Yakiniku West

I’ve dined here three times but there was a LOOONG in between my second and third visit.
I visited yesterday for a Saturday night dinner but there was a wait. We were told to come back around an hour later at 10:30 so we decided to eat something small (I was starving!!!) while we waited.
For Japanese BBQ, I usually go to Gyu-​kaku since their prices are unbeatable during their happy hour! We weren’t able to make it to Yakitori West’s happy hour but they don’t offer much savings or choices in terms of their meat.
This restaurant had a traditional feel since you have to take off your shoes before you are sat down at your table. The service here is okay. Nothing to write home about.
We had short rib dinner meal, Berkshire pork belly, okonomiyaki, Calpico float and Chirashi. The meal set came with edamame, miso soup, rice, salad and a scoop of dessert after your meal.
The okonomiyaki came out quicker than expected! It was ok. They unfortunately do not put in that many ingredients inside do it felt like I was eating cabbage okonomiyaki. Meh.
The short rib was pretty good! It came with broccoli, corn, green pepper and cabbage. I found it interesting that they gave us the three sauces for the meat already. Gyu kaku would have the three containers of sauces ready at the table.
The huge downside to this place is the fact that they DO NOT change the grill. Gyu kaku is consistently changing the grill throughout your meal. I mean, when I was cooking the last two pieces of pork belly… the flames were eating it alive. I was a bit worried that I would end up burning myself! One of the workers saw it yet did nothing to help. Thanks. So I ended up with burnt meat since they didn’t care.
The Chirashi was subpar. I’ve had fresher fish before. Then again, you don’t come here for their sashimi or sushi. Or okonomiyaki for that matter.
With the end dessert, they did give us a choice in the ice cream scoop. I was expecting that they would give us the default vanilla flavor! So I ended up choosing black sesame. Delicious~
The food here is pretty decent but the lack of a good happy hour and customer service really sets this place back. It could be better and it’s a shame that they are living up to their full potential.
The meal was decently priced but I can definitely eat and drink more nearby! If they step up their game, improve customer service and offer more choices with a longer happy hour they would become better!

Great place to have a jap bbq with friends! when you first walk in they make you take off your shoes, japanese style!!! then they bring you into sliding doors where you fold your legs and sit on the pillow. i came here with like 8 people and we order alot of beef, meat, side dishes and i remember paying $ 40 each. NOT bad at all! you can come on sundays or their lunch special deals, def worth a try!

Had food poisoning at this restaurant. My husband and I were having diarrhea and vomiting all night.
Called the restaurant but instead of investigating into it, they just denied it and called us a liar. Really? We both have the same symptoms after eating here and all they do is stick to their pride that they «never had food poisoning» before?
The meat came out half frozen as well.
NEVER going back again.

When you come in, there’s a giant shoe rack to put your shoes for while you’re in the restaurant. It caters more to smaller shoes since the slots really didn’t fit heavy winter boots. I was also worried about the no-​shoes thing when going to the restroom, but they provide house slippers, but I still advise keeping your socks on as protection since every customer uses those slippers.
I’d say this is pretty standard Japanese BBQ fare. It’s a little on the expensive side, and they appropriately estimate the amount of food that people can eat because we tried to cost save and ordered the 4 person family meal for 5 people and all left a little hungry. We thought the fire was a little weird because it was either on or off. When the cooking area was a little too hot, we asked if it was possible to turn the heat down and was told that it’s impossible. We could only completely turn it off, let it cool for a few minutes, and turn it back on.
The ambiance of the restaurant was really damaged by the table next to us. They were drinking heavily and consistently got louder throughout the night, despite us and the waitstaff asking them to keep it down. imo, they probably should’ve cut the table off, but they didn’t. It definitely deters me from going there again.

Honestly, I never knew about Yakiniku West without Unilocal.That’s because whenever I crave Japanese BBQ, I would frequent Gyu Kaku during their Happy Hour because I thought their Happy Hour prices were a steal. However, Yakiniku West’s Monday and Tuesday’s prices are INSANE. $ 3.75 for an order of short ribs?! (There’s other specials as well such as $ 3.25 for finger ribs and prime short rib being the most expensive at $ 7.95.) You must be thinking, what’s the catch? There is no catch. Well, there’s one catch; it doesn’t come with rice. Every Asian knows that you can’t have meat without rice. But still! For less than $ 4, I’d happily pay $ 2 for a bowl of rice! Not to mention that unlike Gyu Kaku, the special prices are not limited to Happy Hour only — it’s all day on Mondays and Tuesdays. The meat is good quality too! I actually preferred it compared to Gyu Kaku as the meat was really juicy and tender.
My friend and I ordered 3 orders of the short ribs, 1 order of the prime short rib, the fried chicken appetizer, and 2 bowls of rice. Both the short ribs and the prime short ribs were really good, but I liked the short rib over the prime short rib. I loved the fried chicken appetizer as well. This came with 7 large pieces of juicy chicken.
Like others have mentioned, once entering the restaurant, you have to take off your shoes and place them into the cubby before being seated. This instantly bought me back to my recent trip to Japan. Don’t worry, unlike Japan, you’re not literally sitting with your legs crossed on the floor, no worries about your feet being uncomfortable and falling asleep on you!
My only compliant here would be the lack of service. There practically wasn’t any service at all except for when the waiters bought out food to you and for when they asked if they can clear your plates. We didn’t even get water refills. Also, once you get seated, you’ll notice that the dipping sauces are already poured out for you. I didn’t like this as I’d like to pour my own sauces and know what sauce was what. All this is understandable because with their cheap prices, it’s all about turning over tables as quickly as possible.
I’ll definitely be back again on a Monday or Tuesday!

I was thinking to try this place out cause I heard the food was awesome but no matter how good the food is but with the bad service, sorry never ever ever again! So I came here for dinner for a party of two and they don’t take reservations for small parties which was fine with me I can wait. So I arrived at 6pm and the guy who was working there with a nose piercing told me to wait until 8:30. Considering how I wanted to try this place I didn’t mind waiting. I came back at 8:30 and the dude with the nose piercing told me to come back at 9:30pm…: then I said but you told me earlier to come back at 8:30.
That nose piercing dude gave me a huge attitude and was like well why didn’t you give me your number, now you have to wait! WOAHHHH woah from a customers perspective, shouldn’t the things he just told me be asked from him from the very beginning. I just didn’t want to argue so I left. People like him should get fired or like a warning from the manager. Sorry you guys lost an customer and I won’t recommend this place to any of my friends for this kind of service.
I ended up going to gku kaku and they knew how to treat their customers, I had to wait for 45 min but they asked me for my name and phone number and will call us when there’s a table available. Now this Kind of service deserves my business.

Came for dinner. The space is so cute and in traditional Japanese BBQ style where you take off your shoes and put your legs under the table. We ordered prime rib, silky pork belly, garlic edamame, broccoli, and Kobe short rib. The Kobe was sooo good! All the meats were good and the sashimi was really big and fatty. The service is pretty fast and you can just flag down any waiter to order food

Yakiniku West, you are everything a meat lover could ever want.
My friends and I came for my birthday and devoured our weight in six different kinds of beef, shrimps, crab legs, tofu, and more.
This is a great place for big groups because it’s an involved experience (you’re cooking your own meat) and it’s reasonably priced.
There is a 2 hour limit per table — so if you don’t think you can consume all the necessary meat in that time frame, or want some place to linger for hours on end, this isn’t your restaurant. To be honest, I found the prospect of eating as much meat as possible in 2 hours kind of exciting… but I’m odd and indulgent like that.
Overall, a fun and delicious birthday experience! Will be back.
*Bring socks. As many have noted, you must take your shoes off at the entrance. So if you don’t want to go barefoot…

Ever since I had a taste of Japanese bbq and kobe prime, I was hooked.
Japanese bbqs are hard to come by. Typically a small hole in the wall place that only has handful to 2 handful of tables.
Went to Yakiniku West on Christmas day.
You can always count on asian places to be open on major holidays!
Upon entering the small entrance, you’ll be greeted with the host to tell you how long the wait is. For party of 2, unfortunately, West does not let you reserve in advance.
Our estimated wait, assuming longer than usual, was 3 hours that day.
We took advantage of our wait time and hit up Spot Dessert Bar, which was right around the corner. (definitely check out!) When we came back within 2 hours, the host was able to squeezer us in earlier, which was super!
To enter the restaurant, one must take their shoes off and place them in the shoe rack. Tables are asian style tables, with you sitting on the floors but luckily you don’t have to sit indian-​style because beneath the tables are hollowed out for you to sit comfortably like you’re sitting on a chair.
We ordered 3 orders of kobe prime (came with corn+veggies), enoki+bacon, asparagus+bacon, soup + rice set, and mushroom set. Everything was just so delicious that I wanted to gorge more. It only takes couple of seconds for the kobe to be cooked and you can eat it alone or dipped in the heavenly sauces they provide. Seriously, once you try the kobe prime, you won’t look at any other meat! (I must warn you, kobe prime price is a bit steeper than other meat.)
At the end, they also offered sesame ice cream for dessert, which was the perfect ending. Only minor drawback I thought was that the grill isn’t real charcoal like the original japanese bbq place that I have been. Also, I would recommend revamping the bathroom a bit since it reminded me of asian bathrooms in the 90s, a bit worn down.

Kobe beef is high quality & a good deal
Service is hit or miss
Avoid the sushi (not high quality) and Korean dishes (inauthentic)
Unfortunately, not memorable enough to merit a return

I came here with a party of 14 on New Year day. The fact that you can reserve a table for that many people on a holiday definitely provides some peace of mind :) And the place was pretty crowded too… it’s not like they don’t have customers. We ordered the combo which is quite expensive but worth it since it has a lot of meat! The dish was presented beautifully with the meat arranged in a rose shape in the middle. The meat was very tender and the sauce was very tasty. However, there some pieces that were quite thick and chewy. But overall, the meat was really good and I would definitely come back here in the future!

This was a work party on the day after New Year’s Eve and working a full day… lots of tired and hung over people and what? you have to cook your own food?! Noooo, serve me and feed me!
Getting together with a group this large seemed difficult enough, but there we were.
Upon entering, you remove your shoes, classic Japanese. I like this custom. The décor is really nice, I liked the lighting. We were then ushered into a large room where we had two big tables with hibachi that were close enough but separated to bring orders out.
There was so much to chose from on the menu, but some people didn’t eat seafood and others didn’t eat pork so we opted for the 8 kinds of beef with vegetables, brocolli, cabbage, peppers, corn to name a few, and chicken and vegetables. After some sake and plum wine we grilled it all to specifications given,(yes, I was assigned griller for a portion of the table.) Everything was delicious and we were all satisfied. The servers were pleasant enough but really quiet or shy, I’m not sure which one, or overwhelmed by our loud group. So there you have it… a perfect start to what would be an epic night out.

Rude.
Very disappointing.
A new year dinner was ruind.
Everything was alright like usual.
One dish came in wrong and misorder our food, but that’s ok.
After me and my family finish. I went to restroom.
My parent doesn’t have much experience dining out.
So, here it comes.
After I’m finish, I came up to the second floor.
There was 2 men standing on where I was sitting also where my brother was sitting with a big box and the dirty dishes palates in it.
Umm, excuse me?!
I waited and after they leave, they came back like a flash and hand us the bill.
I ask my parent, did you guys ask for check?
They said no, they didn’t.
Then I ask my parent, did the server ask the dessert option?
They said no.
Why so rush? We didn’t spent 2 hours yet or past 2 hours.
Or you guys just don’t care about the customer cause you guys are making money fast?
Rude Rude Rude Rude Rude

Came here w party of 6 on a cold Saturday night Perfect! We were seated right away after having to take off our shoes in the front (first time ever in NYC to have to take off shoes at restaurant). We ordered two meat platters.
Waitress was very nice and attentive. Changed our grill a few times. Food was very good. Fresh and IMO reasonable price. We all had a good time and enjoyed it much! would love to go back!

Amazing experience at this local Japanese BBQ spot. No shoes are allowed making the experience that much more memorable. When we first entered I noticed the décor was extremely authentic, reminding me of my trip to Asia.
The restaurant has two floors and the seating is great for groups. I came as a party of three and was immediately seated. Make a reservation in advance as the waiter explained that we got lucky this time around.
The menu offers all sorts of meats, seafood, vegetables, kimchi, and even sushi. The BBQ meat option for two was more than enough for my two friends and I. Honestly most delicious red meat I have had in a very long time.

I’m feeling generous, 5 stars!
If anyone knows me, they know I love anything and everything Japanese! I always gravitate to St. Marks when i visit NYC.
I’ve only had 1 experience at a Japanese BBQ spot (gyu kaku in philadelphia). I was super excited as they have Monday happy hour specials! The shoes off policy is also reminiscent of my time in Tokyo. It made for a unique dining experience. They also have the traditional Japanese tables.
Started off with a pitcher of beer, Kirin. I would knock off one star just because Kirin is an «American» not Japanese brewed beer. But that’s just my prejudice.
I’m use to Korean BBQ which typically have a lot of meat sauced and «larger» portions but that limits your choices of proteins you can order and grill. We ended up trying about 7 – 8 different proteins, 4 of which were on special. The meats were also lightly marinated which is nice so you aren’t overwhelmed with so much sauce that is typical of Korean BBQ. The table grill/​bbq was super hot but their ventilation system was pretty good. I dont’ think we smelled that badly when we left LOL.
Service was good, but not the typical/​traditional Japanese style of bowing and handing things with two hands… despite me doing it to them! The staff had a more laid back casual feel and that’s how the dinner went. It was just my cousin and I just bullshitting, grilling, and having a good time!
We didn’t order any sides except for some vegetables. Can’t comment on sushi, appetizers, or desserts. We basically had beer and meat and more meat. Total came out to be about $ 105 for two (which included tip). Not bad! but probably would’ve been «pricey» without the Monday special. It is nice to switch it up since i’m use to doing more izakaya nights in St. Marks.
This is definitely a spot i’ll come back to with a group of friends. Just a great time overall.

This traditional style Japanese restaurant where one takes off the shoes before going beyond the entry a little different than many along the Japanese row. The service is quick and the ingredients are very good comparatively. This is a fun place for a group who wants to cook their own food. The meats are all top quality as well as the seafood.
Yakiniku West is a nice spot for group dinning. The service is good. The food is good with a wide variety of selection for everyone in case you get that one person in the group that is difficult or doesn’t want to bbq.

Come on over here with some socks in hand, so you don’t have to walk around barefoot: P They have slippers for when you go into the bathroom, but yanno everyone’s been wearing the same two pairs they provide so, wear some socks! Oh, you also put your shoes in their cubbies, or hold them with you (they provide plastic bags), FYI.
Anyways-​I came here on a Monday night, and they had half off short ribs (standard and premium). We also had some pork belly-​both meats were delicious. I really couldn’t tell the difference between the normal and prime short ribs, btw! We also had the agedashi tofu, bibimbap (with cheeese added to it, nom) and veggie platter. Everything was pretty tasty and not that pricey!
This is a great place to come with a big group, since the tables are pretty spacious. Also, call ahead to make a reservation-​that way, they’ll seat you right away!

Second time here and this time to celebrate my brother’s birthday. They were very accommodating — I originally made reservations for 5, then had to change for 8. Then ended up adding 2 more people last minute =X.
You have two hour dining, and they seem to be very strict about it because around 1 hour and 40 mins in, they said we couldn’t order anymore because we wouldn’t have time to finish grilling.
I still love their selection, there’s a lot to choose from, maybe too much to choose from! We ordered the ZEI meat platter for 4, the surf and turf platter, a couple of a la carte items (Silky Pork Belly was good, the Yellowtail fish was good„ negi toro rolls, and other sushi rolls, drinks and more. Everything was fresh and marinated very well.
I would suggest upgrading your platters to include the rice set. You can’t have barbeque without rice! It also comes with soup or salad and a scoop of ice cream.
Pretty pricey meal, but everyone had a great time so all was worth it. Our bill came out to be $ 400 excluding tax, but everyone was content.

Reasonably priced for pretty good food. Compared to gyu-​kaku, yakiniku felt a little more casual (maybe bc we had to take our shoes off??). Felt more authentic bc we sat in those Japanese booths. Had to make a reservation for here and even though we were like 15 min late they still accommodated us. I really enjoyed the Kobe beef. I also liked how we could order a set rather than trying to figure out what to get. Overall the food is what you’d expect for a Japanese BBQ place. I liked how the ice cream dessert was $ 2!
I would return for the ambience!

Super bonne adresse de barbecue a NY!!! Je conseille une okonomiyaki en entrée, c’est une crêpe japonaise. Rien a redire sur la qualité de la nourriture ainsi que de celle du staff, superbe expérience!