Tuna Town, Huntington Beach

Tuna Town, Huntington Beach

website

Location:
221 Main Street
Huntington Beach, CA

Hours:

Sunday - Thursday: 5pm -10pm
Friday - Saturday : 5pm -11pm
Closed on Mondays

Sorry I don't have pictures for this but here are some links.

360 degree view of restaurant

restaurant pictures, movies and menu items

This is a sushi bar/teppan yaki grill type restaurant. It is owned by a member of the band KORN so it has a rock theme to it. We came here for a friend's birthday a few months ago. Anyways here is our review.

FOOD:

When we first came here, we did not really have high expectations considering its a sushi place with a ROCK theme to it. The first thing we thought was this place is trendy, and that the food will be "alright"-not great but not bad either and really expensive! We were thus pleasantly surprised. We ordered the Blackened Ahi Steak ($20)and Japanese Boneless Short Ribs ($18) for our entrees. We also ordered a crunchy roll and salmon sashimi. The entrees were not only delicious but was also plated beautifully and the portions generous.

Here's a pick of the Ahi Steak! Yummm...



Ambience:

We went on a Saturday night so we can't see how it will be on a regular weekday, but weekends are busy and the place is packed. It's a nice place to go to with a group of people. They have a number of televisions around the restaurant to watch whatever sporting event is going on. The particular night we were there we watched a UFC fight. The place is busy and the crowd is lively, all-in-all a great place to go to celebrate or just to hang out.

Service:

The service was really great. Our server was friendly, prompt and competent. We had a somewhat large table and ordered numerous times for more sushi rolls or sake, on top of that like I mentioned earlier the place was packed so all things considered service was excellent in that we did not wait too long for our food and our server was always gracious.

Price: $$-$$$

It really depends on what you order and how much you order, but generally at least $25 per person or what you would normally expect to spend at a Mid to mid-high Japanese restaurant. We ordered two entrees, a crunch roll, an order of salmon sashimi, 2 beers, a soda and ice tea and our bill with tax and tip was around $90. It's not cheap but not too expensive either considering how much food we got.

Recommended?

Yes. It was a great experience and a great surprise because we were epecting mediocre food at a high price. I think we'll definitely go there again the next time we find ourselves out in Huntington Beach.

GYU-KAKU

GYU-KAKU, Pasadena





website

Location:

70 W. Green St.
Pasadena, CA

Hours:
Mon.-Thurs. : 5pm - 10:30pm Dinner only
Fri.-Sun. : 11:30am - 3:30pm (Lunch)
Fri. & Sat. : 5pm - 11:30pm
Sundays : 5pm - 10pm






This is a Japanese Grill type restaurant that I ate at with my family and we had a really good experience here :) If you've ever been to a Korean BBQ place where you get to cook your own food this place is similar to that. However, unlike those places you won't end up smelling like BBQ and smoke. Why??? Because the special Japanese style grill that they use sucks down the smoke rather than have it moving up and blowing towards you. So here is my take on the following subjects:

Food:
Really High quality meats, seafood and vegetables! You basically order this stuff raw and cook it on the grill. They offer combinations that range in price starting from about $20. While they don't serve sushi or sashimi there are some items that use tuna sashimi. Definitely try some of the appetizers. My favorite is the Hawaiian poke (marinated tuna sashimi) and the crispy seaweed with cream cheese. Also, the spicy tuna avocado salad is a good way to go if you're trying to eat light.
I had my first taste of Kobe beef here. So for meat eaters this is something you should definitely try once. But because it is KOBE beef which is like the most expensive beef it is not cheap and don't expect huge portions. 8 oz. of kobe beef is roughly about $40 for the prime cut. You can also get rib eye kobe beef for about $20. I also recommend getting the pork toro ($6 for 4oz.) , rib eye (regular beef) ($10 for 4 oz.), garlic butter lobster
Though I didn't try it, this place also serves a few Japanese rice dishes and noodles of bibimba (in hot stone pot), udon, and ramen. These are pretty affordable about $7 to $8.

Drinks:
They serve a variety of Japanese beers and sake so it's an ideal place to go with a group of friends to drink and celebrate a special day. They also serve shochu which is a japanese alcoholic drink similar to korean soju. The place also has a nice wine list comprised of mostly northern California wines. Free refills on soda and tea.


Ambiance:
Since this branch I went to is in Old Town it tends to be very busy on weekends. However, if you go during weekdays that won't be much of a problem. It's typically a good place to go with a group of people. Seating is comfortable and the decor is nice without being too trendy. It's a pretty relaxed setting.

Service:
Service was very, very good. The wait staff was very attentive what you would expect from a nice Japanese restaurant. Our waitress checked on us often and was very polite.


Price: $$ - $$$

Depending on what you order, how much you eat and what you drink, typically you should expect to spend at least $20 per person and up. They have happy hour where meats, vegetables are about 20% -50% off excluding Kobe beef and a few others. They also have All-You-Can-Eat available during certain days. This is about $35 / person.
All in all, I think it would be a good idea to hit up the place during happy hour.

Recommended ?

Yup! I'd definitely go back again. It's definitely not a place I can go to everyday but a nice place every now and then and if you go during happy hour it is quite affordable.