Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ — Restaurant in Honolulu

03/31 EDIT: this is usually our favorite location on island to go to but when trying to come here with friends again, it almost seemed as though the male host didn’t want to serve or even seat my party of 4. We came in and my friend tried to get on the waitlist. The host made a face and said that unfortunately they don’t have anything until 7:30 (we did not ask for a reservation) and made no moves to ask her for a name or offer any other options/information… it was around 4:45 and there was only one other family of 4 waiting in front of us and another 2-3 people that walked in after us. We walked outside and on further discussion, we decided to put our names down on the list anyway. By the time I went back inside, the family in front of us was being seated and the usual hostess that I see was now at the desk. The male host who didn’t want to put our names down initially came over as soon as he saw me enter again and stood over her shoulder. As she was asking me for my name and how many people, he talked over her to tell me that they didn’t have anything until 7:30 AGAIN and I firmly but kindly said “I am not trying to schedule a reservation, we are all here and would like to be put on the waitlist.” The couple that came in after us ended up getting sat before we did and we were already at another restaurant having drinks and appetizers by the time they called me 2 hours later to try and say the table was ready. I wouldn’t be surprised if he kept moving our names lower since he was tapping on the computer screen almost as soon as she walked away. I’ve never had to wait that long, even on a day when the line is out the door. I have a lot of grace for these kinds of things, but I have never been treated like this, especially at this location. Maybe he needs more training or to be moved to a different position but this was an EXTREMELY unsettling experience and I can only paint so much of a picture with a review.

FORMER REVIEW: This is by far my girlfriend and I’s favorite location on island! The staff is always so friendly, attentive, and helpful no matter how busy or slow it is. The drinks are strong, the music is greatttt, and the food is delicious. We usually come for happy hour and order some bibimbap rice dishes, 3-4 meats, a couple veggies and some drinks. All 10/10. I used to go to the locations in Houston and they’re all good. Quality and quantity match the dollar...

This was a WOW experience for me. Our party of 3 were escorted through dinner by one of the most knowledgeable and delightful servers I have ever encountered (I've waited tables, that is not empty praise). Our server, Grace walked us through an incredible dinning experience. This was our big dinner and we saved our pennies and went all out with the 45$ All you can eat Premium menu, and it was worth every penny. Not only did Grace give us recommendations for individual items, she also stopped by frequently to give us tips on best practices. You absolutely MUST try the tongue which is cut super thin to look like salami. Grace told us that she likes it best a little crispy, and by George she was right! One of the best things I've ever had. Incredibly active food experience as you are cooking everything yourself. Grills are exchanged periodically to give you a fresh start. The options were endless and everything that we had tasted fresh and complimented everything else on the menu so much so as to be magical. Keep in mind that the environment finds you cooking over an open grill in booths (which would accommodate 4-6 comfortably) and there is a good bit of cook-smoke involved in the process. I would not recommend the environment for families with very young children. But if you can find a babysitter for the keikis, GO! Draft beer and mixed drink options were available at Happy hour prices and they did not disappoint! We spent 2.5 glorious hours at this establishment and ate everything with no looking back! Do I sound like a raving fan!? I am a raving fan! This meal under Grace's cheerful guidance has entered into my top 3 favorite food experiences PERIOD. Do yourself a favor, make a...

Underwhelming. Korean BBQ, not Japanese at all. And not done well. They don't give you a piece of fat to grease the grill. The grill is thin and flimsy, but it is a Japanese style grill I guess and not Korean. We ordered the dinner for 4, and they started serving all the non-BBQ foods we quite quickly, but then nothing. It's almost like they want you to get full off of everything else first before the BBQ'ing even starts. By the time we got the first 4 meat dishes, all the other food was cold. Even though this is a dinner made for 4 people, the pieces of meat were not easily divisible by 4, one dish had 3 slices of meat. And there are no scissors or knives to cut the meat. The kalbi was delicious, other meats were ok to good. At every Korean BBQ I have ever gone to, they give all the raw meat first. The dessert was smores. Great idea but executed poorly. They gave all 4 portions of smores on one plate, but one plate is needed for each person because smores are messy. They take away the grill and do not give a new one. We have to roast the marshmallow with a short stick over the grill. But the chocolate was refrigerated so it's freezing cold. They should give a new grill so we can put the smores on the grill to melt after roasting the marshmallow. A little messy... Not worth it.

Overall, not horrible. Everything was ok. My expectations were a bit too high. I gave 3 stars due to poor execution considering how BBQ should be done. Taste wise, I would...