Gyu-Kaku is a Japanese barbecue restaurant located in one of Chicago’s finest neighborhoods: Lakeview East. Right off of Broadway and Diversey, this popular restaurant is a perfect spot for a party of friends looking for some high end Japanese cuisine.

The tables feature a stove top in the center so you can cook the dishes right in front of you. The restaurant features a wide array of meats to barbecue on the aforementioned stoves including different types of beef, pork, poultry, seafood or vegetables with all sorts of seasonings and sauces to choose from. They also have packages of recommended items for various party sizes.

The atmosphere is warm and inviting with around 14 tables in it’s main dining area each able to fit 4 occupants each. At the front of the restaurant is a long bar area able to accommodate around 12 guests. Perfect if you don’t wish to get involved with the self cook tables and are just stopping in for a quick beer and a bowl of delicious edamame! Speaking of which…

The edamame comes in a thick oval shaped bowl with a shallow side dish to discard your shells into. They are perfectly cooked, firm to the bite, but easy to de-shell with minimal effort. This is a more traditional edamame experience, in that they only serve the traditional style of edamame: lightly sprinkled with sea salt. The salt distribution gets a bit thin towards the bottom of the bowl. But is well distributed among the top and mid layers.

🚨Redamame alert!🚨The elusive quadra-pod edamame has been sighted at this restaurant.

Halfway through my bowl I discover the mythical QUADRAPOD edamame. A shell consisting of FOUR whole edamame beans inside of it! A momentous occasion for any edamame enthusiast!

Overall, gyu Kaku is a very fun, very engaging restaurant. Whether you are looking for a place to get some solid Japanese barbecue, or just looking for a restaurant that lets you interact with and have a little more control over your meal. This restaurant will have you covered! While the salt distribution was a bit lacking, the edamame was perfectly cooked. Plus the inclusion of a quadra-pod shell means that Gyu Kaku takes it’s edamame seriously. And for that, I’m going to leave them with a solid triple pod rating!