Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

Awesome! I’ve lived in LA for 11 years and never once dined here… I was on a double date last night, Friday June 24^th (and a first date for me). We sat at the front by the door, not the ideal table, but it didn’t matter. Kenny, our server, was spot on! He made us all very comfortable, was timely, cool, friendly and attentive. Thumbs up! During the meal, I turned around to see if Kenny was around to get us more napkins. The bartender (sorry, didn’t get his name) spotted me, got me out from behind the bar and got me the napkins. Very cool. Too bad more places aren’t like this. I’ll be back!

Went during a Saturday for happy hour! Great priced cocktails, parking valet $ 6.50 a must there is no where to park on the streets. I waited for a long time, I sat in-​front of hostess and asked when was are party on the wait-​list, she said she text me already, no name called, and no text, hmmmm? You are better off with a reservation, why! That sat us in the center and one side has no back like bench seating, and we had to wait for a booth to open up! The hostess and 1^st waitress before we were moved cause the low score, they just seemed confused and rude and it was our first time there and I was treating a couple for a birthday. The atmosphere is cozy, dim and hip hop music was playing to my surprise. The food was fun and our 2^nd great waiter described everything and got us going to grill our own food at the table. I had fun, but I will try another location.

Great prices but dang is it hot in here! Get with the times and get one of those air conditioning thingees my friends! But the rice and meat dishes are amazing. And the beer is wicked cheap. Sit near the air con locations if you’re lucky. Like right in the way of it.

Easily mistaken for the Korean BBQ across the street.
Decent food, pleasant staff.

I’ve been coming here for years and just like several other Unilocalers, I’ve had the same experience MULTIPLE TIMES on different occasions. Customer service sucks! If you (politely) bring up an issue/​problem (with the food or the burners or anything whatsoever), they will tell you you’re wrong and it’s fine.
Once I asked them why a certain dish was prepared differently than usual and if they had a different cook. The waitress looked at me as if she saw water burn and said she didn’t know what I was talking about. They’ve never made the dish the same (it used to be really good, now not so much) since.
Another time I had made a reservation for 15 – 20 people (for a WORK dinner), and when I called to confirm was told a different time. They straight out told me I was wrong about the time and told me they couldn’t seat us half an hour later. !!! I said, were you expecting 20 people to be in and out within half an hour? How can you not seat us half an hour later? They just said they couldn’t.
We had to find a different restaurant and make sure everyone knew the location change with a day’s notice. F-​in A-​holes!
So I guess that’s their standard way of dealing things.

This place is AMAZING! I came here last night, and had the $ 45 happy hour for two people. It came with assorted appetizers, soup, rice, a salad, chicken, 3 types of meat, shrimp, and a s’mores! All for $ 45! It was so much food, and everything was delicious. They don’t have a liquor license here, so they only serve beer, sparkling wine and saki. I had a Mimosa on happy hour that was $ 3.
I believe David was our server, and he did an excellent job. The service here was great. It seems like they might do team serving here, because every waiter came by our table to pre-​bus our table whenever we had empty plates.
Great spot! Will definitely be back

If I could give this place ZERO stars I would. We sat outside for 2 hours without a reservation. We checked on the wait time for our name and were told we were next up yet the couple next to us walked in and sat down immediately. There was no communication what so ever. I’m not even going to mention how I feel that it was related to race by the way everyone looked at us once we arrived. Completely unacceptable.

What a great place with reasonable pricing. It has a good and busy atmosphere too. I tried way too many things here to list out, but it was all good. I highly recommend coming here any nigh of the week.

Came here one night to thank my friend for taking me to the airport. It was a good. It was pretty expensive and we went all out at this Japanese bbq. I forgot what I ordered, but it was pretty good. The servers cook for you, but beware. They splashed hot oil on my hands. The burn wasn’t as bad as you would think, but the server was nice enough to bring me burn ointment and gave me one free alcoholic drink. At least they took care of me. But nothing to special about this chain location. Eh I don’t think I’ll come here since it wasn’t that memorable. Not worth the money. I prefer Korean bbq any day.

Love it. The combo dishes for business day lunch is a great deal. You can choose 3 kinds of meat with rice. The beef rib and spicy pork are highly recommended. Since all the meat have different source with it, there are many choices. The dessert-​fried mashmallow is interesting. Will go again.

We usually frequent the Westwood Gyu-​Kaku but recently switched over to this branch. The results were surprising:
Food: the menu is the same all throughout and happy hour prices are very reasonable with what you are getting.
Service: prompt and slightly more aloof in comparison to the Westwood one.
Ambiance: this particular site has prettier interiors and oddly, less of a wait time even on rush-​hour days. Parking is less difficult as well.

Came here to celebrate one of my BF’s best friend’s belated birthday.
We were oh so very lucky to find a free parking spot right in front of the restaurant! If you are lucky as we were you can basically stay there as long as you stay at the restaurant!
We ordered a lot of food and took advantage of their happy hour. The quality of the meat seems to be better than at most Korean BBQ’s but they give FAR SMALLER portions and they are not cheap. I particularly enjoyed the fact they serve duck! We also ordered Yuzu Shishito Peppers, Gyoza, Garlic Fried Chicken, Pork Belly, the Kobe beef trio, Garlic Shrimp, corn with cheese, Garlic Spinach and Garlic Mushroom! They have things similar to Korean banchan but not as many choices it seems. I guess you can tell I’ve been to Korean BBQ’s before this Japanese BBQ.
There were no Greet Tea or Mango Ice Cream Macaron Sandwiches even though they were on the menu! Lame! I had a Lava Cake instead. It was OK.
Don’t you hate the smoky smell you come out with at most Korean BBQ’s? Well here it doesn’t happen! Their grills are different. They don’t even have huge exhaust vents here and yet you do not come out smelly.
The restaurant is a bit run down — especially for a Beverly Hills restaurant but it’s kind of cool looking at the same time.
Service was not bad.
What can I do without at Gyu-​Kaku?
It can be expensive.
What makes Gyu-​Kaku stand out?
Quality meat! You don’t come out smelling smoky like at most Korean BBQ’s!
Gyu-​Kaku is really ridiculously good! Four stars!

Gyu Kaku used to feel like an extension of my home kitchen. I love this place or at least I used to love it a lot.. .. . Sadly, the last time I came to this establishment, it came nothing close to that feeling warm and homey at all. I really do miss the old staff. I felt like they were so much more attentive. Now it seems like they have new faces every week. Though the last time we came there, we had the same server we have had before. Usually, our servers tend to remember us because we would frequent this place. Now, granted that they must have so many people going there often but you should try to at least remember the regulars correct? in addition, we rarely saw our server and he didn’t really check up on us. It’s quite sad and it was the most and possibly only disappointing time I have ever had at Gyu Kaku.
I do hope the next time would be way better :(

Came here to try their Sakura Fest tasting menu (currently running until April 21^st). It was my first time trying Gyu-​kaku & I was NOT disappointed. Everything was mouthwatering!!!
Here’s what’s included in their tasting menu (for 2 people) for $ 55 total. NOT BAD for 2 people.
–Premium Rib Eye, Bistro Hanger Steak, Yaki-​Shabu Beef, Pork Belly, Garlic Shrimp, Mushroom Medley – My favorite was the Rib Eye & Shabu Beef – SOOO DELICIOUS!
–For dessert I had the Green Tea Mont Blanc Cake with Ice Cream —Not only does it look really cool but it’s SUPER GOOD!!!
Overall, I had a wonderful Japanese BBQ experience. Service was great. Definitely planning on coming back.
xo,
Naomi

I love Gyu Kaku. All locations at all times, but especially during Happy Hour! They have such great tasting meats but my favorite is the Yaki Shabu because it’s so thin and marinated so well. The garlic noodles are a must and so is the crispy rice with spicy tuna on top :)
This is a great place to go with a group of people for food and drinks, just make sure to not go with lazy people, you do need to cook your own food on the grill in front of you.
Don’t forget the s’mores for dessert before you leave!

Craving japanese/​korean bbq, i figure i would come back to my old stopping grounds of gyu kaku. Gyu kaku delivered neither a pleasant taste or good customer service. The appetizers were nothing special and average. All the meats were very heavily marinated. The saltiest however due to the high surface area was the toro cut beef. It was so bad that i had to send it back. The quality of meat is better than an average kbbq place but the marinate truely harms it. Our waiter basically said sorry too bad; however, i spoke to the manager and she offered to take it off our bill but very reluctantly. Not pleasant at all.
As a whole, my experience at gyu kaku has pretty bad. Food is really average and service is fairly slow. I really dont forsee myself coming back over a place like road to Seoul, hae jang chon or kang ho dong barkjeong. They are better, friendlier, and cheaper. Try one of these places instead.

Gyu-​Kaku is absolutely amazing. They literally have happy hour all day, Errday! Their prices are inexpensive so you can literally come here and pig OUT without hurting the bank. I love their drinks, primarily the Bellini which is about $ 1.50 during happy hour. I’m an alcoholic so of course I comment on the drinks first LOL… Anyway, everything here tastes amazing and the servers are so nice and attentive. Some of my faves are their Yaki Shau beef, garlic fried chicken, the garlic shrimp, Kimchi, and the shisito peppers. This location is probably my favorite but what I don’t like is that they do not offer parking or valet. You can always go next door to Fogo de Chao to vallet though. Happy Eating!

I have eaten numerous time at Gyu kaku in New York so would expect something exotic or at least something that I cannot encounter back there. Macaron ice cream satisfied both criteria. It came in six different flavors (including the newly introduced mango flavor) in limited amount. I chose my favorite vanilla flavor and my friend got the coffee one. Cannot imagine anything else that could be equally delicious at that point lol. Besides the macaron, we also ordered the house specialty cheese cake with ice cream for share. The best ever dessert combo I have tried!
Yakiniku was as good as in New York and it was not that crowded either. The only minor point was that our waiter kept forgetting to change grill for us so we would have to request many times before getting our grill replaced…

Gyu-​Kaku…
Why’d ya’ have to???
_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​_​
Located on La Cienega within the epicenter of Beverly Hills traffic sits this «Tin Resutoran» — offering edamame… well, …to yo’ Mommy!!!
Okay…
So first and foremost, I’m compelled to replicate, …if not TERMINATE all of the other reviews on Gyu-​Kaku possessing a «B» letter grade…
Let’s be real for a 2^nd here —-
We’ve all been to a taco truck or two and survived. Is there ‘REALLY’ any way to discern if what you’re eating is really what you think it is?
I’m just saying. Don’t knock «dog» …until you’ve tried it.
— - — Dishing out dragon rolls and slaying them simultaneously, I’ve been a fan of this place for years now.
While portions are served somewhat «tapas» style… w/​the «Happy Hour» not being one to break the bank by any means, customers are all the more enabled to order by the dozen and leave w/​o sentiments of guilt or gluttony.
My personal favorites are the «spicy shrimp avocado coupled with the peach saketini… Heaven help us!, I’m in lovvvve!
#nanite-​kotoda!!!
If anything, I find the seating to be somewhat intimate and while, within my quest for the perfect crunch roll,… I’ve definitely come across better (if not, more authentic) Japanese cuisine, I’m still a fan of this place nonetheless.
The low star ratings, as I see it — are an undeniable depiction that ya’ can’t please everybody. Until my return, …“Arigato’».

Well well another successful happy hour! On the spur of the moment I planned to come here last week with my best friend and partner. Once we arrived it was actually pretty slow and was able to be seated right away! Always a PLUS! The happy hour menu has an extensive amount of things that you may choose from because what they do that’s different than most restaurant’s is nearly the entire menu is half off! Not all! But most items! Our server was very knowledgeable of the menu and made some strong recommendations! The drinks were good however I would skip the mojito’s because they tasted like pure SUGAR. UGH, however the Bellini’s made up for it! Nearly everything we tasted was delicious! I will for sure add this place to my top happy hour’s because the prices are very reasonable!

Très bon restaurant. Super cuisine. Service très agréable et efficace. Ambiance décontractée vraiment très bien.