Disappointing AYCE Experience - Not Worth the Price
I had high hopes for this AYCE restaurant, but unfortunately, it fell far below expectations. The biggest issue? The ridiculous amount of time it takes for food to arrive. When you're paying for an "all-you-can-eat" experience, every minute counts, and wasting half of your dining time just waiting for your order is unacceptable.
It wasn't even busy, yet the service was painfully slow. When the food finally arrived, it came out in small portions, forcing us to order again and endure another long wait. By the time we could even start enjoying the meal, we were already frustrated and running out of our dining window.
To make matters worse, the staff seemed indifferent to the delays, and the overall service did not justify the price. AYCE should be about efficiency and value, and this place failed on both fronts.
Save your money and go elsewhere—this was not worth the time or cost. A truly disappointing experience.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Jose Belloso
I came here yesterday 11/30 with my kids and we experienced some of the worst service we have ever had in a restaurant. We walked in and Anasofia the hostess was speaking with Andy the server and we waited about 3 minutes for them to stop talking and acknowledge us and get us a table. There was no sense of urgency to greet us or assist us. Once she sat us we then waited for over five minutes again without a hello or anything from our server. No waters or anything. A lot of empty tables so it wasn’t like they were crazy busy. I got up and asked them for someone to assist us with our order and asked for water and I was given an “we’ll be right with you” dismissive response. When Andy finally came with the waters he was acting so casual and unprofessional. He took our order and never came back to see if we needed water or order more meat. Nothing. He made it clear that we were not welcomed there. This place needs corporate to get involved. It’s in Santa Monica and there’s a level of service that’s expected when you’re paying premium prices in a restaurant on the 3rd street promenade. Anasofia and Andy were awful. Save your money and don’t give this establishment any of your business. Trust me, I won’t be back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Matt
My salad had mold on it...
Food: 1
N/A VT
It's decent, the food is good enough, really fatty, and the sweet soy sauce is the best. The servers here are kinda forgetful forgetting my soup and that we are even here. We waited a little bit and then had to go ask the waiters here to take our order. The Miso soup was okay.
The food is not clean! The mushroom has a lot of dirt on it. We have to ask them clean it twice. The meat was too fatty and has too much tender. Hard to chew. It’s crazy for a $100 dinner.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
David Liang
Worst GyuKaKu experience ever.
Service: 1
Vitalii Shevtsov
So don't trust these people, I waited a very long time for my order, they kept saying 5 minutes, I came after 7 minutes, they told me another 2 minutes, I said I don't have time, they ended up giving my order in half an hour, and initially they said 5 minutes, come on, no one does that, I wasted my time
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
Laura Sisti
The food is great, the service was good too, the only thing I found so-so was the atmosphere, the bathroom wasn't super clean and the seats were damaged. But overall, I think it's worth it
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
Jason Bramble
One of the best gyukaku I've been to in the world such a nice chill vibe, and more importantly a wonderful all you can eat menu which I've never seen in Hong Kong, Toronto, Mississauga or the location in Japan I've been to. Essentially there was 3 tiers a standard ayce with common items, a premium with more, and the ultimate with like almost everything. You basically get 90 mins to order whatever two or three items at a time. I repeat no gyukaku has done this. The ones I normally go to only have sets. So this ayce menu was outstanding. Pics are attached. Thank you gyukaku Santa Monica! If you can get Ricky as your server you're in for a treat nicest guy I met out here.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Assortment of Meats, Gyu-Kaku Kalbi Chuck Rib
Iam Profits
The food is ok the manager is really trying but the staff majority is horrible idk how some got hired I went in on lunch sat at the bar and the short portly bartender lady walked past me 13 times in 12 mins and when I asked could I make an order she replied the bar was closed, now good service would be to greet me ask what I need and accommodate, she is horrible and this is one of my favorite restaurants
Very bad service , they don’t care about customers and looked annoyed everytime we called them to order more food , waiter looked fed up.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Dave
Service was slow and we had to wait 5 min before someone even talked to us to sit us down. We did have a reservation and they were not busy at all. Another table was yelling and screaming like maniacs and none of the employees did or said anything. The music was too low and it was too dead. The environment wasn't good at all like some other locations. Food was ok and the employees were nice, but they didn't have forks for half our meal. That's ridiculous since I wanted to eat with one. Completely unacceptable. Not going back to this location ever again and the Beverly Hills location is often times worse than this one so skip that one too. The company doesn't care about its customers.
Marcella Polus
Our server was able to swap out our chicken for beef for the value meal! Cooking was simple enough, and they swapped out our grill for a new one when ours became dirty. Fun group activity and delicious cuts of meat for very reasonable prices!
Despite some of the bad reviews we’ve been coming here for few months and has been solid every time. We know now what we like so we stay away from thr tough cuts. Beer is nice and cold in a chilled glass on every order. Sides are delicious, we always get the mushrooms, kimchi cucumber salad. Ribeye is great. Service is always attentive. My only complaint is the place needs a facelift and some fresh paint
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
N.M. NR
First I had second thoughts of coming due to some reviews, but I personally think it's more than great! The food is delicious! The meat is fantastic and the service is good and super nice. We will definitely come back as soon as we can and recommend it to anyone!
Disappointing AYCE Experience - Not Worth the Price
I had high hopes for this AYCE restaurant, but unfortunately, it fell far below expectations. The biggest issue? The ridiculous amount of time it takes for food to arrive. When you're paying for an "all-you-can-eat" experience, every minute counts, and wasting half of your dining time just waiting for your order is unacceptable.
It wasn't even busy, yet the service was painfully slow. When the food finally arrived, it came out in small portions, forcing us to order again and endure another long wait. By the time we could even start enjoying the meal, we were already frustrated and running out of our dining window.
To make matters worse, the staff seemed indifferent to the delays, and the overall service did not justify the price. AYCE should be about efficiency and value, and this place failed on both fronts.
Save your money and go elsewhere—this was not worth the time or cost. A truly disappointing experience.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
I came here yesterday 11/30 with my kids and we experienced some of the worst service we have ever had in a restaurant. We walked in and Anasofia the hostess was speaking with Andy the server and we waited about 3 minutes for them to stop talking and acknowledge us and get us a table. There was no sense of urgency to greet us or assist us. Once she sat us we then waited for over five minutes again without a hello or anything from our server. No waters or anything. A lot of empty tables so it wasn’t like they were crazy busy. I got up and asked them for someone to assist us with our order and asked for water and I was given an “we’ll be right with you” dismissive response. When Andy finally came with the waters he was acting so casual and unprofessional. He took our order and never came back to see if we needed water or order more meat. Nothing. He made it clear that we were not welcomed there. This place needs corporate to get involved. It’s in Santa Monica and there’s a level of service that’s expected when you’re paying premium prices in a restaurant on the 3rd street promenade. Anasofia and Andy were awful. Save your money and don’t give this establishment any of your business. Trust me, I won’t be back.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
My salad had mold on it...
Food: 1
It's decent, the food is good enough, really fatty, and the sweet soy sauce is the best.
The servers here are kinda forgetful forgetting my soup and that we are even here.
We waited a little bit and then had to go ask the waiters here to take our order. The Miso soup was okay.
Vegetarian options: Veggie grill option
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Recommended dishes: Sauce, Gyu-Kaku Kalbi Chuck Rib, Takoyaki
The food is not clean! The mushroom has a lot of dirt on it. We have to ask them clean it twice.
The meat was too fatty and has too much tender. Hard to chew.
It’s crazy for a $100 dinner.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 1
Service: 1
Worst GyuKaKu experience ever.
Service: 1
So don't trust these people, I waited a very long time for my order, they kept saying 5 minutes, I came after 7 minutes, they told me another 2 minutes, I said I don't have time, they ended up giving my order in half an hour, and initially they said 5 minutes, come on, no one does that, I wasted my time
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 1
Service: 1
The food is great, the service was good too, the only thing I found so-so was the atmosphere, the bathroom wasn't super clean and the seats were damaged. But overall, I think it's worth it
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of the best gyukaku I've been to in the world such a nice chill vibe, and more importantly a wonderful all you can eat menu which I've never seen in Hong Kong, Toronto, Mississauga or the location in Japan I've been to. Essentially there was 3 tiers a standard ayce
with common items, a premium with more, and the ultimate with like almost everything. You basically get 90 mins to order whatever two or three items at a time. I repeat no gyukaku has done this. The ones I normally go to only have sets. So this ayce menu was outstanding. Pics are attached. Thank you gyukaku Santa Monica! If you can get Ricky as your server you're in for a treat nicest guy I met out here.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Assortment of Meats, Gyu-Kaku Kalbi Chuck Rib
The food is ok the manager is really trying but the staff majority is horrible idk how some got hired I went in on lunch sat at the bar and the short portly bartender lady walked past me 13 times in 12 mins and when I asked could I make an order she replied the bar was closed, now good service would be to greet me ask what I need and accommodate, she is horrible and this is one of my favorite restaurants
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 1
Restaurantji Recommends
Very bad service , they don’t care about customers and looked annoyed everytime we called them to order more food , waiter looked fed up.
Atmosphere: 1
Food: 2
Service: 1
Service was slow and we had to wait 5 min before someone even talked to us to sit us down. We did have a reservation and they were not busy at all. Another table was yelling and screaming like maniacs and none of the employees did or said anything. The music was too low and it was too dead. The environment wasn't good at all like some other locations. Food was ok and the employees were nice, but they didn't have forks for half our meal. That's ridiculous since I wanted to eat with one. Completely unacceptable. Not going back to this location ever again and the Beverly Hills location is often times worse than this one so skip that one too. The company doesn't care about its customers.
Our server was able to swap out our chicken for beef for the value meal! Cooking was simple enough, and they swapped out our grill for a new one when ours became dirty. Fun group activity and delicious cuts of meat for very reasonable prices!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Kalbi, Edamame, Gyu-Kaku Salad
Despite some of the bad reviews we’ve been coming here for few months and has been solid every time. We know now what we like so we stay away from thr tough cuts. Beer is nice and cold in a chilled glass on every order. Sides are delicious, we always get the mushrooms, kimchi cucumber salad. Ribeye is great. Service is always attentive. My only complaint is the place needs a facelift and some fresh paint
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
First I had second thoughts of coming due to some reviews, but I personally think it's more than great! The food is delicious! The meat is fantastic and the service is good and super nice. We will definitely come back as soon as we can and recommend it to anyone!
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