Hot Grill Summer: Kkoki, Salem's new Korean barbecue restaurant, now open

More than a year after the Salem location of The Rock Wood Fired Pizza & Spirits left town, hotly anticipated Kkoki Korean BBQ has finally opened its doors. 

Longtime restaurateur Anthony An paired up with real estate developer Raymond Lin of Keizer's Raymond Development Inc. on the endeavor. The massive 7,600-square foot restaurant space, said An, is now the largest devoted to tabletop Korean barbecue in the state of Oregon. 

It's also the fourth location of Kkoki. An opened the first on Canyon Road in Beaverton (though he has since sold it) and a second in Portland on Powell Boulevard SE. Salem was supposed to be next, he said, but a location in Eugene was ready first. Now, even with closures and shortages due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Salem is finally getting grills of its own. 

All you can eat Korean BBQ

At the heart of the Kokki menu are three tiers of all-you-can-eat packages priced per person. The price of each tier is determined by how premium the meat and seafood options included in that tier are.

Diners happy with beef and chicken will be satisfied with the Standard Package ($23 per person). Choose from 18 types of meat including beef, pork or chicken bulgogi (seasoned with a sweet, garlicky soy sauce-based marinade); chadolbaegi (thinly sliced beef brisket); samgyupsal (thick sliced pork belly); pork galbi (pork short ribs) and several options for chicken marinated with teriyaki, garlic or honey. 

The Supreme Package, by contrast, is $31.95 per person, and offers a selection of 30 items that includes usamgyeop (beef belly), galbi (beef short ribs), and seafood options in addition to everything in the Standard Package. 

Packages also include a salad, vegetables for grilling and an array of banchan -- little side dishes like marinated fish cake, cucumber salad, kimchi, and sweet and salty black beans. Ask and the staff will deliver lettuce leaves for making ssambap, lettuce wraps. 

Regardless of which tier one chooses, the all-you-can-eat format has some rules one should anticipate. First, items must be ordered in three meats per "round." There is a two-hour time limit for all-you-can-eat orders and the last call to place more orders is at the table's 1-hour-and-30-minute mark. 

For those not wanting to commit to an all-you-can-eat feast, individual meats are available for sale a la carte. 

Though Kkoki specializes in Korean barbecue, the menu also includes a robust selection of other Korean dishes.

Bibimbap in a hot stone bowl, bubbling soondubu jjigje (kimchi stew with soft tofu), seafood pancakes and stir-fried japchae noodles are all available. Lunchtime offers even more affordable options with a la carte dishes, rice and banchan for $12 to $21. 

Same space, new concept

The biggest change An and Lin made to the former Rock space involved added a robust network of telescoping ventilation that snakes through the high-ceilinged space to whisk away smoke from the gas grills embedded in the tabletops. 

Whereas next door, Nagoya's hibachi-style cooktops serve several patrons at once, at Kokki, each table is equipped with an individual grill. Meat is delivered raw to the table and guests, assisted by staff, cook it themselves. 

Besides the 41 tabletop grills and their ventilation, the owners added a few other decor touches. K-pop music videos play on the television screens mounted in the space, and a depiction of cuts of beef hangs over the semi-open kitchen, but many of the other design elements remain unchanged from the restaurant's former identity.

The bar, in particular, is aesthetically unchanged. The crossed guitar motif remains, as do posters of Jethro Tull and Meatloaf. 

An and Lin are planning to add a roof to an outdoor seating area to create a shaded pavilion for outdoor dining. 

Following COVID-19 specific operating regulations, said manager Joseph Hwang, they're currently only seating alternating tables for indoor service. Though the space is normally well-equipped for large groups, parties are currently capped at a maximum of 10. 

Emily Teel is the Food & Drink Editor at the Statesman Journal. Contact her at eteel@statesmanjournal.com, Facebook, or Twitter. See what she's cooking and where she's eating this week on Instagram: @emily_teel

Kkoki Korean BBQ 

Where: 3610 Center Street NE

Phone: 971-599-5774

More information: kkokibbq.com