Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ — Restaurant in Cerritos

Very Disappointing Experience – Won’t Be Returning

We’ve given this location two chances now, and unfortunately, both times left us disappointed, this last visit especially.

We came in on a Friday night around 7:40 PM and chose the all-you-can-eat premium option, which is $50 per person. After just one round 2 toro beef, 1 angus beef rib, 1 New York steak, and 1 pork belly we were told they were already out of toro beef.

Toro beef is the only reason we come to Gyu-Kaku. It’s our go-to item every single time, and the only reason we even tried other meats this visit was just to change things up a bit. Being told it was out after one small round, barely 20 minutes into the meal, was incredibly frustrating.

To make matters worse, this wasn’t the first time on our previous visit, they were out of angus beef rib. For a restaurant advertising a premium all-you-can-eat experience, this seems to be a recurring issue. Why offer these items if they’re rarely available?

Our grill was also malfunctioning and dried out our meat. After raising our concerns, our server who was kind and professional said they would adjust the bill and just charge us à la carte, bringing the total down to $70. But considering how small the portions are per order, that didn’t feel like much of a resolution at all, and that’s when I asked to speak with the manager.

When I tried to explain the situation and suggested that they let customers know ahead of time when they’re running low on popular items, the manager, Boomer, dismissed it entirely and said, “That’s not how I normally do it.” Insincere apology. No effort to understand our frustration. Just complete indifference.

Then, without saying much else, he walked over, placed the bill down at our table, said “It’s half off,” and walked away. To be clear, we only received 2 toro beef and not 4.

The only good part of this experience was our server, who was doing their best despite the situation. But with management this unprofessional and unaccountable, it completely undermines the entire dining experience.

We won’t be returning to this location. The lack of preparation, poor communication, and unprofessional management made this even more frustrating...

Our fam really loves this restaurant - with lots of options and frequent deals it's hard to not like it. There's an extensive menu of options to cook up on your own personal grill or you can opt for dishes that are cooked in the back - our favorite is the bibimbop or garlic noodles, but the menu is even better during Happy Hour. AAll day Monday and a good chunk of the other days in the week, there's plenty of opportunity to seize it and some deals. There are also set specials (lunch and dinner) and all-you-can-eat specials that can be had if you're dining during off-HH hours or want to go all-in food coma acceptance. Two people can perhaps share one of the lunch specials and a few things off the HH menu. A great dessert selection is the s'mores, but in more recent visits have clearly changed to less expensive/tasty graham crackers. The macaroon ice-cream sandwiches are also quite divine - my favorite being the coffee.

There is a dining rewards program where you earn points based on $ spent... it's double points during lunch hours. All now through an app - just scan your receipt for purchase credit. Through email, you can receive promos that can be redeemed through the app ($20 off $50 was recently popular). Open Table (and their point system for reservations) is also available, so you can really earn a lot of points in...

I spent ~$210 dollars before tip on the Yakiniku Holiday Course for 4. This included additional purchases of drinks, Garlic Noodles (w/ Chicken) and the Beef Sukiyaki Bibimbap. Overall happy with my experience, but due to the pricing I wouldn’t go back.

I was impressed with—not only the quality of the meats—but their beef options for the course, highlighting the Toro Beef, New York Steak, and Ribeye. Everything else was decent, 7/10. If you plan on coming, I would definitely suggest using the sauces because they enhance the flavors of the meat. I’m allergic to shrimp but I was ready to risk my life for it.

I wouldn’t recommend the garlic noodles, or atleast with chicken. The whole dinner was filling which may affect my judgement, but it just did not seem appetizing to me. The beef sukiyaki was much better and still tasted great the morning after, but I wouldn’t recommend make a bet that the Beyond Bibimbap would taste better.

Other than that, I was very disappointed with their chicken and filet mignon. The filet mignon was incredibly small, dry from having no fat content, and stuck to the pan.

If you plan on going , I would stick to the beef or seafood options especially if you’re trying to get your bang for your buck. With the no-marinade meats, experiment with dipping it in their Ponzu/Sweet Soy...