Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

231 Arizona Ave, Santa Monica
(424) 744-8220

Recent Reviews

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liz beth

Could stand a good cleaning and booths need to be reapostered

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 5

Jennifer Hancock

Delicious food and fun way to visit with family and friends.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Marissa Lima

the servers were really friendly and fast but the food was horrible, and super expensive on top of it, but despite their niceness they changed out our grill twice when a bunch of meat was just placed on it. Salad was underdressed, but considering the dressing was an unholy amalgamtion of mayonnaise and vinaigrette, it was probably for the better. Calamari was super rubbery and borderline inedible, and they served room temperature raw chicken alongside the meats. Everything was underseasoned and the vibe of the restaurant is like a bad nyquil induced dream. Also they served a strange fondue that tasted like velveeta was powdered and rehydrated multiple times. I have more to say but am honestly so depressed by the experience I will stop here. Beer was good though

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 4

Anthony Milano

Service is nonexistent.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

Adrianne Bridges

Everything was absolutely delicious! We had the meat lovers course and I highly recommend it for sure. It was so fun to cook it together and just enjoy the food and each others company. The server was so sweet and just laughed along with me when I got a bit tipsy and told him he was the best! I will definitely be back to this restaurant for sure

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Mo S

Appalling service. They have a lunch dine la menu that is valid till 5pm. I got there with 5 minutes to spare. And asked if I could quickly order things off the lunch menu since I still had time. By the time the guy was ready to ring me up 4:59pm and was like “oh yah too late now”

The attitude was like “yeah we don’t care about you at all”

I’ve been a few time and this location…, service is terrible. They legit don’t care about you.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Carlos Diaz

Sat us down and waited 20 min. Nobody even greeted us or brought us water. Extremely disappointed

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Omid Vatan

Very nice waiter poor thing was so busy but are food came in a couple of minutes and was amazing. The best part is that you got to cook the food. What I mean is it came raw and you got a cook it on your own little grill in front of you. Highly recommend it

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Rain Chimes

Service was terrible. And all we heard was one of the waiters grill the hostess about which church she went to. He was louder than the music, talking nonstop like other people want to hear that stuff. Obnoxious. Grown men acting like high school bullies.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Anna Varlamova

We had an amazing experience at this Japanese BBQ restaurant! From the moment we walked in, the atmosphere was warm and inviting — modern decor with a cozy, authentic touch. The staff was friendly, attentive, and explained everything clearly, especially helpful if it’s your first time trying Japanese BBQ.

The quality of the meat was exceptional — beautifully marbled cuts of beef, tender chicken, and fresh seafood, all seasoned perfectly. Cooking at the table added a fun and interactive element to the meal. We especially loved the wagyu slices and short ribs — melt-in-your-mouth delicious. The dipping sauces and side dishes, like kimchi, pickled vegetables, and garlic rice, complemented everything perfectly.

Portions were generous, and the meal was well-paced so we never felt rushed. Prices were reasonable for the quality and experience you get.

Highly recommend for a date night, dinner with friends, or any special occasion. We’ll definitely be coming back!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Staci

Jude was exceptional!!the food was amazing and the drinks too. Only complaint is that the booths should be recovered. They were pokey and stinking us in the legs

Abdulaziz Alateeby

It was fun

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 3

Johnny Gray III

Love getting lunch here. Great food and service.

Graham Roe

Food was great and high quality service!

emma arambula

I was really looking forward to trying this place, but unfortunately, the service was incredibly disappointing. We were seated and given menus, and our drink order was taken but after that, we waited for 25 minutes without a single check-in from our server.

What made it worse is that the restaurant wasn’t even busy. Besides our table, there were only two other parties, and they were also clearly frustrated, waiting a long time just to receive their bills.

To top it off, we could hear the staff’s conversations through the restaurant while guests were unattended. Very unprofessional.
We had no choice but to get up leave & look for another restaurant.
Needless to say, I won’t be coming back.

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