PORK SAMGYUP SAL: pork belly tasted nice, esp dipped in the bulgogi sauce
~ SPICY SAUCE PORK BELLIES
~ BEEF BULGOGI: too much fat and gristle
~ CHADOL BAEGI: thin, lean, and grills fast
~ SPICY CHICKEN: prefer the bulgogi chicken over this one
Banchan (complimentary appetizers) included: salad, pickled cabbage. bean sprouts, japchae, potatoes, kimchi, sliced daikon (?), green veggies I don’t know the name of
They also have the steamed egg (GAERAN GGIM) that comes bubbling hot to your table. We weren’t a fan of this egg as it was underseasoned and tasted burnt.
Service is quick and efficient. We’d absolutely come back for another visit. I’d have to say that Manna BBQ Mira Mesa out bested my beloved Jeong Won that meal.
I recently went to Fogo de Chao for dinner and was kicking myself the ENTIRE meal, wishing we were here at Manna instead. That should say something about this particular Manna BBQ.

I’m not too much of a big fan when it comes to manna bbq… only because I have tried other korean bbq places offering better service and higher quality meat they I enjoyed much more. But since manna is so nearby to my house now in mira mesa, this is the go-​to all you can eat bbq place when I’m too lazy to drive all the way to convoy.
This place surprisingly does not get as busy as the convoy location does all the time and I’m so glad because we don’t have to wait for a table. So getting a table is super at ease. The workers there are nice, people greeting you at the door, escorting you to your table, people taking your order and the people trying to change your grill. A+ on customer service !
The food: the food is like any other all you can eat korean bbq place. But my favorites I love ordering are their brisket (I get at least 3 orders of these total fave), pork belly, bulgogi, and their short ribs. Probably my top 4 I get most of the time I go to korean bbq places. I really love their brisket ! Their sliced so thinly that it makes its a melt in your mouth flavor when you grill and devour it in your mouth. I always order their side of steamed egg which I think is the
SO GOOD. it’s pretty bomb and recommend for every to try it as one of their sides to go along with their kbbq. The sauces they provide for dipping their kbbq are limited but still good. They have this salt and pepper substance for marinating and this sweet soy sauce teriyaki flavor which is used to dip the entire meat in which is pretty tasty.
Overall, the location for this manna is on point, service is good, food is good but not great, prices are a little expensive but what can you expect for an all you can eat? I recommend !

Just had dinner here tonight. There was no wait. The grill is gas and not charcoal.
Meats were fresh and very good but the grill was on low-​med and it seemed to take forever to cook the meats.
We took matters into our own hands and turned up the grill. After that, the items were cooking much faster and we stopped feeling hungry.
Items that we highly recommend would be beef tongue, small veal intestines, LA Kalbi.
There wasn’t a huge selection. We felt like we were eating the same things over and over.
They have 3 buffet sets for you to choose from and the entire table has to agree on which set. Set S was $ 37.99. Set A1 was $ 26.99 Set A2 was $ 21.99. Right away, we discounted set S as we knew we didn’t want to drop close to $ 40/​pp for a buffet meal. The extra $ 5/​pp in set A1 gave you shrimps, squid and octopus. Not sure it was worth it for our group as we only ordered each item once.
Bill came out to $ 104 and change for 3 adults and a kid and 1 soda. Our waiter also wasn’t anywhere in site for most of the meal. We had to ring the bell twice to get her. But after the bell was rung, she did show up quickly. Not sure if it’s an east coast thing, but in NJ when we have korean BBQ, they grill and cut the meats for us for the entire meal. Here, we had to do the grilling and flipping ourselves.
There was no dessert which was a disappointment. I would have liked some oranges or fruit to cut back some of the greasiness of the meats.