Second time after 5+ years and im glad to see it doing so well. Still an amazing menu and offering. The prices have gone much higher and cooking quality slightly lower. Quality of ingredients are still high! Stand outs - gyutan and kalbi with garlic. Chicken skin with tare/sauce. Things that werent as good before are chicken hearts. Underseasoned and a tad under. The tsukune was also just a bit dry, despite all of the sauce drenching it. Its still flavored well but im just being nitpicky since i know theyve done better before! Service was good and attentive. read more

Definitely one of the top yakitori places you have to visit in the South Bay! It's been some time since my last review here and have dined here many times since. You really can't go wrong with skewers and still really enjoy their offerings. Especially the Gyutan with Green Onion, Kalbi, Chicken Skin, Chicken Thigh and Mushrooms. Depending on the mood I'll opt for either salt or sauce. They have a full menu as well as a specials menu. Tried the Gindara (Black Cod) marinated in miso and a sesame salad. Everything tasted great and flavorful, though felt that this time around the temp of the food was a little less than desired. Other than that the service was super attentive! We also had a time limit, but ended up overstaying without any issue. Would recommend reservations on the weekends because the place is on the small side, but didn't have any issues coming here on the weekdays around dinner time. read more

Gaku is definitely a splurge date night or once in awhile spot as it is on the pricey side! I came here last evening with a couple of girlfriends from work for our monthly get together. We definitely over ordered a little bit and could've done without a double of things. I'd have to say that the clay pot salmon rice, the fried chicken skins and the pork belly in spicy miso sauce were my favorite items of the meal! We had made a reservation so did not have to wait. The servers were friendly and offered us 3-4 small tastings of different kinds of sake even after we had already decided on a bottle. Overall, service was great. Id definitely come back on a splurge meal but definitely not a once a week type of place if you don't what I mean?! read more

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It's been a very long time since we've been here which is a shame since it's so close to home. Stopped by on a Monday and it was great! The servers were excellent and the food was tasty and well done. For starters, we had the chilled eggplant. It was very tasty and honestly didn't look like eggplant. I would have this again. We then proceeded with the kalbi skewers, clay pot, chicken thigh skewers. All excellent! We didn't have room for dessert but the choices sounded really good. read more

Gaku Yakitori - Chilled Eggplant / 茄子のピリ辛焼き浸し - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

I'm a huge yakitori fan and I've been to Gaku quite a few times, maybe 5 or 6 times so far. If it was closer to me, I would surely go more often. Whenever someone asks me for recommendations where to eat in the Bay Area, I recommend Gaku. The yakitori and other Japanese charcoal-grilled skewers are seasoned perfectly and always consistent whenever I go. Charcoal grills bring out amazing flavors of the skewers that you need to try if you haven't already. Nobu and team are professional yakitori gurus in the Bay Area. The experience here is authentic, and you can find the side menus that looks like what you can find in a izakaya in Japan. My favorites are the skewers, like mi, tsukune, hatsu, tomato, sasami, teba, chicken skin, gyutan, kalbi, and butabara. They are all really good and it's nice to have such a variety. When we get to make it out here, we'll order rounds of almost all the skewers and then try something new. Our tab will go $300 easy, but it is so worth it here to go all out for the yakitori and izakaya vibes. You can find a lot of incredible items from the large menu. For example, I like the tai ochazuke, gobo fries and Gaku spicy wings. There are also seasonal menus which specials to keep it fresh. From the seasonal menu, I had the chicken skin wrapped gyoza which was incredible and a table favorite for the night. Service is super quick-- food comes out one after another! They nailed the efficiency and service. Gaku's always gonna be my favorite place in the Bay Area by far. I recommend going on weekdays if you can to unwind! You have to call after 3pm to make reservations. Weekends are often busy and fully booked with reservations. Always going to support and root for Gaku. read more

It's been a while since I had yaki-tori and it did not disappoint. Everything we ordered tasted really good - particularly enjoyed the blue fin tuna karage, chicken thigh skewers, and soft shell crab. Overall a great dining experience but decided to give it 4 stars since it is on the pricier end for what the food is. read more

Gaku Yakitori - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

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The food and service was amazing! This place reminds me of Japan. Overall food quality was good!

My bestie and I had a fantastic experience at Gaku! The restaurant has a boutique-like charm--cozy, intimate and inviting, perfect for a relaxed night out. The menu offers a wide variety of classic izakaya dishes, and some unique items. The staff went above and beyond to guide us through recommendations for both food and drinks. Everything we tried was delicious, beautifully presented, and served with great attention to detail. The matcha crème Brule was yum! It was rich and creamy, and (stereotypically asian in a sense that it was) not too sweet. Service was top-notch--attentive without being intrusive, and genuinely friendly. A couple downsides- Parking is definitely a challenge, so plan accordingly. They are a bit on the pricey side, but you're in silicon valley (so it's almost expected) and the quality of the food makes it totally worth it. It's certainly an experience I can check off my collection list of must try places. read more

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Skewers were a hit or miss. I'm not usually a huge fan of just salted skewers (I feel like the special sauces ones give a yakitori place a chance to shine by setting themselves apart from your basic charcoal grill flavor), but for Gaku, the salt skewers were my favorite, especially the pork belly. The beef with the radish and green onions was a total miss... the radish made it so watery and the beef ended up sitting in a soggy pool of liquid. The chicken cartilage is typically one of my favorite skewers, but not here. It was too much meat that looked slightly on the pink-er side, but it's all preference. Their ramen was actually pretty good (usually, when I get ramen at skewer restaurants, the ramen is really bad). I liked the broth flavor and although I'm not a thin noodle fan, I liked Gaku's thin ramen noodles! Lots of chew, good portion size. The tuna carpaccio really threw me off--it was seared, sitting on a bed of raw onion, served with raw garlic slices, green onions, and crispy fried onion bits and watermelon radish. I genuinely thought I was only getting a few slices of fully raw tuna because there was no description (none of the items on the special menu had descriptions). I guess I should have asked, but I do feel like it'd be nice to know how it came. I would have ordered the chutoro instead... oh well, maybe next time. Dessert was great! Matcha crème brûlée and lychee sorbet made a great combo! The crème brûlée was really thick and rich, while the lychee sorbet was light and crisp. Sat at the bar right by the service window, which wasn't awful, but if you're annoyed by frequent traffic, definitely avoid sitting there. Loved the service--servers are all friendly and kind~ read more

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Servers were really nice. They able to get me a table right away because there's no more reservation It's a very small place, but I like how they placed the table in the seat. The lighting is great too We didn't order a lot of food, but that's a good portion and everything is fresh especially the fish we had is really good Haven't been here for more than five years, but it still taste as good as I remember I will recommend recommended and will return again soon. read more

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4.5/5 Superb experience here! It's a little hole in a wall experience. Came for dinner on a Tuesday when it just opened and within 15 minutes this place filled up super quickly. The interior is a bit small so make sure to make reservations if you have a big party! The food here is delicious. We primarily ordered several sets of skewers and they all tasted perfectly charred. My favorite were the chicken skewers. We also ordered the chef combo sashimi which was also great. Only downside is it did feel a bit pricier than other yakitori spots I've been to, but it was delicious nonetheless. Overall a pleasant dining experience and would come again! read more

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I am a frequent customer at Gaku and I must say that their attention to service and good quality is by far the best! You can never go wrong with any skewers but my favorite skewers that I would recommend are pork belly, chicken meatball, and Kalbi skewers! Pick any starter/appetizer and you can't go wrong. This time around we tried the crispy chicken skin and firefly squid. But...you MUST order the BACON STEAK!!! Charred perfectly and over a bed of onions...trust me...this combination of smoke bacon steak/grilled w/onions is to die for! Add in a pint of Sapporo and you will end your day perfectly! Very lively atmosphere with lots of laughter and chatter! read more

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Gaku Yakitori is a cute spot inside and lots of parking in the lot. The service was also pretty good and so was the presentation of the food. However I was disappointed in the food especially for the vegetarian options. The mushroom skewers were extremely bland and not seasoned. The fried tofu was also very unflavorful. The sesame cucumber was tasty. read more

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Just absolutely great food! Every dish was perfectly seasoned and balanced. We had the gobo fries (we ate one order then got another), the duck salad, mushrooms, pickled celery (just delicious), chicken skin and chicken tatsuta. My favorite restaurant in the South Bay. read more

This place is so awesome. I wish I had unlimited money I would go there more often, but I've been very impressed every time with the service and the food in general is very flavorful and comes out relatively quickly. Although when it's busy, it can take a while. it was busy on the Friday night I was there but the service from James and Shawn,a young lady, were both excellent. The only thing that wasn't good was the pork belly skewers for some reason it was tough.Its not a cheap place. If you have drinks and lots of different plates, you can easily spend upwards of 150 or more when all is said and done. still it's a very special restaurant. That's obviously been doing a good job for a long time. read more

The food is perfect, we really like the gyoza in chicken skin and chicken wings and eggplants, sashimi and beef tongue and the duck breast. It's of course pricey hahaha read more

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Came here last weekend with my friends since one of our friends came back from New York to visit. Upon arrival, I couldn't tell if the restaurant was open because it was pretty dark when looking from the outside. We joined the waitlist and waited about 15-20 minutes to be seated for a party of 6 people. The wait is understandable because the store is small inside. The interior definitely gives off a Japanese vibe when you're being seated and looking around. The servers here are quick with ordering, bringing out food and bringing out drinks. We enjoyed mostly everything we ordered and had an enjoyable experience here. Would recommend and come back for yakitori. read more

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This is our family's place to go for special occasions. Not a large place like in Japan, so you almost have to make reservations in advance. Not inexpensive, so be prepared for sticker shock compared to Japan. Food selection varies, but the basics are usually on the menu. read more

The food here is great. Definitely a splurger but the place isn't too busy. Its a hidden gem and recommend all foodies to check it out

We came to Gaku after multiple recommendations, and we agreed that it's the best yakitori we've been able to find in south bay/peninsula. There's limited seating so it's best to come early or call ahead to reserve. We came in at 6pm on Friday and no wait for bar seating (tables were full). But it's comfortable at the bar/more space than you'd think and a lot of fun. Staff were so warm and helpful - they walked us through the menu and how to order skewers by checking off the items we wanted. Our favorites were the large intestine, pork belly and liver - so flavorful. Between two hungry eaters, we ordered around 8-9 skewers each plus rice bowls and drinks. Yakitori is generally more expensive - came out to around 100$ each incl tip - but well worth it. Already can't wait to go back! read more

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Authentic Japanese izakaya. I could tell from the first dish I tasted, udon w/ ume, that this was real Japanese food, more like what you'd find in Japan. We had a bunch of dishes, all very tasty, prepared the right way. Go see for yourself. Special mention for the beautiful *finely* cut green onions, the devil is in the details! The simple yaki onigiri are just right, not too big, nice flavor, and w/ the perfect pickles on the side. read more

The staff were all very nice and friendly, also they were willing to make good recommendations of food. The food we had for dinner were decent. Sashimi was fresh, Kobe beef skewers were the best, Cod was think and nicely fatty. It has the grilled rice ball which were quite good. I have been looking for good one for long time. The bluefin black meat karage was a bit salty. As this restaurant is for grilled skewers. We will try more different types of skewers next time. Small restaurant but good use of space management. All of the tables were close but still feel good by the way they put partitions. I like the atmosphere and staff of the restaurant. For its food, I would like to try more of its specialties for more thoughts to share. read more

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Came to Gaku for yakitori with a group of 5 people and we ordered a bunch of skewers to share along with some appetizers and rice. The highlights were the yakitori of course - we loved the negi beef tongue, oroshi galbi (with grated radish with ponzu), and pork belly! We also ordered some apps and dishes to share - the hamachi collar was unfortunately cold when it got to our table and more steamed than grilled. There wasn't much flavor and really let us down. We also got the otoro sashimi (5 pieces for a little under $50). The fish was very fresh but not as fatty as I usually see, it was closer to chutoro. Overall we found the non-yakitori items to be just ok. For pairing with the skewers, would highly recommend getting ontama rice (rice topped with a poached egg with kombu sauce & scallions). It's simple but so good and great to complete your meal. read more

Gaku Yakitori - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California

We cameo on a Friday night, with no reservation, and there was plenty of bar seating. The restaurant isn't huge by any means, but it was cozy. The art on the wall is really cool, all drawn with chalk. The menu is pretty simple, a good variation of all types of Japanese food. We started with a few yakitori skewers, beef, chicken, chicken gizzard & cartilage. Every order comes with 2. The beef was super tender and flavored, the chicken with sauce was one of my favorites. The soy sauce it came with was to die for imo. The gizzard is always a must, and the cartilage had meat all around it. The skewers were delicious! For our mains, we started with the Akami (Tuna) sashimi. It comes in a order of 5, and the pieces are huge. With a side fresh wasabi, it tasted super fresh. Probably one of the best tuna's I've ever had. The eggplant appetizer was surprising. It's a cold dish, soft and the flavor was amazing. The fried chicken was tender and battered perfectly, with the mayo, every bite was juicy. Lastly, the udon was definitely something else. The broth was out of this world, and the udon had a nice chewy texture to it. It came with a nice piece of pork belly. The food was delicious, we couldn't be happier with the choices we selected. The service was great! The servers were attentive and friendly. It was a nice atmoshere. If you come with a bigger party, I recommend making a reservation. Another GEM! Highly recommended! read more

Called in a little after 8pm, and was able to make a reservation for a party of 4 at 9pm that night. The restaurant is on the smaller side for seating though; I'd recommend calling in if you have a party larger than 4. Standard yakitori spot, but it did feel a bit pricier in comparison to other yakitori restaurants in the Bay Area; however, still tasty and of decent quality. We got mainly skewers for our meal, and the beef tongue and gizzard skewers were our favorites. Galbi skewer was on the tougher/thicker side for my taste (not as tender). read more

After an awful experience at sumiya, we decided to try this place. The place is quite cozy but still able to accommodate large parties. Our reservation was for a party of 11 at 730pm and they were about to have our table ready around 7pm. We ordered almost all of the different type of yakitori and our favorites are the chicken skin, gizzards, livers and tomatoes. The chicken cartilage has a lot of chicken meat on it and little bit of cartilage so it feels like eating a skewer of chicken thighs. 1 order comes in 2 skewers. We also really enjoyed the appetizer octopus dish. Service was very attentive and friendly. Definitely a great place to hang out with friends, family or after drinks with coworkers. read more

Gaku is one of my favorite restaurants in the Bay Area. I have never had a bad meal here in the last ten years I've been going. My consistent favorites are the fried shrimp, spicy chicken wings, and the Gaku udon. A new item we tried out were the yuzu fried chicken skins and those were fantastic as well. All of the yakitori is great and much recommended. Gaku is perfect for date nights and for nights out with friends. Definitely come here for a consistently great dining experience. read more

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This yakitori spot was a bit pricier than other ones that I've been too. The service was ok. It was fine at first but as the restaurant started filling up, it felt like our table was getting neglected. We couldn't get our waters refilled and had to haul down another waitress to bring us our check. Interior is very small and only able to host a handful of parties. They do have a tiny bar area for those that want a quick grab and go. The food itself was ok. I tried two different skewers: galbi oroshi & galbi garlic. The kalbi garlic flavor was a bit dry and tough to chew. I really enjoyed the flavor of the galbi oroshi and would recommend ordering that one. I also tried the pork belly and was not a fan of the flavor. It was a bit too sweet for my liking and quite fatty. The ontama rice and cabbage were tasty and a nice side with all the meat dishes. This restaurant is located in a plaza with plenty of parking. Overall, a pricier spot. I would recommend calling ahead of time & making s reservation if you plan on stopping by! read more

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This yakitori place was a little more pricy though compared to some other shops in the Bay Area, but the service was friendly and the food was really good! The skewers were perfectly grilled and well-seasoned. I loved the smoky flavor, especially in the grilled chicken ones. They were juicy, tender, and slightly charred, with a savory-sweet glaze that added depth to each bite. We also got the fresh cabbage and chilled silky tofu as starters. They were very refreshing~ The deep fried spicy chicken wings were crispy and flavorful~ And of course, we couldn't resist indulging in the dessert menu. The matcha cream brûlée struck a perfect balance between sweetness and creamy texture. The lychee honey cheesecake was a decadent finale, its flavors dancing on our palates, a great way to end the meal! read more

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I've been looking for a regular Japanese skewers place to go to in the bay area and I think this place is it! This is a more formal place than its sister location but the taste is just as good if not better. If possible, make sure to get a reservation here since it can get super crowded. All of the skewers were really really delicious. They had a wide assortment of skewers to choose from, and honestly I don't think you can go wrong with ordering any of them. The service is super fast and everyone there is super friendly. They do tell you when you have to leave since they might have reservations and stuff but I don't think it's too much of an issue, since you'll get plenty of time. All in all, definitely a wonderful place for a fancier dinner. It's a bit pricey but I think it's well worth it. read more

Super good yakitori. All of the food was so fresh and cooked so well. The chicken breast was so juicy and tender. All the different seasonings were great. Prices good for what you're getting. Great service as well. Small location so make a reservation or be prepared to wait for a spot at the bar. read more

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Yakitori - chicken wing: too salty - chicken meatball: awesome texture, recommend - chicken knee cartilage: good, but you have to like the texture of chewing through soft bones - shiitake: good, did not standout to me Others dishes - monkfish liver: love the soy gelee and seaweeds that accompany it. Great combo of textures, recommend - shrimp tempura: shell was a bit much to chew through, but good as a beer snack - gaku udon: surprisingly good. Broth is medium weight, mainly chicken and white pepper flavor. Udon had good texture. Wish it had more 'stuff' inside. Only one small cube of pork. Not a full meal portion - yuzu rare cheesecake: yuzu flavor is pretty strong, depending whether you like that or not. Cream cheese base had good flavor. Could taste the cream cheese, but not overpowering. Wish there were more raspberry bits to add contrast - grilled onigiri with ikura: always great Misc - Second time I've been here, and both times, have been out of uni. Disappointing since a number of menu items have uni in it - Book a reservation ahead of time, limited table seatings - Skewers are pretty pricy, about $8-12 a plate read more

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My husband and I dined here on a Monday night. We walked in at 6:30p and were seated right away. There were still few tables available and open spots at the "bar" counter. There were two servers, both of them were nice and friendly. We order two of the uni shots, it has uni, salmon roe and jello - the amount of uni they put in each shot is decent and they're very fresh and goes well with the roe. Then for skewers we had: beef (good quality but a bit overcooked), wings (perfectly cooked and seasoned, decent sized too), thigh with skin (a bit too salty for our taste if we choose garlic instead of salt), livers (had it in sauce and it was tender and tasty), gizzard and heart (good but overcooked, which made them too dry), pork belly (perfect cooked and seasoned, great meat and fat ratio), then large beef intestines (perfectly cooked and seafood, surprisingly not burnt which is difficult to do - my favorite dish here), I also had their Takowasa, which I forgot to take a pic because it was so fresh and delicious, I finished it in no time. It had just the right amount of spicy from the wasabi. Overall, it was a nice experience and we will definitely come back. I do wish that they open for lunch like Sumiya and Sumika. Also wish they incorporates the Yelp waitlist system and QR code ordering. Less paper and more efficient. read more

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Best yakitori I've ever had; the meats are very high quality, and the selection is impressive. Some of my favorites: chicken skin, chicken gizzard, garlic chicken thighs, king trumpet mushroom, and garlic pork belly . The food isn't cheap, but the food is worth every dollar. read more

Monkfish Liver 5 soft, pasty, sour sauce, seaweed Diced Duck Steak 3 sous vide duck breast, seared on grill, red wine sauce, not juicy, medium flavorful Ayu Sweet Fish 1 grilled tiny whole fish, bitter Chicken Gizzard 3 crispy chewy, salt Chicken Liver 3 soft, slightly bitter Kalbi 3 too chewy, medium flavorful Beef Tongue 5 chewy, tender, flavorful scallion sauce Scallop 4 medium rare, not sweet enough read more

My partner and I have just returned home, and we are still taken aback by the supreme quality that Gaku delivered. We ordered the following: chicken liver with sauce, knee cartilage, gizzard, heart, bluefin toro karaage, kalbi with miso, pork belly, tecchan, ankimo, and rare honey cheesecake. Here's the following order by phenomenal tasting: Tecchan, chicken liver, bluefin toro karaage, knee cartilage, and ankimo. James, our server, was extremely kind, humorous, and knowledgeable with the menu. Thank you so much, James! We also ordered the Kinka bottle, which was chef's kiss along with the plates that stood out to me. My partner also loves the above plates--man it was worth the one hour wait. And that cheesecake? My, my, my. Until next time. :) read more

One of the best places on the Bay Area for Yakitori. Frequent patron for at least the last 8 years, and service is still top notch. Food is consistent in quality and taste from the charcoal grill. The servers time different parts of your order to ensure the best experience, with thoughtfulness of ramen as the final course to fill you up. Skewers: kalbi, hearts, liver, mushrooms. Faves: liver and mushrooms. Kalbi is a great 2nd place tender and flavorful... but it's because it's kalbi and always tender. Menu items: duck breast- yes it's pricy, but I rarely see delicate tender duck breast cubes on the menu. Rice onigiri...perfectly crisped and lightly seasoned. Ramen: good finisher, filling, broth is average. Clams: as expected. Boiled and in dash broth. Good warmer for the tummy as an appetizer. Music is still on par, and a great place to get drinks, and well made yakitori. read more

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Vibe: Cozy chill atmosphere Food: Unagi skewers with poached egg 4/5 -very umami Bluefin carpaccio 3.5/5 - dont get it if you dont like onions (green onion, red onion, fried onion). Large slices of fish that serves 2-3 people Chicken thigh 4.5 We got both the garlic and sauced chicken. Overall very juicy and has some parts of chicken skin which enhances the flavor Beef tongue negi 3.5, large slices love the green onions on Oroshi kalbi skewer 2.5 - not as flavorful as we thought it would be Hotate scallops 4 - good quality can taste the light smoky charcoal flavor, tasted even better with the lemon. Yaki onigiri with ikura and salmon 2.5/5 - I wish it was crispier - I liked the shishito leaf - Not enough filling Service: service is good you might wait a bit for the food but i think the quality makes up for it. Very solid. Would come back again. read more

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Food was really good. They could go easier on the dressing on the salad tho; it was a bit too sour. Other than that, Al the skewers are freshly grilled. Hot when served. The gizzard really reminded me of my time in japan. Definitely would return. We didn't make a reservation, so we were told that we can only stay for 1.5 hrs. Fine with us. But then they tried to take orders in like... less than 5 minutes. Also, they probably don't have their own section so all 3 of them took turn coming to ask us for our order. LoL Place is nice. You can see the chef grilling the skewers. Tables are spacious too. read more

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The food was okay, but then again maybe we don't have the taste buds for it. The Kobe beef skewers ($13 for two sticks) was chewy, wagyu skewers (2 for $13) was very good, and the pork belly skewers ($12 for two) was the best. We also got the oxtail soup, very tasty and everything was simmered perfectly. It was on the louder end inside and the wait time was pretty quick (830pm on a Saturday). Lots of parking read more

Gaku Yakitori - Japanese Near Me - San Jose, California