Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Dining

(626) 405-4842

70 W Green St
Pasadena, CA 91105 34.1445 -118.152

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Neighborhoods: South Arroyo, East LA

Hours:

Mon-Thu 5pm-10:30pm

Fri-Sat 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-11:30pm

Sun 11:30am-3pm, 5pm-9:30pm

Last updated 2.05.10

Category:

Restaurants

Payment Methods:

Visa, Discover, Diners Club, MasterCard

Cuisine:

Japanese

What People Are Saying About Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Dining

Featured Review

Contributor

Contributor

In Short – Traditional meets modern in this dining room that buzzes with excitement--perhaps from the anticipation of playing with an open grill. This Asian chain lets you have fun with your tongs. Transfer the fresh, uncooked bites of meat to your own charcoal-powered grill. Tender kalbi (short ribs), briny shrimp and half a dozen other meats are doused in ta're, the usual soy sauce-based sweet marinade; shio, a salty sesame secret sauce; or miso.

ambiance
90.0% positive
  1. “The service and ambience was wonderful as well.”
  2. “The ambience of the other hand was nice.”
  3. “The restaurant was decorated with nice decor which made our dining experience even more enjoyable.”
  4. “One one hand, I thought the food was good and it's really fun to cook your own food with a group of people, but on the other hand it is really expensive and it really adds up.”
  5. “It's fun and they have good service too.”
  6. “do not recommend this place to anyone unless you only care about decor and not food”
  7. “really recommend this BBQ restaurant to everybody who wanna have fun time and tasty foods with friends&family!”
  8. “Nice decor, and OK service, Good place for a date, although I could have lived without all the smoke.”
  9. “Always fun and highly recommended.”
  10. “Great food, fun place!”
food quality
86.30999565124512% positive
  1. “The food quality is good but the portions are Japanese style, which means to be really full you need 3 orders per person.”
  2. “do not recommend this place to anyone unless you only care about decor and not food”
  3. “Gyu-Kaku had a great menu variety with really delicious and new flavors of food that I've never tasted before.”
  4. “really recommend this BBQ restaurant to everybody who wanna have fun time and tasty foods with friends&family!”
  5. “I'm a real "meat" person, and I really enjoyed the BBQ style of food that they offered.”
  6. “the place looks really nice though but for me its a better deal just going to one of the numerous outdoor korean bbq places in la.”
  7. “If you dont mind cooking your own food, this is a great place to take your first date too.”
  8. “Great food that you grilled yourself.”
  9. “The meat was fresh the service was great.”
  10. “One one hand, I thought the food was good and it's really fun to cook your own food with a group of people, but on the other hand it is really expensive and it really adds up.”
  11. “The food and the service was great!”
  12. “you order your food.”
  13. “The food there is really unique and something different to Pasadena.”
  14. “Great food, fun place!”
  15. “Next time im going back for the cute servers and the delicious meat dishes.”
  16. “The food was just right amount for everyone, service was soooo excellent!”
  17. “If you want to try good BBQ'd meats.”
  18. “The grills give the meat and vegetables that delicious smoky flavor.”
  19. “was a bit unsure about cooking my own food, but everything was so delicious that i didn't mind at all.”
  20. “Usually, it's either the food or service that's great.”
  21. “The food is great, and very similar to places I ate in both Tokyo and Osaka.”
  22. “try going to an authentic Korean BBQ restaurant.”
  23. “Talk about good quality meat.”
  24. “The food, service was not tasty at all.”
  25. “We tried chicken, two kinds of beef and the vegetable sampler on our last visit and everything was delicious.”
  26. “My friends and I love their food soooo much, service is always been great!”
  27. “The food quality was average but in combination with poor customer service, this place is not worth the price.”
  28. “Also regarding Laura's comment and the restaurant's response: I lived/worked in Japan for almost 2 years and YES this is authentic Japanese BBQ, its not "wannabe" anything.”
menu variety
83.33000183105469% positive
  1. “The menu was varied and everything we had was great.”
  2. “Gyu-Kaku had a great menu variety with really delicious and new flavors of food that I've never tasted before.”
overall
100.0% positive
  1. “We had a birthday party for one of my friends, who said this was his favorite restaurant in Pasadena.”
  2. “If you dont mind cooking your own food, this is a great place to take your first date too.”
  3. “We were really satisfied with foods and nice service by friendly workers at the restaurant.”
  4. “have made this my favorite restaurant!”
  5. “think Gyu-kaku is a nice place to try something new if you are already tired of going to Japanese Sushi place.”
  6. “It's a great place for party, since the restaurant is big enough and they have this nice VIP section which can fit 12 people, also 2 big tables which can fit 10 people on each.”
service
86.66999816894531% positive
  1. “We were really satisfied with foods and nice service by friendly workers at the restaurant.”
  2. “The food, service was not tasty at all.”
  3. “It's a great place for party, since the restaurant is big enough and they have this nice VIP section which can fit 12 people, also 2 big tables which can fit 10 people on each.”
  4. “Usually, it's either the food or service that's great.”
  5. “The food quality was average but in combination with poor customer service, this place is not worth the price.”
  6. “The meat was fresh the service was great.”
  7. “The service was fast and friendly.”
  8. “It's fun and they have good service too.”
  9. “One one hand, I thought the food was good and it's really fun to cook your own food with a group of people, but on the other hand it is really expensive and it really adds up.”
  10. “Nice decor, and OK service, Good place for a date, although I could have lived without all the smoke.”
  11. “My friends and I love their food soooo much, service is always been great!”
  12. “The service and ambience was wonderful as well.”
  13. “The food and the service was great!”
  14. “Next time im going back for the cute servers and the delicious meat dishes.”
  15. “The food was just right amount for everyone, service was soooo excellent!”
value
80.0% positive
  1. “One one hand, I thought the food was good and it's really fun to cook your own food with a group of people, but on the other hand it is really expensive and it really adds up.”
  2. “The food quality was average but in combination with poor customer service, this place is not worth the price.”
  3. “The food quality is good but the portions are Japanese style, which means to be really full you need 3 orders per person.”
  4. “The price isn't even that pricey compared to all the restaurants you go to in Pasadena.”
  5. “was worried about the portions at first, but it ended up being the perfect portion!”
5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

05/01/09

I loved it

by kira05 at Citysearch

I had all you can eat menu. Loved it. Very tasty!! The meat was fresh the service was great. The drinks were ummmmm!!

  • Pros: Tasty food
  • Cons: expensive
1 Star Rating: Poor

08/05/08

Poor customer service at Pasadena location

by hungrymudbug at Citysearch

I dine at Gui-Kaku about 6 times a year and have had good experiences until recent. Ever since visiting the Pasadena location, I've decided to give my business to other japanese/korean bbq restaurants. We waited 1.5 hours for a table (originally told 30-45 min), 10 minutes to be greeted by our waiter, our grill heat was left on high so meat ended up burning, and never once received any refills on our drinks or a courtesy "how's everything?" The food quality was average but in combination with poor customer service, this place is not worth the price. I'm pretty ashamed about but this was the first time I never left a tip.

Goes to show Gyu-Kaku should be concerned with who they hire. The worst customer experience by far!

  • Pros: Meat quality and food
  • Cons: poor customer service; high price and small portions
2 Star Rating: Below Average

02/24/08

mainstream version of korean bbq

by jookyfish733 at Citysearch

i came here with a friend out of curiosity. the place was pretty packed so we had to wait a little. when we were seated we looked through the menu and kind of laughed. i'm so used to eating grill-your-own meat with my korean friends in korea town for a fraction of the price. we were on a budget so kind of snuck out and left. the place looks really nice though but for me its a better deal just going to one of the numerous outdoor korean bbq places in la.

5 Star Rating: Highly Recommended

10/19/07

Great food, fun place!

by noraisin at Citysearch

We've eaten here several times and always enjoyed it. The service was fast and friendly. The menu was varied and everything we had was great. You cook it yourself so you can cook any meat just as you like it - and only have yourself to blame if you burn it! Always fun and highly recommended.

  • Pros: Food, service
  • Cons: Parking
4 Star Rating: Recommended

03/30/07

Grill Your Own Japanese Dinner

by lwmango at Citysearch

A little bit on the pricey side but the money is definitely worth it. Go for a special occassion to try their melt-in-your-mouth meats! Cook the perfectly marinated and tender meats to your liking on the table-top barbecues. The grills give the meat and vegetables that delicious smoky flavor. We tried chicken, two kinds of beef and the vegetable sampler on our last visit and everything was delicious. Also give the s'mores a try for dessert... although not a Japanese tradition, it will take you back to days spend around the campfire.

  • Pros: Quick service, good for groups, fresh food

The Details on Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ Dining

Place Categories:

  • great food
  • great ok service
  • great fun place
  • favorite korean bbq restaurant
  • great everything
  • nice decor
  • big party
  • fun always
  • nice ambience
  • not recommend place
  • authentic japanese bbq
  • not tasty customer service
  • good quality meat
  • love food soooo
  • delicious chicken
  • really enjoyed bbq style
  • loved us kobe beef
  • worst customer
  • really impressed hostesses
  • even more enjoyable dining experience
  • good experiences
  • delicious vegetable sampler
  • delicious kinds
  • new flavors
  • nice vip section
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