Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

Good place to eat during lunch time. Meat was good and fresh. Chicken was alright… They have good options of meats and prices. Rice was very fresh. Good services as well. Will come back soon.

Excellent food and excellent service. Thanks to our waiter Alfred. Bathrooms were very dirty so early in the day though

Tasty food and very entertaining. The one thing i have against this place is… Because you cook your own meat you could easyly drop your food between the ring of cook surface and they will not replace it, your loss. So be careful when your handling your meat. If they would have replaced the missing meat I would have given this restaurant 4 stars.

This gyu is SOOOOO much better than the one in Tustin. It’s big and I think I saw a meat griller in the bar area! Happy hour is just so-​so. You get a better deal on the drinks than food. They did have $ 2 mimosas which is delicious. It’s like drinking a slushed orange juice.
I love their mushrooms! Probably my favorite item on the menu. I like shishito peppers, but the ones at gyu are just too lemon-​y (I still eat them). Toro and hangar beef are good. Gyu salad is good. They use this sesame miso (idk) type of dressing that’s really good. Do they sell the dressing separately? Garlic noodles are good, but can get a little heavy/​salty overtime. I find myself dipping it in the spicy sauce to cut down the greasy taste. It’s still good though.
Oh, one item I do not recommend is some sort of spicy chicken wings. Forgot what it’s called, but it is NOT good. Feels like they just smothered gochujang all over it with some other spice. Tasted so vinegary too. Before you even take a bite, that smell seriously gets to your nostrils.
I just like how this place is so big and open compared to the one in Tustin (closest to me). Definitely would come back if I was ever around the area.

This restaurant is unique, not only so you cook your own food, but you also cook it the way you like it. The space to the next table are kind of close for my comfort but other then that it’s really good.

This is another PF Chang’s type of place. Japanese inspired American food. What I can say that I love about this place is the awesome deals they have. My friend and I took advantage of the $ 10 meal deal where you get to choose 1 drink (beer or sake), 1 app, and 1 main course, either some type of noodles or a rice dish. The food here is very well put together and makes for an attractive plate, but taste wise, they are mediocre. I had the spicy tuna bombs and a bowl of miso pork ramen. Both looked great as they were brought to my table, but after tasting both, I realized that I was drooling over nothing. The spicy tuna bombs were very disappointing because the spicy tuna wasn’t even spicy. At all. My ramen was whatever and didn’t really have any flavor. My friend had the cheese wontons and garlic noodles. Her wontons also suffered from lack of flavor and I think that they were filled with mozzarella cheese. At a Japanese restaurant??? C’mon. The garlic noodles were the worst. Thick udon noodles covered in a thick sticky sauce come out sizzling in a bowl. Again. great presentation, but the show did no justice for the actual dish. I tasted no garlic but just fishy sweetness. My friend didnt even finish her noodles.
This is a great place to come with friends and catch the game while having some drinks and apps, but if you are as taste obsessed as I am, you may not wanna spend too much $ here.

This was 1^st time here, food was delicious, server was super. Plan to come back again. Very nice atmosphere.

I’m so conflicted.
I really enjoy the food here, but the service is soooooooo bad. (you know it’s true because of all the o’s I used) We come here quite often, and I can only remember 1 or 2 times when we had good service. The servers spend a lot of their time socializing. You will be waiting for a refill for a while, while you watch your server slowly make their rounds socializing with all the other employees.
It’s especially terrible if you bring a child. They have no child seats that aren’t broken, and it’s been this way for a while. We were told by he last server that management knows that they are broken and she doesn’t know why they don’t order more. I guess they don’t care to have people with kids eat there.

Have been here several times and always had a good experience. Most importantly, they’ve recently re-​done their tables so they’re not sticky anymore! This is definitely a plus and will make many people happy *points to self*
There are many items to choose from on the menu. Some of my favorites include the filet mignon, angus beef ribs, and the prime kalbi shortrib.
If I’m in a drinking mood, I like the Tokyo Peach sake cocktail.
Ooh, and getting a side of sliced garlic is a must for me! I love eating the raw garlic with the meat! You’re left with garlic breathe (sorry, boyfriend), but it’s all worth it to me!!!
If you still have room for dessert, you can roast some marshmallows and make s’mores. I love the vanilla macaron ice-​cream sandwich. Also, they have a green tea crêpe cake. This was my first time trying it and I thought it was good, light, and had a nice green tea flavor.
The service has always been good. Servers have been friendly and attentive.
I also like eating at Gyu-​Kaku because they have effective ventilation systems and you don’t come out smelling like food!

A well designed business idea, «Cook your own food»
Its best to eat here with a group.
Good ingredients, quick service, reasonable prices, need I say more

The last 2 times we have dined here, the service was excellent. Our servers were Omar and Russell. The quality of the meats are fantastic. Everything is super tasty and we enjoy cooking over the grill. I like the grill style they use because you come out less smokey than traditional Korean or Japanese grills. And their green tea crêpe cake is delicious.

I haven’t been to Gyu-​Kaku for years and never really think about this spot at all but since the boyfriend has never been we went to this location. It is inside Victoria Gardens and this was my first time here. It’s pretty much a huge outdoor shopping area. So maybe you should bring your walking shoes and also don’t forget to wear some sunblock unless you are wanting to get a tan.
When we walked in we told the front desk that we had made reservations on opentable. She checked us in and sat us on a nice booth. This was during lunch time on a weekday so we were going to order stuff on their lunch specials. Price ranges from $ 7.95 up to $ 12.95.
The food came to us raw and if you haven’t been here you cook it yourself. With little metal thongs. Enjoyed our nice lunch but sometimes I feel a little lazy on the cooking side. It’s almost as if we have to pay to cook our own meal. But at least the servers tell you how many minutes you would have to cook a certain meat or veggie on each side. So that was pretty helpful and it tasted pretty good.

Gyu-​Kaku,
always great to come back here to have some quality meat served and spend some quality time with friends.
It’s Japanese BBQ not Korean BBQ. It’s not that much of a splashing, smelling and oily. Overall you can say it’s a little more settle. Even though it’s expensive, if you come for Happy Hours you usually get great deals off food and drinks. I usually associate Gyu-​Kaku with huge pitchers of beer :)

Quality, quantity, and price considered, a meh experience.
We ordered 3 set meals (one of each of the options) for 7 people. The waitress insisted it was a lot of food, even though we were worried. It was not a lot of food. Several of us were still hungry at the end of the night.
The appetizers were really lackluster. One appetizer seemed to be fried wonton skins and sauce. Really, that’s it? So lazy.
Despite the price tag on the sets we ordered, there wasn’t that much meat. A lot of the meal consisted of the mediocre appetizers, the sukiyaki rice, rice, garlic noodles, and other cheap fillers. Even though there were so many fillers, we didn’t feel full, and we pretty much finished everything.
It was nice how they tell you exactly how long to cook each item. Their times were about right.
It was a bit frustrating how although we were sharing 3 set meals on two grills, they don’t separate out the dishes, so both sides can try both. Also frustrating is how they only gave enough appetizers for 2/​3s of us to try each one. At least cut them up so that they are shareable. It really doesn’t seem meant for more than 2 people per grill.
The quality of the meat isn’t that different from a $ 20 AYCE KBBQ meal. At least AYCE fills you up. For the price, you can definitely get higher quality meat and more meat at several KBBQ places.

Came here for lunch with my bf. We ordered the Ramen lunch special it came with a salad, gyoza, and Ramen. The first two dishes were good. Nothing fancy, but good. But oh boy, the «Spicy Kalbi Ramen» aka Chilli was terrible! As soon as I stuck my chopstick in the Ramen I was greeted with a large clump of noodles stuck together. Almost as if it came from an instant noodle packet (which it probably did). My bf had the same issue with his noodles. The Ramen was pretty flavorless, it had zucchini in it, there was barely any Kalbi in it, and the broth, which is the best part of Ramen, tasted like Chilli! I was so upset. If you’re looking for authentic Ramen, this is not the place.
Service was okay, pretty standard, but the restaurant definitely had a filthy quality overall. See pictures.

NO MORE RAMEN FROM HERE!
After craving for ramen for awhile, my gf and I decided to give their lunch special a try. Because we thought salad + dumpling + ramen for $ 9 was a good deal. But that decision was as bad as when you decided to take a dump in nyc subway bathroom. Well. Perhaps not really THAT bad lol
I always grade my experience by 3 things: service, ambience and taste.
The service was satisfactory. Waiter and host were amicable and attentive. Cups were always filled. Dishes were served in a timely manner AND in order.
Ambience, hmm. Like others have mentioned, some areas do appear somewhat undesirable. Table and condiments were SUPER sticky. Like did they wipe the table with syrup? And our seating was facing a cleaning cart with dirty cloth hanging next to a dirty wall.
Lastly, food taste? Hah. The appetizers (salad and dumplings) were delicious. The ramen? FAIL. BIG GIGANTIC FAIL. To start off, we both got clumps of noodle in our bowl. My gf ordered the «spicy Kalbi» ramen. It’s straight up flavor-​less watery chili soup with ramen noodle. Tasted NOTHING like an Asian dish. My «MISO» ramen? WTF. No miso flavor whatsoever an was served with a little block of butter. BUTTER. I was very skeptical but I decided to let it melt a little. NO. the broth DOES NOT work with melted butter. Just NO. Like did the chef run out of miso paste so he sub butter with that? Their Ramen is for sure the worst I’ve had from a restaurant. Like instant ramen noodle taste more authentic. Idk where they get their recipe, the broth was crap too.
Heed my words, if you want ramen, go else where. As far as BBQ, I’m now skeptical too.

Came to this Gyu Kaku this past tues. 11÷24÷15
They have some really good deals.
It was En-​Kai fest which lasts from Nov23-​Jan3
Walked in and was greeted by the hostess. gave my cellphone number and went to the bar to grab some drinks while waiting. not sure if it was just last night. but it was any 6bottled beers for $ 12. score. i said– 6 goose IPAs please.
i quickly noticed how sticky the floor was– i remembered the last time i came to this location. that it was the same way. sticky. i didnt think anything of it. until i sat down. i noticed my long sleeve was getting stuck to the table. my fiancée noticed the same thing. ehhhh.
Ok got the text that our table was ready. Notice the table was clean.however.sticky. sticky again. the seats were not sticky. but the tables were.
During the En-​Kai fest. my fiancée and I enjoyed the:
EnKai Platter–
Prime New York Steak with garlic herb
Premium Rib eye Cap Ponzu
21-​day Aged Filet Mignon Garlic
–nonetheless, all three were really good.
Wings– saucy and salty. only could eat one… at $ 8.95. for 6. i dont think we would do again. if you need to, get rice to balance out the saltiness
Garlic noodles– Bland and dry. We have had this at other locations. very garlicky and not dry– this was not the case this past visit. maybe its the location.
Beef Bibimbap– in a hot pot bowl. beef/​rice/​onions. cant go wrong. this was delicious.
Would we come back. yes… The food is delicious. mainly the meets and the bibimbap.
We dont mind so much the stickiness. but some other might.
next time we visit ill update. for now. docking 2 stars for the stickies and the bland garlic noods and salty wings. one too many that was lacking.

Gyu-​Kaku was such a fun experience! The concept is very entertaining where they provide you with a grill that’s built into the center of your table, uncooked options, tongs, and sauces and then its up to you to grill your food to your liking. My bf came here on a Sunday at 1:30pm. We had reservations and were seated right away. It was our first time here so our waitress look the time to talk about the restaurant’s concept, their Happy Hour options, and how to cook our food. Hurray to HH all day on Sundays!
We started off with two cocktails off their happy hour menu at $ 4 each: the Tokyo Peach & White Peach Saketini… the bartender was apparently new that day but he sure knew what he was doing! Loved the drinks!
As for the food, we started off with a few appetizers, which they cook for you — the Spicy Tuna Volcano & the Garlic Fried Chicken with spicy mayo (new item). The Spicy Tuna Volcano was nothing to rave about, BUT that Garlic Fried Chicken was amazing! Crispy, flavorful, juicy — aka amazing! I would definitely get this again in a heartbeat.
For our uncooked items, we ordered the Filet Mignon, Chicken Cheese Fondue, Garlic Shrimp, & Miso Butterfish. YUM! Every item was really delicious. It was also really fun cooking everything. Our bill came out to be about $ 50 for two people including tip. The service was great (loved how our waitress paid extra attention in showing us how to cook our food without getting it stuck on the grill since we were new at this), the food was on-​point, and the drinks were refreshing and affordable (at least during HH). Worth every penny!

I know I’m late to the hype of this place butttttt I finally got to try it and I’m in love!
Service:
–Such great service! They were tentative, friendly, and super helpful. The menu was a little confusing at first, but once they explained it to me I was just indecisive and drooled over everything they had to offer.
Food:
–Fried Calamari: The plate was overfilled with calamari. So good! It however did come after our other food, which is weird since was an appetizer. But no big deal. It was still delicious. We actually couldn’t finish this because everything was so much more filling than we expected. They were all decent sized pieces of calamari and all fried perfectly. Nothing too greasy feeling too which I like.
–Spicy Kalbi Bimbap ($ 7.95): OMG this was bigger than I expected! When I first got it, I was like «there’s no way I can finish this.» By the end of the meal… yeah…it was all gone. It was just SO good! I couldn’t stop. Not even ashamed because every bite was worth it. This is definitely on the spicer end, so if you’re not a spice fanatic like me, the bimbap listed above this one on the menu (I don’t remember the name but my friend ordered it) was just as good. Overall loved it and I’m going to get the again and again and again!
–Al a carte meats: I can genuinely say I loved everything we chose. All were fresh and so flavorful! It just happened to be happy hour when I was here so we were able to get the meats for the red ink price for those that had it. Just thinking about the food is making me drool again. But we ordered the toro beef, prime kalbi short rib, yaki shabu, ny steak, and pork belly. The three of use shared these and were all full by the end.
I’ll definitely be back. Especially for the Spicy Kalbi Bimbap. And of course meat! This is a great alternative to the typical AYCE KBBQ. I actually liked this more because you don’t smell like meat at the end and for the same price you get fresher and more of a variety of meats you like!

Gyu kaku is by far one of my favorite places to eat. I’ve been to this location twice and had a great experience both times.
I love the spring rolls, so good! Perfect option for an appetizer.
They have a great selection of meat to chose from I’m a simple kind of girl. I usually stick to the filet because it’s my favorite cut of meat always. I also like the bistro hanger steak miso very tender. We had an issue where our grill stopped working. The staff was extremely apologetic and fixed it immediately. They also brought new filet because it had gotten cold due to the grill not working which I thought was really nice of them.
They have a pretty good selection of drinks however I would only recommend them during happy hour otherwise it is a complete waste of money. The drinks are so watered down it’s like drinking juice. I would recommend the beer or sake if you don’t want to drink juice all night, lol.
Lastly they have ice cream macaroons! A definite win and a must try.