Kyoto Gyukatsu — Restaurant in Alhambra

Fancy and tasty but light lunch. A bit pricey, but good quality. Still hungry. I will try the less expensive rice bowl options next time that I come in for a simple lunch.

We had a retirement luncheon for a work associate. The company was paying for lunch. So it's a nice place for a special occasion. But I wouldn't spend $35 for lunch unless it was a special occasion, or a good business power lunch.

The 8 of us ordered our plates, which came individually plated with side dishes (like bento box.) Our grill your own meat is not meant for family style sharing, though some of carefully passed raw meats, avoiding the sizzling iron plates, so others to cook on their own and try. My new underwriter recommended the wagyu beef or the wagyu beef tongue (lengua.) I ordered the lengua (tongue) which came super thinly slice and slightly marinated. It cooks super quickly on your individualized hot cast iron grill. Delicious with the dipping sauces.

However, I was hungry again after 90 min. Luckily, our group ordered the shrimp tempura to share. I ended up eating half the appetizer order 90 min later. Ill try the steak next time. The tongue was good but they gave me nowhere close to amount of protein shown on the photo menu. Maybe I got a dozen thin slices of tongue?

They have a beautiful 1-page menu that has photos of all their dishes. Sorry, I forgot to add this photo. The front has all the expensive signature specials. The back has all the simple "rice bowl" and noodle options: Rice topped with favorite items (wagyu, unagi, etc). Other favorites include soba noodles and other...

Do not be misled. This is not a Japanese restaurant. It’s a Korean spot playing dress-up as the famous Gyukatsu in Kyoto—same grill, same gimmick, none of the authenticity.

We showed up at peak lunch hour on a Saturday, and there were exactly two other tables occupied. That should’ve been our first warning. The second? A big, fat B health rating plastered at the door. But against all instincts, we sat down anyway.

To be fair, the service was attentive. Our waiter was friendly and efficient. But that’s where the positives end.

The atmosphere was dreadful. Whoever curated the playlist must’ve been trying to win “Most Depressing Saturday Vibes.” It felt like we were eating lunch at a funeral. Combine that with the empty tables and you have a recipe for culinary regret.

The food? An absolute letdown. We ordered the pork katsu with curry—an extra $3 for a portion of curry so insultingly small they should be ashamed to serve it. We also tried the beef gyukatsu. The meat arrived looking disturbingly dark and grey, and the flavor was just as bad. It didn’t taste Japanese at all—it tasted like plain old Korean food awkwardly pretending to be something else.

When a restaurant borrows its entire concept from Japan’s iconic gyukatsu experience but delivers a watered-down imitation, it leaves you feeling duped. If I wanted knockoff Kyoto, I would’ve just watched a YouTube video and grilled beef at home.

Save your money, your time, and your stomach. There are too many good restaurants in Alhambra to waste...

Came here with some friends, the place is quite empty and quiet - closes early as well (3pm ish on weekday). The parking is shared with an apartment complex and also some plaza including sprouts. So it is a bit packed to try to look for parking, there is also street parking as well.

The food is pretty good, I had gotten a spicy pork katsu plate, which came with so much food I had to bring some back. However because of the amount of cheese and sauce they added it makes the fried part soggy which i think loses its value in being a katsu. (I am a katsu fan and love me some crunch, but when there isn't, you might as well just make it grilled because why else am i taking in cholestrol and oil if i dont need to you know what I am saying?) Also its kind of sad that for that specific plate it does not allow a $3 add on of curry (which is just the sauce anyways) so they said there is no way to add it unless i order it separately.

Overall, was not too impressed with the place since all the food seemingly isn't to die for and I had been to other curry houses and katsu places that are much more delicious and perhaps that was why it was so empty.

Seems quite new too, so not sure if its a weekday thing.

The waiters are nice though, but i didn't go there for just nice waiters. Prob would come back as a hangout but wouldn't be my...