I first noticed that yet another Korean BBQ Restaurant was opening in the spot where Olleh Sushi was back in July of last year. Of course, the location has basically been a revolving door of places from back when Szechuan Taste occupied the spot. The name of the place is Sot BBQ and I really didn't give it much thought until I started reading about the style and the quality of the KBBQ. "Sot" is short for Sot Ddu Kung ("sotttukeong"), basically the cast iron cauldron lid, which is used to sear various cuts of meat. These days, we're really not into AYCE KBBQ, we're looking more for quality. So, after taking a look at various posts and being aware of the prices, we decided to head on over. We also liked the fact that Sot opens at 4pm from Mondays to Thursdays (noon other days). We're into eating dinner rather early these days.
We arrived to see the place rather full, even at 430pm!
We were shown to a table and handed a menu.
As the sot stood in all its cast iron glory.
Our first interaction with one of the young folks serving us was so very friendly. We were looking at the Wagyu Sampler ($175), but she quickly informed us that it's quite a lot of meat as was the Prime Sampler ($129)…like for 4 people amount of meat! She recommended that since it was our first visit, that we start with the Sot Sampler, which was much more reasonably (it's all relative) priced at $89. We also got the fried rice ($9) since I had read that it's made on the sot to finish the meal. The fried rice was one of our favorite items when we ate at Song Hak.
Soon enough all the "tools" arrived.
Surgery was soon to be in session! Gladly, we noticed that the folks working took charge of cooking everything. They worked so very hard and were so sweet about it. Key item were the scissors and the rack on which you could stack your meat once cooked.
And then all the sides and panchan started arriving; chili sauce, two types of salt, Yangpa Jjangachi; the pickled onions.
Bean paste and a pretty good and refreshing Oi Kimchi (Cucumber kimchi).
We quickly noticed that the panchan here was pretty good; that baechu kimchi had a nice fermented touch, the kkakdugi was sour-spicy-refreshing, the various radish kimchi were quite pickle-y and flavorful.
Soon enough even more kimchi was brought out; this time the baechu kimchi looked very "old style" and it was placed on the sot along with what looked like kongnamul muchim, bean sprout kimchi.
I had a taste while the young lady sliced it; and yes, it was nicely fermented and almost savory. The young lady told us that the flavor would get even more intense on the sot….which it did as it caramelized.
As the meat was brought out, the king oyster mushrooms were placed on the cast iron…..I don't know if you've noticed; but thus far, we really hadn't done any cooking!
We surprised at how much meat there was.
Now, I believe that you're going to think I'm strange, but for us, the meat was the weakest part of the meal. The beef belly was tough as was the short rib; the pork belly did well, but again wasn't anything special; the rib eye was supposedly prime, and was adequately tender, but nothing special. At a point in time, I took over the cooking duties as the wonderful young folks, whom I'm sure were doing their best and working on their experience with other customers…can you imagine; they were doing the cooking on all the tables! Well, things were turning out overcooked.
The gyeran jjim (steamed egg) arrived, but it was sort of "deflated" and on the drier side.
And yet, the highlight of the meal was yet to come. At then end fried rice was made on the Sot, using all the drippings, the hot cast iron….
The nor, the kimchi……the heat…it all made for a nice kimchi fried rice…especially if you let it sit and develop a bit of a crust.
So yes, we came for the KBBQ and left enjoying the fried rice! Which left me wondering, this was so close, yet so far……… We were wondering about the actual wagyu and I had an idea about the fried rice! Which meant we decided to return.
It was a different day, same story. The panchan was just as good.
This time around, we went for some Wagyu Rib Eye – 6 ounces, $79 and also some ribeye bulgogi $35, and of course the fried rice!
And things started off as before; except this little fatty bugger joined us at the table. Along with a cube of fat, and a "crown" of wasabi.
Strangely, this looked just like the wagyu you can get at Tokyo Central or sometimes at Nijiya. It was quite thin and cooked quickly; in fact, I again had to take over.
It was quite tender, but the rendered fat made everything else on the sot wonderful.
So, this might sound a bit strange, but we had enjoyed the fried rice so much during our last visit. But I thought it would be even better with more savory sweet tones. And heck, I did want to try the marinated meat here as well, so we got the bulgogi.
Now to be perfectly honest, I was really disappointed when this arrived as I was wondering, "where's the marinated beef"? So, this was sliced beef on top of a pool of marinade. Hmmm…….
Once mixed together and put on the sot, it wasn't too bad….still a bit more chewy than I expected, but not bad. We placed most of the bulgogi on the side rack.
Now the reason I ordered the bulgogi was actually for the fried rice. I thought that having the soy-sweet-savory base would make the fried rice even better.
And in combination with the fat from the wagyu and the crust from the sot…oh my……
And yet, one would have to pause at this point and think; "did I just spend over a hundred bucks for awesome fried rice"? Hmmm……..
To put things into perspective; we weren't overly impressed with the meats….it is perhaps a step above the norm but heck, I can get better quality wagyu at Tokyo Central. The panchan is very good and that fried rice….. The service is awesome, though I'm still wondering if the meat is worth it?
Sot BBQ
8199 Clairemont Mesa Blvd.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon – Thurs 4pm – 10pm
Fri – Sunday 12pm – 10pm