Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ

Gyu is always so yummy! I've been to almost all the locations in SoCal and then some lmao and they're always great. The set menus they have are such a steal! This was my first time doing the AYCE menu and all the side dishes and apps you can order are so bomb. The cucumbers are the perfect accompaniment to the meat, however the kimchi and corn cheese is def not as good as if you went to a kbbq place. This jbbq tho so what can ya do! I would def recommend coming here during happy hour! Also don't forget to get the smores :')The service at this one is kinda slow not gonna lie, but it was a Friday night and they were packed so we'll give em a little slack.

I have a long history with this place, I just never wrote a review. I am finally getting around to it! I used to come here all the time, back in 2017 I used to always get the AYCE, but I've also done the a la carte menu and set menus. I recently visited again, and I would say it isn't as wonderful as I remember it to be. Gyu-Kaku is located in a very busy little plaza, so if you go during peak hours it may be hard to find a close parking spot. They have different AYCE options, along with a la carte and set menus. If you make it in time for Lunch, they do have a special AYCE Lunch menu. The AYCE Lunch menu, however, is slightly smaller and has a short time limit.I would say that the service is on the slower side. There were only 2ish servers and this was around 4 pm. They only let us order 2 meats per person... which was disappointing as the meat portions were super small and they rarely visited our table... We were quite often waiting for any server to come by so we could order more meats. The meat quality was just alright, nothing to rave about...This was not my best experience here, but I would visit again as I have had wonderful experiences before. Maybe this is a one off...

Sneaky hostesses! Then they ask if it is our first time in their place!First time here. They gave us the SET menu which wasover priced than the Ala Cart Menu.Why wont they give the Ala Cartmenu first? We saw other table with so many plates ordering alacarte only!!! They ate more than us!Sneaky hostess! Valentines day nite! Sneaky practice!Spent $50 each per person (3x$50) and still went home hungry!! So the sets are NOT AYCE since I was charged extra for a kimchi. Plus tax and tip cost me $200!!! It is all about making money. Will not come back! Beware!

Food, Service and Ambiance were all great!! Ordered the meat variety for 3 people and was more than enough. Also ordered the garlic noodles with chicken and garlic edamame. Everything was very good, the garlic noodles are a must but the Edamame were okay, had better. One thing I do advise is really pay attention to what door you walk into, I accidentally walked into the place next door which looks identical to Gyu-Kaku and added my name to the wait list.

TLDR: decent parking, but the food quality is meh, marinated meat isn't fresh and too salty, loud environment good for groups. Music was too loud, making it hard to hear the server. Quality has worsened over the years. Not my first time at Gyu-Kaku, but first time at the Cerritos location. The parking lot here has plenty of spaces, though it's surrounded by other restaurants, so finding a spot can be tricky during peak dinner hours. I made a reservation ahead of time, so no wait for us, but it wasn't very crowded when we got there.It's been over 10 years since my last visit, and the menu has changed quite a bit. They now offer an all-you-can-eat (AYCE) option for 90 minutes with three different tiers to choose from. We went with the "Meat Lovers" option, and honestly, it was way too much food for just the two of us. The quality was a bit of a letdown. The meat didn't taste fresh and seemed like it had been marinated for a while. The flavors were way too salty and intense, and the balance just wasn't there.One thing to note is that the grill burns really easily, so you'll want to cook your food on a lower flame to avoid those carcinogens. Not a fan of the overly salty, pre-marinated meat either--I'd probably prefer something a bit fresher and less overpowering. Overall, the experience was okay, but I wasn't blown away.

I went to Gyu-Kaku Cerritos for lunch and had a pretty mixed experience.First ImpressionsWalked in and found no one at the front desk. The restaurant was nearly empty, but we still had to wait at least 10 minutes before anyone noticed us. Ended up having to call the restaurant just to get seated--definitely not a great start.Food - $30 AYCE Lunch SpecialAppetizers * Seaweed Soup - Skip. Bland AF. * Spicy Addicting Cucumber - Not addicting at all. If you're expecting Din Tai Fung-style cucumbers, you'll be disappointed. * Spicy Cabbage Salad - Bland. * Garlic Shio Cabbage - Too salty on its own; best if mixed with the spicy cabbage salad for a better balance. * Fried Gyoza & Fried Spring Roll - Standard frozen bulk-buy quality. Nothing special. * Gyu-Kaku Salad - The only real standout appetizer. Worth getting.Meats & Vegetables * Toro Beef - Skip. Super chewy. * Yaki Shabu Beef - A better cut. * Chicken (Any Type) - Dry, as expected. * Garlic Spinach - Surprisingly tasty.Desserts * Green Tea and Vanilla Ice Cream: standard, tasty. * S'mores: standard, tastyService * Slow. They're not set up like traditional AYCE KBBQ spots. * Luckily, they let me order more than two items at a time, so food came out in slow waves instead of painfully small portions. * Asked for napkins on two different occasions, they both forgot. :( * Probably understaffed - only saw one server, one manager, and maybe one BOH staff. Felt bad for them and tried to be patient.Final Verdict * Must order: Gyu-Kaku Salad, Yaki Shabu Beef, Garlic Spinach. * Service: Slow, but understandable given the staffing issue. * Would I return? Yes, but I'd stick to à la carte or the lunch special menu for $18.95 * Calculated everything we ate based on the happy hour pricing, we definitely got our money's worth. $143.05 for a party of two. If you're looking for a fast, seamless AYCE KBBQ experience, this isn't the place. But if you go in with the right expectations, you can still have a decent meal.

If ever you're craving meats, this is such a safe proof way to go. My friends & I absolutely love this place. We always leave so so stuffed & not wanting to eat for another week . Never knew there was a difference with Japanese vs Korean bbq. Def prefer this one. And to top it off, they had a unique dessert experience because they literally had s'mores for us to make!! Even though they get pretty busy, service was efficient & always looking out for our next order. Great vibes to hang out with a group of friends/family.

Food was decent and the all you can eat with the prices were fair with the AYCE selection. But I had to give a shout out to our server Jeffrey, best server bar none. He knew when to time the dishes so the meat came out just before we ran out. This made sure we always had food cooking and we are always eating. Thats service and attention you get at a top restaurant that I wasn't expecting at an AYCE.

definitely 5 stars the food is amazing the service was just great the wait isn't bad at all and definitely worth it honestly my favorite restaurant every thing is just great and so are the vibes so I definitely recommend for others willing to try

Love this place! The meat is so good and tender and reasonably priced as well. The service is also very good and quick, Issabella was amazing! Definitely recommend the New York strip it was incredible