There’s a saying, “Where there’s smoke, there’s fire.” However at Soh Grill House, there’s fire but no smoke at this Korean BBQ restaurant. Thanks to their “down draft system,” the smoke disappears into the grill, meaning that you won’t reek of BBQ once you leave.

Thanks to their venting system, there are no hoods to mar the sleekness of this  minimalist restaurant.  Gleaming tables of white add to the highly polished look. The tables are quite wide, so if there are two in your party, you may want to consider sitting on the same side to avoid having to shout across at one another.

The menu has 18 items for the grill – ranging from beef to pork to chicken to seafood. If you’re somewhat overwhelmed and don’t know how to narrow down the list, there are some set menus to assist you. Your meal will come with an assortment of banchan, which will be replenished should you desire.

The Lucky Split, designed for two people, featured beef belly or prime top blade, pork jowl, pork belly and bulgogi. Since the beef belly had more fat and would be more tender, I chose it over the top blade. When they brought out the slab with only three of the four meats, I started to worry that I had ordered too much food.

Your server will cook the food for you, so you can sit back, relax and not have to worry if you’re burning your food. The thinly-sliced beef belly was well-marbled with fat and disappeared from our dish quickly.

The pork jowl was thick and a tougher cut than the pork belly. When grilled, it tasted like solid pork fat, not a bad thing. The pork belly was a lot more tender, its fat decadently melting in my mouth (as you can tell, I have a thing for pork fat).

By this point, I was pretty full and convinced that the last dish would have to be taken home as leftovers. Silly me. The bulgogi, which had been marinated for over 48 hours in a sauce with 30-plus ingredients, turned out to be my favorite.  It was the most flavorful, with slices of garlic and a mushroom, which after grilling had a delicious caramelized, almost meatlike, taste. Needless to say, any fears, or should I say hopes, of leftovers were completely unnecessary.

Soh Grill House is a little pricey, but the quality of meats used justify the costs. Plus, you won’t leave smelling like Korean BBQ, which is priceless.

Location – 27 N Raymond Ave., Pasadena, CA 91103
Website – https://www.sohgrillhouse.com
Kid-Friendly – Yes
Kid’s Menu – No
Vegetarian/Vegan Friendly – Non-grill items like tofu steak, soybean paste stew, vegetarian dumplings and vegetaran versions of bibimbap and kimchi fried rice
Gluten-Free Options – Yes