Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

Great Japanese barbecue place in Boston. Went there for lunch, and everything was well presented. Service was decent, and courteous. Even though it's pricey but you get what you pay for! It is not spacious enough and the heater was not working properly in a cold day!

Great service and meat was pretty good quality! Really enjoyed the Chicken Karage that came with our Meat Lovers set. Our server Arnold was great and helped us take photos even! Really appreciate his hospitality

Gyu Kaku is a chain of Japanese BBQ AYCE as well as A-la-carte options for many of their dishes. The service is good. We did come late to our arrival, and they had told us originally that we would be able to do AYCE with a shortened time, but when we arrived they said we could only do a-la-carte, which confused us. However after we asked again we were able to do the AYCE. Service was pretty quick even with a shortened time, and we got all the meats we asked for. We tried a variety of dishes, however they only allowed 2 plates of meat per person at the table, which I believe changed from a previous policy? I'm not too sure. The meats were tender and juicy, and cooked decently fast on the grill as we waited. They all tasted pretty good and went well with the sauce.

Super fun experience! We went there as a group of friends and took the “all you can eat” option. Everything we ordered was absolutely amazing and the service was spotless. Highly recommended, especially if you’re into meat, although they have quite a few vegetarian options.

Mario was great and super attentive! Food was delicious as always. We came in for Dine out Boston during our anniversary this year and it was totally worth it ❣️

I loved eating here! I just started a job at Harvard and my waiter, Arnold, brought out an ice cream with "Welcome to Boston" written on the plate in chocolate! It really made the experience that much sweeter for me. He was attentive and helpful, explaining the menu and providing suggestions when I couldn't decide. Thank you so much! 😊

Dining at Gyu Kaku in Harvard Square with a dozen high school students was a standout experience during our college tour in Boston. The staff really came through for us, arranging two tables side by side, which made managing the group a breeze. The service was unexpectedly swift and spot-on, considering our large group. We managed to enjoy a full meal and still get out in just an hour and a half—perfect for our packed schedule. Everyone loved the interactive aspect of grilling their own food right at the table, which not only made for a fun dinner but also let everyone cook their dishes just the way they liked. The only hiccup was the ventilation. It’s a Korean BBQ place, so some smoke is part of the charm, but it did get a bit smoky. A little better air flow might make the meal even more enjoyable. All in all, the great food and quick service at Gyu Kaku made it a hit with the students, and I'd definitely bring future groups back. It’s a lively spot that’s perfect for a fun, engaging meal if you’re ever around Harvard Square.

This place is amazing, and a big part of that is thanks to Arnold. I can’t recommend him enough—he’s hands down one of the kindest and most thoughtful waiters we’ve ever had. He’s incredibly attentive, detail-oriented, and made our dining experience feel truly special. My wife and I were celebrating, and he went out of his way to make us feel cared for. The food was delicious, but Arnold’s service really made the night unforgettable.

Arnold made my family's experience one to remember. Exceptional service is not always available in this day and age, but Arnold blew us out of the water with his professionalism and hospitality. 10/10

I came on a weekday for lunch, I had to wait to be seated (about 15 min) but only bc they were very short on staff, which is understandable. When I was seated , they were super grateful for my patience and service was super accommodating and great! I hope they can get more help soon, but it is definitely worth the wait and the food was delicious as always. My favorite is the toro beef (very fatty but cooks fast and is soft and sweet), shio negi tofu (tastes refreshing which is what you need as a pallet cleanser for the heavy meats), and green tea ice cream (also refreshing, not to sweet, and VERY green and pretty).

Arnold service very good. I will recommend him. He was a very thoughtful server and I really appreciated it!!

Me and my husband had the meat lovers combo which was just delicious! Our server Nick was great!

First time coming to this location. Service was pretty good; it was a special occasion and the staff was accommodating and the manager even came to check on things since I was in a larger party. Grills and orders came pretty frequently. Ambiance and aesthetic was pretty on point. Food wise I think 55 ish per person for the base option is a little pricey, with some of the options of meat being really thin/saucey. I did really enjoy the thick cut options and overall wasn't put off by any of the food. For a special occasion, I think this place is acceptable.

Gyu Kaku in Cambridge. Wouldn't have chosen a Cambridge location unless the fact that my son wanted to go to this specific one for his birthday dinner. Its pretty good. It is what I expected, and I felt like the seating where we were located, was a little squished, but they have lots of choices in all you can eat, offering, and the drinks were really good. They had a little of a kick, but you didn't notice it. The best kind lol. I'll go back. Probably try the Burlington location first. Japanese bbq with drinks made with soju We got out of there for just about $300 for four people with drinks. The meal was $45 a person for all you can eat

Ate here for Christmas and it was super fun cooking the meats, but eating them was obviously better. We had the Yakiniku party and it was amazing. We all left satisfied and completely full. We also had chicken karaage, spicy tuna volcano and gyu sushi to start. I recommend probably the spicy tuna more, but I liked the beef too.

Place is a little dated but man do they make it up with great service and great food. The prime and dry aged meats were top notch. Be sure to get those first. We did it last and man it was a great way to finish but I would've stuck to these the entire meal if I had it earlier in the meal. The spicy cabbage and garlic fried V rice were good compliments to all the beef we ate. We did Ala Carte orders as I was the only big eater in the group. We spent much less than if we did the AYCE and we all left full. Great place for groups. Chow down people.

Everything tasted and felt okay, but it seemed like nothing special flavorwise. We ordered the gyukaku feast, which included a mix of starters and beef-based barbeque items. The skirt steak, kalbi, and sirloin all came with a sweet soy sauce, which overwhelmed the flavor of the meats. The filet mignon was tender as expected but because the pieces were a bit big for a table grill it was hard to get the meat to cook on the inside without scorching the outside. The shrimp was too salty; the pork belly was a bit too fatty. The yaki-shabu beef was probably the best of the bunch. The vegetable were a tad dry. The salad was decent; hard to go wrong with that. The tofu jigae soup was a bit salty as well, without much differentiation in the flavor profile of the soup. Also was it supposed to go with some rice? The bibimbap needed many more side dishes to go with it; it just seemed like mostly rice. The gyoza flavoring was somewhat bland in the middle; the gyu sushi was fine, but bit too much rice underneath the meat. The concept of the restaurant is strong, but the execution needs a bit more work, especially in light of greater awareness of diverse Japanese cuisines.

Gyukaku used to have very inexpensive and delicious lunch combo specials, but since the pandemic, there was a long period when they were only open for dinner. I recently noticed that they had started to offer lunch service again (no claims on how long it's been) so I wanted to drop by for their yummy specials. Unsurprisingly, the price of food (especially meat) has gone up dramatically in the past few years, and the much higher costs of the lunch specials reflects that. My friend and I ordered two of the lunch specials, choosing 3 items each. Overall, everything tasted OK. My favourites were the the sirloin and the hanger steak (tender and very well marinated), and I would recommend against the angus beef rib, many pieces of which were fat and/or unchewable. Even so, nothing was particular outstanding, although the amount of food was definitely considerably more than I expected. Also, I assume that their staffing levels are intentionally lower during lunch since there were only a handful of tables of people, but even so the service was exceedingly slow. It took multiple asks for basic requests like ordering and getting the cheque. However, food did come quickly after we ordered, which was good. To be honest, overall I did feel a bit disappointed. Perhaps it was the unfair comparison to pre-covid quality or the recent proliferation of good restaurants in Cambridge, but I just did not feel that the prices that we paid for this was really worth the average-quality meats that we had. Quantity is def a strong point, but I suspect I might rather choose a different bbq location next time and enjoy my meal more.

Scallion lovers unite!!! I love love love scallion and they were very generous with the garnish! This is now my go-to lunch bowl! Very affordable japanese bbq with the same quality and taste! This is a HUGEEE bowl for less than $20! I chose all the proteins that didn't cost additional $$ and this shows that you don't need expensive quality meats to have a nice enjoyable bbq meal. Beef - 7/10 Some pieces were tough and dry, the beef was sliced thinly so It could be over cooked. But great flavor/ marinade. Spicy pork - 10/10 Very flavorful, the marinade is strong and has a nice char on the sides of the porkbelly. The porkbelly has a nice balance of meat and fat and it was just amazing! Has a nice Smokey taste to it as well. Shrimp - 10/10 Cooked perfectly! Nice grilling and was cooked evenly, not tough and not too soft. This was fresh shrimp and a decent size as well. Overall, would not have gotten the +0 sliced beef. I would've chosen only the sliced pork belly or shrimp. I ordered from postmates pick up and it was ready in about 10-15 minutes! It comes with free miso soup and a free side salad and a little sauce packet of your choice. I think this is a great deal for lunch and you don't have to grill the meats on your own. Definitely give it a try!

Been here a couple times and have not been disappointed yet! The meat platters are pretty hefty and filling. Even the non-marinated meats were scrumptious! The staff promptly switched out our grill plates whenever they were charred, overall pretty nice! One of their fried rice dishes is also served in a stone bowl, making the rice on the bottom extra crispy and delicious!

Gyu-Kaku is a fantastic place to dine alone or with friends. our server Diane is one of the main reasons I come to the Harvard Square location. She is always kind and helps will all our need while dining... so I am plugging for people who want a great dining experience to come to the Harcard location and ask to be seated in Diane's section...

Gyu-Kaku had a chokehold on me for about a year. My go-to appetizers were always the garlic noodles and fried calamari. For meats, you can't go wrong with anything. It is most worth it to go during happy hour, and you should download the app to rack up the points. I stopped going because the quality is inconsistent, and the prices have increased, but I still think this is a decent spot for Japanese BBQ.

Always an amazing experience when I come. Our serve Sprite was awesome, second time having him a server and we love him. Very attentive and make sure we are always good.

Arnold was very nice, it was trans visibility day and he made us feel very seen. Arnold captured my heart, with every smile. Im transgender, and when he looked at me, I felt the love I've been searching for from my parents, my whole life.

One of my first trials of Japanese bbq in 2019 (back home in California, korean bbq dominates the scene) Got their 2 person meat lovers special and it was good, but nothing memorable. Enough to feed the 2 of us girls, but think you'd have to order more on the side if you're on the hungrier side

It's the perfect weather and season to be doing some indoor grilling. Japanese bbq at Gyu Kaku is a great place to do this. We ordered the Holiday Magic Course for 3 which includes the following: Gyu-Kaku Salad White Rice Miso Soup Edamame Gyu-Sushi Japanese Chicken Karaage Harami Skirt Steak* Miso Premium Sirloin* Sweet Soy Tare Yaki-Shabu Beef* Miso Bistro Hanger Steak* Miso New York Steak* Garlic Toro Beef* Sweet Soy Tare S'mores The food listed above is more than enough food for 3 people. It's filling, satisfying, and delicious. All the meats were marinated well, tender to the bite, and super tasty. The flipping of meats and the smoke were all part of the fun of grilling. I'd highly recommend this place! Especially go now because the limited time Yakiniku Holiday Magic Festival Menu has some great options at good prices. The service is lovely, I truly appreciated that my grilling rack was constantly replaced with a clean one so all my meats were grilled perfectly to my liking with no build up from the previous grilling of meats. I will gladly come back for more grilling.

The best server here by far that i have come across is Arnold. My girlfriend and i would recommend him any day of the week

This was my second time at the restaurant. Our first round ordering was good. After that, the meat quality went down as we ordered which was strange. The meat was chewy and hard. We got the all you can eat deal this time.

Food: 5/5 Service: 3.5/5 Price: $75 to $200 for two Food was awesome - I'd recommend the Prime Beef which you roast in front of you, and I'd also recommend the basil chicken, same sort of self-BBQ. Also their chili dumplings are great! (BBQ Meat, S'mores, Sweet Soy are all great) The service was okay, I've worked in a restaurant and the host didn't communicate the wait time well, and the waiter kept messing with our grill temperature, but there wasn't anything terrible and they were very nice. The vibe of the place was chill and the other customers seemed nice! It's $60 for the main combo for two, and we ordered a bunch of stuff including their expensive Wagyu, dumplings, and more - and it was less than $200. Great food for a reasonable but still expensive price!

Arnold was extremely friendly and helpful. He made our experience most pleasant and enjoyable. Good is excellent. Highly recommend.

This place is definitely worth its price. The amount you paid, you get so much options and more! My husband, my two daughters and I had choose the family of 2 options, yet the 4 of us were unable to finished our food because there were so much food! Also, the staff are very welcome and the restaurant is cleaned and kid friendly.

Great selection of meats. I just love their garlic fried rice. It's a must whenever we visit this place. Staff were welcoming courteous and sweet. The ambiance is pleasant and just what the place needs.

Not my first time at Gyukaku in general, but I really loved this visit. Went with a friend and got the first level of the all you can eat which is $40 pp. I made a reservation for 5:15 just to be safe, but a walk up at open could have worked just as well. We were seated promptly and everyone was super nice and quick with ordering, taking empty plates, filling waters, and switching out the grill. My friend and I got pretty much all the meats minus some of the chicken. We're not here for chicken. Some of my favorites were definitely the toro beef, pork belly, spicy pork, ribeye, and bistro hanger steak. Each portion of meat was perfect in that you could try out different things without having to be burdened by finishing a lot of something that's not quite you'd favorite. And if you like it, you can always get another plate! We got some of the appetizers and some notable ones were the spicy cucumbers, seaweed salad, cheesy corn, and the shio negi cold tofu (my favorite!!). We skipped out on rice as well as some of the other fillers to prioritize meat and came out feeling full but not disgustingly full. The all you can eat is a great and gives you lots of variety without all the portions being too big. Definitely recommend this for the meat lovers out there!

This was such a fun experience. The food was great and you got a lot for what you paid for since we did the dinner for 4 option. Staff was diligent at changing the grill grates!

Haven't been back in this location since pre-COVID cuz we typically frequent the Brookline location. For the drinkers, we were looking forward to their draft beer but they were all out - Asahi, Kirin, Sapporo - and there was no rotating beer on tap. If a restaurant's main draft pours are dry, customers may find themselves settling for something else they would have less enjoyed and questioned how frequent these occurrences could be. Our friends ordered Sapporo Light and I had a red wine, more so to complement the subsequent red meats. After ordering one of the combo menus, we noticed there was a delay in the receipt of the meat dishes as those typically would arrive before almost any of the other dishes. There were a few times we needed to remind our waiter of remaining dishes and drinks but as it was a Saturday night, we understood he was servicing multiple tables at the same time. The food was still consistently good and tasty, from the mushrooms, salad, meats and dessert. The beef dishes were still and continue to be the highlight of the meal. Would like to come back to see if I could give a higher rating from an updated dining experience since we have enjoyed this year in and year out.

Waited for 30 minutes out and still no one seated me . No host or servers around to seat you . Service is legit no where near. You're better going to Brookline

Not bad, I would want to have peace when I am eating not hearing the servants yelled at each other in Spanish cursing. I am Spanish too and understood everything that they were arguing. Not professional. Food was amazing, ambiance was alright.

Visited with a group of friends Sunday night and got the set combo for 4 people. I would definitely recommend a reservation because it gets crowded pretty quickly. The quality of the meat was excellent and the staff was super nice as well. Docking one star due to the high price but I look forward to returning in the future to celebrate special occasions.

Super fun making our own bbq steak at the table! Waiter was super nice and helpful. Ambiance is really cute.

Unfortunately, very poorly staffed. Arrived at lunch time, lots of open tables. Waited at least 5 min to speak to a person. There's a poor Uber eats driver who's waiting even longer to pick up am order. After seating, more wait to just speak to a person. Left without eating. Won't return to this location.

Located in the heart of Harvard Square, if you are looking for solid Korean BBQ, this is your place. We came on a Saturday night. Strongly recommend reservations since it filled up very quickly. Our server asked if this was our first time there and we said yes. That was the extent to her interaction with us. She asked us what we wanted, but since we hadn't been there, and we didn't have much time with the menu, we quickly ordered the Yakiniku sampler for 4. Then the food started coming out and there was a lot of it on many plates. So much to the point where we didnt have any room on our table, which would have been great, but our server genuinely just tossed the plates on the table, rattling off what they were and leaving. Until we got the hang of it, we felt we needed to rush through everything just to clear the table. That really soured the experience. The rest of the staff were very nice, one guy kept changing our grill plate to avoid us smoking up the place. He was pleasant. The food was excellent. Our favorites were the garlic noodles, spicy tuna volcano, prime rib kalbi short rib, filet mignon, but the rest was just a blur since we genuinely had no idea what was what. If our server had been the slightest helpful, she could have given us some tips. At one point, my husband asked her if there was any strategy to managing the table and all she could say was, "well, you should have eaten the appetizers first" and walked off. So unhelpful. We did start with the apps, but everything else came out all at the same time. It was too expensive for the experience we had. Would we go back, sure, probably to one of their other locations. In garage parking close by at competitive rates.

11/23/2023 around 13:00--13:15. My girlfriend and I walked into the restaurant and politely stood at the front desk waiting for the staff. But a male staff who's cleaning tables saw us and looked at us several times and ignored us. But we didn't choose to walk around the inside of the restaurant looking for staff without permission. Then we just stood at the front desk for twelve minutes, but no one came. I was in a hurry because I had a plane to catch after lunch. So I chose to go find a staff. A female staff was hanging around at the back side, she said she's a staff but not wearing a uniform. I told her that I had been standing at the front desk for over 10 minutes and there was no staff. She told me in a conspiratorial manner "oh I don't think it's been ten minutes, do you need anything?" I told her we needed a table for two but she said "ok go wait at the front, 20 minutes" and walked away. I find this very unbelievable, extremely ridiculous, is this the attitude of a chain restaurant like Guy-Kaku? Ignoring the customers, going AWOL, and after the customers waited for more than 10 minutes at the front desk, they still don't care about the attitude, and still talk in a weird way. I'm not desire for a SORRY, but definitely not this kind of attitude. I don't know her name because I don't want to continue the conversation with her. I hope the restaurant can properly train your staff in professionalism, as well as tell them what kind of attitude to take in conversing with a guest who is being held up because of their job negligence. Never come unless you wanna be treated as a starving animal.

Pretty familiar with this chain with the locations from California; def on the pricier side with it being mostly a la carte, but the quality and flavors are pretty worth it. If you're trying it for the first time I would recommend getting the toro and yaki shabu beef to grill and a sukiyaki bibimbap.

Me and my husband used to go there all the time but we moved out from that area we haven't been there since.we were there the other day and food was still the same but service was the worst! No one was around taking care of us.. we had to grab napkins from the table next to us.we needed more water we couldn't find anyone.till we finished we had to look for them and found them the other side of restaurant playing phone, chatting and hanging out there like "I don't care, I want to get tip without doing anything!" WOW! We didn't wanna leave any tip to be honest but we're always a big tippers so we left 18% with regret!

Really good value for their lunch sets! $10-14 for rice, edamame beans, salad, and 4 different kinds of meat! The server (Christian) was quite attentive too. I haven't really captioned anything because I can't tell the different meats apart. The servers explain what things are when they serve you things, but I have poor short term memory Update: Although the value is still very high, service can be really inconsistent here. The hostess sometimes doubles as a server, which can really delay the time at which people are able to check in for their reservations or add their name to the list. Additionally, difficult to get your server's attention. I feel like this place is highly understaffed. Additionally, the cut of the meat and the amount of meat for the same order can vary a lot from visit to visit... which should not be the case. When the cut looks different, I find myself doubting whether it's still the same kind of meat.

Our family of 4 loves DIY Japanese/Korean BBQs. The menu was confusing if you want the BBQ (what is the ala carte stuff and how much is it?), so we punted and just ordered the "Premium All You Can Eat" which is all the ala carte stuff we would have gotten anyway I guess. The server was friendly enough but took a long time to deliver everything, and kept reminding us of our 90 MINUTE LIMIT which was a little weird. I mean, I get it - they don't want people sitting there eating all day and there are still COVID restrictions, but all my husband asked for was a scoop of ice cream for dessert (included in the Premium group). She said no, we were past our time limit and came back with the bill. The BBQ meat was very good, that's why this gets 3 stars. The sides were just OK, our server didn't bring all the ones we ordered but everything took so long we didn't say anything.

We ended up at Gyu-Kaku randomly after a schedule mix-up, and needing somewhere new to eat for lunch. Just happened to find this place after a quick search of nearby restaurants on Yelp. We arrived right when it opened and were seated fairly quickly. Servers were very friendly and attentive. We opted for the Happy hour set, which is definitely a steal at $50. We added on a few more plates, but it was still more than enough for 2 people. Vegetables were pretty fresh and they offered excellent quality meats. My favorites were the pork belly and beef toro. We were only in town for 4-5 days, but we ended up trying Gyu-Kaku again because it was so delicious!!

Definitely good for a Japanese BBQ treat. It feels a teeny bit like a revolving door and a little impersonal, but you can definitely get your meat on! My friend made reservations, and we got a booth. (There were constant folks waiting on this Saturday early afternoon.) Our waitress was pretty inattentive and seemed a little not interested in being personable, but that's ok. We came here for the meat! I really liked most of what we got except one pork item, that was just too fatty and chewy. However, I'd definitely recommend the miso beef tongue, calamari, mushroom medley, and top it off with the green tea crepe cake. The menu has lots of photos and combinations if you're having trouble choosing.

I really liked dining here. Ordered right off the menu. Didn't do any of the preset items. Came with one other person and got about 3 small plates, 5 proteins for the BBQ and a few drinks. There was also FREE SMORES!!! That's always great. The server was super nice. A+ on the service. She came back to ask which drink we preferred and all that. Menu is very customizable. Great all around.

We went on a Sunday for lunch with reservation. We arrived on time but ended up late trying to find street parking, which was impossible. The restaurant called us about 10-15 minutes after our reservation time to confirm whether we would still be dining with them so we ended up parking at the closest parking garage. The restaurant is located on the second floor. We were immediately greeted by a hostess and seated. The table seating was very spacious compared to the Brookline location that my husband and I always go to. This was a plus especially if your group of four was two adults and two kids. There was plenty of room for the kids to stretch. Now if this was four adults, there would still be plenty of room. Our waiter did not come over until about 10 minutes or so. Somehow, I was expecting the same prompt service as their first restaurant in Brookline. Once our waiter showed up, everything went smoothly. Food arrived to the table a steady pace. During happy hours, only the happy hour menu and buffet menu is available. However, you can order from the full menu. They just won't provide you with the menu so you're have to ask. The restaurant was very dimly lit. The table, booth seating, and floor was a bit grimy? I was hoping food would compensate but I was disappointed. Food did not taste the same as their Brookline location. The addicting cabbage tasted slightly saltier. Their fries with cod roe mayonnaise dipping was very greasy. Their lamb was gamey. Their Shishito peppers was very oily, spicy, and there were only four? The fact that one accidentally went down the trachea (wind pipe) instead of esophagus didn't help. I thought I was going to die. This is entirely my fault and not the restaurant. Their cuts of meat were haphazardly cut and comparatively smaller in portion to the Brookline location. Overall, I would choose the Brookline location over the Harvard location. The food is significantly better at their Brookline location. Service started off rocky at the Harvard location but overall satisfactory. Brookline location is much more prompt and well managed. See my pictures.

It was my friend's birthday. And she from Las Vegas and she is a big fan of Gyu-Kaku in Boston. Every times she visits me, she always wanna go to Gyu-Kaku. I decided to book for 8 people for her birthday and bought the cake in which I asked and mentioned since i booked in and confirmed with the person who called to confirmed the appointment . I spoke with the receptionist that i want to have a cake surprise at the end. And you know what. Everything was so slow on that day and we were understanding them all the time that they might have a short staff. Because we have to repeat many times for our orders which we did not get it yet. And end up that many things missing but never mind. Then I reminded the waitress that I needed the cake to bring it out to the table. Then she forgot it. At the end she came at the table and said we had to leave because another party group is waiting????? We said we were waiting for the cake then she realized and oh i am so sorry. She bought it out and told us to bring it back!!! Because it had no time. We spent over 700$ and big tip for her service which it was not even perfect but At least I expected to bring the cake out because i had prepared for the whole time. And i Keep reminding them again and again!!!! I am so disappointed but i did not say anything at that time because i dont want my friends to get disappointed. They came here to have fun and enjoy there food!

This is by far one of my favorite places to eat at. The price is a bit high (~$40-$50 per person), but that's to be expected at an AYCE bbq place. I absolutely love their marinated meat. I actually like most of their beef options, but the marinated ones are so flavorful and delicious. They offer three sauces, but the one I liked the most was the spicy one. I didn't understand why they were selling sauces at first, but after eating it with the meat, I wanted a bottle to take home. I also loved that they offered s'mores(I think this is only for the holidays). It was fun to grill the marshmallow over the grill and a perfect way to end the meal. There is a 2 hour limit, so I made sure that the grill was constantly filled with meat. A tip is to go toward closing time since they don't really keep track at the end of the day. Overall, I left this place with a stuffed and happy stomach.

Review #998. Ah, so close to my 1,000th review. I have been to the midtown east location of Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ. When I found out that there is a location at Harvard Square, I was so happy. What was even more astonishing was the fact that I didn't have to visit during an odd hour (say like at 3:55 PM on a Wednesday) like I did at NYC. In other words, I can walk in at like noon and be able to get seated right away. Whoa! This doesn't really happen in NYC. Because it is Japanese style, expect to spend a decent amount of money here to get yourself stuffed. I was here with a friend, and our bill came out to be $100 after tax and tips. We opted for the AYCE "premium" menu that is $35/person on weekdays (for food of course, as alcohol discount is illegal in this beautiful state). There is a 90-minute limit, which is the norm. Our waiter was friendly, but he was hard to track down from time to time as he was always in the kitchen/back. I had to grab another waiter for assistance a couple of times The food, of course, is of high quality. Does it justify the $100 bill? I am not entirely sure. However, good food and ambiance warrant a five-star review. I am never a fan of having to cook my own food and then pay tips. But, that is expected at Japanese (or sometimes Korean) bbq restaurants. I'd totally revisit this place since there is like no wait time like the ones in NYC. I'd say come here for special occasions, maybe. The food is good, but the cost adds up together quickly.

Where KBBQ is lacking in Boston, Gyu-Kaku makes up for it with their fantastic selection and cuts of meat. Although the portion sizes are fairly small for each meat entree, their combination menu makes it really easy to grill your meat at a relatively decent price and allows you to try a variety of meats. We ordered the Meat Lovers ($65) BBQ Course which came with: Miso, Soup ×2, Regular White Rice ×2, Edamame, Half Gyu-Kaku Salad ×2, Japanese Chicken Karaage, Premium Sirloin, Yaki-Shabu Beef, Bistro Hanger Steak, Umakara Ribeye, Garlic Shio Cabbage, New York Steak, Toro Beef, and S'mores 2 pcs. Perfect to share with two people! Most of the raw meat came out around the same time and the salads, soups, and cooked meat came out as appetizers before the raw meat. At some point, I couldn't keep track of which meats were which but all of them were super well marinated, tender, and filling. The combination of all of the dishes worked so well together and as other reviewers have mentioned, the seasoning and sweetness of the marination allowed for a perfect caramelization of the meat to provide that perfect salty and sweet combination. Note that all of the meats have some sort of sweet marination so if that's not your cup of tea, would not recommend getting the BBQ courses as majority of them will be sweet. Also loved how the meal ended with smores as dessert and more BBQ places should do this!v It was a fun and creative way to finish off the meal! Although we dined in during Covid, I still feel like we got the full BBQ experience and felt super safe doing so. They take your temperature before you're seated, the tables next to you are kept empty, servers wear masks, and everything is socially distanced. And they are very meticulous in cleaning up after each meal and you are not given metal utensils, everything is plastic and disposable. Overall, loved our experience, great bang for your buck dinner, and loved being able to go back to grilling meat on the table, despite the ongoing pandemic. Would recommend if you want to try out different cuts of meat!

We ordered the meat lovers set ( for 2 people). Portion was more than enough for us two. Meat was ok. My boyfriend though everything was great but I had a tough time chewing some pieces, especially with the kalbi. Wish they had been more tender. Flavoring overall was good, they also have ponzu, some spice sauce( wasn't very spicy), and sweet soy. Highlight for me was actually everything that wasn't the bbq meat. Loved the karaage( crispy, tasty, goes great with the sauce), salad and s'mores. Waiter was so friendly and kept checking up on us, but he spoke so quickly I couldn't process anything haha. Felt the pressure to finish quickly because they did everything so fast and we were informed beforehand that another reservation was after us so we had a little over an hour. Download their app like 24 hours beforehand to get 10 dollars off 30 deal.

Meat portions are very small. Went I left, I felt hungry and hustled. I was looking for a substitute for a Korean barbecue, this place did not qualify. The staff wasn't super helpful either. The meat quality and the marinade on some of the cuts I'd give a C+/B- grade.

Gyu kaku is one of my favorite places for Japanese BBQ. My boyfriend and I came here for dinner with reservations. We had the ultimate all you can eat and we for sure ordered wayyyyy too much than we can eat! But we stuffed ourselves because everything was too good haha. The server was friendly too and checked in on us several times. First time in the Cambridge area gyu kaku too which was nice.

I agree with the other tellers that his location is not as good as I would've imagined for Gyu Kaku. My first experience with Gyu Kaku was in NYC midtown. I was pretty impressed by the quality of the food and the service in the NYC location. Unfortunately I didn't make a reservation so I wasn't able to try their beef. So when I was in Cambridge and saw this location is within walking distance to my hotel, I was like "yes!!!! I gotta try their Bbq this time!" So I made a reservation on opentable, and was able to get seated pretty quick. I ordered the American wagyu galbi, Hot oil salmon. The presentation of hot oil salmon was just sad. Looked nothing like what I got in nyc. Then came the beef, the color of the beef looked nothing like their menu pic. When I tried it, it was kinda tendon-y if you know what I mean. Not what I would expect for wagyu beef and certainly not $25 worth of a few thin strips of beef. Service was meh as well. The bathroom was dirty too. Wouldn't return anytime soon.