Arts & Entertainment

JBBQ: All you can eat

Restaurant Review

Gungun S., Staff Writer • March 7, 2024

JBBQ, an authentic Japanese HOTPOT and BBQ restaurant that provides a variety of different styles of meats and broths, is located in the Mayfair Shopping center at 200 Jericho Turnpike.

It is a 90 minute all you can eat, for starting a table you can order 5 items per customer. It has branches throughout Smithtown and Bay Shore as well.

“It’s a different experience when you cook the food yourself,” said Alex C., a junior who had visited the restaurant a month prior.

I had gone on January 5, which as I recall was a very chilly Friday evening, so a hot BBQ and Hotpot definitely made it better.

As someone who had never been to a Hotpot & BBQ restaurant I was quite nervous about cooking the meat myself, as eating uncooked meat was the last thing on my agenda. However, upon walking into the restaurant a server had taken us to the table where we ordered 2 different types of meat, slices of pork belly for the hotpot, and thin beef brisket for the BBQ.

As we waited for the food, the server set up the Hotspot with Spicy and Miso broth, and lit the BBQ plate. To my surprise the service was very fast; it came out in less than 4 minutes.

To get started, the server had helped us, he showed us how to cook it and for how long. However, it is also conveniently written in the menu how long each item should be cooked for. Soon after we started to do it ourselves, definitely a new and fun experience.

The food was absolutely delicious, and never got cold as the burner stayed on for the whole time. You could also turn the heat down if most of the food content is cooked, I prefer medium/low flame.

One aspect that truly stood out was the attitude of the workers. The one helping us out was very nice and helped us very thoroughly. He had kept coming back to make sure we were fine, and had asked if we needed anything else.

“I love this job, because I love the work and life balance we have here,” said Hank Z., an employee at the restaurant.

The positive atmosphere set by these workers is definitely evident through their dedication and attitude.

The restaurant is open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11:30 am – 3pm, dinner Monday through Friday from 3pm – 10pm, and on Friday 3pm to 11pm. On Saturday, the restaurant is open from 12pm to 11pm, and on Sunday, 12pm to 1pm.

The Costs: