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El Camino Mongolian BBQ
Categories: Restaurants Buffets Restaurants Mongolian Buffets, Mongolian [Edit]
3380 El Camino RealSanta Clara, CA 95051
(408) 241-2413
- Hours:
Mon-Fri 11 am - 2 pm
Mon-Fri 5 pm - 9:30 pm
Sat-Sun 11 am - 9:30 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Private Lot
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- No
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
431 reviews for El Camino Mongolian BBQ
Review Highlights
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431 reviews in English
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Review from Christopher J.
San Jose, CA
They recently started charging based on weight for take-out, but I end up paying less than I used to for what I've always put together. Score!
All of you who were previously stuffing five pounds of food in your take-out order, forcing them to make this change: shame on you, but thanks!
Oh, and they have lamb at dinner times again.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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8/21/2011
For 15 years, this place has been my go-to restaurant when I'm really hungry. 15 years! And the… Read more »
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8/21/2011
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Review from Ede S.
There's tons of reviews regarding the cleanliness of the food (one bowl for meat, one bowl of noodles + vegetables) and the reasonable price. Now, I'm here to rate this regarding something else...
BATHROOMS! As a parent, you have no idea when your baby is going to pull a dookie on you! The first thing you want to know is "do the bathrooms have a changing pad?". More so than not, we often either change the diaper in our trunk or wait till we go home.
My little dude decided to lay the smack down here and I was very impressed that a restaurant like this has a changing pad AND even a sticker on the women's door saying they have a changing pad. Score!
Also like the very subtle Christian stuff all over the place. Though this is a restaurant, the decorations make it seem very home-y. -
Review from Matt V.
Sunnyvale, CA
I've been looking for a good Mongolian BBQ place as I used to love it as a high school kid growing up in Anchorage.
That said, this place just didn't deliver. I'm not sure what it was, whether it was the sauce or the meats, but this place just didn't deliver. I found the flavors to be rather bland in general.
What everybody said about the friendly staff, though, is definitely true. They definitely treat their customers right. -
Review from Nicole Kelsey C.
San Jose, CA
I suggested eating at this restaurant with two friends because of it's 4 star yelp rating. This was my first time trying out this place so little did I know, I started to fill up my bowls the way a person would at Great Khan's in the malls.
The quality of the food when I was there was alright, but that's just me comparing it to Great Khan's. The meats were not frozen for the most part and the veggies weren't old. The sauces that they provide are definitely more and they even have this board that tells you how to make the best combination (I didn't really follow it).
My experience IN the restaurant was not the best, but not the worst either. It was maybe an hour or two later that made me doubt giving the restaurant a 4 star rating because I started to have an unusual stomachache. I think the food didn't digest well and this was out of the ordinary for me; I almost thought I had food poisoning, but my other friends didn't get the same pains that I was going through.
SO because of the post-experience I had with eating their food, for now I decide to give this restaurant a 2.5 / 3 star rating (3 is being real generous I think). Till the next time I try this place out, if I dare to, I'm surely gonna remember this first unpleasant experience. -
Review from Ava N.
Santa Clara, CA
Great food. This is our favorite place to eat! I crave it constantly. Very nice service. I just wish left over take out was allowed
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Review from Mary S.
Fremont, CA
First you take 2 bowls. Then you fill them up with all your favorite things, for example:
Pork
Beef
Chicken
Bean sprouts
Jalapenos
Carrots
Onions
Noodles
Mushrooms, etc.
Multiple flavored oils
The you take it over and two gentlemen cook it all for you on a big flat grill-type thingy with two long sticks and they give it back to you finished on a nice place.
There is also a small buffet with egg rolls, rice soup, fried chicken and all kinds of hot sauces.
Very decently priced. I recommend this one, go early as it is very popular at lunch time. I will definitely go back. -
Review from Phuong T.
This place is awesome! It's not rocket science, and the other posters have pretty much explained how the whole thing works ( for $11, you get 2 bowls, fill one with meat and one with veggies, both with sauces to your liking, they cook, you eat, you're welcome to free refills). Service is prompt. I've been here twice, and the second time I went, someone had a small birthday dinner there and got a cupcake (complete with birthday candle!!) from the owners. LOVE the polaroids covering the walls and ceiling! :)
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Review from Lindsey Y.
Santa Clara, CA
I discovered this place a few months ago, a short while after moving near this restaurant and have come here every other week since then. My boyfriend and I love getting our food to-go, even though they now charge by how much is in the container, we still pay about $11 each for a LOT of food.
There's a great selection of different ingredients and I try to mix up the sauces a bit to get a variation in flavor. The place is clean and the cooks are great and definitely know how to cook up your food. The cooks and staff are very pleasant and it's a very family-friendly welcoming environment.
I love this place and would highly recommend it. Just make sure you know what you're in for on Friday and Saturday nights- it can get pretty crowded at dinner so don't be upset if you have to wait in line! Sometimes getting to-go will guarantee that you can get in line and enjoy your delicious food sooner rather than later! -
Review from John H.
San Jose, CA
I love this place. The food is BOMB. I live in Dublin now and hate that im so far away. They have the best Mongolian BBQ. THe only thing that sucks is the wait. YOu wait for a table then you have to wait again in a long ass line cuz theres too many people and the place is small. Of course this is only during dinner time. Other than that Best MBBQ in town.
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Review from Casey S.
The mere thought of a buffet brings to mind crappy food that's not even worthy of a dollar store, but El Camino Mongolian BBQ has shown me the true path...and it is a buffet line.
Everything is so dang fresh and tasty that you'll be shocked at the low entry price. You mean I can eat all the lamb, beef, pork, and noodles I want, AND can slather it all in hot oil and peppers?
I must be in heaven. -
Review from Jade N.
Westminster, CA
This place is AWESOME. Mr. John is the best owner/waiter/person ever! He helped our group of 10 with our meals since it was our first time there and the food came out phenomenal. We were put into line immediately and our tables ready soon after.
The prices weren't bad; it was just over $10.00 per person for an adult dinner of AYCE. You had your choice of chicken, beef, and lamb meats (possibly 1 more choice, but I don't recall). Plenty of veggies to choose from, and a whole board of sauces to throw together - with an included recipe guide on the wall and instruction by Mr. John.
They've got soup and a little island of side dishes as well (eggrolls, fried rice, fried chicken, etc.).
My favorite part was looking through the guestbooks. Mr. John came around and handed us previous guest books to look at what other guests had to write/draw and a more current book for us to write/draw in. My friend and I found it funny that a lot of people like to draw Mongolian BBQ babies.
The walls are covered in photos and stuff from all of the customers. I really liked the small area dedicated to writing "thank you" in all of the different languages of all of the people who have visited this establishment. Mr. John said there were 75 up there.
Mr. John even brought out a treat for our birthday boy. :) It was a bunch of Hershey's Kisses and an apple topped with a Choco Pie. Good stuff! But I still wonder as to why it was served with spoons... that apple wasn't even cut. :(
Best part? One of the people in our group didn't make any BBQ dish and only ate the sides. So Mr. John himself made him a special dish while we were all still seated. :D Great guy.
Great atmosphere, phenomenal service from employees and owners, and delicious food. -
Review from Michael K.
San Jose, CA
Amazing service and amazing food. There may be some better alternatives in terms of value, but it's worth eating here every so often.
These are one of the few restaurants I look forward to when coming back home to the bay. -
Review from Bryan Z.
San Jose, CA
This place is actually 3.5 stars as I do rate it slightly higher than Su's Mongolian. For one, it's a lot cleaner. They also had a nice flow chart if you're not sure about the different sauce combos and how much sauce to put. Other than that, there's not much difference between the two places. Same foods and the taste still depends on whether you know what you're doing.
I would probably give this place 4 stars if I was a bigger fan of these type of restaurants but 3 will have to suffice. Oh, and get a soft serve machine! If Su's can have one you can too. -
Review from Michael C.
San Jose, CA
The outside of the place looks a little Sketchy. The inside isn't that much better. The inside is very clean through.The good news is all you can eat and super cheap. Lots of vegetables choices and they are all fresh. Endless amounts of topping ans sauces. All of the basic meets you can think of, lamb for dinner only.
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Review from Harry T.
Dinner AYCE comes out to about $13/person and its not bad for the quality of food you get.
Theres really not much to talk about. You have your basic Mongolian bbq stuff; noodles, greens, meats, sauces. The one thing I really enjoyed was the lamb. I love lamb and with the combination of sauces I put in, it came out really good.
The hot food is not really worth looking at and if you do look at it, I think its pretty depressing lol
Service is really good. Very attentive and they didn't yell at us for having a party of 20 people. -
Review from Evan M.
Santa Clara, CA
This place is wonderful. The food is great and the service is prompt, attentive, and friendly.
My team and I come here once every couple of weeks for lunch, the best part is you can go a million times and always end up with something different. It's probably the best lunch you can get for $10 in Santa Clara. -
Review from Ladan M.
Saratoga, CA
Been here a couple times, love the idea...it's too bad that I can only eat one plate of it! I like how everything is fresh and being replenished frequently! The guys behind the counter that cook the food are always nice and have so much patience...especially with people packing their bowls and trying to maximize their food quantity.
The price isn't bad, it's about $10/person. The place isn't packed, which is much appreciated!
Pros:
Lots of choices as far as "toppings"
Appetizer section
Soup
Cons:
Can't think of any.... -
Review from Aunpei T.
Cupertino, CA
I read some scary reviews from the Mountain View Mongolian BBQ about bits of metal in food and I recommended the one in Sunnyvale instead because I've come here before once, back when the owner offered a book for us to draw or comment in. Also for the red meat eaters, there's lamb offered here unlike the one in Mountain View. This place is so homely and relaxed with drawings and photos of smiling customers. The veggie and meat bar was very neat and there was a good variety, and even tofu! The pricing is also really good for a buffet.
My favorite recipe mix consists of wine, garlic, soy sauce and ginger.
The chef was smiling and looked like he enjoyed stir frying and the service was sweet. Actually, halfway through my meal, I turned and blinked too fast and my contact popped out. And our server was so nice; she brought out a flashlight to help me lol. It was kind of embarrassing with both her and I crawling around the carpet and I eventually found my contact sitting on top of my plate--I found it before returning to eat. Thanks again for helping me search! :)
I'll come back again for more yummy Mongolian BBQ, but I'll blink slower next time. -
Review from Kyle M.
Santa Clara, CA
The best part about Mongolian was the service, the friendly faces that welcome you in. I have been going to this restaurant since the first year the current owners bought the place. I love the food but I am sad to say that due to my last 3 visits, including today, I will no longer frequent this establishment. My picture is on the wall 4 or 5 times at this place yet when I have been there the last three times I was talked to like I was inventory. When John and his wife are there, the owners, it is great but the other staff lacks sincerity and the touch it takes to run a small business successfully. I'm sure that their business will not suffer with my absence but I vow to stay away and take my cravings to Su's mongolian down the street from now on.
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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4/3/2010
I've been going there for years. John and Sunny are awesome, they treat everyone like family. It… Read more »
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4/3/2010
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Review from Ricky R.
San Jose, CA
Price is very fair considering it's all you can eat. Friendly staff and fresh ingredients make this location a favorite of mine. When you need a noodle fix this place is the best. Come back often to perfect your own sauce recipe and do not be afraid to make a small plate to try sauce combinations that you may not normally use.
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Review from Holly L.
Sunnyvale, CA
My boyfriend is a total fan of the Mongolian BBQ place by our house so when I stumbled upon El Camino Mongolian BBQ I thought that we should give it a try since they had more/different side dishes compared to our regular spot.
We went for lunch, arriving about 45 minutes before they closed for their break between lunch and dinner. Seated almost immediately by the owner of the place. He asked if we'd been there before and proceeded to instruct us on what we should do. Basically, get two bowls: one for meat (choices: pork, beef, & chicken) and the other for veggies & noodles and place only a scoop or half scoop of each sauce on top of your bowls (according to the guidelines posted on the wall for each sauce). Proceed down the line and when it's your turn one of the workers will cook your food on a round flat top grill. After our food was cooked, my boyfriend and I went to explore the area with the rice and other side dishes. We picked up some fried rice, fried chicken, and some egg rolls.
Maybe I'm bias to the place by my house, but I thought this place was only okay. First of all, they used regular pasta noodles and not the normal chow mein noodles. I didn't particularly like that since you're eating at a Asian restaurant! If I wanted spaghetti/fettuccine noodles I'd be eating some pasta at Olive Garden. Secondly, the sauces were on the thinner side and it doesn't help that when they cook your food they add water so essentially the sauce and flavor get watered down. So if I did make a return visit I'd add more sauce then what is suggested on the wall. The side dishes were alright, the fried rice was too greasy and was a little lacking in substance. The fried chicken didn't taste all that great and was a bit on the soggy side.
The one part of the visit to El Camino Mongolian BBQ that would cause me to make a return visit was the owner. He was super friendly and makes all his customers feel welcome. So I'm willing to give this place another shot; maybe next time we'll test them out at the beginning of their lunch service instead of towards the end or maybe even give their dinner (slightly different) menu a try. -
Review from Jesse F.
San Jose, CA
All you can eat Mongolian?! I'm there! Very friendly staff!
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Review from Yvonne C.
My first Mongolian BBQ experience, and I was not disappointed. I love all the orchids in the front of the restaurant owner is super nice, and gave me a little tour, as it was my very first visit. You get two bowls- select your meats, and place them in one bowl, and the other bowl is for the noodles and veggies. The owner helped me select the sauce combination based on my heat preference.
You stand in line, and hand the cook your bowls when it's your turn. There are egg rolls, fried rice, chicken, and more at the hot food stations.
It's really cool to watch your food being cooked. Kids will get a kick out of dining here. The price/quality of food here is great, which makes the experience an overall great value. -
Review from Cindy T.
Grab two bowls, one for meat and the other for noodles and veggies. They offer thinly sliced chicken, pork and beef. They also have a variety of veggies: broccoli, bean sprouts, carrots, mushrooms, spinach, onions and water chestnuts. They also have green onions, cilantro and tofu. There is a sauce poster to guide those who aren't sure of what and how much to put. I sort of followed it, but added more and less of what I liked and didn't like. My plate definitely tasted a lot better than what I expected. It was light, flavorful, but not too oily or salty. I was pretty content with my creation. They also have a buffet side bar that included fried rice, cooked veggies, fried chicken and veggie rolls which was the only thing I grabbed and it paired well with my noodles.
The staff is extremely friendly, helpful and attentive. This place is great for families and kids. The food is fresh and healthy, since you are driving the portions and sauce. And $11 pp for an all you can eat dinner, it's definitely a bang for your buck kind of place. -
Review from D.J. T.
San Jose, CA
Nice choice of sauces and meats and lots of fresh vegetables, you can't complain! It's also a great deal @ $9 for lunch and $11 for dinner.
I also liked how they have pre-made "side dishes". There's usually fried rice, egg rolls, some super BOMB fried chicken, and two random dishes. I swear the fried chicken alone, I would pay $10 to eat. It's a nice break if you get tired of the mongolian bbq.
Only downsides are that this place can get pretty jammed packed (especially on weekends) and because everything is cooked to order, you can be waiting in line for a long time until your turn. Not a good look when you're super hungry! And also the parking lot is really small as well, im surprised i havent gotten any door dings here. -
Review from Peter P.
I tried this place after going to Su's, my verdict is this place is slightly inferior.
Strengths: nicer decor, better side dishes, a lot of white customers (if you're white)
Weakness: not as tasty as Su's, they pour too much water as they cook your food, a lot of rules about things (they told me a few times not to do such and such, a lot of white customers (if you're not white), and NO SOFT SERVE. -
Review from Afram K.
Sunnyvale, CA
Did I really eat at the same place as everyone else who is giving this place 4 or 5 stars?
It's funny--I had the opposite experience as a lot of the reviews--the food was not at all what I would call good, but the service and hospitality was quite nice (then again, it wasn't yet busy when we went).
First of all, their noodles are nothing more than over-boiled spaghetti noodles. Nothing Asian about these noodles, and they become disgusting and mushy after your food is cooked.
And the sauces. I took the suggestion of the host (or whomever he was--a very nice guy) for the newbie customers, he spooned out the sauces into my bowls, and I had my food cooked--and as an aside, there's only one small grill, which is odd because usually I see at least 2 grills in a mongolian bbq place, if not more. There was hardly any flavor, and nothing but a soggy, salty, soupy residue on my plate as I ate my meal--proper mongolian bbq doesn't suffer from this in my experience. I wanted to have another go at making another dish with better flavor, but I wasn't hungry for more.
The quality of the produce seemed good, and the meats were quite well-frozen.
I think I'm just beginning to discover the frequent trade-off in expectations of food goodness vs. all-you-can-eat, and how it manifests in yelp reviews.
The place isn't dreadful, just not what I expected after seeing a yelp average of ~4.5 stars. I think the price is decent. -
Review from Joanne C.
Came here after an EXHAUSTING day of moving things for our church with a party of 9. Thankfully you didnt need a reservation and we went on ahead and made our plates.
Mongolian BBQ is one of those things that just make you so happy. The meat, noodles, and a coke. An asian perfection.
The servers are all bilingual (which was perfect for our korean speaking comrades) and everything was clean. I love how they have the different sauce combinations on the walls, I WILL try them one day. hahaha If you guys want you guys can try my combination which was 3 garlic, 3 oyster sauce, 2 hot oil, I think I added one more but I forgot the name @_@ sorry haha. I thought it was delicious teehee.
And the price wasnt that bad. Around 10 dollars per person.
Just writing about this makes me want some right now! And I JUST ate... -
Review from A D.
Sunnyvale, CA
We decided to try this out based on a friend's recommendation who is a vegetarian like us - and we did not regret taking her advice. Ofcourse the options for vegetarian people are limited but the food tasted amazing in all the different kinds of sauces they have. I was quite impressed with how many different styles you can cook noodles in. I'd definitely return.
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Review from Albert H.
Went here on a whim at 6pm on a Saturday, and the place was pretty full. In fact the line wrapped back upon itself and must have taken about half an hour to get through.
As others have noted, they have Chicken, Beef and Pork available, but no lamb. Very clean and well-organized, service very friendly and upbeat - just pleasant people. The walls are covered with pictures and testimonials from happy customers.
There's a buffet in the back with a few additional dishes ( especially useful if you don't want to stand in line again ), including egg rolls, fried sticky rice, boneless fried chicken, a sweet and sour chicken, and a nice soup the night we were there. That food is okay, though it is still buffet-level stuff.
In a Mongolian BBQ, a lot of the taste of the dish depends on what ingredients you pick. Their ingredients are fresh, and they have a lot of sauces ( though the sauces are weaker in taste than you would think ). I like the place for their attitude, service and price ( though the price is more for dinner than for lunch and I don't think there's anything extra available ). If you like this style of food, it's definitely worth a visit! -
Review from Wesley L.
San Bruno, CA
I thought this place was OK. The AYCE Mongolian BBQ is a novelty idea but causes too much hassle.
Basically, you grab two bowls and fill them with meat, vegetables, and noodles (meat on one, and veggies + noodles in the other). You add sauces and hand your bowls to one of the chefs who then proceed to cook your food. Mine tasted pretty good, but nothing to rave over. I know, I made it myself... but I followed the classic recipe and even asked them to redo a plate for me...nothing amazing. It's definitely good for the money at $8.99 w/ water AYCE.
Anyways, We ended up waiting in line for about 20 minutes before we could eat our first plate of food. Afterwards, the food settles in your stomach and you won't be hungry by the time you get in line for 2nd's. It's definitely a place to try, but I'm not sure if it's somewhere I'd eat every week. The lines are crazy long and the price is average for AYCE chow mein. -
Review from Angeline H.
San Jose, CA
First off, AWESOME SERVICE!
This is a family owned restaurant and they are so nice! They'll take a picture on request and post it on their wall. There was a guy I believe to be the owner, he was so attentive and sweet. We had a party of 9, and although we didnt make a reservation, they were still able to accomadate us.
The only reason I had to rate them at a 3 star was because, to me, Mongolian BBQ means thick yellow chow mein noodles..They served spaghetti noodles...and on top of that, they didnt have LAMB! There was a sign that stated the price of lamb had doubled and such which is understandable but still...I really had expected a full mongolian bbq experience being my first time here. I love Great Khan's Mongolian BBQ found at the mall food court. I just thought I was going to get the same experience here as well. The selection of veggies were good and there were a ton of sauces to choose from. The one thing that bugged me was that the guy scooped laddles of sauces on my veggies and meat and I really wanted to just pick my own sauces. I was able to laddle my own sauces the second time for plate 2 but even though I was a first timer, I would have liked it if I did my own sauce choosing.
If they decide to change the noodles and add lamb back to the menu, I would definitly come back. -
Review from Tran N.
The owners here are so friendly. It was my boyfriend's first time here and the owner introduced him to the process and helped him make the sauce.
The prices are very reasonable, and the ingredients are fresh. This place gets very busy during dinner time and the wait to get your food cooked can be long. I would suggest getting here before the peak times. -
Review from Wes A.
Mountain View, CA
Great value! Even though there's infinite refills, I couldn't go back. Fun to create your own sauce. Great fried chicken. On nom!
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Review from Jeannie D.
Milpitas, CA
Yummy Mongolian bbq! It wasnt busy so one of the servers asked if anyone I was with was here for the first time and he helped its put the sauces in. He then came over and gave its cards for a free beverage for next time.
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Review from Karen L.
I love this restaurant almost too much.
The crowd is your first pointer to how good this place is. The wait for a table is alright but the lines to get your food can get pretty long. The food is fresh and delicious and constantly being refilled. The first time I was here, I didn't expect to see the side dishes, but I like them just as much as I like the main course. The sides include dishes like steamed and fried rice, fried chicken, corn, soup, eggrolls... So yummy.
The service is fast and the owners are super cute and friendly. (There should be a picture of my friend and I on the "BBQ Family" wall from when this place first opened). They come back to check on you and are really nice.
The entire restaurant is clean and that includes the bathrooms.
It's a good time whether it's friends or family. :D -
Review from Josh G.
Loma Linda, CA
I enjoyed this place. It has great food. What more can you ask for? It can get a busy though. The side dish area use to be pretty sad, but it seems to be improving in selection.
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Review from Tony W.
Mountain View, CA
This place is awesome! Great value, great taste, you can't ask for anything better. I went here with my girlfriend the other day, we're both heavy meat eaters.
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Review from Jang David K.
San Jose, CA
I personally think this is one of the best mongolian bbq's around. Just here me out:
1) Friendly and quick service
2) great selections of fresh vegetables and good quality meat
3) clean and crowded (that's a good sign)
There is another mongolian bbq further down el camino but it's not nearly as good as this one. I live two blocks from the other monoglian bbq joint and for this one, i have to drive 5min. Even with the gas prices going crazy, I rather drive and eat this over the other mongolian joint in el camin. -
Review from Tin S.
San Jose, CA
Been to Mongolian BBQ before but like this one better. The reason being, serving seperate appetizers like chicken wings, fried rice etc.
It would have been nice to have more dessert served.
Overall satisfied with taste and food.
