RIP BuffetLand (Secret Garden) Restaurant, Koreatown, Los Angeles
One of my favorite korean bbq- sushi-crab leg- buffet spots in Koreatown, Buffet Land (through research i’ve found it was also called “secret garden”), has died.
I first noticed this on July 4th, with the place being gated up and looking rundown. I thought that, maybe, it was just closed for the holiday. I confirmed tonight that Buffetland is closed permanently.
If you’ve ever been to Buffetland this comes as quite a shock because of what a production this place was. The pictures here don’t even do it justice. It was a huge ballroom with 100’s of items against the wall: various korean meats, every sushi/sashimi/roll imaginable, all kinds of weird asian appetizers in oyster and mussel shells.
Surrounding all of this food is a vast dining area, partly elevated, all with in table korean barbecues. There’s more: there was one private banquet room inside and two outside. Also outside is a lounge area (that I never saw used in my 15 or so trips) and some bridges and some ponds teeming with koi. The outside was japanese or chinese themed— not sure which, but there were definitely pagodas.
You expect restaurants to go under sometimes, but not Buffetland. The shock and denial i’m experiencing is similar to when the Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin was killed by a lowly stingray. I don’t know what killed Buffetland but I don’t want to know. Whatever it is that felled Buffetland could bring down the Vanderbilts or the Saudi Royal family or even the state of California.
One time, some friends and I did an experiment to see if Koreans could tell white people apart. We filmed the video below of a half dozen of us changing into this terrible outfit. Spoiler: nobody noticed.
So long Buffetland. We had some times.
Feel free to share your stories and memories of Buffet land and any information you might have on what happened, if something will take its place, if you’re interested in starting a new buffet land with me, etc.
Relevant links:
Buffet Land’s Yelp Page
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This is a national tragedy.
That place was great. Oh well back to Edokko and Todai…
I just found this out today! My friends and I were craving for some korean BBQ and decided to swing by this restaurant. The place is now run down and there are lots of graffiti outside. Too bad, i loved this place…i was just here a year ago