Major Japanese Barbecue Chain Plans SF Location in Former Buca di Beppo Space

Gyu-Kaku Japanese BBQ, a global chain with more than 700 locations, has plans to fire up their in-table grills in San Francisco. The company behind the business and several other Japanese restaurant concepts has filed for a liquor license at 855 Howard Street, a space that was previously home to another chain restaurant, red sauce joint Buca di Beppo. That Italian eatery served its last oversized meatball in 2017.

Gyu-Kaku, which means “horn of the bull,” first arrived in the US in West LA in 2001. The yakiniku — barbecue meat — business operates NorCal locations in Cupertino and San Mateo, where customers roast skirt steak in miso marinade over grills tucked inside their table. Gyu-Kaku touts its “smokeless roaster” technology, which sucks air from under the grills to provide ventilation. Typically, Gyu-Kaku serves saku, schochu, and Japanese beers at their restaurants as well.

Caleb Pershan

When it arrives, the new yakiniku restaurant will be one of just a handful in San Francisco, where others include CampBBQ in the Inner Richmond. And no sit-down Korean barbecue restaurants, which are more plentiful than Japanese ones in the the city, are located in SoMa.

Eater SF has reached out to Gyu-Kaku for details on the new San Francisco location, including an opening timeline: Stay tuned for updates.