Cool place to have your meal prepared on a sizzling plate. Decent pricing and variety. The miso is loaded (silken tofu, dried tofu, seaweed) and not salty.
This is a very casual place. My son recommended this place for lunch. This is the first visit and it was culinary experience for me. The food was served on an iron hot plate, this method of cooking keeps the food hot. I had the eel with rice and added an egg to the order. The food was absolutely scrumptious. This is a must when in SoCal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pepper Rice
Nancie Hsing
This is a very casual place. My son recommended this place for lunch. This is the first visit and it was culinary experience for me. The food was served on an iron hot plate, this method of cooking keeps the food hot. I had the eel with rice and added an egg to the order. The food was absolutely scrumptious. This is a must when in SoCal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pepper Rice
Tung Hoang
Not as good as the other locations that we tried. The service is slow and the food is average.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Michiko Koyoshi
Our skillets were not hot enough. Do not get hamburger one. So
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Jenny Tu
Fast service, you order and pay first. Food tasted great, even for someone who doesn't eat carbs / rice often this was worth the calorie splurge! Though I do wish there was more protein for the price of a sizzling plate.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Curry Karaage Chicken
Grace Lee
I have always enjoyed going to Pepper Lunch before the pandemic. However, I haven't been back since. I decided to visit again with my friend before Christmas because apparently, many restaurants were closed on Tuesdays.I was pleased to see that you no longer have to order from the machine. Instead, you can order at the cashier and pay there. They have also added some udon dishes to the menu. Although tempting, I stuck with the two meats with curry sauce. I had never tried that before, as I almost ordered the classic beef pepper rice. My friend ordered the tofu and veggie rice.With the Yelp check-in, one could get a free size. I opted for the seaweed salad as I wanted something healthy. My friend chose the sweet potato rice, and we planned to share the sides.My mixed two-meat curry rice was excellent. I enjoyed the sizzling presentation in front of me, and the smell of the curry was heavenly. The seaweed salad added some greens to my meal, although it's nothing special. The sweet potato fries were not particularly crispy, as they were kind of thick.Towards the end of the meal, we discovered they had some new drinks for people to try, displayed on a separate table along the wall. We were welcome to try them and provide feedback. Excited, we sampled four flavors, including some mixed fruit ones. They were all pretty good, and we left them our honest reviews on the notes provided.Overall, Pepper Lunch remains one of my favorite restaurants in Alhambra. Next time, I definitely want to try the udon dishes.
Parking: You can park at the strip mall cross the street or parking structure back of the restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Rusty Renteria
Phenomenal service. Eye catching atmosphere. Amazing food.Spoke with the server and learned about the business history. Very knowledgeable and informative.Hard to find a place these days where the employees are able to tell you what you would like.100% will be back and you should go or come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cynthia M
Pretty tasty but I feel like there could’ve been more food included in the dishes instead of having to do add-on’s for everything. Meat was also a bit too salty. Beef Pepper Rice was very peppery (which isn’t a bad thing if you really like black pepper). Easy lunch option.
Pepper. lunch. What more needs to be said. If you haven't tried it, DO IT. I'm a huge fan of the concept ever since coming across it in Singapore. Pepper lunch in the US does not disappoint. Get the extra beef and thank me later!
Carolyn B.
Quick service. There are more choices in person than ordering online. I wish they would have larger pieces of seafood for my plate. The scallops were the size of my index fingernail and the shrimps weren't even whole ahrimps, but cut into small pieces. Of course, understand that they have to cut small to be cooked thoroughly on the sizzling cast iron pan, but they are pretty miniscule . Sauces are great and I could really taste the butter in the rice when everything was mixed and cooked. A fun meal. And bonus that the food stays fairly hot to the end.
Peter H.
It's like having a mini teppan plate lunch. The paper ring serves two purposes not to burn yourself, and also not to splatter when the gravy is poured. I think the most basic steak lunch is my favorite.
Nash Holcomb
Came here with some friends after being recommended the place and it did not disappoint! It’s an order at the counter style restaurant and we got our food very quickly and you let it cook in the hot stone bowls to your hearts desire! It’s not super expensive and very popular so plan your visit accordingly!
Katherine D.
Came here for a weekend dinner and it wasn't too busy. It's a casual spot with adequate seating for groups. I liked my sizzling chicken karaage curry and it was a good portion. I liked seeing my food sizzle while I poured some curry on it haha. If you're dining inside, you order at the counter first, they give you a number, and then they serve your food to you. It wasn't a long wait for our party of 3. Service was quick and efficient. I'd come back to try other options on their menu.
Cool place to have your meal prepared on a sizzling plate. Decent pricing and variety. The miso is loaded (silken tofu, dried tofu, seaweed) and not salty.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Jumbo Classic Beef Pepper Rice with Add Ons, Miso Soup
This is a very casual place. My son recommended this place for lunch. This is the first visit and it was culinary experience for me. The food was served on an iron hot plate, this method of cooking keeps the food hot. I had the eel with rice and added an egg to the order. The food was absolutely scrumptious. This is a must when in SoCal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pepper Rice
This is a very casual place. My son recommended this place for lunch. This is the first visit and it was culinary experience for me. The food was served on an iron hot plate, this method of cooking keeps the food hot. I had the eel with rice and added an egg to the order. The food was absolutely scrumptious. This is a must when in SoCal.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Pepper Rice
Not as good as the other locations that we tried. The service is slow and the food is average.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 2
Our skillets were not hot enough. Do not get hamburger one. So
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 2
Service: 3
Fast service, you order and pay first. Food tasted great, even for someone who doesn't eat carbs / rice often this was worth the calorie splurge! Though I do wish there was more protein for the price of a sizzling plate.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Curry Karaage Chicken
I have always enjoyed going to Pepper Lunch before the pandemic. However, I haven't been back since. I decided to visit again with my friend before Christmas because apparently, many restaurants were closed on Tuesdays.I was pleased to see that you no longer have to order from the machine. Instead, you can order at the cashier and pay there. They have also added some udon dishes to the menu. Although tempting, I stuck with the two meats with curry sauce. I had never tried that before, as I almost ordered the classic beef pepper rice. My friend ordered the tofu and veggie rice.With the Yelp check-in, one could get a free size. I opted for the seaweed salad as I wanted something healthy. My friend chose the sweet potato rice, and we planned to share the sides.My mixed two-meat curry rice was excellent. I enjoyed the sizzling presentation in front of me, and the smell of the curry was heavenly. The seaweed salad added some greens to my meal, although it's nothing special. The sweet potato fries were not particularly crispy, as they were kind of thick.Towards the end of the meal, we discovered they had some new drinks for people to try, displayed on a separate table along the wall. We were welcome to try them and provide feedback. Excited, we sampled four flavors, including some mixed fruit ones. They were all pretty good, and we left them our honest reviews on the notes provided.Overall, Pepper Lunch remains one of my favorite restaurants in Alhambra. Next time, I definitely want to try the udon dishes.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Jumbo Beef Pepper Rice, Curry Beef Pepper Rice
Parking: You can park at the strip mall cross the street or parking structure back of the restaurant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Phenomenal service. Eye catching atmosphere. Amazing food.Spoke with the server and learned about the business history. Very knowledgeable and informative.Hard to find a place these days where the employees are able to tell you what you would like.100% will be back and you should go or come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Pretty tasty but I feel like there could’ve been more food included in the dishes instead of having to do add-on’s for everything. Meat was also a bit too salty. Beef Pepper Rice was very peppery (which isn’t a bad thing if you really like black pepper). Easy lunch option.
Food: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
Pepper. lunch. What more needs to be said. If you haven't tried it, DO IT. I'm a huge fan of the concept ever since coming across it in Singapore. Pepper lunch in the US does not disappoint. Get the extra beef and thank me later!
Quick service. There are more choices in person than ordering online. I wish they would have larger pieces of seafood for my plate. The scallops were the size of my index fingernail and the shrimps weren't even whole ahrimps, but cut into small pieces. Of course, understand that they have to cut small to be cooked thoroughly on the sizzling cast iron pan, but they are pretty miniscule . Sauces are great and I could really taste the butter in the rice when everything was mixed and cooked. A fun meal. And bonus that the food stays fairly hot to the end.
It's like having a mini teppan plate lunch. The paper ring serves two purposes not to burn yourself, and also not to splatter when the gravy is poured. I think the most basic steak lunch is my favorite.
Came here with some friends after being recommended the place and it did not disappoint! It’s an order at the counter style restaurant and we got our food very quickly and you let it cook in the hot stone bowls to your hearts desire! It’s not super expensive and very popular so plan your visit accordingly!
Came here for a weekend dinner and it wasn't too busy. It's a casual spot with adequate seating for groups. I liked my sizzling chicken karaage curry and it was a good portion. I liked seeing my food sizzle while I poured some curry on it haha. If you're dining inside, you order at the counter first, they give you a number, and then they serve your food to you. It wasn't a long wait for our party of 3. Service was quick and efficient. I'd come back to try other options on their menu.