Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

A good option if you're in a pinch for Japanese BBQ on the West End. Gyu-Kaku has been around for ages and they have a decent a la carte menu along with a great AYCE option. The price is a bit steep for the premium menu ($60), but if you're hungry and can take down a pile of meat, you'll get your money's worth as the food options (apps, cooked food, meat) and quality is pretty good. I suggest street parking, as it's pretty abundant and if you don't mind walking a little bit it's free in the residential areas. I'll definitely be back if I'm craving some Japanese AYCE in the area.

I was surprised when I came in as half of the tables they said they were waiting for the inspector to come and until then they can't use them The place is dirty. The plates are old and they have chips in them. The trays are super old. The bathroom is totally disgusting really really dirty The food was OK with the steak. I felt like we were getting scraps and not nice slices. Haven't been here in a while just totally disappointed. I don't think I'm coming back.

I would give this place 4 stars for the food but service always lacks ! You're usually seated immediately, get water , drinks and get your order in but once your food arrives you don't really get checked on for refills or anything . Parking in this location is terrible - street parking only . Now for the good - the quality of food here is excellent !! Price wise it's great too ! You order your meats and veggies and cook them yourself on a table side grill . It makes for a great experience. The garlic noodles and beef rice are my favorites- these come already cooked . I always eat so much I can never try the deserts and they have smores ....yum . They have chicken , steak , shrimp , tofu , various veggies and the plates are small . I hope your good with chop sticks lol enjoy

This place was so fun and delicious! Harami and Kalbi are my two favorite meats here. We went during the 5-6:30pm HH prices! Got the cream cheese wontons, Yuzu Avocado Salad, Garlic Noodles with chicken, and corn cheese butter! Everything was so yummy. Service was very fast and knowledgeable too. Would go here again!

This place is pretty good, just a little pricey. They have an all you can eat menu ($65) that involves the full menu. The dinner package is a good deal for little last of everything including apps. Service can be a little spotty sometimes but usually very good. The inside is very dark so keep that in mind, but you don't leave smelling like meat which is a good thing.

We were a party of 5 and was seated right away since I made a reservation. The place itself is fairly small but it was still nice and clean. The staff was nice, we were greeted as we walked in and out. It was Friday night so it was busy, the food took longer than usual but it was alright. We got the premium all you can eat and I swear I don't remember it being $60 but I guess the menu changed again? or not sure if it's just this location - overall it's worth it though because there's a lot of meat & appetizer option. Some favorites (premium menu) for meat it would be the Harami Skirt Steak & Premium Sirloin - appetizers; cheese corn, yuzu avocado salad, bacon chips - aaaand garlic fried rice yuuummm! Overall for Los Angeles location I think this one is better than Santa Monica (service wise), However, the SAMO location is bigger & more modern with the style.

Make a reservation. This place is popular. Wow, this place has stepped up a notch from the last time I came. Garlic noodles, volcano tuna, just order it, it's so good. Bbq is good as usual. Service from Eduardo was absolutely exceptional. When I asked his name, he said he was the manager. He was so sweet, courteous and attentive I would 100% hire him if I owned a restaurant. No Smoke!! At a bbq place? That is unheard of. I had my hair just tied up in a ponytail and when I came home it till smelled like shampoo. I had a booth and put my baby in the corner in his car seat. No strollers in the hallways because it's tight, but I'm okay with that.

Good food but the ice machine is always broken. And given that you literally cook the food yourself, the service is often mysteriously slow. FIX THE ICE MACHINE ALREADY! It makes you wonder what else in the kitchen they're letting slide...

I love this place! We come pretty often, all the food is delicious ! If you sign up for rewards you get 15% off your meal for your birthday and they send deals throughout the year! This location is on the smaller side but service is still great! The ambience is nice and I like how cozy it is too.

Good food, helpful service, warm tabletop grills that do the cooking trick! We had three kinds of meat (shrimp, pork, and steak) and broccoli and garlic spinach. Price was fair.

My first Dine LA lunch experience was less than stellar. We went to gyu-kaku because the $25 lunch set is a great deal for this place. You get salad, miso soup, white rice, 1 appetizer, 2 meat dishes, 1 vegetable and smores for dessert. Unfortunately, the service wasn't great, the karaage appetizer was so dry - it was tiny pieces of overbooked chicken, I wanted to return it but was hesitated because service wasn't good. The meats (all beef) were all good but we didn't get the dipping sauce until well into our meal though I asked. Our server came back to check on us towards the end of the meal - it's unfortunate because for the first 15 minutes, we were the only customer and there were 2 other tables after that so there was no reason to get this type of service. Nonetheless the deal is great!

I'll give it a 3.6. Randomally stopped in here today. Walked in, hostess walked up and asked it we had a reservation. Girl, what, it's Friday at 1pm. No, we don't...Lol She seemed a little bothered that we didnt, nonetheless she grabbed two menus and sat us. I really enjoyed the crunchy garlic shrimp noodles. Everything else was just okay. The restaurant is small, but it works. Honestly, I didn't like the vibe. They weren't welcoming at all. I doubt if I go back.

Food and service is good. I just always feels rushed when I am in there. Seems they want you in and out fast. Slow down!

At 4:30 pm we walk in and nobody comes to seat us. Not a big deal. I walk toward the back and ask to be seated and was ushered away like I wasn't supposed to be there. The bathroom had water or some other liquid all over the floor. Almost the entire floor. When I sit down, the table is sticky, the chair is sticky and the menus are all sticky. We left. Couldn't imagine eating any of their food after all that.

This is the second time I've gone to Gyu Kaku and the service has always been slow. They took very long to serve us. If you can't serve that many people, please refrain from accepting reservation for 6. The rice was uncooked. At least this time the server did not forget our food The funny thing is we saw our 4 appetizers at the counter, sitting for at least 10 minutes. Someone came, put them down, took the tickets, then left. Another one came, put them back on the counter. This happened a few times. We could just reached over to get them but didn't want to confuse as their tickets were still there. The other Gyu Kaku was also slow. I would not recommend going for a party of 6. Since they only give us one grill and it was rather difficult for those in the corner to do so.

Love love love!! This place is good. I always get there to go orders to avoid the cooking lol but they always hit the spot. Great quality and taste for a great price.

Great location for chillin' and grillin' delicious steak, chicken, shrimp, veggies, and to enjoy a variety of appetizers, sides, and certainly dessert. This place is always popular so make a reservation or come early! All you can eat is a great savings if you're really hungry!

I really wouldn't go to this location. I was there last week and termites kept falling into my food from the ceiling it was disgusting and unsettling and I couldn't eat my food that I paid for. It's put me off Japanese bbq for awhile.

We made a reservation on open tables. The host doesn't even greet us just yells if we have a reservation. We do, but it's not in their system. No problem, we wait. I sat at the only chair available next to the host stand. The taller young waiter looks at me and chucks the menus right behind by head hitting me in my ear. Not only that it was so loud it was painful. I left in tears and needless to say I won't be going back there again. Food might even be good! But we will never know.

Quality meat at price competitive with Korean ayce. Tasty. With a 20% senior discount, it's a steal. Service is good. Ambience feels Japanese-y. Not sure if coals are used. Accepts solo diners. Recommended.

I love this place. The food is fantastic. The ambience is awesome and the people that serve Gwen and Robbie complete the experience. They're both so much fun so nice.

We ordered the Meat Lover's Course meal for the two of us. Overall had a great experience from the food to the service. The portion was just perfect for the two of us. I can't remember which exact meats were my favorite and least favorite, but I do remember that I preferred the thicker meats than the thinner meats because they were more flavorful. I enjoyed this course meal since I didn't need to choose what to try and that there was a variety of things such as salads, appetizers, meats, and dessert!

Tasty Tasty Tasty Those words cross our mind and mout a lot when eating at Gyu-Kaku. They have good meat. I dont experience any setback on the quality of the food they have. I dont know how other review get that :) The servers, all are very pleasant and they are kind enough to explain estimated cook time for different kinds of meat. All are inside seating when we dine. Coming back? Yes, sure. They open until 21:30 ish. It is a good spot to have (late) dinner. Only downside is parking. Well, you get that a lot in LA :)

Diana was our server but the service here was more than excellent! Everyone was so nice, so caring and there was not one server who did not ask if we were okay! The food was great and we did not have to wait for anything. I would definitely return here and recommend everyone that if you're debating because it's a little too far, TAKE THE DRIVE! It is worth it I promise! Thank you all for such great service! Kudos to the whole team!

Food, Service, Ambiance is top notch! I went on a date with my boyfriend and it was perfect. Food was GREAT! The meats are perfectly portioned to allow you to be able to try multiple choices. Hanger steak has to be the best out of all of them. If you're a dessert person try the smore! Above all else the service was super great! The server "Silver" was running circles around the place and never kept us waiting for anything. I was so impressed and was super grateful for him making our night so nice. Thank you so much for this! We will definitely come back just because of him. I even had an incident where another guest accidentally spilt a drink on my lap but everyone handled it so fast and got me a new drink right away, excellent job. New fav BBQ spot, will be back again

Gyu-Kaku is an outstanding restaurant with a truly delectable menu. One of their standout dishes is the garlic rice, which is simply amazing. The combination of perfectly cooked rice and the rich, flavorful garlic seasoning creates a truly unforgettable culinary experience. Additionally, Gyu-Kaku's loyalty program is something that I absolutely love. It rewards frequent diners with exclusive perks and discounts, making each visit even more enjoyable. Overall, Gyu-Kaku is a top-notch dining destination that never fails to impress with its delicious food and exceptional loyalty program.

This place is great but make sure to make a reservation when going. I have come here countless times and at various locations and never seem to dissapoint. They have great food along with great service. Only complaint is if you don't really specificy and start ordering larger quanties of meat they bring it in smaller portions but you can just ask them to bring the larger serving size.

This place is a must for me. It's noisy, crowded, it smells like bbq but I like it every single time. Service was ok, and the food it's great. Good choice the menu for 3 ppl, a lot of good food for us 3. We're full!

Excellent food. Excellent service Excellent atmosphere. Came for a late lunch and it was all very good. And great recommendations

Came here for dinner on a Thursday with friends, had a reservation so was seated relatively quickly but the restaurant seemed like it was full. We ordered a combo (one 6 person combo and one 2 person combo since apparently we can't do add one to make it an 8), all of the items were delicious but I felt like the serving sizes were small, if we were all going in there with an appetite it probably wouldn't have been enough. The place needs some vents though, nearly the entire restaurant was filled with smoke the whole time from the meat being grilled, and it felt like I was gonna get bronchitis by the time I walked out. Service was fast and polite, our server Erin(?) was on point the whole time and super friendly, give her a raise!

I love love love coming to Gyu kaku when Molly, Jose and Erin are around~ they truly make the dining experience special, not only are they are attentive fast individuals, they always make sure things are running smoothly. I will be bringing friends and family for years to come! Please promote and give love to Molly, Jose, and Erin! Love yallllllllll

went with a group of 7, takes reservations so as long as the entire party is there on time, you'll be seated promptly. it's a small restaurant but i like that our group had our own large table with two grills. it does get busy though, so you'd have to hail down someone to continue ordering. AYCE time limit begins with the first round/order, and menu has so many options - from appies to desserts. they don't have radish paper but their garlic rice was so good! especially loved topping our dinner off with s'mores grilled over the fire.

늦게 나오는거 빼고는 다 괜찮았어요 그 흰밥 말고 갈릭 밥 있는데 그거는 돌솥에 개 크게 나와서 두명이서 하나 나눠드시는거 추천드립니다 고기는 돼지보다는 소고기가 맛있었구요 샐러드류나 반찬류 시켜야 덜 질리고 많이 먹을 수 있었어요

This makes such a perfect date night! They are doing reservations so I would highly recommend doing that since waiting for a table can take a really, REALLY long time. They have a pre-set meal for two for about $70 that comes with a good assortment of meats (mainly beef and some pork) as well as miso soup, rice, and salad. It ends with s'mores too that is just a great way to end the feast! It's slightly different compared to KBBQ so you won't get fermented sides, but worth it for a different experience. The marinades are a bit more nuanced imo. They aren't really doing Happy Hour or All You Can Eat from when we went, but hopefully with progress in handling COVID it will be back to normal soon. Their HH deals are really top notch so looking forward to that coming back!!

Love this spot, it's one of my regular neighborhood hangouts. I've been going here for years, always great service and low wait times. Molly is a fantastic server, always happy to be there and great at making us feel welcome! Definitely try the sukiyaki bibimbap, also if you're feeling like something lighter the lunch special is excellent.

Recently visited here and having only been to one Gyu-Kaku (in Texas) I had high hopes for this one too. A couple of notes: The staff was super friendly upon entering and the wait was not too long, probably caught the post lunch rush hours. The food was really well made. Everything was well seasoned and the flavors were excellent. I really enjoyed the short rib as it was the most tender and sweet of the meats without any sauce involved. Overall, the experience was pleasant and would definitely recommend this place. If you're looking for a good time with some good tasting Japanese bbq, this place has it! Just be weary of parking in the area as it is pretty bad.

Delicious. Very different from a Korean Bbq in that you're paying for the quality of cuts, which means that if you stuff yourself here, you leave feeling like you ate a ton of protein and not just a ton of fat and oil. Of course, red meat in excess is never the healthiest choice but are you really reading this review or considering this place for a healthy eat? If you're on the fence about coming here, we recommend it! It's on the pricier side, but their set menus are delicious and we enjoyed almost all the cuts. The smores dessert at the end is a fun little gimmick that is honestly ingenious to include, and we loved the experience. Our favorite was probably the hangar steak or the other add on to the set menu. I wish we got the beef bimbimbap instead of white rice but I was comfortably too full to move at the end of the set menu and my partner and I brought home at least two whole boxes of leftovers.

hav been going to this location for years, and it is always amazing! they're thorough with safety rules regarding the grill, and are quick with serving!

I'm so disappointed in how downhill this location has gone. The service and the personnel were great and very polite but I may never step foot into that location ever again after the quality of the food I received. I was just at the Sherman Oaks location about 2.5 weeks ago and were talking about a 4 point difference in food quality on a 1-5 scale. Don't know what's changed in West LA in the last year but I sure hope the owner recognizes it and fixes it soon. I was with a part of 4 others and we all got walked out extremely distraught at the quality of all the meats and even the simplest things like the garlic noodles and the bibimbap.

This is my favorite place to eat. Everything is phenomenal! My favorites are the spicy cucumbers (believe it or not ) , but hay are so refreshing and full of flavor. Next would be the egg drop soup just rich and full, my God! See some of my faves below. Gyu Sushi New York strip Bacon chips Spicy Cucumber Cheese corn butter Egg Soup Kalbi Chuck Rib

I love Gyu-Kaku!! Their rewards program also makes dining in really worth it, so be sure to sign up for that. This location is a little small and parking is a bit of a pain, so we always take the bus... plus we don't have to think about DD and drink during their happy hour. Be sure to come outside the peak dinner hours to save even more money! Great service and tasty food! We like the higher quality meats so we order a la carte instead of the sets. They also offer DineLA which is quite a steal! I'm obsessed with their garlic noodles and spicy cucumber appetizer as well.

We had lunch and the service was wonderful. Our server Jorge was amazing and everything came out perfect and on time. Thank you!

The food is good as usual but service is lacking, more waiters are needed. The biggest issue is lack of ventilation. It's probably in violation of some health codes but unless you want to eat with smoke all over the place I would avoid this location.

Came on a Sunday and didn't realize it was happy hour. Happy hour prices are in red. Ordered one of the course sets. The set came with miso soup, salad, edamame, rice and 6 different types of meats. If it is your first time, i would highly recommend ordering a set so you could try a variety and see which ones you really like. Some meats were already marinated with sauces such as miso and sweet soy tare. I personally like the sweet soy tare better than the miso. My 2 favorite meats were the toro beef and angus beef rib. One annoying thing is when meats are marinated, you need to change the grill more often. Overall, i like this place. Sometimes ayce kbbq is too much but the amount in a course set is perfect.

Food is delicious, reasonably priced, and always a good experience. Our server, Christian, was very attentive and the absolute nicest!

Food always phenomenal and the coldest beer In town. Garlic noodle is to die for along with the delicious cuts of meat they have

We have come to this restaurant twice before tonight when we decided to come out for my birthday for a quick dinner celebration after work and experienced the *worst* service we've ever had. We were seated in the middle of the restaurant right by the PO system and the kitchen window and still somehow we were completely forgotten (or maybe ignored). Our server left in the middle of me ordering my drink without saying anything and never came back to check if I had decided what I wanted. I had to put in my drink order with someone else who walked by after a friendly person who gave us our waters suggested a drink to me. My drink came out almost immediately but then we waited for my boyfriend's beer to come out and all of our starters had come out as well as a mistaken order of white rice before we realized they probably forgot he had ordered a beer and we asked someone who walked by. The whole meal we were basically ignored, nobody offered us a water refill until we had already finished eating and left our cups at the end of our table. We never got a grill change nor were we asked if we wanted one through our entire meal despite needing one. We were asked if we wanted the check by the friendly person who had given me a drink suggestion and she brought us boxes however our server was nowhere to be found throughout all of this. We put our card down and notably someone picked that up immediately when the rest of the night we had been ignored. We had also put in our reservation notes that it was my birthday in hopes we'd at least get a small candle on the dessert that already came with our meal but once again we were disappointed. (Why even ask for special requests if you won't honor them??) Thank you to the person who brought us our meats and explained the cook times to us, and thank you to the person who suggested which sake to get, you were both wonderful! I gave 2 stars for you two and the food was pretty good but unfortunately the service from everyone else was memorable in the worst way. I'd like to add that my boyfriend works in the restaurant business and I have as well in the past so we're sympathetic when it seems like the odds are stacked against our server, however this was not the case tonight. There were 15 tables max in the whole restaurant and definitely enough bodies that this should not have been as big of an issue as it was. I don't know if they prioritize AYCE parties or if this was an organizational issue but it was really disappointing to have this happen on my birthday.

I've tried other Gyu-Kaku locations and this is by far my favorite location! The food is always good regardless the location but the main reason that I like this one is because one of the main servers, Christian (?) (dude with long hair tied up in a bun usually) is suuuuper nice and attentive! He is always so friendly and welcoming! If he ever stops working here, I think my rating would be different. Thank you!

Max was an excellent server. Our dinner was delicious and great atmosphere. So happy we chose this restaurant to celebrate a birthday. Ask for Max!!