You can cook Korean barbecue, hot pot dishes at State College’s newest restaurant
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Manna Korean BBQ & Hot Pot is now open at 542 Westerly Parkway in State College.
- The menu offers Korean barbecue and hot pot specialties, including meat and seafood.
- Each table is fitted with cooking stations and instructions.
A new State College restaurant combines two dining experiences under one roof.
Manna Korean BBQ & Hot Pot launched Tuesday with a soft opening at 542 Westerly Parkway. The restaurant offers all-you-can-eat experiences for both lunch and dinner.
Guests at the new restaurant can order limitless portions of hot pot and Korean barbecue specialties starting at $24.99 per person for lunch (noon to 3:30 p.m. on weekdays) and $34.99 per person for dinner (served all day on weekends and holidays). Children can dine for a smaller fee, while kids ages 4 years old and younger eat for free.
Manna Korean BBQ & Hot Pot’s menu includes a wide range of barbecue meats, including ribeye steaks, beef and pork bellies, beef tongue, garlic chicken, short ribs, premium brisket and chicken or beeg bulgogi. Seafood options include mussels, squid, shrimp, octopus and sliced fish.
Guests can cook up their own hot pot creations with bases like miso soup and several broths, including tomato, spicy Szechuan and golden fish maw and chicken flavors. The wide-ranging menu offers hot pot meats like Spam, sliced chicken, and sliced lamb, plus crab, clams, crawfish and more seafood options. Several appetizers and sides, including white rice, chicken tenders, gyoza and edamame, are also offered through the hot pot service.
The menu also includes fruit teas, bubble teas and refillable soft drinks.
The restaurant requires diners to choose between the Korean barbecue or hot pot services, though they can pay an extra $5 fee to eat from both menus and experiences. According to signs in the restaurant, the entire table must match selections.
Additionally, the restaurant is enforcing a two-hour limit for all-you-can-eat services. Signs at each table say parties with excessive leftovers may receive an additional charge.
Manna Korean BBQ & Hot Pot puts diners in the driver’s seat by seating guests at tables that double as cooking stations. Signs accompanying each table offer guidelines and recommendations for grilling cuts of meat, seafood and vegetables. Restaurant employees can assist anyone who needs help preparing the food, a worker said.
Signage posted in the restaurant say no children under 10 years old should handle the grill or hot pot while food is prepared.
The restaurant opened in the former home of Fitology fitness and wellness center in the Westerly Parkway shopping center near Weis Markets, Crunch Fitness, Cluck & Catch and Fatoum Bistro. Crews spent more than a year developing the hot pot and Korean barbecue restaurant, whose interior features Asian-inspired decor, neon lights and dozens of cooking stations.
Manna Korean BBQ & Hot Pot’s opening marks the latest development for the Westerly Parkway Plaza, where construction on a long-planned 11.2-acre student housing complex is underway. Demolition for the project began in January.
Manna Korean BBQ & Hot Pot is open from noon to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from noon to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Check out its website, mannabbqhotpot.com, to view its full menu.
%202.JPG)