Bullgogi, a vast new Korean barbecue restaurant occupying prime real estate in Manchester's Piccadilly Plaza, has opened as the UK's largest venue of its kind, seating 165 diners across tabletop-grill booths. Rather than waiting staff taking orders, guests tap dishes such as gyeran jjim, dolsot bibimbap and bulgogi directly into screens at their table, with food then carried out by hand. It is the biggest project yet from restaurateur Jae Cho and his team, who already run 21 sites across London and Manchester.
On arrival without a booking, there was no difficulty securing a table given the sheer scale of the space. Barley tea and pints of Asahi, priced at £6.90, were ordered while soaking up an atmosphere reminiscent of a dystopian sci-fi film set.
How does the screen-based ordering system actually work?
Diners largely interact with a touchscreen rather than a server, which will either appeal or unsettle depending on taste. Having previously encountered malfunctioning self-service kiosks in remote farm shops and a supposedly automated grill that still needed a person to load every skewer, scepticism going in seemed warranted. That said, when a food intolerance was flagged through the screen at the table, a member of staff appeared almost immediately to go through the menu and check the relevant dish — proof that human oversight hasn't vanished entirely.
What is actually on the menu?
Bullgogi appears designed to cater to both seasoned Korean food fans and complete newcomers. Those with experience of the cuisine can opt for doenjang jjigae, a rich soya bean paste broth with beef, or sundubu jjigae, a silken tofu and seafood stew. Diners after something heartier can order budae jjigae — the Korean "army stew" combining spam, ham, kimchi and noodles into a dish substantial enough to power a long march. Other options include a wobbly steamed egg custard (gyeran jjim), Korean beef tartare dressed in sesame oil, and gimmari, crisp seaweed rolls filled with glass noodles. Fans of pan-Asian dining familiar with double-fried Korean fried chicken or fermented kimchi pancakes will also find those on offer. The room mixes Korean students from the University of Manchester using the venue as a canteen with older diners from Rochdale trying the cuisine for the first time — a balancing act that the screen-ordering format seems, surprisingly, to pull off for both groups.
Is the food any good, despite the lack of waiters?
This isn't really the sort of place designed for a leisurely, drawn-out meal. The setting is inexpensive, brightly lit and minimally decorated, closer in feel to a motorway service station than a conventional restaurant — some previous dinners at a Costa Coffee outlet have felt more polished by comparison. Even so, the cooking itself is clearly not an afterthought. The Korean dumplings emerge almost too hot to eat straight away, but are crisp, neatly crimped, and filled with a well-seasoned, peppery vegetable mix.
Ordering the cheese potato pancake may have been a misstep: four pieces of deep-fried shredded potato smothered in melted mozzarella felt like a small assault on long-term health with every bite. A stone bowl of sundubu jjigae, however, arrived in an excellent seafood broth and ranked among the best things sampled during the visit, followed by a chicken dolsot bibimbap that was similarly impressive.
The tabletop grill went unused throughout the meal, and the same appeared true at surrounding tables. The long-term prospects for this style of Korean barbecue setup look uncertain — operators privately concede the grills are costly to maintain and awkward to service, while customers tend to like the concept in theory without actually using the equipment, even though bulgogi and spicy pork are ready to be cooked should diners choose to.
Overall, the experience was pleasant and easy enough, if somewhat impersonal: food arrived, the bill was paid, and departure went unremarked, with no dessert offered and no apparent system flagging whether anyone had left without paying. It's a reminder of a broader shift toward fast-casual, drive-through-style efficiency spreading into full-scale restaurants — and a nudge to appreciate traditional table service while it still exists in more places than it might in future.
How does this compare with other recent London and Manchester openings?
Bullgogi's automated approach stands in contrast to some recent high-profile UK restaurant launches built around personal service and chef interaction. Osteria Vibrato in Soho, for instance, has drawn praise for precise Italian cooking paired with attentive hospitality, while Mitsu in London EC2 has built its appeal around a warm, welcoming izakaya atmosphere. Not every hyped opening has landed well, either — Nigel Ng's Kawan in London's Chinatown has struggled with empty tables and an underwhelming menu despite its viral following, suggesting that reputation alone doesn't guarantee a restaurant's success.
What do other diners and review platforms say?
Public reviews of Bullgogi since opening have been somewhat mixed depending on where they're read. According to OpenTable, the restaurant currently holds a 4.5 out of 5 rating based on 17 verified diner reviews, with lunch pricing listed as "£25 and under." By contrast, Tripadvisor shows a smaller sample of just four reviews with a lower average rating of 3.5, and some recent visitors there have described long queues forming outside after finishing their meals during busy periods.
The restaurant appears to be part of a broader Korean barbecue expansion by the same operator across both Manchester and London, with its own website billing it as an "Authentic Korean BBQ Restaurant in the UK," according to Bullgogi's official site. A Manchester student publication had already reviewed the venue in October 2025, according to the Mancunion, indicating it had built local buzz well before this latest review. A recent social media post from the brand also describes it as "recently opened," reinforcing that this remains a fairly new addition to the city centre, per an Instagram reel from Bullgogi.
What happens next for diners hoping to visit?
Bullgogi's booking and opening details remain live on OpenTable, indicating the restaurant is continuing normal service rather than operating as a temporary or pop-up venture, according to OpenTable's listing. Published opening hours show the restaurant trading for lunch and dinner every day of the week, closing at 9.30pm on Sundays, 10pm Monday to Friday, and 10.30pm on Saturdays.
Key Facts
- Bullgogi is located at 6A Piccadilly Plaza, Manchester M1 4AH, and can be reached on 0161 553 1141.
- It seats 165 people and is described as the UK's largest Korean barbecue restaurant, run by Jae Cho's 21-strong restaurant group.
- A meal costs roughly £30 a head à la carte, or around £13 a head on the weekday lunch menu, excluding drinks and service.
- OpenTable lists a 4.5/5 rating from 17 reviews, while Tripadvisor shows a lower 3.5/5 from just four reviews.
- Tabletop grills are provided at every booth but went unused during the visit, reflecting a wider pattern among diners.
