Gyusuke — Restaurant in Toyako

Eating here was an experience in itself! Though we waited almost 1 hour for our food, it was worth it. We ordered small portion of beef and pork shoulder and both were high quality and delicious. We were given grounded garlic to pair with our food which went really well with the meats. We also ordered the miso ramen which was fragrant and not overly salty. It was very obvious that the chefs (also the owners) take a lot of pride in what they do and a lot of effort is put into plating and preparation of food. You can be rest assured that you will be served good food. Even though it was only two of them cooking and serving the whole restaurant, they maintained a calm, friendly and patient demeanour, prioritising each customer’s satisfaction level.

If you have a big group of you, it will be difficult to get a seat immediately if you are not one of the first few groups or if the restaurant is semi full already. The whole restaurant is a two men show and they take orders and serve tables one at a time. If you are not ready to wait, then I would suggest not to come. According to google maps, it is opened at 6pm. We arrived at 5:30pm and parked our car at the store front to wait as everything around the shop was closed already. By 5:50pm, the owners of the shop opened up the shop and there were three groups of diners including my husband and I. Still, we waited one hour for our food and we also saw many groups of customers leave after being told that waiting times would be long as there was just not enough seat and service capacity.

Nevertheless, we are so glad we got to dine here during our stay...

Gyusuke is a small yakiniku right by Lake Toya. When I arrived, I was warned about the potential 40 min wait till my order would be ready. Digging my feet in, I waited. Prepare yourself for the wait- this can be due to the fact that there were 4 other tables waiting on their food, the business being operated by 3 people (hostess, 2 chefs), or the very likely combination of the two factors. It is artfully arranged on the platter when it is served to you. While you wait you're can help yourself to water or hot tea and leaf through the menu. They offer HUGE portions of food (price reflects quantity) so show up hungry or with friends. I got the lamb-rice bowl and split some beef and beef tongue with my partner. Cook the veggies before the meat as they will take longer. By the end I was satisfied and sufficiently stuffed. Also ordered the wakame soup which was very clean and light tasting. Overall, if you're willing to wait for the sheer amount of food from this yakiniku spot,...

We’re regulars in Japan and thought this year we’d take a day trip to Toya. After putting around town with not much of an itinerary, we walked into Gyusuke and were cheerily greeted. We fumbled through ordering the osusume, self-served green tea and ogled at the size of the dish that was brought to us. Once it cooked down it was no longer the size that surprised us, but the sheer delight we took in the meal and entire experience. SUBERASHI 🤤🤤🤤🤤🤤. We have been talking about this meal for days and recommend it to anyone. It was so delicious and the staff were so kind and UGH it’s making overpriced, half-quality-I-booked-this-two-months-ago Niseko restaurants...