Gyu-Mai Japanese BBQ — Restaurant in Eden Prairie

I would give it a 2 star, but I felt like that would be a little unfair to everything else going on in the restaurant. The decor, vibes, and service is amazing. Going into this restaurant, it gives off the impression of a higher end place. Nice napkins with forks and chopsticks tucked into them. Not really necessary for my review, but I thought I'd mention that they also have sticks in cages as decor. Kinda cool, I guess. Everything seems clean, but they've also only been open for 2 days. The servers were all just so amazing, and they're the only reason keeping this review away from a 2 star. The reason I wouldn't rate it a 1 star is because they are just starting out and I'm sure they'll improve... Hopefully. That all being said: The prices are pretty high, but I'd say that the sets are good "deals" in terms of the pricing of everything individually- Although, they do have chicken breast in the silver set which is a little weird and cheap of them to do. The one pricing I was actually kinda happy with was the $6 bottle of beer. It's a standard price, so at least they're humble in that regard. The really disappointing part for me was the fact that they messed up the fried rice and edamame that came with my silver set. I'm not sure how it's possible to make a bad fried rice, but I'd honestly rather have a plain white rice than what they served as fried rice. I'd recommend putting in the option to have white rice over that fried rice. The edamame was over steamed, which made it a bit weird and mushy to eat. I was the only one who dealt with it at the table, because no one else wanted to eat it. Everything that the kitchen put out as "ready to eat" was overall just not up to standards that they set up with the pricing and looks of the place. I would say that "it's the only thing lacking," but it's a restaurant. It's the main thing that needs to be good! The meats for the JBBQ were alright. I think they might've left the pork belly out and it oxidized, as it was really gray when it got to the table. Not horrible, but it does tell me how they store their meats. Considering they just opened, I'm sure it's not old or bad, but if I came a week later and it was like that, I'd be a bit suspicious. Maybe it was a mistake, but hopefully they fix it in the future. The other meats looked good and fresh, so I can only assume that the pork belly was a one off. Their signature dipping spice was my favorite. The other two, actual sauces, were a bit off from my personal taste, but I won't fault them for that.

I came to this restaurant with no expectations, as I never even heard of it until the day I went. I don't think I'll be coming back unless someone drags me along with them. Again, great everything- just not what the chefs cooked. (I just don't know what they did to that fried rice, but I can't respectfully call it fried rice.)

Edit: I completely forgot the "pre-cooked Costco shrimp!" That was terrible. The set value just went farther down in my eyes. You get two shrimps and some chicken breast in a $100 meal. I think I'd rather have more veggies than the shrimp and literally any other cheap meat than chicken breast, but it is what it is. These sets are meant for two people, so look at the picture and gauge whether or not it's enough. Definitely not enough for 3 people, but I won't fault them for 3 people not being filled for a 2...

My wife and I were visiting from out of town to see my mom and decided to take her to Gyu Mai on 05/25/25, having heard great things about it.

The atmosphere was beautiful—tastefully decorated in every direction, creating an exotic and immersive dining environment. The seating was comfortable and well spaced, offering a relaxed and upscale feel.

Now, onto the service—where things took an unexpected turn. Our server, listed as Christopher A. on the receipt (taller, glasses, earring, tattoos behind the left ear), started off by asking if it was our first visit. After we said yes, he asked if we had tried Korean or Japanese BBQ before. We replied that we had, to which he simply said, “Okay, it’s the same,” and stared silently as we looked over the menu. This felt like a missed opportunity to introduce us to Gyu Mai’s unique offerings or recommend popular items.

Our appetizer and Beef Sukiyaki arrived quickly, and the presentation impressed us. The sukiyaki itself was very good. However, we didn’t see our server again for quite some time and ended up waiting roughly 30 minutes for the rest of our meats.

Thankfully, another team member—possibly named Renee—noticed the delay, apologized, and started the grill for us. From there, Renee took over the table, explained each cut of meat, and provided excellent, attentive service. He really made us feel taken care of.

Later, we saw our original server re-enter the restaurant with food—apparently returning from his lunch break. There had been no heads-up or handoff, leaving us in the dark during that entire gap.

The food itself was excellent. The meat quality was top-tier, with marinated options perfectly balanced—not overly sweet or salty. The grill was changed midway by a cheerful waitress with a fun hairstyle, who handled everything with care and attention to detail.

As we needed to leave for other plans, we flagged down a different server to help us check out. This gentleman—possibly named David—had longer hair with highlights and wore a mask. He was polite and efficient. When we asked about how the tipping might work between servers, his response was brief and quickly shifted to asking where we were visiting from. We understood the subtle deflection, but our intent was simply to ensure that our tip would go to the staff who truly enhanced our experience—not our original server, who left a negative impact.

We honestly wondered: Did our server forget to place the order before leaving for lunch? He was inattentive, offered no recommendations, and seemed disengaged, leaving his coworkers to make up for the shortcomings.

Final Thoughts:

The value-to-quality ratio of the food was fantastic. The decor—even down to the elegant chopsticks—was thoughtful and refined. Gyu Mai could easily compete with top-tier spots in Cupertino like 10 Butchers, Chungdam, or Baekjeong. We were impressed and will definitely return when we’re in town again. However, if we’re seated with the same server, we wouldn’t hesitate to request a different section.

We don’t want to penalize the restaurant for the actions of one individual. If management reads this, a simple acknowledgment is all we ask (no need to address the server situation directly) —we’re happy to update our score. This is clearly a great establishment that serves a diverse and appreciative community—and it...

We tried out Gyu-Mai Japanese BBQ for the first time tonight. We are seasoned Japanese and Korean BBQ eaters/restaurant goers.

Firstly, this restaurant is gorgeous inside! Every detail was clearly meticulously chosen. All the dishes the food came out on.. beautiful!! 10/10 for atmosphere/vibes.

Secondly, the staff was FANTASTIC. 15/10. Old/dirty dishes were taken away quickly. Checked up on frequently by multiple staff members! Honestly, maybe even more than some other local restaurants! Water/drinks were promptly refilled multiple times. Staff were knowledgeable about menus and food items. We did not order any alcoholic beverages but it seemed like some good options, and reasonably priced for the area.

Lastly, the food. We got the “silver” meal package. Boy it sure seemed like a lot of food for just 2 people so I def suggest going into the meal hungry! It seems like they could consider possibly adding on one more meal option that was smaller than that.. like a “lighter” option? But I guess we could have ordered things a-la-carte next time too if we don’t want so much food. It did seem responsibly priced for the amount of food you got and fairly priced in comparison to other local Japanese bbq places. Now on to the quality/taste. We found the appetizers to all be on point. And we did like that there was a variety of appetizers. For the main course, we thought the high ends meats were great - like the wagu. The lower end cuts however.. did leave some to be desired. Some looked and tasted.. a bit mealy, unfortunately. I do wonder if this is partly due to the way they are prepped and stored. The boxes with the little dishes - while incredibly cute, probably need to be prepared ahead. Not sure how they store it after that.. if that impacts the taste and break down of the meats. It was a bit hard to tell which meats were “dry” and which were marinated - if any? It honestly seemed liked most were not marinated. Several of the meats also looked a bit grey as we cooked them - however, upon further inspection I think this actually might have been due to the lighting. We noticed directly above the cooking grills were spot lights. I think intended for a better look at what you are cooking. When we pulled meats off of the grill and put them on our plates they looked.. less grey and more cooked. Because most of the meats didn’t seem to be marinated.. we also felt their dipping sauces/spices/seasonings could use some reflections/considerations. The fried rice.. wasn’t my favorite but my husband liked it alright. Like another reviewer said, I do wish there had been an option for plain white sticky rice.

Honestly, overall it was not bad for a first try! Hope to see them implement some of the reviewers advice! We def plan to come back and try it again... And we def plan to/are looking forward to trying the ramen...