Gyukatsu Motomura Namba — Restaurant in Osaka

when i first planned the trip, this was one of the places i had earmarked, but seeing reviews about long queues made me rethink. “i don’t have to go,” i said to myself. “i don’t need to try this tasty and tender beef cutlet that’s making waves among locals and tourists. i’ll try something else instead.”

well, well, well. look at where i found myself queueing up at 11.45 am on a weekday. “i’ll be smart,” i said. “i’ll go a few (several, fine, 45) minutes after they open. it’s a weekday, so there should be fewer people.”

well. other people were smarter. i waited in line for roughly 20 minutes. note that the line for this place is several steps across the entrance door. there is another restaurant next to it, and the queue for this place cannot block its neighbor’s entrance. this can make it relatively easy for brazen folks to bypass the queue and line up at the door so watch out for those. the staff can resolve things quickly if that happens.

it’s a small restaurant down the basement of a shared building. the staircase is narrow and some people come with their luggage, so be prepared for a tight squeeze. the inside is fairly compact and the staff follow a system that makes good use of the limited space. you place your order while in line, so by the time you’re seated, your food is ready within minutes. there is a stone grill already heated and your condiments are within easy reach. i recommend the yellow sauce (i forget the name but not the taste: yummy). if you need more, just ask (i requested more wasabi - the tang of the yellow sauce and the heat of the wasabi went really well with the juicy beef). you pay at the end of the meal, the cashier is by the door. again, very efficient system.

is it worth the hype? customer service was fast and friendly. the food was delicious and priced well. a single 130-gram order with an oolong tea (an order comes with three sides already) was about 2600 yen. alcohol drinks (beer or highball) cost a little more. note that you pay less than 2000 yen if you skip the optional drink. there is a small cup of tea that is already available at the start of the meal. i should’ve skipped the extra oolong; i would’ve been ok with the free tea and water.

yeah, but is it worth the hype? only if the queue is short. it’s a case of “it’s not you, it’s me.” while the food was delicious and i definitely recommend it, i don’t think any place is worth a wait that’s...

First time leaving a Google review, and unfortunately the first will be a negative one.

The food is pretty good - worth a try for sure. The female staff taking care of checking with each patron on the pax, taking food orders from customer is lovely - she’s welcoming. 1 of the male waiters also patiently explained how to cook the beef after asking if we know how to cook the beef as it’s our first time there.

Here comes the negative experience that leaves an unpleasant taste in the mouth. My sibling and I are excited to give Gyukatsu Motomura a try, and we probably didn’t finish our food fast enough for this 1 female waitress/staff’s liking (should we have finish in 15 minutes time?) 🙂

The fire for our hot plate extinguished/finished burning and had to trouble 1 of the male waiters and 1 of the female waitresses to lit the fuel again for us on separate occasion as the fuel for the 2 hot plates finished burning separately.

I thought all was good, till we left the restaurant and then my sibling who understands a fair bit of Japanese shared that 1 of the female waitresses standing behind our table told the other male waiter that we are eating too slowly, hence the fire fuel burnt out. We weren’t rude and politely requested for the fire fuel to be replaced. I would have confront the female waitress had my sibling told me right on the spot of what he heard.

GIRL. Please be professional - you said that we are eating slow in front of us precisely because you thought that we couldn’t understand Japanese. This is simply rude and the restaurant did not state that customers have to finish their food once the fuel finished burning once. If this is the case, Gyukatsu Motomura - please train all your staff to inform your customers we have to finish our food in 10-15 minutes once our fire fuel finished burning.

Store manager @ Gyukatsu Motomura for this branch, please train your staff properly to be professional. The behaviour of this female waitress/staff ruined our experience at...

Went here for dinner at around 8 PM. As expected of this famous gyukatsu chain, we had to queue for around 40 minutes before having a chance to savor its delicious beef cuts.

Due to the long queue, were we gently guided to different branches around the area (which i think couldnt be find in google maps, but i could be wrong). Inside the restaurant, we were provided with the fire stone to cook our gyukatsu (as it is served rare) and it was definitely a fun dining experience to be able to cook our meal and customize it to our own liking.

The crust on the cutlets were really not thick (which is a big plus) and the beef cuts were really tender and flavorful. Alongside the beef cutlets, other side dishes such as potato salads, cabbage and warabi mochi were provided and they all truly completes the meal all around. The portion is quite big too, opting for additional beef cutlet is a must if you eat a lot as rice refills are free of charge too!!

Besides the beef cutlet, the potato salad was the next star of the meal as its texture was soft and taste mildly sweet which complements the savor beef cutlet we savored upon throughout the experience. For the quality of the service and meal provided, the price of around 2000 yen for each set is definitely worth (despite the long queues). The staff doesn’t speak much english so, speaking a tiny bit of japanese surely helped when dining here. One of the staff confused us asking for a bill for asking for a beer earlier, and it was hilarious 🤣. I’d definitely rate it a 5 star if it wasn’t for...