Stopped in for a quick bite to eat. Friendly staff and excellent service. The food was delicious. I ordered the #1, teriyaki chicken bowl. Perfect portion size and made to order. No waiting and clean dining area. read more

I use to come here 8-10 years ago and it was always a spot on place to get your terriyaki bowl on. I went last week and this place has changed. Interior is dirty, food was overcooked and the worst part was the hygiene. The cashier lady took my order and then went on to clean the tables, take out the trash and started to prepare other customer's meals without washing her hands. Terrible. read more

Mako Bowl specializes in fast food terikyaki bowls. Many customers have raved about the high quality of chicken that Mako uses. I've been there twice but am not sure it's good enough to replace Flame Broiler as my go-to for this type of food. The chicken teriyaki was really good. The meat was moist, they don't include skin, but the portions are small and the prices high. The teriyaki sauce, as expected, was rather generic. Their chicken nugget plate was delicious. White rice, crispy crunchy chicken karaage, and choice of two salads is very satisfying. The potato salad had a great vinegary tang with a bit of crisp vegetable in it, like cucumber and carrot. The cucumber seaweed salad is totally undressed but they provide a little container of white vinegar which i used to dip the fried chicken and splash into the seaweed salad. The Spicy tuna bowl took a long time to make. The rice was seasoned with rice vinegar, and topped with a really pungent mixture of finely chopped tuna, scallions, and siracha. It was almost inedible with way too much hot sauce and the raw bite of too many scallions. With the very seasoned rice, I had a lot of trouble finishing this. On another visit, I tried the chicken udon noodle soup. The chicken was really unappealing to me. It had been boiled in the broth resulting in a rubbery texture, lack of searing and color, no seasoning, and gross nubs of fat still clinging to the meat the way boiled meat does. I tried dipping it in teriyaki sauce and hot sauce to help it go down, but I really wish they would have used grilled chicken in this dish. read more

We were hoping that the foods were freshly grilled but it's not. Anyway, it's a fast food service that you should not have too high expectation. read more

I used to frequent this restaurant a lot when I lived in Pasadena but now that I have moved out the area not so much. But I had a hankering for their delicious udon soup which tasted delicious as usual. read more

My first visit to mako bowl was pleasant I really enjoyed my bowl the chicken was good I love the steamed vegetables they're just steamed and cooked right. It was exactly what I was craving and the prices just right. I'll be back! read more

Mako Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

i got the beef, chicken katsu and teryaki chicken. it's by far the worst Teryaki I've ever had. there was little to no flavor in any of the food and the Mac salad was bland. the food seemed like it was made 3 days ago and then heated up a few minutes before serving. read more

When I am looking for an inexpensive quick bite for the family for dinner, I go here. I always order take out, so I'm not sure how the service is overall; but the person taking orders is usually very nice and friendly and she usually gets my order right. The food is ok; I like that you can see them actually grill the chicken and beef in front of you. Food is pretty consistent and it tastes ok. The quality of the beef is not consistent; at time supper fatty and thick and sometimes very thin. I order either the large teriyaki chicken or the large teriyaki beef bowl with vegetables. The portions are inconsistent as sometimes I get huge portions I cannot finish and other times the bowl just looks very sad. I do keep going back here because it is so quick and convenient read more

Mako Bowl - Large beef teriyaki bowl to go! - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Love, love, love this place! This is my go-to teriyaki spot in Pasadena. Very reasonable prices and you get a quantity of food. The staff members here are amazing! Parking- plenty of free parking in the lot shared with other businesses Miso soup - 3/4 yummy, but sometimes the broth to tofu ratio is lacking Chicken teriyaki - 5/5 my favorite the teriyaki sauce is soooo good read more

Mako Bowl - Large chicken teriyaki - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

The beef bowl was good flavorful beef. I love the little ginger shreds that add at the top of the bowl. It was a new spot we tried with my coworkers and i would definitely go there again. read more

Ordered a lunch delivery - chicken teriyaki bowl with California roll. Very good! Will order from them again.

Spicy tuna roll was gross. Ordered 8pcs and couldn't finish it. Could get better sushi from so many other places for the same price.

Hidden Gem Alert! Cheap food. Good quality. Everything is petty good. The chicken udon is great even the sushi isn't bad! Do it! read more

I came here for lunch every weekday for years ever since I first moved to LA working nearby as a poor entry through mid level office monkey. It's like cheap mall food court Japanese fast food, only higher quality, made to order, and not in a mall. I loved that I could get a bowl of raw salmon, spicy tuna, shrimp tempura udon, or chicken udon for less than 6 bucks and be back in the office with time to spare. Even after I got a job in an insurance company in Eagle Rock I still went back for lunch from time to time. I haven't been back since moving to the Bay area, but when I found myself back in Pasadena I had to come back and see if it's still as good as I remember. Parking is still a free lot behind the building. The menu seems the same. Udon is still cheap but the fish doubled in price. Chairs and tables are slightly run down now but considering how old Mako Bowl is, the space still looks fairly clean and not too outdated. I had no issues with it smelling unclean or anything. Did not use the restroom but it's always been scary. The udon is still perfectly qq (chewy) and a great deal. I actually thought the udon here was cheaper than the hot udon at the much pricier Meiji Seimen I was at two days ago. The broth is pretty good still too, especially for fast food. The raw salmon is not quite as good as it used to be. It used to be slices of sashimi on sushi rice, white rice, or brown rice, chirashi-style, but now it's cubed, poke-style. Also either I'm pickier now or the fish isn't as fresh. Still edible and a better deal than Ralph's sushi but not as good a deal as before. Anyway I'm going to give a 4 overall. It's still a 5 for the things that maintain their old quality after all this time, but I have to take off a star for the salmon. read more

It upsets me to have to disparage a business like that but my past few experiences have been horrendous to say the least. Service used to be solid up until a couple of months ago. I put in an order the phone and showed up 20 minutes later to pick up. They take my payment and just left me standing by the pick up counter. I stood there for 15 minutes and not one of the employees asked if I've been helped or anything. I finally ask how much longer and they tell me that it's been ready and set the bag on the counter top for me to grab AFTER asking and AFTER just standing there waiting. I ask them how come no one bothered to give me my food after paying since it's been ready and I'm given a flimsy explanation of how the order took a while and it was getting cold.... not like they were placed under a heat lamp or anything like that. I was offered no apologies or any expression of concern. I get that it's just a job and they're not enthused about working there but that does NOT mean that they should not give a damn about doing it right. I asked for the manager and I was told that they won't be in till Monday. read more

My default place for chicken teriyaki ...no frills but it's good and they give you a lot and it's under $20...if there was one closer to home, I would eat it couple times a week read more

I was craving some Japanese food and don't really like yoshinoya and didn't want to lots of $$ to go to an actual Japanese sit down restaurant. I'm glad I went out of my way from Glendale to drive here! My bowl was so delicious!!! They had really good prices! I ordered the teriyaki bowl and it was only $6. They have combos for about $8-$9. The food tasted as good as it would've been at a real Japanese teppanyaki. Also the service was too notch! Rosy Was so nice and greeted us with a smile! It was super quick and gave me my Japanese fix! read more

Mako Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Review 63 If you love Teriyaki Chicken, you'll love Mako Bowl!! I've been eating here for over 10 years and to date they don't disappoint, you'll always be served fresh moist chicken made a few meters away from the register. The sauce in my opinion is what makes/breaks a restaurant, the sauce here is very thick, soy sauce base and not over sweetened. The sides I normally pick are any combination of steamed vegetables, potato salad and a traditional green salad with a non oily ginger sesame dressing. Plan B I only submit 5-Star reviews, if I post a review it's cause 'hat's off" I recommend the establishment and will return for another experience. I don't feel the need to submit a review with less than 5-Stars, regardless if I check in, submit a picture or tip. I suggest Yelp change it's reviews to a category scoring system, then is when I can be fair and review each place I visit. PM me if you like additional information. read more

Mako Bowl - Teriyaki chicken with "extra" "extra" chicken. My tastebuds are having orgasmic sensations!! - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Love love love them. Wish there were more. I really liked the tasty food. Usually order their mix late with ribs. And their chicken udon is the best. I also like their salmon sushi. Too small but yummy. read more

They got my order wrong! I drove all the way home only to find my order was wrong. I called them and they said they could redo my order and pick it up, it would be ready when I get there. I drove back and my order was not ready, I had to wait another 15 minutes for my order. And to top it off no discount, no como food, no apology, nothing! I had to drive all the way back for my order, wait more, and nothing in return. And to top it off The edamame I had ordered on the side was slimy and had a faint foul smell!! This place really disappointed! read more

As I was pondering to find something good to eat, I stumbled across this place and decided to try it. Tables weren't clean, but they weren't really dirty either. I got the Chicken and Beef, and it tasted great! The only thing I didn't really like was the bones on the type of beef I got. It made eating this very messy. read more

Mako Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

Generally speaking, you should not come here if you are on any kind of a low sodium diet. Truth be told, you should probably avoid any place that makes your food other than your house if that's your dietary need. But in the end, it's hard to glorify or miss the mark with white rice and teriyaki chicken, so this place gets a ho-hum from Yours Truly. It's serviceable shovel-in-your-gullet food on your 30 minute lunch break food, especially if you've been to Del Taco twice this week already. An extra star might be merited for the B- California rolls served here for a pretty inexpensive price, but really-- they're no better than the Ralph's supermarket sushi rolls next door... And with Ichima and Kabuki a one minute walk across the parking lot for roughly the same price, we're gonna let it sit right there with stereo stars and give you one final piece of advice: drink lots of water after a meal here... That salt will balloon you up and your skinny jeans will be "goal jeans" by morning. read more

Great cheap fast teriyaki bowls. I ordered a large combo bowl (with teriyaki chicken and beef) and a katsu bowl .. filled 2 people up with around $11 bucks! Now that's what I'm talking about. The food was better than Yoshinoya's and a bit cheaper too. Granted I was the only Asian there at the time (it made me laugh to myself), but it was still good. All their other items are pretty cheap too with very reasonable portions. read more

My transition back to eating meat has included Mako Bowl. Mako Bowl is your basic teriyaki spot with everything ! My favorite is the spicy chicken bowl with brown rice ! It tastes really good and the portion size is just right. No frills but good quality and delicious food. Their new menu now features ramen and curry. These will be the next items that I will be trying out. Mako Bowl never disappoints. read more

Mako Bowl - Spicy Chicken Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

The Large Katsu Curry Plate is better than B-Man's, there's more potatoes and carrots in the curry and it's off to the side, the katsu is still crispy on a bed of steamed rice without being slathered with all the curry... Prices have crept up and the avocado topping on the bowls seems more chintzy... read more

Mako Bowl - 010515: Spicy Tuna Bowl w/avocado... - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Been craving some spicy tuna and thought after a good hike, I'd get some spicy tuna with some Jamba Juice. But honestly, not that great. Been to places that are a lot better. Spicy Tuna Bowl: it was a shredded & bit dry and didn't have enough spice or flavoring. The coloring was good but the taste wasn't as good. Price:$10.50 Teriyaki Bowl: this dish comes with broccoli which was distasteful and brownish at the end. Really dry. The teriyaki chicken was bland. It was a good thing there was a lot of sauce or I would have been a lot more disappointed. Price: $5.45 Would I come back here again? No. It was pretty expensive for a distasteful experience. read more

Mako Bowl - Spicy Tuna Bowl + Chicken Teriyaki Bowl (ignore the Jamba Juice bowl) - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

The first time coming to this place.I had the combo bowl with chicken and beef and was delicious.the price is right too. Romina was very nice and helpful read more

I love the spicy salmon bowl! No, it's not on the menu. When you order it, they always look a little annoyed and tell you to wait while they check to see if they have it. I think maybe they're checking to see if they feel like making it but I love it so much I will still order it even if it annoys the heck out of them. They make it with raw salmon that's cubed into tiny little pieces and they add tiny pieces of jalapeno, some green onions, and this amazing spicy sauce. I could go on about this damn spicy salmon bowl for days... Their teriyaki items are average. The short ribs are the best out of all the items. I wouldn't order the beef. It's like yoshinoya style shredded beef and doesn't taste all that amazing. The staff isn't that friendly and unless you call ahead, you may have to wait a while for your order. read more

Mako Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

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Got to admit this place is really good. I didn't realize how close I lived to this place until I was introduced. If you are craving a good chicken teriyaki bowl, go here. I ordered the combo which came with chicken teriyaki and beef. The meat was so tender, I was honestly expecting it to be dry and not tasteful. The amount of meat to the sauce was amazing. It comes with a side of veggies which didn't have a lot of seasoning but still a complement to the main dish. The rice was great too as I am super picky with the way my rice tastes. The place was rather empty when I went but then again I went on a Sunday afternoon. The decor is bland but the place was clean and the food came out rather quickly. The prices are not that bad and it makes me want to come back and try again. read more

I used to frequent this establishment quite often when I worked in the area. Food was good and the favorites for me here were: Large Spicy Chicken Bowl: Not really a bowl, this comes with a bed of rice, topped with their grilled chicken and lathered with their special spicy teriyaki sauce (possibly sriracha teriyaki). You'll also get a side of vegetables. One side is a medley of steamed vegetables and the other is steamed broccoli. Spicy Salmon Bowl: This comes with bowl of rice topped with salmon sashimi that is tossed in their special spicy sauce and greens onions. This is usually a special request on the "secret menu." Just ask the cashier and the will ask the guys in the back to see if they have the ingredients to make it. This is a particular item that you either love it or hate it. I kinda love it. You can also order this with a side of avocado, but it will be extra. Both have a good kick of spiciness. For some, it can be too much. Service is usually pretty quick here too. read more

3.5 stars is deceiving, at least during our visit. They have many choices and for being a fast food Japanese restaurant, the food is great and priced well. We ordered chicken curry with veggies, chicken teriyaki with side salads of macaroni and seaweed, and a chicken katsu with curry on the side. I have to say that the curry was a bit overwhelming but surprisingly delicious. A little salty, but good nonetheless. I'm glad our son ordered the curry on the side. I had to order another rice a la carte to eat the rest of my order. But I didn't mind. Hubby thought the teriyaki was good and I especially loved both the salads. The macaroni had bits of ham in it, which made it tasty. You also have to ask for hot sauce or spicy pepper at the counter because they don't leave it out. However, there are soy sauce bottles out by the soda machine. Overall, I think it's a pretty decent place with good service, good food, and worth every penny. read more

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I love this place it's been around since I moved to pasadena The food is great and the customer service 10 starsz I recommend this place read more

I stopped coming here because they stopped offering brown sushi rice for their tuna bowls. I came back for the teriyaki, because I was getting tired of Ter & Yaki, and I needed a change of pace. I'm glad I came back, the food is still good for the price, and they do offer brown rice. I was too hard on this place in my initial review. read more

Got the teriyaki chicken and short rib on rice. Its literally 4 pieces of super thin sliced beef with a little scoop of chicken and a ton of teriyaki sauce with a gain of rice. The ratio is off by a lot. Salad was okay....i wont come back. I got baja fresh next door because this meal was really dissapointing. read more

Now I'm not gonna lie the place doesn't look that special but really it's the food that makes up for it. The options on the menu might look appealing to most but I believe their best options are definitely the Chicken Katsu Curry, the California Rolls, and the Shrimp Gyoza. Those have to be some of the best options especially if eaten all at once kinda like a post workout food which was I do on occasion. The service is pretty nice but sometimes you have to speak louder than usual for them to hear you and might not even give you the proper order. The place isn't for everyone and yes the tables need to be clean but it's the place you just want to eat and get out or just pick up your food to go. read more

California rolls with no avocado go figure. First time I have a one without avocado. Very disappointing read more

Mako Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

The food is decent but they are not good at customer service. Apparently a NEW rule took effect recently... Only one hot sauce per entree. This must be just for To Go orders since you get all you want when you eat IN. We spent $40 plus on TOGO food and had 4 entries with two appetizers. We asked for 6 hot sauce and the girl at the register said she could only give us one per entree. What????? We said! She replied: Maam, I don't make the rules.... I just work here. Oh well, we've been wanting to start going more to Panda and pickup stix nearby. I HATE this type of service and refuse to reward them with my dinner dollars!! read more

Mako Bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California

2.5 stars. Here we have Japanese food that's cooked to order and doesn't taste like anything special. The steamed veggies are a nice touch but could use something like sesame oil to liven 'em up; as they serve them now they just kind of sit there looking kinda sad. They really don't have any condiments either, except for soy sauce. Service was friendly and attentive and food takes a bit longer because as I mentioned it's cooked to order. What I liked most was the ambiance: it's a clean uncluttered space with a couple of touches that make it look and feel "Japanese". Too bad the food isn't better... read more

Consistently just below average. I work nearby so this is one of the decently priced places to go for lunch for basic Asian bowls. The food is pretty tasty and prices aren't too bad. Whenever I ask for hot sauce, spicy mayo or anything there's always a charge, which is annoying since it's those really really small to go sauce cups. If you have any substitutions forget about it, they have a process and can't handle more than that. The soda fountain is mostly broken still. If you have tasty and decently priced good I suppose you can just not care about your customers. read more

The spicy tuna bowl with avocados is good. The portions are big but it's expensive, $12.50 for the bowl. The color is very vibrant. It could use some more vegetables. It's also seasoned very well, it definitely doesn't need any soy sauce. read more

Mako Bowl - Spicy tuna bowl - Japanese Near Me - Pasadena, California