Handam still a top 3 AYCE KBBQ spot in Houston, very solid meats, decent price, and no crazy wait times (at least the times I've been). + They proactively change your grills, which is nice. Grills are much better than the silver-metal ones that get dark fast and burn up all your meat. + Lots of meat to choose from, 3 types of preparation of the kalbi. Kalbi and brisket is fairly lean! They grill up so nicely + Charcoal/wood chips which add that smokeyness to the meat + Solid appetizers, both the cheese corn and steamed egg were awesome. + Lots of banchan/side dishes, probably the most of any AYCE in Houston + Friendly staff + Ventilated grills + Kpop on TV (a minus if your GF doesn't like you looking at the girl groups) + Decent space between tables. If you're lucky and sit at the edge, there's a ledge to put your stuff/plates - Can't reserve a table unless 10+ party. - Only 2 appetizers per table (plus the free daily one). Kind of sucks when you have a larger table. - LA kalbi has too much saucing on it.

I found myself at Handam BBQ with some friends for dinner; it was my last night in Houston before heading home and it was great to be able to get together one last time. Not knowing the area, I followed their lead after they suggested Korean barbecue. I've had KBBQ several times in the past and enjoy it, so I was looking forward to checking Handam out. Located in Chinatown, Handam is part of a shopping center and as such has a generous amount of space inside as well as parking. The decor is pretty straightforward - nothing too outrageous and the tables were set up as one would expect at a Korean BBQ spot with a grate in the middle for the meats to cook. We opted to get AYCE which included our choice of several apps as well as meats. Note that you have to cook the meats on the grill yourself; I'm only pointing this out since I've been to spots where they do it for you. We ordered a good amount - typical apps/sides such as kimchi and other veggies, as well as some standouts like honey crispy chicken bites and cheese corn. We got a variety of meats - mostly beef cuts but also some shrimp. Everything we had was consistently good; flavors were on point with all the apps and they complemented the meats well. Speaking of meats, they were all solid, however the shrimp was a low point and in retrospect I shouldn't have chosen to order it; you live and you learn though. Each of us got several sauces for pairing which really elevated the food. Service was excellent, they consistently came by to check on us, clean/replace the grill, and ask if we wanted to order more - it was definitely one of the highlights of the night. Overall, I had a good experience at Handam; it was great getting together with friends and the food/service here only made the experience better.

Jay was phenomenal! Prompt service and very friendly. Ask for him, I will be coming back for sure.

Open Labor Day and found out - Handam just got better! For those who select AYCE B option at $35/person, you get two appetizers and a daily special* per table. We got the Cheese Ddukbokki (rice cake) and Kimchi Stew as appetizers. The ddukbokki was too sweet for me but my husband loved it, and I liked the kimchi stew. More on this later. The banchan (side dishes) were not as fresh today as we are used to. The hummus with tomatoes was new for us and the tomatoes had been cut for quite awhile. The soy dressing salad had wilted by the time we got it. The potatoes and pan-fried tofu also tasted on the older side. Love their kimchi and sesame dressing salad though. Maybe the turnover isn't as high as before. For the bbq, we got (and will get next time): - Fresh hanger steak: New fav cut to replace the tongue - Brisket: Always delicious and greasy - or 1/2 order each of this and beef belly - Fresh sirloin, 1/2 order - Suwon kalbi (ribs): Sliced very thin, which is actually new and improved imo Try next time: - Marinated hanger steak Maybe also get: - Plain pork belly, 1/2 order - Marinated pork spare ribs (boneless), 1/2 order - Ribeye bulgogi The servers barely came by, which was surprising since we went at 2pm on a Monday and tables were not even half full. We ran out of water by the end, and hilariously, I am only realizing now that we never received our daily special. We were too busy eating to realize, and most importantly, they came by to replace the grill twice, so not a big deal. But we had barely touched the soup, and they said it has to be thrown away unless we want to pay the $15 to go. I understand that policy for the meats but for a barely touched soup, I found it wasteful. So overall, one star deducted for the daily special never showing up and the wastefulness, but I'm sure I'll give 5 stars again the next time we are there. Plenty of free parking.

I LOVE KOREAN BBQ! I'm always looking for authentic places and I really liked this one and thought it was really well priced. I did the all you can eat which I always recommend u do for Korean bbq and it was really good! All the marinades on the various meats were really good! The hanger steak and the spicy bulgogi were my favorites. I also got a lychee martini which was absolutely delicious a little on the sweet side though. Also our waiter was awesome and super friendly. My only criticism is that there is a wait most of the time (no reservations) and it is more of a fun chaotic vibe than a relaxed private one. They do update you via text if u want to explore hmart or surrounding stores while u wait.

Wow, so impressed! The Banchan was the most complete of any Korean restaurant I've been to in the Houston area. This alone would have earned four stars. They also gave me a fork tender short rib that was fantastic and unexpected but well appreciated. I have to admit that I was so overwhelmed by the selection and quality of Banchan that I really didn't get to concentrate on the Meats as I normally would have. The galbi was good but needed the dipping sauces to put it over the top. The bulgogi was perfect as was the tongue... And don't freak out about eating tongue because it's truly the best part of the cow... So tender! Service was fast and very helpful in helping me decide on what to order and although it's kind of tricky on how to get there, trying to avoid Bellaire, but once inside it's a very pleasant environment.

I really enjoyed eating here! There are two AYCE options: A, which is $30 per person and has fewer beef options and B, which is $35 per person and has more beef options and comes with two appetizers per grill. One thing to note is that if you get an AYCE option, everyone at the table has to choose the same option. We did option B with appetizers cheesy corn, cheesy tteokbokki, braised short ribs, and one other thing that I can't remember. We had six people, so two burners, and therefore got 4 apps. The only thing no one liked was the braised short ribs. We got four different meat options and really had to lock in to finish everything but it was doable! I don't remember the names of the meat options we got other than bulgogi beef and beef kalbi. Either way, they were all delicious. We also asked for lettuce wraps and rice and they brought us some. They also come around and switch out the burners pretty frequently to keep them clean (I think ours got changed two or three times in the 90 minutes we were there). There's a cap of 2 hours but we didn't feel rushed. With six people, we had the option to split the bill evenly or just have one person pay it, and we didn't get any additional things like drinks so splitting it evenly worked best for us since we all got the same thing. Also, gratuity is automatically added when paying. I'll probably go again but wouldn't make it a regular thing, because it is a bit expensive and I go more for the experience than anything else.

Handam was really great and flexible with us even before going in. I had called to see if we needed reservations for a group of 13. They said typically they don't do reservations, but because we were going to be a large group, we were able to set one up. They told us for a group our size we could only split checks up to 4 ways. The entire party did not need to be there to be sat. That we would only need 2 people to be sat and once people are sat then the 2 hour limit starts. Upon arrival, we were greeted. Our party size shrunk down to 6 and they were very accommodating to us. The server was very attentive and explained the menu and gave us recommendations. Our group did the all you can eat for $35 which gets us 4 apps for the table. We got the cheesy corn, cheesy dukkbokki, the seafood scallion pancake, and the braised beef short rib. My favorites were the cheesy corn and the seafood scallion pancake. The beef braised short rib didn't look very appetizing and was quite dry. The marinated meats were my favorite. We ordered bulgogi, Kalbi, sirloin steak, and one more meat but can't remember At the end of the meal, we were able to split the check between 6 people. Overall great experience!

This updated review is long overdue. After posting my last review I came back about 10 more times & I have to say that it's been a lot better. The service is quick and friendly considering there's only 2 servers holding down the floor. Idk how they do it but they're able to take care of a full house. What I like about this spot is they give you a lot of banchan and they'll refilled it if you run out. With the $35 AYCE, you can order their appetizer (no extra charge). They have Seafood fried rice, Steamed egg custard, crispy dumplings, braised beef short ribs, Cheesy corn etc. My favorite item on the menu has to be Ribeye bulgogi, marinated hanger steak, sirloin steak. It's juicy, tendered and flavorful. The beef brisket has no flavor but I usually dipped it in the sesame oil with salt. The pork belly is my least favorite because it's mainly fat and the texture is chewy. Overall, this is a solid Korean BBQ spot in Chinatown and my go to whenever I feel like eating a lot. Will I come back? Yep.

Hot dam or Handam? So we soothed our sorrows during the great tornado power outage a few weeks back with AC and kbbq. (We had already reserved a spot weeks earlier for our monthly gal pal dinner) Dinner was early at 6:40 pm and glad we did because it was Friday and got busy. My bestie had been before so she lead the ordering. First of all, the Banchans were fire! They were all delicious and refills included. They have 2 ayce options and of course a la carte. We did the $30 option. The premium is $35. We just didn't see the point in paying $10 extra dollars when we knew we wouldn't be ordering the extra items. The marinate pork spare ribs went our favorite. The beef was also good and tender. All the pork and beef options were good. We also ordered the salted shrimp - meh. Pass next time. The service was great considering how busy they were. They changed the grill frequently. Then only issue is that they don't oil them enough so some of the meats stick heavily. Even the server noticed that and immediately changed it and gave us some lard and sprayed it good. Must wrap all meats in their radish wraps. Must. So delicious. Overall we had a great time. I think they get busy esp on the weekends but that's a good sign. So reserve early and be prepared to wait. I know there is a 2 hour time limit but they didn't rush us at all.