Gottsui

O-​KO-​NO-​MI-​YA-​KI.
Whatever you want, except you can’t grill it yourself.
FOOD QUALITY:
Hiroshima beef okonomiyaki was the choice of dish for the night, and while not perfect I was not nearly disappointed. You’re immediately hit with sweet, creamy, and savory flavors and a splash of mellow sourness from the sauce, and from there the steak undertone becomes highlighted above the sauce. Yakisoba inside isn’t necessarily cooked to perfection, but provides heaviness to balance out the lightness of the vegetables and batter out. It’s quite a fun play on sweet and sour with little notes of beefiness and creaminess, and vegetables to cut the heaviness down.
SERVICE:
Service was particularly good! Out waitress made sure that our waters were always filled and checked in regularly to see how we were doing.
ENVIRONMENT:
It’s small and tiny! But new and a tad trendy. The space is partially artistic with a chalkboard that’s used as a quick-​menu guide.
Overall, I would come back here since there’s not that many places that serve okonomiyaki! Food quality alone is pretty decent and service is good, so why not?

Apparently, the last day for this location was 11/​15/​2014, as I found out, so I went there a couple days before.
It was very difficult to find because of the overwhelmingly bright and large Victory French sign, but it is right next to it and behind that sign. There was a dim sign inside the window to denote Gottsui.
A very quiet and chill place with polite staff. It took a while for things to come out, but the menu seems so interesting with all the specials on the blackboard (I don’t think enough people order off the specials though).
The portion size is quite smaller, but you will be filled up towards the end. We started off with takoyaki, and it had quite the crunchy crust with chewy tako inside. I like my takoyaki with a bit more sauce, though I did appreciate the ones here.
Gottsui Yakisoba was actually very good, as the flavoring was spot on and the noodles had the right al dente texture as far as Japanese noodles go. I think I actually liked this better than the okonomiyaki.
The okonomiyaki was pretty good, but not the best. They did have fatty pork belly pieces and everything was cooked quite well.
It’s quite a long wait since there was only one main guy manning the grill with another helper making appetizers and helping out with the tossing from time to time. Even the waitress went behind the line to do some prep work sometimes.
A bit pricey, but they do spend the time and quality on the food. It’s a cute little place, but I can see how the poor location did not help it out very much. I hope it does find a better place in the SGV as it has a lot of potential to be a favorite!
It’s gotta be a 3.5 Stars for me!

Gottsui is a quaint Japanese restaurant that specializes in okonomiyaki and teppanyaki. The place was empty when we arrived for weekday dinner and only one other group came in by the time we left.
The menu offers a variety of appetizers, okonomiyaki «pizzas», and noodle plates. I went with the Kobe Beef Noodles, which was a pretty large dish but I managed to finish it all. I’m 100% positive the beef wasn’t real Kobe, but it was still a good dish, despite the noodles being ramen instead of udon like I’d expected.
The service was good, but that might be because we were the only table in the restaurant. Regardless, Gottsui offers interesting dishes and I would love to come back to try their desserts, which look amazing. If only they weren’t so far from me…

Size doesn’t really matter when it comes to good food and company!
Small interior with only four tables and there’s bar seats. In addition, their parking lot is small, but you can also find parking on the street.
I was glad that they were not busy when we came for dinner. We were seated immediately along with their menu.
FYI:
Free refills on — watermelon tea, lychee tea, Arnold Palmer, green tea palmer, lemonade, green tea and soda (coke, diet coke, sprite)
We ordered:
Trio seafood $ 12.50
–bonito flake, scallop, shrimp, red ginger, calamari, original sauce
Mt Fuji Surf $ 12.95
–scallop, shrimp, daikon radish, umami broth soy, calamari
Small bites (add $ 1 for white rice)
–Takoyaki $ 6.50
Green tea Palmer $ 2.50
Lychee tea $ 3.5
Our food came out pretty quick and everything was good including our drinks!!!
However, refilling the drinks was a bit slow, however, the waitress made it up by offering to give my drink in a togo cup. Yay!!!
I would come back again to try other items on their menu.

I’m happy to have Gottsui in the neighborhood. Our local Okonomiyaki spot. My mom & dad had been previously for lunch with one of their friends & told us about it. On this night we came for an early dinner around 6:00 pm. There was only one other table occupied at the time so were seated immediately. We ordered a pitcher of Sapporo, gyoza & takoyaki to start. I liked the takoyaki more than I did the gyoza. We all ordered different Okonomiyaki. As we were waiting for the rest of our food, the place filled up.
Here’s the rundown…
My mom-​Hiroshima style Okonomiyaki. This one is similar to the one she makes at home. I think she likes it because she’s not the one slaving over a hot griddle.
My dad-​Hiroshima style Seafood Okonomiyaki. He enjoyed it.
My husband-​The Osaka style Gottsui Okonomiyaki which was loaded with everything. He enjoyed it but would prefer it a little spicier.
Me-​Hiroshima style Kobe Beef Okonomiyaki. I think this one was the best of the assortment but I would also spice it up next time.
The service was friendly & attentive. My mom told the chef that she’s spreading the word to her friends (old school by word of mouth.). I’m doing my part via social media.
We’ll be back but I’m afraid my mom will stop making them at home.

Japanese. Pizza. Say whaaat?! I’m sold.
This had been on my bookmarks for quite some time and I finally had the chance to go with a couple of my best friends last night. We decided to get 3 dishes and do it family style!
— Hiroshima Okonomiyaki Pizza: This one has pork belly, daikon radish, and noodles topped with sauce and green onions. It was interesting. Tasty, but not something I would order again. Maybe I’ll try the spicy kobe beef next time.
— Spicy Kobe Yakisoba: If I had to eat this for the rest of my life and nothing else, I would not be sad. This thing was freaking delicious and I just wanted to hog the entire plate for myself! Too bad I had to act like a civilized human being and share with my best friends. You guys are lucky I love you so much. I normally don’t share food that I love so much. :P
— Garlic Pork Udon: Also yummy! I also loved the flavor of this stuff. Do you see a trend? I just love noodles. The sauce was just the right amount of savory and I liked that they put spinach in it as well.
You know what I loved the most? Their menu tells you exactly what is inside the dishes. Being the picky eater that I am, that’s AMAZING for me so I can tell them that I do NOT want the green onions/​mushrooms/​etc. :X Hehehe.

Came here for dinner with a friend and it was pretty much dead empty. We decided to sit outside since the weather was nice out. We were both famished so we ordered the below:
— Gottsui Okonomiyaki-​Japanese Pizza
— Kobe Beef Udon Noodles
— Yuzu Shrimp Tacos
— Arabiki Sausages
. and when we saw how small the portion sizes were:
— Takoyaki
Both my friend and I agreed we could have done without the pizza and the noodles. The noodles were pretty basic. They’ use the flat udon noodles not the typical thick round ones. Not much different from noodles you can find elsewhere. Heck, you can probably easily make it yourself at home. The pizza was not memorable at all. No distinct flavor jumps out at you but it did come with a cute «Garvey Ave.» street sign as a garnish!
The appetizers were definitely the highlight. I liked the shrimp tacos best although they were pretty simple. My friend liked the sausages. I would describe them as a mix between shu mai and breakfast sausage. They were pretty delicious! Had a nice snap to them!
Overall, I probably would not come back by choice.

This place specializes in Okonomiyaki and run by real japanese people!!! (this is important since there’s a flavor profile and technique that just isn’t the same). Tried a bunch of different appetizers like Karaage chicken (good), agedashi tofu (sauced version), arabiki pork sausages (good) and Gottsui Okonomiyaki. All is all, it’s a nice new addition to Monterey Park. Still, my favorite Okonomiyaki is in Torrance.
Famous for: Osaka Okonomiyaki (japanese pancake)

I found out about Gottsui after hearing people talk about the Sawtelle location.
This restaurant is located in a strange location. there is a VERY small parking lot in the back. You’re better off looking for street parking. I came here on a Saturday afternoon and was surprised at how empty the restaurant was! I thought they would be busier, but they only had 1 customer when we got in.
The service was a bit slow even though there were practically no customers. We ordered:
Spicy Kobe Beef Udon — This was was my favorite dish out of the 3. The beef doesn’t actually taste like Kobe beef, but it’s stlil quite good. I like all the sauces and garlic chips! I’d probably come back for the udon.
Gottsui Okonomiyaki — The okonomiyaki was OK. The potatoe/​breaded base was a bit too much for me. Overall, I didn’t think the toppings meshed together very well.
Gyoza — The gyoza was pretty good. I liked that it was still sizzling on the hot plate when we got it, so our gyoza was nice a crispy!
Overall, I’d probably come back for the udon! I also wanted to try the garlic pork one, so I will be back for that.

Came here for dinner with a friend since he wanted to try this place out. Small little restaurant with about 10 tables and 8 counter spots plus a few outdoor tables. This place is definitely worth a try if you never had an okonomiyaki. It’s a japanese pizza loaded with toppings of your choice or their standard options.
We ordered cheese potato, arabiki sausage, and a spicy takoyaki to share. The cheese potato was a egg, potato and cheese pancake topped with shrimp, mayo, and ketchup. It’s like eating a loaded potato cake but with eggs. Arabiki sausage came with 8 sausages, served with a small side of fried mashed potatoes and corn. The dipping sauce was like a spicy mayo. Tastes like a regular sausage so these two dishes reminds me of breakfast eggs, potato and sausage. Spicy takoyaki came out piping hot but, not as spicy as I would like it to have been.
For our main course, I had the Gottsui udon, and he had the Mt. Fuji Surf Udon. We wanted noodles instead of the okonomiyaki. Both loaded with toppings and sauce. I like their sauces so it was good for me. However, they do use the same sauce for most of their dishes so everything can taste pretty similar. You will recognize the okonomiyaki sauce, mayo, and spicy mayo.
They have a small lot behind the building for parking or you can find plenty of street parking. Customer service was great. Our waitress was really nice and helpful. If you take a picture of the takoyaki and post it on a social media site you get a dollar off.

I just got back from Japan and was craving okonomiyaki.
A friend of mine had dined the previous weekend and said it was good, so i decided to try it for myself.
I ordered the Gottsui Okonomiyaki, the Karaage, Arabiki Sausage, and the Fried Butter Corn.
Okonomiyaki — While tasty, i think i prefer the Hiroshima style versus the Osaka style. Hiroshima uses more cabbage + batter and more sauce. The Gottsui Okonomiyaki had a ton of toppings on it and that’s really all i tasted. I could barely tell there was a pancake on the plate.
Karaaage — Very juicy and well seasoned. The batter was crispy, but not thick Would come here just for this.
Arabiki Sausage — Nothing to rave about here. It’s good, but nothing special to me. It’s just sausage.
The drink menu has a lot of choices but the one drink that caught my eye was the «Green Tea Palmer». I love Arnold Palmer’s and had never occurred to me that Green Tea could make one as well. I ordered it, but soon realized they just use their green tea and Minute Maid lemonade from the fountain. Disappointing as i expected non-​fountain lemonade since it was listed separately from the fountain drinks (soda). Maybe that’s my fault, but it still caught me off guard.
Food comes out kinda slow. Glad we ordered the small bites to eat first.
One more thing to note regarding the Unilocal info: This place isn’t good for kids. They have highchairs for little ones, but they don’t really have anything on the menu for kids.
All in all, food was decent and the staff is very friendly. I may go back just for the Karaage.

I came here with a group of friends. Some of us have tried the one on Sawtelle location and we loved everything there. There aren’t many restaurants that specialize okonomiyaki in SGV area. I was pretty excited when they open one here. Comparing to Sawtelle, the food here was downgrading and taste different. Service was mediocre. The portions was small considering the price over $ 12 each.
DRINKS: Alot of interesting drinks to choose from. Some are refillable. I got watermelon tea, it was refreshing for hot summer day.
APPETIZERS: Grilled corn salad– greens, broccoli, and avocado top with grilled corn. Perfect dressing. Light and delicious.
Osaka classic takoyaki– mehh.
Arabiki sausage– my favs out of all dishes. Very flavorful… there was slight crunch when you bite them. Veryyy gooooddd!!! Would come back again just for these sausages.
ENTREE: Gottsui okonomiyaki– their signature dish. It was pretty good. Love the dancing thingy on top (sorry don’t know what that thing call lol)
Seafood trio– very disappointed. The cabbage and flour mush together seem undercooked.
Kobe beef udon – my least favorite. The beef didn’t taste like beef at all. No beef flavor and overcooked. Just like regular roasted beef chunks. Skip this dish!!!
My. Fuji surf udon –just AOK.
Service at first when it wasn’t busy, server was very nice and attentive. She gave us plenty of time to decide and made our choices. When it was dinner time and got busy. She kinda ignored us. I had to flag her down for refills and check.
Overall, this place is just AOK. Probably won’t come back again unless I’m really really craving them arabiki sausages.

Reviews were promising, ratings were good, menus were cute, and service was decent. All good signs so far. Location is easy to miss. Look for Victory French – It’s right next door.
The four of us really wanted to try as much as we could for our first time here so we ordered 4 entrees, 4 appetizers, and 4 drinks.
Drinks: Hokkaido milk tea (friend liked it, I thought it was meh), lemonade (free refills, tasted bottled), Ninja colada (weak on the alcohol side), fresh watermelon tea (not watermelon-​y, too syrupy)
Appetizers:
— Arabiki sausage — This was the first and best item that came out. So flavorful and the side potatoes were really good, too. I’d recommend ordering this.
— karaage chicken — A bit flavorless and too chewy.
— cheese potato — Exactly as sounds, try to eat it while it’s still warm. It’s a simple appetizer that’s nothing special, but no complaints.
— homemade gyoza — Looked great, but was soggy and lacked flavor.
Entrees (3 udons, 1 okonomoyaki)
— Gottsui and trio seafood (2) — Both looked cool, tasted the same, and also more bland that expected.
— Mt Fuji Kobe — This was the best entrée and most flavorful.
— mochi and cheese — Added mentaiko and egg to this, which didn’t help add to the flavor too much, surprisingly.
Overall, presentation was GREAT, and no complaints about customer service. Sausage and Mt Fuji Kobe aside, the food really fell short of expectations and flavor, as did the drinks. I don’t think I’d come back, but wouldn’t mind too much if another friend insisted on wanting to try the place out.

Gottsui is a cool restaurant because it’s quite rare to find restaurants in the area that strictly serve okonomiyakis and other similar foods. The food was really just aiight though and kind of fell short of my expectations.
The trio mushroom okonomiyaki was good and it definitely is meant to just serve one person. I wish they would leave seaweed flakes, mayo, okonomiyaki sauce, and bonito flakes on the table because really I would’ve enjoyed my okonomiyaki more if I loaded it with some sides. In my opinion, a bit of the red ginger strips would’ve paired really well with the okonomiyaki and the flavor of what we ordered was just kind of lacking to me.
We also tried the udon, which was essentially some stir fried udon that tasted a bit sweet and spicy. It almost tasted ketchup-​y, but it was good and we liked it more than the okonomiyaki.
The kiwi pico that everyone raves about on here was interesting but not something we would order again. I liked the taste of it but it left this fuzzy feeling in the back of our mouth afterwards, so if you like that sort of texture then this is the drink for you! It was probably the kiwi and the mini seeds that were in it.
While our server was extremely nice and came by multiple times to check on us, I was a little irked when this disgusting beetle flew and crashed into my boyfriends head and landed on the table. right. next. to. our. food. I mean I think it’s pretty standard that if there are live bugs in the restaurant– it should be the people working at the restaurant who take care of it. But no. I stood there for the longest time being completely ignored by the staff before my boyfriend just picked up the okonomiyaki pan and used a napkin to kill it. Our server finally came by at this point and I asked him if he could throw away the used napkin. Not that it’s a big deal, but just felt that they could’ve handled the situation better.
Cool spot for Monterey Park, which does lack a good variety of interesting Japanese restaurants, but I’d just say it’s okay.

Wow! This place is pretty hard to find. They don’t have a sign up other than the two hand-​made ones by the front door (nothing wrong with that – it’s just that the name isn’t bolded enough and is surrounded by well-​wishes and comments from patrons and fans… so you can’t even see the Gottsui name on the signs well). They don’t have a big parking lot, so find a spot on Rural or Garvey or some other nearby street.
We were a group of 6 and they sat us towards the back. Word to the wise… the air isn’t really circulating back there so it got warm enough that they had to open the side door to let in some fresh air for us. Recommend the front, if space allows, for a more ventilated experience.
We pretty much ordered the entire menu. It’s actually easier to identify what we *didn’t* order. The appetizers all practically come in a small skillet (cute but makes you feel you’re getting so little for a big price tag T_​T). The okonomiyaki and udon do come in larger sizes, as we later found out when we ordered 6 okonomiyakis and 3 udons. Standouts from our crazy ordering were the grilled squid, osaka classic takoyaki (though it was a little too much on the doughy side for my taste), agedashi tofu, trio seafood okonomiyaki, and the garlic pork udon (the soupy one… I think this was what it was called). Though, if you plan to do the same as we did and order all of the menu… the mayo sauce drizzled on 80% of the dishes may get to you at some point.
Some downfalls include finding a long piece of hair fried with our gyoza (they replaced the dish with a fresh one) and having to flag down for multiple water refills and to clear out empty plates that was taking up valuable real estate on our mid-​sized table.
I think we were also expecting more than we should have from them when our $ 200+ bill came. They asked if we wanted dessert (as in order it and add to our bill), but given how much we ordered and the gyoza incident, I would’ve thought some complimentary dessert would be given to warm us up to want to come back. But they were very thankful for our visit (I mean, who wouldn’t when you get $ 200+ plus 20+% tip from a table), by giving us each a business card, thanking us and opening the door for our exit.
Since we tried practically the whole menu, I don’t have a big urge to come back. I really wanted to like this place and eagerly had it bookmarked to try when searching for okonomiyaki. Portions for their price do not correlate well and I just can’t help comparing to the kick-​ass okonomiyaki I tasted from its original home — in Japan, in Hiroshima.

I’m probably a little harder on the restaurant than I should be because it replaced my favorite Sushi restaurant in the area.
The place is really small although it looks like they added a small section that wasn’t open when this was a Sushi place. I would really recommend people to just order the okonomiyaki as that is their specialty. The portions are not huge but I would say that 1 order by itself is probably enough to satisfy most customers (especially since the stuff is heavy with mayonaise and other sauces).
I ordered the hamburger steak and my wife order a okonomiyaki. I’d suggest avoiding the hamburger steak, it’s not bad… it’s just not that good.

I am always excited to explore new restaurants in my area, and I am definitely excited when it is not another Chinese restaurant popping up in Monterey Park. GOTTSUI is a small restaurant located on Garvey Avenue (next to Victory Restaurant) and it specialize in Okonomiyaki.
* VENUE *
Gottsui is a small restaurant. Either try to go early or try calling for a reservation. I personally like to sit near the entrance because there’s more space there. The inside section (westside) is small and noise echos in that area. There’s a small parking lot in the back. You will probably have better luck finding street parking.
* SERVICE *
Waiters and waitresses are friendly and attentive. They check back on us several times during our visit to make sure that everything was okay and kept our waters filled.
* FOOD *
Compare to most of the restaurants in the area, the portions are small and it is pricier.
— Grill Squid ($ 6.50): Delicious! Cooked to Perfection!
— Gottsui Okonomiyaki ($ 10.95): Heart shaped Okonomiyaki served steaming hot on top of a pan. Decorated with «Welcome to Gottsui» written with Mayo and small flag saying «Garvey Avenue». Even though this dish took quite some time to prepare, it was cute and thoughtful.
— Gottsui Udon ($ 10.95): Small dish of udon. Nicely flavored topped with calamari, pork belly, omelet and veggie.
Really looking forward to come back to try their Takoyaki at a later time.

Drove passed it and noticed the grand opening sign so I Unilocaled it. After reading some reviews, I decided to bring my fiancé here for dinner. I was surprised to find out that the sushi place that was there before closed their business especially since they had good reviews.
Small restaurant with about 8 tables and bar seatings. Pretty awesome that we have a place in Mpk that serves good teppanyaki okonomiyaki. Definitely a good addition to the restaurants around 626!
What’s really Good? IMO, Chicken karaage (juicy chicken) and Roe omelet (creamy and tasty with Japanese mayo!) must try!
We ordered the shrimp butter udon. It was okay, I would order again. The soup was a tad bit salty, but I think with udon because it is a thicker noodle the soup base has to have a bold flavor. We also ordered the gottsui okonomiyaki, pretty good. Definitely well executed, unlike the place I went to in little Tokyo that burnt the bottom of the pancake. The drinks we had: banana chocolate milk and watermelon tea. The chocolate milk was pretty good, definitely tasty! As for the watermelon tea, don’t expect it to be infused with watermelon flavor. It’s (un-)sweetened tea with watermelon pieces. Good thing about the tea was, it comes with free refills! Service was excellent. The staff and chefs were friendly. I’ll definitely be back to try the other okonomiyaki.
They have another location on the westside on Sawtelle. Glad they opened a restaurant in MPK!

Glad I found out about this place while its still in soft opening mode! My coworker recommended this place in the afternoon and after seeing a Unilocal photo of the shrimp butter udon I knew i just HAD to come tonight.
The restaurant is located on the corner of an easy to miss part of Garvey but luckily we found it easily. Theres a small lot in the back and ample street space for parking.
Now onto the food itself:
Mentaiko shrimp butter: soft chewy udon noodles in cod roe broth topped with a bed of crispy seaweed strips and baby sprouts with bites of small sized juicy shrimp. I loved it although it was slightly on the saltier side (maybe due to all the roe inside?) I would probably still order the same thing next time.
Kobe beef stir fried udon: husband thought it was alright (he liked mine more). But it looked delicious and looked like it was alive with all the «moving» fish flakes. The chef was kind enough to ask us if we wanted it not spicy since we had a toddler with us.
Grilled edamame: unique tasting!
Most importantly was the excellent service. Everyone from the manager to the regular staff were all very attentive and nice making us feel comfortable. Another thing I wanted to mention is that they were well prepared for young kids (i.e. High chairs, kids utensils, and covered cups which we appreciated). Lastly, before we left we got to sign their little board and they were very nice to let my daughter «draw» on it…

Gottsui, of 626 Night Market fame, has just opened in Monterey Park on Garvey. They’re still in their soft-​opening phase so they’re only open at night for the time being. Gottsui is in the midst of getting their liquor license, but they have an array of fruit tea drinks to fill the void for the time being.
The okonomiyaki aka Japanese pancake was delicious. More importantly though, the service at Gottsui was truly a cut above the rest.
I ordered the Spicy Beef Kobe Okonomiyaki, the Gottsui, the Kobe Beef Udon, and the Strawberry Ice Tea. The waitress originally got our udon order wrong. We had ordered the Kobe Beef udon and she brought us a vegetarian one. Although, we said it was okay they insisting on giving us our original order. The chef also came over to chat us up after our meal. Really appreciated the good service.
I also signed their board to officially welcome them to the 626!