Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

I usually eat in but today I just grabbed lunch. Jasmine took my order and handed it to me. She’s always great. My first visit was a year ago and she still has the best demeanor. The atmosphere was quiet and welcoming… good vibes only 😎 Today, I had the Spicy Beef ramen. It’s so flavorful and not too spicy actually. The ramen comes with a salad for $14.

This was our first time dining here, and wow — what a gem! From the moment we walked in, we felt like VIPs, and that’s largely thanks to Jasmine. She wasn’t just our waitress — she was our guide, our hype woman, and basically the highlight of our evening. Friendly, funny, and so knowledgeable, she made navigating the menu so easy and gave us some awesome recommendations we never would’ve thought to try. The food? Phenomenal. Every bite was bursting with flavor, and the presentation was such a great experience! Between the incredible dishes and Jasmine’s top-tier service, this meal felt more like an experience than just dinner. We’re already planning our next visit — and we’ll definitely be asking for Jasmine again!

Tobi was AMAZING! I’ve had the pleasure to dine in with Tobi 3 times and he’s been phenomenal each time! Thank you for going above and beyond when it came to ordering our delicious Chef’s Choice course and helping me choose a substitute for my food allergy! Can’t wait to have Tobi as our server again!

I had such a great experience thanks to Emily! She was incredibly kind, attentive, and made sure everything was perfect throughout the meal. She had a warm, welcoming attitude that made me feel right at home, and her service was fast and professional. You can tell she truly cares about her guests. Thank you, Emily, for making my visit so enjoyable—I’ll definitely be back!

Came with my mother and niece, and our server was Luna, who was very informative and patient with us. Always asked if we were doing alright, if the food was good, and whenever we forgot how long we should cook each piece of meat, she would always tell us. We ordered a package, and she was always on time with giving us the next item. Amazing service, delicious food, definitely coming back. 11/10 would recommend.

Surreal experience, really great coursing, really loved all the marinades. High quality place. Monique did such an incredible job of breaking down the menu and was super sweet! Will definitely be back

Its my first time here at Gyu Kaku and I had a pleasant experience. Davis was very helpful, attentive, energetic, and courteous. He is the best!! I will definitely come back!!!

My wife and I had a great experience here. It’s a chain, but the quality was solid. The premium beef was the highlight. Portions were generous, and the price was reasonable for what you get. A special shoutout to Emily. She was incredibly attentive, easy to talk to, and gave us great recommendations. We usually stick to a standard 20% tip, but her service went above and beyond. She made the meal feel personal and memorable.

This is my first return to gyukaku since early 2010s when they first started opening up all over the place. After my first two experiences i vowed not to return because the food was too sweet and the service was slow compared to other readily available kbbq restaurants. However, i was impressed after visiting this location in downtown austin. We went with the premium ayce option and the food was great and service was even greater despite only 1 server (shoutout to CALEB!) working the whole restaurant. Caleb was friendly, attentative, and he genuinely seemed like he cared that we had a good experience. This spot is definitely worth the visit if you're in austin!

I came here on a Friday night and it was really busy in the restaurant. My boyfriend and I got the 2 person course which had more than enough food for us both! The meat was very juicy and loved the sauces. Our waitress Dani was super helpful when looking over the choices of meat and was very quick when we needed something. She was great! Thank you for your amazing service, we will definitely be back and asking for her as our server next time.

Hey everybody, I hope you're all having a fantastic week. I want to take a moment to share my experience at Gyu-Kaku Austin. I've enjoyed this chain's incredible restaurant for 20 years and have tried various locations across different states. Austin definitely lives up to its reputation. The customer service from Caleb was top-notch, and the food was excellent, as expected. What I love most about this chain is its outstanding all-you-can-eat menu. I generally avoid all-you-can-eat options because the quality tends to suffer, but Gyu-Kaku consistently delivers. If I want something specific, I can always opt for à la carte meats. Short ribs are a must for me, even though they're not the cheapest option. This time, we went for the all-you-can-eat menu and loaded up on veggies. Interestingly, we passed on drinks; I usually enjoy sake or beer, but we stuck to water since I had been out on Sixth Street beforehand. Overall, this was definitely a four-star experience. Treat yourself to Gyu-Kaku; you won't regret it!

First day in town and wanted to grab something close to where we are staying. We both got the two meat lunch plates. I got the spicy shrimp and my husband got the spicy pork. They mean what they said very spicy, but in a good way. I also got the ribeye and he got the chicken thighs. The protein was awesome. It comes with miso soup and a salad. The miso soup was pretty standard but the salad was very good. Had a lot more veggies that come on most salads and the dressing was delicious. Great service and good food. Highly recommend.

It was such a great spot for a date night! The atmosphere was cozy and perfect, and the food was amazing. All the meats were so flavorful with tons of options to choose from, and the appetizers and side dishes were just as good. The service was fantastic-friendly, attentive, and made the experience even better. Dessert was the perfect way to end the meal. Everything was delicious, and the whole experience was so enjoyable. We're already planning to come back soon!

It's wild how much me and my girls love this place. From the nice ambiance to the all you can eat menu we are obsessed! We love having our girl dins here. If it's the weekend at night I do recommend getting a reservation as it can get busy, but other than that I think it's fine. I would recommend pacing yourself from the white rice and apps so you can focus on the meats! I love the spicy cucumber and gyzo. What makes Japanese different or in my opinion better than Korean bbq? The meats are thinner so it cooks faster and I'm not left hangry while it's cooking hehe.

Snagged some same day reservations and they also validate parking for up to 2 hours which was nice. When we arrived, half the tables were dirty and there were napkins all over the place (on tables, the floor in the hallway, etc). We also had to wait 10-15 minutes for a table to be cleaned before being seated and when we were seated, we were given 4 menus to look through - the regular food menu, the regular drink menu, the seasonal food menu and the restaurant week menu. HOLY MENUS. We opted for the seasonal menu for 2 and grabbed a few drinks which felt like a nice introduction but we were only full because of the garlic rice. We'll try the "all you can eat" meals next time on the regular menu.

Japanese barbecue is such a different kind of experience for eating. We found the service to be very good, the broad selections of meat from the chefs special that we ordered to be very interesting and very good. It's kind of fun to cook your own food and have such a high-quality experience. The waiter was so willing to make us happy, gave us some extra goodies to take home and made the experience very delightful. We combined food with hot sake until they ran out. lol. The waiter gave us guidance on how long to cook the meats but we felt some of the meats were a little bit overcooked so I would say use your own judgment. Oh and don't be afraid to try the kimchi, it's very good. Highly recommended!

Jasmine was such a pleasure to have as a server, super kind and attentive! She was very fun to talk with snd even went out of her way to get to know me and my partner. Even brought her signature drink when i was feeling very ill at the restaurant.

Food was great, interior could use some updates! Overall, this place tries to be a slightly upscale asian BBQ joint, but there is significant wear and tear on the inside of the restaurant that doesn't match the facade. A lot of the leather booth seats are busted, as are the menus and tables. The service however was great, our server even instructed us on how to cook the various meats that we ordered. I liked how they had a couple of meats on the menu that you can't get at KBBQ, like Japanese sausages. I'd overall give this place 4 stars for food, and 3 stars for the ambiance and interior. For the price point, I think they could really fix up the interior for a better experience

Extremely understaffed and very long wait for everything. Love the franchise but not this location.

We had an awesome experience here! First off, we arrived early for our reservation and the hostesses Nikki and Carmen were really friendly and helpful in trying to find us an earlier table. I'm so glad we made a res though, as this place was full! When we were finally seated, our server Meeko (spelling?) helped answer questions about the menu, since I have some dietary restrictions. Everything came out super fast and exactly as we ordered it. We got: Kobe style short ribs (Salt + Pepper) - pricey but worth every dollar, so delicious. Bistro hanger steak (garlic) - tender, juicy, an affordable gem Toro beef (shio) - thin, caramelized melt in your mouth fat and flavorful marinade Shrimp (garlic) - not bad, but probably skip-able next time compared to the rest Shishitos - great Spinach - good, though I must not be a huge fan of the garlic sauce. It was overpowering for me on this and the shrimp Overall it was delicious and the perfect amount of food for us! Can't wait to go back!

After visiting the Bullock Museum, my kids and I came here for lunch. I've been here a few times with co-workers and always had amazing experiences. However, this visit didn't live up to those memories. The cleanliness of the facility definitely needs attention. The prices have increased significantly, likely due to inflation, which is unfortunate but not the restaurant's fault. The service was mediocre. The hostess seemed bothered by our presence and didn't make us feel welcome. Our waitress was not very attentive. On the positive side, the food was amazing and well-portioned. The staff took the time to explain how to cook each piece of meat properly, which we appreciated and made our self-cooking experience enjoyable. Despite the less-than-stellar service this time, I would still recommend this place based on my previous positive experiences.

I went to eat here with my family a few weeks ago and they have a pretty nice selection of meats and side dishes like tofu soup, salads, etc. They also have value sets for people eating with a larger group of people that came with a selection of meats, salads, soup, and smores for dessert! I really enjoyed the sirloin and the short rib! It is definitely on the higher price end of restaurants, but it is a good restaurant to go celebrate with your friends and family! Food: 9/10 Service: 9/10 Ambiance: 9/10

Another time at Gyu Kaku and another great dinner. We had both the Ultimate and feasted for a whole 90 minutes. The waitress Yubin was super polite and professional, exactly what you expect from a yakiniku style asian eatery. The ambiance is the same as before, clean, simple. We'll be back in a few months. Got to really want this place, so don't overdo it!

Good vibes and always have a pleasant conversation with the staff. The selection to me is better than a KBBQ place. Jasmine was great - she helped us pick what would be the best based on our cravings. 4 stars for being a place that does what the do well, and commits to the theme well.

Great cuts of meat and delicious veggie sides. Daniella, our server, was a joy! We'll be back.

Went today after making a reservation which is like the third time and they still make you wait 15 minutes . Mind you it's not even busy. empty seats once again. Finally sit down and order and meats take like 15 minutes to come out . Order appetizers and told it's going to be a while since kitchen is backed up from what idk cause the place is empty. what are they doing? Not cooking meats ! Gangnam is the place to be. Never plan on coming back .

ANOLA !! Amazing service. Watched her sing happy birthday to another table single handily bc her back up dancers were slackin'. She's doing the most so you can have a good time. Anyways, food is yummy. We ordered the chefs choice for 2 ppl and it was just enough. Park in garage attached to restaurant. They will validate for ya.

I will only speak for lunch time. We came in for a birthday celebration with a reservation for 5 people. We had to wait 15 mins to be seated. I wish it was communicated they were short staffed for us to decide if we wanted to stay. We were seated for another 30 mins for our drinks to be taken. We could no longer wait because of our elderly parents were getting antsy. The bartender did come over and apologize to take our drink order. Then we decided to leave , she comes out with the drinks and still in her platter. Not on our table and says you still have to pay for your drinks. It did not touch our table nor was it consumed. The place was big though. No shade to the guy waiter he was managing 6 tables. They should hire more workers and communicate better.

We love coming in, the food is always good- portions are large and service is great. Last night we sat at the bar and had Jasmine serving us. She was amazing, so attentive and friendly. Can't wait to come back!

Got a reservation pretty easily a few days in advance for a weekend. Parking along East 5th is pretty manageable when it's not busy, otherwise you may need to use one of the retail parking garages nearby that charge. Gyu-Kaku has AYCE options at different tiers starting at $50. The meat options are good but there aren't as many sides in the lower tiers as I'd hoped. Service was A+. Meeko took care of us really well and the overall ambiance is what you'd expect of a Japanese BBQ place. It's probably better to just order a La carte unless you skipped a meal earlier in the day.

Service was awful - we got 3 orders and were there 2 1/2 hours. This is somewhere I come every month so was very disappointed. We also selected a birthday on our reservation and it wasn't even mentioned for so much as a happy birthday. On top of that they didn't even validate our parking!

Food is good but I think you come to this kind of place more for the experience. My friend and I got the Holiday Magic Course for 2 on Christmas Day. Salad was actually really good even though that's not what I went there for. Ha! Miso soup was OK. Enjoyed the chicken karaage but it was a bit dry. It's fun to grill your own meat as you go and can pace yourself accordingly. When you order a course, they bring it all out at once, so I couldn't even tell you which meat I was eating at any given time. Then s'mores for dessert. Since it was a holiday, there was street parking available. We were happy with our server, Adam, and his energy. :) The bathrooms were a mess, and it seemed like a constant line was forming. Overall, good experience.

Just ate here for lunch, ordered 2 of the lunch special 3 bbq plate which includes: miso soup, salad and rice for 18.95 (+ add ons for premium meats) As you can see, we most definitely enjoyed ourselves. We ordered the following: - hangar steak - kalbi chuck rib - sirloin + 2 of the standard meats which I can't recall the name along with the shishito peppers and the spicy miso and garlic herb dipping butters l. We sat in Jasmine's section, and she was absolutely wonderful. She made some delicious recommendations that did not disappoint. This was exactly what we needed on this gloomy/rainy day!

I was here on business at the Sonder property upstairs so I loved the convenience of the restaurant in the building. Expansive meat biased menu with all the Japanese favorites. What was I thinking ordering the Salmon salad ???? Stick with the meats and you'll be so happy. I was quite impressed with the gyoza dumplings and the cold tofu. Big Texas sized tables for a fun meat grilling experience with a crowd and plenty of two tops for singles and dates.

Great friendly service for J BBQ newbies. Delicious meats and sides. Thank you An!!!

This is the second time we've been here and this time there wasn't many folks dining in but service was super slow! My friends decided to treat me here for a birthday dinner that we made reservations for. Our waitress was nice but never came back to refill our drinks or pick up empty dirty plates. We would move them ourselves to the empty table next to us. She seems very flustered and mentioned they were short staffed on a Sunday evening. Meat quality and food was great but for the price of the menu - service was not up to par. The meats took about 30 minutes to come out and our drinks 20 minutes for lemonade! The bathrooms are utterly disgusting, the sink faucet wasn't attached to the sink, trash & paper towels overflowing from the trash bin. This place seems to have went down from a year ago when we first fined it. I was hoping to have a nice bday dinner with friends who never tried Japanese bbq so that was definitely a bummer !

My wife (Michiko) and I frequent Asian places so we've had our eye on trying this one. Usually for BBQ, that means Korean, so it was nice to try Japanese. We were starved, so pictures were an after-thought. We had chicken, duck, steak, and tongue--all amazing. Serving sizes are smaller than Korean places, but cheaper too which offsets in a way to let you try more...I thought this a plus. All-U-Can-Eat and pre-set couple to family dinners are also available. Our server, Jacoby, walked us through it all, and made some good recommendations, too. We managed garlic fried rice, and appetizers of Gyoza, Spicy Cucumber K8mchi, Cheesy Corn, Cabbage Kimchi, and Chicken Keragai as well. Needless to say, we were too full for dessert, but based on the rest, it will be good our next visit. Great service, the meats and appetizers all were really above Korean counterparts, though we did miss all those other sides that are typical of Korean meals. Good music / vibe / atmosphere to the place, even if a little franchisy feel--still enjoyable--and staff were all amazing, friendly, and always smiling. I really like the grills and tables--these felt larger than expected, and better at trapping smoke.

I can barely breathe everything was sooooo good. Enoch + Patrick were so attentive and made my date night experience lovely. 10/10 recommend to come here and try their Chef's Choice meal course for 2 with a nice hot sake. Must have 100%

In my recent move to the city, I've been to this place 3 times already. The place offers the perfect amalgamation of Korean BBQ and ramen. I have tried their: Ramen: chicken ramen, karage chicken. Bbq: Calamari, Salmon, ribeye beef. The place is very clean, the staff is very friendly and attentive.

My first time here & I was highly impressed with both the food, price and overall experience! Anola was our server and she was so knowledgeable and funny, she guided us through the menu and gave great recommendations on upgrades and the best choice for a preset menu for 2 people. We did the meat lovers and added on garlic noodles (A MUST!!). Although it says it's for 2 people, it could easily be 3-4 if you have smaller appetites like me and my friend. The garlic noodles are so good with every meat you get and the amount of meat is huge for the price you pay. On top of that, they start you out a with a lovely miso soup and the salad was amazing as well. We ended the evening with the s'mores sooo full with lots of stuff to put in our to-go boxes. Ended up being about $55 per person after the tip which felt like a steal after such a great experience. Can't wait to go back!!

Kyle the server was great :) attentive and sweet. Food was decent, pretty standard Japanese bbq and late hours. Would come back!

Had a great time at gyu-kaku! Lunch specials were great. Jasmine was our server and she was extremely kind and mindful. Ambiance was nice too.

Amongst our to-go order, we ordered three servings of Miso Soap for $4.50 EACH and they shorted us so bad that I almost respect the lack of shame. In a city full of amazing food, this is an absolute skip.

Tobi was awesome and super helpful, thank you!! Nice to be able to walk in and get a table on a Friday night.

My knowledge of grill-your-own places is only as expansive as the ones in Austin. Although Gyu-Kaku isn't perfect, I think they're the best Austin has to offer (Honey Pig and Gangnam are next on my list). Most of the meats I got were really good! Unlike other places, their meat was actually marinated and didn't just have, say, a drizzle of sauce over their meat and call it marinated. Toro beef is good, I -really- liked yaki-shabu but you gotta trust this one and only cook it for a tiny bit. I also would put spicy pork and garlic shimp up here in the good section. Oh, and the kimchi! Chicken teriyaki was typical chicken teriyaki. Dunno why I got it, but it was nice to mix it up. Japanese pork sausages were definitely low-end. I was skeptical ordering this, so I was prepared for this. The bibimbap rice was pretty dang bad... just tasted like they dumped a cup of soy sauce over rice. Regular rice would have been cheaper and edible... I'm never getting either of these again. So if I didn't "upgrade" my rice, I would have called this a pretty darn good experience. This is my favorite grill-your-own place so far! They've got good lunch specials and a rewards program, too.

4.5 stars! Food is great, portions are large, staff is friendly and attentive. Atmosphere is nothing to get excited about but the restaurant was clean. Definitely plan to go back again. Nikki & BZ were so sweet to us!

The food is so good but the service is so fucking bad. Like really bad. Luckily the food is really good but for having to spend at least $100 on two people just for walking in the door, the service can't be that bad. Get your shit together.

So this was my first time ever trying thus place. I ha e to sat the food was great. Our server very timid but also great. She did state she was fairly new and to be patient which I really respect a server that can be honest. We has questions if she did not know the answer she went and asked came back and let us know. After 9 though they do not do any meals only la-carte items. Which ok we did not mind. Only reason why I do kot give the fifth star is... after we ordered we waited about 30 minutes to recieve our meals which is quite a long time to prep a meal which you cook yourself. We will definelty come back though it was tasty!

The food was great, but Jasmine and Sereen were better! 10/10 recommend. We did the Chef's choice and it was more than enough for my wife and I.

The beef is the best I've had in any Japanese or Korean BBQ place in Austin. The staff is really nice. We had Luis as a server and he was really good at his job. 10 out of 10

Had a reservation for 6 for weeks for Sunday dinner leading up to Austin restaurant week menu. Was asked to wait 15 more minutes. When we sat, it took about 15 minutes for our drinks to be ordered. Our food order wasn't taken. Drinks took another 15 minutes to come out and not all showed up. An hour past our original reservation time and we finally had our food orders taken. Appetizers and salad/soups came out relatively quickly. Not everything showed up and we had to remind them. Don't forget what you ordered!! Salad is a great size and yummy. Miso soup was average. Poke was a great app along with the spicy dumplings. Others at the table loved the fried gyoza. Meats came out shortly after and was followed by the rice. Giving none of its cooked, you'd expect it to come out quickly. We wanted to order more drinks but they came out towards the end of us finishing up our meals. The 3 meats/person was way more than 1 one need. We took home our rice and cooked meat leftovers. Dessert was ice cream (vanilla only since they were out of green tea) and s'mores you could roast on the grill. Was way too full so took the s'mores home but shared the ice cream. I'd love to give this spot more stars since the food was delicious. The wait times were just insane.

Great lunch spot to hit during the restaurant week specials. Ample food for a date or friend. Service was friendly and extremely attentive. Definitely recommend for som Japanese ambiance and flavors in ATX!

Food and service was great! We had Enoch as our server and he helped us through our first time here! Super sweet and knowledgeable!

Jasmine was a fantastic server tonight! We got the 6 person feast and left full and happy. It's fun to cook your meat on the grills. At the end we had S'mores. Highly recommended!

Gyu-Kaku is a successful Japanese BBQ franchise nationwide that specializes in a grill-your-own-meat experience. They serve delicious marinated cuts of beef and pork alongside a slew of options for sides dishes like dumplings, salad, and fried chicken. All of this is to say that the food is usually delicious and of good quality, regardless of which location you visit. So why the 2-stars? It's the service. I am definitely not a stickler for service; I just need the basics. Take down my order and bring me my food in a timely fashion and I'm happy. But the East Austin Gyu-Kaku location cannot even do the bare minimum. On 2 separate occasions, with a completely different wait staff, I received the same poor service experience: - The staff always looks incredibly scrambled, which tells me that the management and systems in place are not well-organized - Both times I had to wait over 20 minutes after getting seated to get my order taken - Both times I had to wait a really long time to receive basic things like rice. And both times their excuse was the "kitchen was backed up." - Both times I sincerely believe that our meat orders were forgotten, and then suddenly all came out at the same time after reminding the waiter - The first time I received dumplings despite not ordering any. After questioning it, I was told that they were out of sushi and this was the replacement. That's completely fine, but you should let the customer know before they place their order. When this kind of service happens once, maybe a staff member is to blame, or maybe it was just an off-day. But when the same poor quality of service happens again just a few weeks later, I start to question the management and their processes. It's a shame. I would like to return, but I don't think I'd like to deal with this level of service another time. I'll just get some Korean BBQ instead.

3.5 stars. Overall, this spot is what you'd expect for an Asian bbq restaurant. This was our first time going to a Japanese bbq spot, as we've typically frequented Korean bbq places. We had a reservation for 715p, but didn't arrive until about 725p. While they didn't cancel our reservation (most places have a 15min grace period), we still had to wait about 10min to be seated. They were out of quite a few things, including s'mores, the Tokyo sunset and the hibiki whiskey. Staff didn't really come to check on us very often and it was super busy. However, we easily flagged them down when we needed drink refills. They have quite a large menu. So to keep it easy for our party of 5, we ordered the Yakiniku. It came with Miso Soup, Spicy Tuna Volcano, Gyu-Sushi, Gyu-Kaku Salad, Napa Kimchi, Edamame, Japanese Chicken Karaage, Chicken Garlic Noodles, Bistro Hanger Steak, Miso Yaki-Shabu Beef, Miso Filet Mignon, Salt & Pepper Kalbi Chuck Rib, Sweet Soy Tare New York Steak, Garlic Premium Sirloin, Sweet Soy Tare Umakara Ribeye, Umakara Pork, Chicken Breast Basil, and Shrimp Garlic. [note they didn't bring us the shrimp garlic] There was so much food and we had plenty leftovers to say the least. We really enjoyed the Gyu-sushi, which was a roast beef sushi, and the garlic noodles. The other meats were seasoned well. I was looking forward to the s'mores, but they didn't have it. However, mgmt was amenable to swapping it out for (2) orders of the tropical sorbet. I asked the salad the next day and it didn't taste that great. I wouldn't necessarily/specifically seek out this spot when I come back for a visit to Austin because there are so many food options in this city... but it wasn't a bad experience.

Great bbq ! Lunch special was filling for a great price ! Daniella was a lovely host!