Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

I was hungry and don’t eat a lot but that was perfect for me and my Fiancée. We ordered from the Premium menu first- Great move! The premium sirloin, Harami Skirt steak, Beef Tongue, then ordered from the menu on first page- Umakara Ribeye. Also from the Premium steak again with the Kalbi Chuck Rib, and the Bistro Hanger Steak. 🥩 All very tender and delicious! The Beef Shukiyaki Rice was delicious too. 🤤

Overall, everything was quite good. The atmosphere was fun, especially the idea that you get to cook yourself. The presentation was interesting. The beer was tasty. The pasta was also delicious. The only thing that was really bad was the asparagus – it was old and not tasty. And the dessert, the matcha tiramisu, was half-frozen, which completely spoiled the flavor. The biscuit was just plain and not softened, and the cream was hard to taste because it felt like eating grated ice. Maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be, I don’t know, as I tried it for the first time and really wanted to experience it. And if the front door was cleaner, the place would look nicer.

We went for lunch and it exceeded our expectations. ***20% kama’aina discount at lunch, 15% at dinner!*** The lunch special is 2 items for $18/3 for $23, includes miso soup, Japanese salad, and a bowl of rice. Tons of food! Lots of meat! Lots of upgrade options, but the regular lunch items are delicious. We upgraded 2/3 of our meat options, added a few veggies, and got the garlic fried rice (which comes in a hot pot, so the rice got crispy on the bottom!). Taylor was our waitress and she was very friendly, helpful, and professional. Service was super fast. The restaurant is very clean, comfortable, and conveniently located.

I’m so sad we discovered this place on our last day in hawaii,because we definitely didn’t get enough! We got the all you can eat and a beef ramen. I can’t even describe how good that ramen was. The teriyaki chicken and the New York steak are my favorites from the bbq.

Stumbled on this hidden gem. All you can eat for $35. Plenty of options. Come hungry. Our server was fast and very attentive. Highly recommend

Fun spot in Waikiki if you’re craving hands-on Japanese BBQ! The meat quality was solid—especially the kalbi short rib and the garlic shrimp. The marinades were flavorful and everything cooked up perfectly right at the table. We went with one of the combo sets and it was a great value for the amount of food you get. The rice, miso soup, and dipping sauces complemented everything really well. Service was friendly and fast, and the vibe inside was casual and upbeat—great for a date night or small group. Only reason I knocked off a star was the slightly tight seating area, but overall, it’s a delicious and interactive dining experience that’s well worth trying in Waikiki.

The food featured average-quality meat, and I couldn’t believe they charged extra for the kimchi—it was very sour and not fresh at all, costing almost $7! The salad and chicken appetizer were good, and the rice tasted acceptable. However, the service was disappointing, as they forgot several items we ordered.

Absolutely amazing Japanese BBQ experience in Honolulu! My girlfriend and I came here for dinner and it was one of the highlights of our trip. The quality of the meats was top-notch—melt-in-your-mouth wagyu, perfectly marinated cuts, and super fresh veggies. We loved being able to grill everything ourselves right at the table—it made the whole experience really fun and interactive. The service was friendly and attentive without being overbearing, and the atmosphere had that cozy, modern vibe. Great music, clean setup, and the staff even checked in to make sure we were grilling things the right way. Honestly, it felt like a hidden gem. If you’re into Japanese BBQ, this spot is a must-visit. We left full and happy haha!

My favorite Japanese bbq spot. The quality of the meats are great, the portions are generous, and I love the spicy bbq sauce. We did our family Christmas dinner here last year and no one missed the traditional holiday dinner.

My husband and I made reservations and came for happy hour. We were greeted when we entered, and were seated promptly. We reviewed the menu, as first timers we asked our waiter for suggestions- we opted for the custom course for 2- getting the gyu kaku salad, fried pork gyoza dumplings, and selected 5 meats. First off wow! It is a lot of food, great value for the price in my opinion. However service in my opinion lacked. I ordered a mixed drink, my husband got his, we already received our appetizers and 2 meats before receiving it. My water cup also remained unrefilled, ending up drinking my husbands water.

We visited this Japanese BBQ restaurant and had a pleasant experience. The service was friendly, and the decor was lovely, creating a nice atmosphere. As an all-you-can-eat spot, it offered the typical selection you'd expect. While there was nothing extraordinary, it's still a solid choice for a satisfying meal. Overall, a nice place to dine.

Found a good deal on UberEats for two beef bowls. We asked for sauce/dressing on the side. Overall, pretty good deal and cheap. I would say standard quality, nothing extraordinary for the beef bowl. However, the salad dressing hit some type of way lol. Check this place out for a quick pickup experience on Ubereats/Postmates!

Had lunch for today in Gyu Kaku. It was a great experience! The service was also great, they make sure our grill is always clean so doesnt burnt up, refill the water quickly, and was very nice (there were 3 people in total serving us) I like all the meat selections in the all you can eat menu. The miso soup was a little bit flat but the seaweed soup is okay.

So good!!! We have gyu-kaku at home but it's nowhere near as good. Service here is so friendly and always checking in, even if they aren't your main server. The AYCE is a great deal, especially if you're 60+ or have a child. Everything was delicious. We made a reservation and it was pretty empty when we first got there but filled up very quick. Can't recommend enough

PARKING IS A RIP OFF. Don't park in the parking lot Air Garage who ribs the parking lot has no Aloha. The restaurant has no connection to the parking and was not very helpful. The advertise 3 hours free with validation. We were at the restaurant for just under and got and was charged 20.10. I emailed Air Garage and the only offered a 5.00 refund. We won't be going back to Gyu-Kaku. The food was decent but the parking sucks.

Yes another Gyu-kaku Japanese BBQ. I love this chain AYCE BBQ. They have gyu-kaku everywhere and the quality is always consistent and delicious at this location in Hawaii. We visited for a late lunch and had lots of meats. The food and the service was good. It was what I expected from Gyu-Kaku chains. Would definitely recommend for an AYCE dine in experience.

The last time we were here, it was 13 years ago on our honeymoon. It's still a good place however it seems like the quality of the overall experiences has taken a turn south. The meat selections are of lower quality and the restaurant has had absolutely no capital improvements whatsoever. The place is in dire need of some repairs and upgrades.

You can't go wrong with AYCE BBQ! We loved the food and service. The staff were attentive, and the manager was very friendly, we will definitely return in the future.

Food always good. Never fail to make me happy. (Food is one of my happiness ) Service is also always good. Waiters and waitresses are always look so cheerful and happy to help you. I come her many times a year cause it's one of our whole family favorite. Ambiance, you can dress up for special occasion or dress down for quick lunch wirh husband or friends.

We visited on vacation and this is probably the most memorable experience I've ever had in relevance to BBQ style dining. All of the sides and protein options were delicious! Service was prompt and fantastic throughout our entire meal. The icing on the cake was the s'more dessert at the end in which you get to roast your own marshmallows over the open flame! Highly recommend! Make sure to reserve a table!

We had chelsey today and she gave us amazing service , the food Was amazing and the ambiance loud as usual

Tried the all you can eat lunch special back in may and it was delicious!! Amazing cuts of meat. We were also able to try the wagyu nigiri. Interesting. A lil too much rice for my taste but it was good. Happy hour drinks were a steal. The meats were all good quality. Love that they have a sign to show you approximately how long to cook different cuts of meat. Love that's it's right on Waikiki half a block behind Louis Vuitton. Very easy to walk off the huge filling meal. 10/10 would recommend.

We came in for a late night meal after a day of travel and it was everything we hoped and more. Everyone was so kind and helpful and we, being in the service industry as well, appreciated that everyone was working as a team to take care of us! We will be back.

Ah, I'm so happy we tried this place. My friend recommended this place for some Japanese BBQ and it did not disappoint! Pricey, but WORTH!!! We made some reservations in the morning (definitely recommend) and had our dinner around 7:30PM. It started to pick up when we arrived, but thankfully we got seated right away! Our server was quick and efficient. I believe we ordered from section A. Which was honestly good enough for us- MORE than enough for us! I was a bit bummed they had no more wagyu when we came :( but everything else was good. I like how the servers tell you how long to cook each meat/vegetable for. Everything comes in small portions, so you're able to keep your appetite for a lil longer and you're not constantly eating up all the sides like KBBQ. I'm craving this again as I write this review, but I already can't wait to come back!!!

BRUH!! I ordered TWO rice bowls take out and requested utensils and you really just put ONE set of utensils in there?!? You want me to eat with my hands, mada f-er?

If you want an authentic Japenese experience, this is it. They serve Yakiniku (Japanese BBQ) here where you cook steak, chicken, and more right at your table. You might be tempted to do one of the combos or all-you-can-eat, but it's a lot of food. We just did a steak, a chicken, an appetizer, and a drink and the price was under $60 for two. Bring a fan if you get hot. The grill is right in front of you in your table. It's a really fun place.

Great Japanese BBQ. The servers were nice and attentive. Service was a little slow, but may be because it was full when we went.

House sake small is huge!!! The steak was incredible. Service was spot on. The edamame is free with yelp check in.

I was so excited to find out that Gyu-Kaku had gluten free marinades for their meats! This was a game changer. I had always assumed that I wouldn't be able to eat there because it wouldn't have gluten free options. Went there for lunch and ordered the all you can eat lunch special. Service was attentive and thorough. Sterling and Kiana covered how to grill our meats when bringing the items to the table. My favorite meat was the yakishabu. The inside was a little warmer than expected for me but my meal overall was enjoyable and I left looking forward to dining again. I really loved that their physical menus had labels for items that were gluten free. Five stars because of service and the taste of the food for people who need to eat gluten free. They also had a kamaaina discount at this location.

I love this place in Chicago and was super excited to see the had a location in Honolulu. I'm typically against going to chains that I have at home while traveling but I had already been craving Gyu-Kaku. I made a reservation online yet when we got there around 1pm on Sunday there was plenty of space available for walk ins as well. We took an Lyft yet it would have been walkable from the hotel. It's near a lot of the fancy shops on a side street. The service was amazing. Everyone worked in a team. Our grill went out and few times but someone rushed right over each time. The food was extremely fresh and it was a large serving. I do feel they're a bit pricer than at home. I ordered the lunch special which came with the choice of 3 meats yet all the meats I wanted were +6 or + 3 dollars each. So $22.95 quickly raised in price. I also think $8 for the very small amount of veggies wasn't worth it. I do like that rice and soup came with the lunch special. We ordered a s'more as well. Def a great, fun and tasty place to visit while traveling.

Went here for pur 10 year Anniversary dinner. We enjoyed it very much. All the food was very tasty and the Mango Tango drinks are very good. You cook your own meat/seafood/pork selections. We will come back again. Give it a try for yourself.

We came here for an early dinner. It's a few steps off the busy Main Street of downtown Waikiki. We had 4 hungry mouths so we ordered the 4 person meal. They have 3 ways to order: 1. Use their pre- designated menu combos what we got) where you cook it yourself. 2. A la cart items. Tons of meats to choose from. 3. Regular menu items cooked for you.. I think I saw sushi and chicken dishes. Our dinner came with an assortment of beefs, basil chicken, shrimp, and love. We all got fully stuffed! We ended with a s'mores (comes with the meal). It all was about $200, tip included. Go check it out.

I have been going to gyu kaku in Waikiki for several years but stoped 3 years ago. When I went then the meat was like card board very chewy and hard to eat. So yesterday I went again figuring I would give them another chance. I told the waitress that I had a bad experience here before and to please make sure I a got a good selection of beef. Sure enough it came out of 6 pieces of meat one was good the other 5 like cardboard. But mine was better than my wife's. she has an iron stomach and never gets sick. Leave it to gyu Kaku to change that. She had an upset stomach and had to stay two steps to the bathroom room for several hours. 3 step she may have soiled her paints. The quantity of the bad meat and bird food rice were both small. They will not get another chance for awhile. It was not the staffs fault as they were very kind. The owner needs to not keep cutting cost by ordering cheap outdated meat. East here at your own risk and remember 2 steps

It was a solid 6/10 as far as tastiness. It's pricey, but so is everything else in the area. You do have to make a reservation. The meat was okay, but the star of the show was their side dishes and the drinks. I definitely recommend trying their lychee drinks. And ordering their broccoli. I do think they just raised their prices for the all you can eat menus, so be aware of that.

Waikiki Gyu Kaku location is high quality. Only issue is that parking is tough in this area! Highly recommend making a reservation to ensure you get a spot. The tables have grills for you to grill your own food. I like to order the tongue and the pork sausage. It's nice to get some grilled vegetables too. Besides grilled items, there are also menu items you can order that are ready cooked. I like the spicy tuna crispy rice and cheese won tons. I also love to order the garlic rice in the hot pot.

Once again another wonderful experience!! Kiana was a great server!! She always came back to check on us, refilled our waters and had such a friendly attitude! Ayn was the Manager that night and he was very attentive and welcoming! Always love coming to this location for their friendly service and great food. Bistro Steak, Spicy Volcano, Spicy Cabbage is always my favorite :) Can't wait to be back for another dinner date! Mahalo Gyukaku Waikiki for another wonderful experience! @FoodJourneyHI

One of our favorite meals on the island! The food is absolutely delicious and the options are limitless. I really like that they don't have a minimum head count for reservations. I was able to make dinner reservations for two on Mother's Day weekend and thank god because this place gets packed!! They have several options for ordering; there's all you can eat, preset menus or a-la-cart. Each menu varies on what's offered too. We dined on two separate nights and each night we wanted the leisure of ordering whatever we wanted so we went with the a-la-cart options. Everything we ate was so tasty! Here's our take on each dish: Spicy Jalepeno Edamame - check in on Yelp and get it for free and it's actually pretty spicy! Nice little appetizer. Garlic Fried Rice - Bomb!! Perfect ratio of garlic and if you let it stay in the clay pot longer it gets nice and crispy. Garlic Chicken Wings - Fried to a nice crisp and the sauce on top doesn't take away the texture. Flavors are on point as well, perfect garlic ratio and it had a nice little kick of spice. Steamed Pork Dumpings - My husband's fave dish of the night! The chili oil the dumplings were tossed in was incredible! There was a hint of heart and a nice crunch from the dried garlic. He absolutely loved them. Spicy Addicting Cucumber - Not spicy at all, but flavors are good and it was a nice refreshing bite. Spicy Tuna Volcano - Omg, so good! It was my first time having an app like this and it reminded me of the expensive Nobu app I see everyone post about. Lol the ratio between fried rice and tuna is good and the tuna mixture on top was so fresh and buttery! Tune Poke Nachos - My least favorite app. It wasn't really anything special and I'm pretty sure the wonton chips were stale. Lol Spicy Miso Udon - I wish I hadn't ordered it honestly. I was hoping for some umami flavors but it was just strange. The sauce was sour and no spicy (I asked for medium spice). Yakishabu Beef - Thin & Tasty! Umakara Pork - Oh, the umami on this was *chef's kiss* Prime Kalbi - Marinate was yummy and the portion was fair. Premium Sirloin - Great bang for your buck! Meat was nice and thin and tasty. Mango Sangria - Totally worth it! It's a slushee consistency and was absolutely refreshing on a hot night! I would reorder over and over again. Lychee Martini - This one left me disappointed. There weren't actually lychee pieces in the drink, unlike the photo and the lychee flavor was lacking all around. The food is so good here and the service is just as great. Ian was the sweetest and so friendly. It was like talking to a long time friend and he was so easy going. The menus make seem overwhelming but they've got a great way to navigate through it. We ordered about 3 appetizers, 2 sides and 2 different meats, each visit, and our tabs were roughly $70-$80 each time. Which is such a great deal because we left full and had plenty of leftovers! I recommend going the a-la-cart way. You get to pick exactly what you want, take left overs home and it may just be cheaper. We had a fulfilling and satisfying meal for two at $70-$80 instead of a limited AYCE menu that we would have paid over $100 for.

this was the first BBQ place I had been where you can make your own s'mores and honestly we were more excited about this than anything else. unfortunately we couldn't enjoy this place to much as my allergies were causing me so much discomfort we had to leave. Next thime in in Oahu I am going to be returning just for the smores.

Love Gyu-Kaku back home & I am so glad we decided to stop by this location because the food here was even more AMAZING than our location at home!!! Everything tasted way better. Kiana was also AMAZING! She was so friendly, attentive and her customer service was just excellent! Can't wait to be back again soon! THIS is a Gyu-Kaku location you DON'T wanna miss!!

Pono served my table, he was very polite and got my orders out quickly! The food was so delicious, I highly recommend the Yaki-Shabu Beef Miso and Toro Beef Sweet Soy Tare! Nina also helped me get seated quickly and kept the food coming! Even though they seemed busy with tasking and other tables, I hardly had to wait. Gyu-kaku is a great dine in experience! Kudos to the service!

Came around 6 pm during the week. When we walked in, we stood there for couple minutes. Front staff didn't say anything and just stood there. After couple minutes, a staff took us to our table. Waiter was very nice and friendly. Explained how menu works and what maybe best. Food was very good!

The chicken karaage and umakara beef rice bowl were good portions and a great value for the money. Service was excellent.

Food was delish! First time have Japanese BBQ. The 45 items AYCE satisfied 10 adults. Service was great! We would go back!

Kinda surprised, I thought Japanese restaurant usually provide great services, however, I had a totally different experience today. We went there for lunch all you can eat. They didn't give us BBQ tongs and sauces, we need to ask for it. When they bring the food over some waiters just left it on the table and won't tell you what's that. No complaints with their food but services.

There isn't much parking here and it's mostly street parking. Luckily the restaurant is a short walk from my hotel. I made a reservation on OpenTable and I was seated immediately. I made it just in time for the lunch special AYCE. I had great service, 3 different servers helped me and they were all awesome! They got every one of my orders correctly and the food came out fast. I liked the edamame, it was cold and had salt flakes on top. The half gyu-kaku salad was also crisp and fresh. The miso soup was too salty and the garlic and spicy cabbage salad weren't that good and plain. The spinach garlic was okay and the zucchini needed more flavor. My favorite meats were Kobe style nakaochi rib, bistro hanger steak miso, and spicy pork. Spicy pork had a great spice kick. The ribs were square, perfectly cut, fatty, and flavorful. The hanger steak was thin and I enjoyed the cut size as well. The yaki-shabu beef miso was okay but the cuts of meat were too long which made it cook unevenly. The garlic chicken thigh was okay it wasn't flavored well. The toro beef sweet soy tare wasn't good because it was so fatty and caused the grill flames to go wild. Aside from the AYCE menus items I ordered, I also order the happy hour beef garlic noodles. They were delicious and flavorful, a must! I really enjoyed my lunch and would come back my only complaint is that it's so dark in the restaurant it was hard to see if my food was cooked and I kept burning one side and I had to use my phones flashlight but it was too late the one side already burned.

We came around 11 but we didn't know they open at 11:30, so we walked around Waikīkī for a bit. Then we came back and our server, Tierra, welcomed us in and helped us out with our orders. I am a vegetarian so Tierra suggested the beyond meat meal. The food did not take that long and all the dishes were STEAMING HOT from the start to the end. I'm telling you, we were still blowing our food until the very last bite. And of course they were onolicious, especially the salad LOL. Thank you and we definitely recommend you to have a try of Gyukaku!

I was thinking about getting drinks all day at happy hour. We made reservations for this place. Tried to order a drink and they said the blender didn't work. They were out of red wine. Went to order a garlic dish and they were out of garlic. I ended up not ordering a drink and got emotional. They also gave the table next to us soup and said they were out of soup spoons. I had garlic free noodles that were just okay. The rest of my group got beef & rice and it was really good and the only reason for 2 stars.

Very small, so go earliest you can. Price not terrible for Waikiki, service and food, most of which you will grill yourself, was amazing.

First time trying this restaurant while visiting Hawaii. I wasn't really impressed by this experience. If you do the AYCE option, you have a 90 minute time limit. The quality of the meats wasn't very impressive, in my opinion. Their potions are quite small and the meat are chopped into small bite-size bits. After grilling the meat, you only get about one piece of meat per person. So lots of cooking and waiting, and not enough meat. They don't have a good variety of sides and appetizers either. I suggest sticking with an actual Korean BBQ restaurant because you'll have a much better experience.

They took our reservation at 8:30 for an 8:45 spot immediately on a very busy Friday night. Thank you! Awesome service from the front of house to back! Also!! So nice to see a completely local staff!! Parking is the only problem... you gotta either $$pay or drive around hoping for luck. Or Uber. The garage right next door closes right at 10pm so if you're going out early that's fine- but if you wanna eat later on and cruise you gotta go find parking in the wild. We did the 40 items for $54 per person for 90 minutes. All you eat. Go hungry cause by dish 29.. you really feelin' it. Especially if your are drinking too. You can mix it up with random dishes like I did or you can just order the same 3 dishes over and over like my friend. Go with a group of at least 3 cause garanz you gonna get tired of cooking , your friend/date gonna get tired of cooking for you and you'll need another set of helping hands.

Honestly doesn't look that good walking in as it's not very tidy but don't let that fool you. The food is superb and prices are just right. The house wine is 5.95 during happy hour(which runs to 6:30pm) and the spicy tuna dish I ordered was only 7.95. I will definitely be a repeat customer if time allows while I'm in the area. Looking at the complicated menu, I don't see how the all you can eat option is worth it, you can pick a few small plates and have quite a lot of food that is well under the all you can eat price. Definitely check them out

The service was spectacular, friendly, fun and very easy to communicate with and knowledgeable about the dishes and our needs. The food was tasty and the portions were spot on. The ambiance was exactly what one would expect. It was filled with people chatting while enjoying a nice meal together!

The food and drinks here were Amazing!!! I wish I would've found this spot earlier in my vacation!!

Overall food review in a scale of 1-10, I give them 6.5. Meat was good. Veggies on the grill was the best thing. Service was 10/10. I didn't catch our servers name but on Tuesday night our server and hostess were the bomb.com 10/10. Thank you for making my first experience a great one. Thank you for taking our pictures and getting us in quickly! I'll Be back again.

I have only gone for lunch which is pretty reasonably priced . Their dinner menu is considerably more expensive. You have to cook your own meat but it's a fun dining experience and it is quality meat. It's also nice to add on some of the extras like broccoli which was cooked in a tin foil packet with garlic butter or s'mores for dessert.

We had 6 people and they seat us in the booth. It was to small for people that are 6 ft and over. We got the 6 people meal which was more than enough for all of us. The service was great.

Fantastic yakiniku. Portioned well for my family of 5 -- we got the meal for 4. Tasty salad, noodles, kim chi, edamame, variety of meats, and s'mores to finish. Fast friendly service. Shout out to bradda Pono who treated us like ohana.