Yakiniku Housenka - Gardena

Hubbers and I came through here awhile back on the start of a long weekend. It was a little over an hour into dinner hours when we were turned away telling us they were closed. Interesting enough, there were diners indulging in some meat goodness. Whatever, so we left. Fast forward many months later, my curiosity still got the best of me, so I dragged Big Bro and parental units here for dinner grub. Dinner hours posted on Yelp AND their door is at 600pm. 605p and there didn 't seem to be any life inside except for just this one lady who did notice (and ignored our presence. As our hunger persisted and patience wore thin, we all collectively decided to bounce somewhere else. But then she opened the doors, so, in we went. Since we were the only customers, ordering what we wanted was uncomplicated: SMS combo good for 4 people. And because we were the only ones there, it didn 't take long for us to get our food. (For the record, my fellow Yelpers are right: there is only one server and she was really snobby and very snooty. Jaws of life would fall apart if used to attempt crackin ' a smile outta that lady. We got the salad. We got the kimchee. We all thought we were each getting a set considering how little we got, but nope. Why would she think that was enough for 4 people? We did without more salad, but we had to order more of the kimchee. (Yeah, we got charged extra for it which I thought was ridiculous considering the amount she initially gave us was never gonna be enough for 4 people. But the meat was abundant and delicious (if cooked properly, which we did. It was more than enough for a party of four. FOOD: 4. (Would have been perfect if they didn 't skimp on the kimchee. SERVICE: 2. (Seriously, she needs work. A smile wouldn 't hurt, and it shouldn 't be too hard to flag her for extras given we were the only customers the whole time. VALUE: 4. SMS set is a good buy for 4 people. PARKING: Private lot. It 's always busy since it 's shared with other popular vendors. OVERALL: 3.25. After reading other reviews, I figured out why Hubbers and I were turned away the last time: she is the only server and probably felt overwhelmed with too many customers. (There were only a couple of tables occupied back then. We were the only customers from beginning to end. We all wonder how this place could profit and survive if they didn 't attract any more people, especially within the dinner rush. But as great as the food was, and like many other Yelper 's sentiments, I 'm not sure I 'd come back either. That service was just too much of a turn off. (MANAGEMENT: Pahleeaasseee take note of many of my fellow reviewer 's consistent opinion regarding this! It really is too bad because they have great things to offer. They must know and should come into terms (or some kinda realization! with the fact they 're not the only J*BBQ in town. I strongly believe they could turn a serious profit if they did something about their customer service. Oh, well. C 'est la vie.

Ambiance: it's a small Japanese bbq restaurant, not a lot traffic during weekends Service: the lady seemed very serious poker face but actually fast and helpful Food: overall good taste, not premium quality though Beef Tongue thick cut and chewy, recommend Natural Pork a bit fatty Short Rib average taste Chuck Roll average taste Boneless Lamb soft and juicy, recommend Salad average taste Soup seaweed soup Rice mixed grains, recommend Price: small to medium portions and decent prices, about $30 per person

Ho-senka is a flower related to our familiar impatiens which doesn't seem to have much in common with Yakiniku/grilled meat. The interior is drapped w/ fine bamboo screens dividing individual eating tables. It reminds me on a mini scale of Heian era summer palaces where a large space is divided into private spaces by hanging more opaque screens to create a light airy environment. You can order a la carte, but to keep things simple we ordered set menus: 1) Ho-senka Dinner which consisted of sliced rib eye which was soft, meaty w/ edge of fat short rib which had thick streaks of fat w/ a bit more of a chaw. Some Sho-yu/soy sauce based marinade was sprinkled on the meat just prior to serving. Slices of carrot, Japanese eggplant, onions to grill on the hot iron plate. 2) Yakiniku Dinner let you chose 3 kinds of meat out of 6 choices which were beef tongue, short rib, chuck roll, natural Kurobuta pork, chicken breast, boneless lamb. I chose lamb which was tender w/ a bit of gaminess, Kurobuta which was red pork streaked w/ fat, chuck roll was lean, but soft textured beef. Iceberg lettuce dressed was lightly w/ Ponzu sauce. Wakame black seaweed soup was in a clear Dashi/broth probably made from Katsuo Bushi/bonito flakes. Bowl of rice. Three different sauces of Ponzu, Regular which is Sho-yu based, Sweet which is the same as regular but more sugar added. It's cook your own meat on a gas grill so you can cook it rare to well done. I ordered Sapporo draft for a refreshing light beer to act as a palate cleanser to the meatier flavours. Extra quiet dining room is extremely appreciated since so many restaurants of the last 10 years are so irritatingly loud that meals can not be enjoyed. It's a simple unadorned meal which may not appeal to people who want heavy, rich flavours where mayonnaise, cloyingly sweet eel sauce, sriracha chile paste, etc. are permanent yearnings. I enjoyed the contemplative atmosphere at Ho-senka where I was able to satisfy my carnivorous cravings in a simple, austere, satisfying manner. 4- Yelp stars.

I have 2 words. Stamina Steak. Get that and you will have no regrets. I promise! There's a BBQ option for the menu, but since we didn't feel like grilling that night, we opted for the Stamina Steak meal which comes with a bowl of soup (it's pretty good! , rice, and delicious steak! Don't just expect it to be your typical American steak it's super flavorful, moist, and juicy!! It's seasoned to perfection that I actually wanted more when it was all gone. Another good choice on the menu is the garlic butter rice. It went really well with the stamina steak. Everything was oh so delicious! Overall, service is decent. Credit cards accepted. Plenty of parking.

We came here a few times in the past were turned down by the waitress/owner. She claimed no more tables but the restaurant was not full. I guess she was the only waitstaff and could not take more than 4 or 5 tables at a time. I understand that, however, she was always unfriendly when to a point of being angry. We finally had a chance to eat here last night. Our party of two each ordered a yakiniku set which came with three types of meats, rice, soup and salad, the usual. My meat choices are lamb, beef tongue, and beef short rib. The quality was ok, not super or anything. The sauce on all the meats are the same sauce. It was sort of too sweet and bland for me. The set cost $23 which was all right for the amount of meat we got. But if I have to go back in the future, I need to see the waitstaff cracks at least one smile.