Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ — Restaurant in Burlington

I would give zero star but unfortunately there is no such option here. Ok, here is the story: We went to the store in Brookline before and it was a great experience. So this time we saw this store in Burlington after visiting the shopping mall and decided to give it a try. We arrived at the store around 1pm, and after entering the restaurant, a waiter walked passed us and said something that we did not hear clear about. And he went to the back of the store. Then we checked the surrounding: the left half of the store was full and the right half was completely empty. We asked for a table of 2 and another guy put us on the waiting list and told us to wait for around 15 minutes. He literally pointed to a person who was about to finish the meal and told us that we would have that table once that guy is done. Sounds good so far right? So we found an empty table right next to the front desk and sat there reading menu. Then in the next 20 minutes, three groups of 2 had entered after us and led directly to a table and we were still waiting. We kept asking but the waiter just told us: see that table? It is being cleaned up and it will be yours. And the next group arrived and took that table. We could not endure much and confronted them again and that was when they told us that they had reservation so they would have the table instead of us. We left the store immediately.

I have no problem with people with reservation getting the table before us. What I'm mad about is they did not inform us anything about that. If you tell me the table is ours, then you should keep the promise and give us the table instead of letting us waiting blindly. Besides, half of the store is empty and you do not let us have our lunch there, just because those are large tables for 4 people? This is ridiculous. If there is limited table and you'd like to reserve them for large groups, it is fine. But the whole half store with about 10 tables are empty!

When we were waiting there having nothing to do, I started observing the atmosphere. It is very different from any other restaurants I've been to. First, there is no background music (or the volume is too low to be heard). People are eating without much talking and the whole atmosphere was very depressed. Staff working there seems that they do not care whether the customers like it or not. No greetings, no introduction of menus, and they have to check and confirm with each other about waiting list. Go ahead and check the other reviews here with low scores and you will find the similar content and complaints about the waiting time and low-quality service.

Gyu-Kaku, take a review of the management and staff training of this store. There is a reason that this store receives a 3.9 score while other chain stores in Boston area are around 4.5! Well, the score is 3.8...

I would like to share my honest review of my dining experience at Gyu-kaku Burlington - One of the worst experience I ever had and I will definitely not be coming back to this location. Me, my family, and friends have been loyal customers to gyu-kaku for some times, which we mostly celebrate our birthdays there, this dining experience is absolutely devastating.

We went for AYCE with a reservation for a party of 6 at 6 pm in which we arrived on time, however, when we were about to get seated, the host had tried to seat us separately by giving us a table of 4 and a table of 2 because the server does not want to be double-seated. I told the host that we have a reservation and we would like to sit together and asked how long we have to wait; instead of her giving us the estimated waiting time (in which shouldn’t be any since the restaurant was empty) she gave us an attitude saying that server does not want to be over load because she just got sat another party and we will still be sitting together and she doesn’t what our problem was. Honestly, I have never met a host as rude as this in my life. Didn’t catch her name, but blonde hair, Asian with blue contact lenses - absolute worst customer service.

Food Quality: Lack of flavor: "While the presentation was appealing, the food lacked depth of flavor. The dishes seemed overly reliant on salt and pepper different seasonings , leaving a one-dimensional taste." missing ingredients: "The dish was advertised as containing green onions but upon arrival, it was there was no scallions; in which we ordered 4 pcs, however, the server rang in 4 orders. The rice was sticking together and not able to be lifted from the plate by chopsticks. When the server served the food, he dropped the food - he did apologize and offered to change; on the other hand, I felt like it should have been taken back and changed on the spot without asking" Service: Inattentive staff: Our server seemed disinterested in our table. Despite repeated attempts to get their attention, we waited an excessive amount of time for our drinks, food, and even our check. Some of the items have been ordered twice in 2 separate times because it never came the first time and it never came the second time either. Unfriendly demeanor: "The staff seemed rushed and curt. Their demeanor made us feel unwelcome and unappreciated."

At the end, half of my party decided to leave early because of how disappointed they were in the experience, everything was delayed and inattentive, the server precharged us for a 20% tip gratitude because we were a large party, however, if it was up to me, I would not leave a single cent. Horrible service. The experience felt almost like we asked for free food when our bill was...

Wonderful meal here!

I'll be straight - over the years I've tried and tried to like Japanese food. But I'm a vegetarian, and it's so hard to get anything without fish that my experiences have just never been good. Then I came across Gyu-Kaku. They have a separate vegetarian menu with no fish! I had to try it. My (omnivore) husband and I came to check it out.

This is a BBQ place with grills in the tables, a new experience for me. More than half of the customers were Japanese - green flag! The staff also could all speak Japanese. The atmosphere was lovely, warm and welcoming.

When we told our server it was our first time there, she explained the flow of service and how to order for the grill. She asked about any food allergies. I let her know I'm a vegetarian. She asked if I can have butter - I sure can! :)

I ordered the Spicy Addicting Cucumber, the Spicy Cabbage, and for the grill, asparagus, broccoli, and zucchini. My husband ordered various cuts of beef and pork along with asparagus and mushrooms. He got a little bottle of sake, and I ordered a draft Asahi.

The grill items came out quickly. Our server explained the best way to cook them on the grill, and suggested cooking my veggies first to avoid meat cross-contamination - very thoughtful!

Okay, so. The spicy cabbage dish. OMG AMAZING. I could eat just that for a meal and be totally happy. The cucumber salad was similarly fantastic. 100% recommend.

I loved the grill items, too. The broccoli was a little harder to get cooked, ideally I would have liked to place the florets on the grill itself rather than the foil packet, but with the butter that wouldn't work, lol. The spicy and sweet dipping sauces were great. The waitress thoughtfully warned me that the ponzu sauce contains shellfish.

My husband loved the mushrooms in particular, and the meats were all great. He enjoyed cooking them and ordered more.

We were SO FULL when we left, holding our bellies and groaning but very happy. We will absolutely come here again and recommend it to others. The service was perfect, it was inviting, comfortable, very clean, and just...