Gyu-kaku Japanese Bbq - San Diego

This was my first visit. The food was good, considering that they bring uncooked meat that you cook yourself on the grill in the center of the table. You order from a list of variously flavored beef, poultry pork or seafood that is marinated. You ge t to order a side of ricr prepared for you. Veggies are also offered. You cook the slices of meat on the grill. Veggies are brought wrapped in foil that you cook on the grill too. They bring the rice dish already prepared.. Due to the grill in the center of the table, the table top gets crowded very quickly. Also, the fuel system and grill uses up some knee room under the table so not the most comfortable situation. The waitress was nice and helpful. So, it was a new and interesting experience. I am not sure I would be inclined to go back as the food was no better than I can get when someone else cooks it for me. It is a fun gimmick once but not something I would want to do on a regular basis. The area leading to the restrooms need to be better lit as do the restrooms. Employee lockers and supplies were in a short hallway that was poorly lit. Like walking into a dark alley.

After two visits to this place, one to check it out and another for my birthday, I have only experienced terrible service. The first time my party of 3 ordered all you can eat and I took them well over 30 minutes to get any meat to the table not to mention we ordered sides as well and those came 5 minutes before the meats. So we were just looking at our grill that was defective and turning of every 20 minutes. Every time we asked for something, we had to ask 3 times for any results. Waiter couldn't even get us hot sauce we went the while 2-3hours reminding them and nothing. Now today for my birthday I decided to give this place a second chance because their meats and dishes are pretty good. We came in and they sat us in like 10 minutes. I was excited because not to many people were there so the service would be better but boy was I wrong. I went with the mentality of ordering again the all you can eat. When I asked the waiter she said they were not doing it. That disappointed me but I accepted it because maybe they were losing money or something else caused that so while I was searching what else to get I settled on a pack that I didn't really want but had some meats I liked from the last time. I kid you not like 5 to 10 minutes later after we ordered a couple sits down next to us and ordered the all you can eat. I was really upset, so I confronted the waiter about it and the excuse they gave was that they just started handing out the menu. Like come on your telling me if I waited 5 minutes I could have ordered what I originally wanted not something that only had a couple things. That left a bad taste in my mouth honestly and I ruined the mood. I wanted to speak with he manager but I did not want to waste my breath instead I'll just express is as a review. Throughout the stay the waiter not sure if they had something against us because we rarely saw them mind you it was not busy. They never even asked to change our grill when the things was literally on fire on the grill section. Such a messed up thing on the menu option. Honestly an experience that has confirmed to never dine there again. Sorry if this was long but this only covered half the portion of these two nights.

I have not been here since before COVID. Quality and variety of food is great. Price is reasonable for quality and quantity. Server was friendly and checked back with us a few times to refill drinks and ask about our meal. We do go for a late lunch on a Friday. The restaurant was not too busy and there was plenty of parking at the time we arrived. I do find the bench seating a little uncomfortable. We will be back very soon. A truly great meal.Parking: The open lot can fill up after 5. But of a bottleneck getting in and out of lot to street.Wheelchair accessibility: If you park along the side of the building (not out in front) you can avoid all stairs.

My wife and I are returning diners after 8 years being away. We came on a Monday for dinner since they had all-day happy hour. The atmosphere hasn't changed. As they sit the party, they call out their Japanese greeting. It wasn't too loud, we were able to hold a conversation without having to talk loud or yell. With it being their happy hour, we ordered a la carte rather than their course selections. We each got a Kirin to drink. We ordered crispy gyoza and takoyaki for appetizers. The takoyaki was good, and the gyoza was average. We ordered garlic rice to go with the meats, which we got our favorites from the past. The meats were good as we remember, but the garlic rice was subpar. Our server was quick to bring out the orders, and checked on us regularly but lessened as it got busier. Even though it was happy hour, it was still a little pricey. We would come back, but not at the frequency we had done in the past.

This place was absolutely awesome. We did there all you can eat premium and it came with a lot of different options all the meat for good and tender and rightly season and marinated. We also tried the tuna volcano and that deliciousKid-friendliness: Kids enjoying the cooking time also