So we were trying to find a place to eat, for adults and kids, at the last minute on a holiday Sunday, that wasn’t a standard chain place. One good suggestion was a Benihana — always good entertainment — but the first available time slot at the local locations was 8:30 p.m., which was more than a bit late. Instead, Margie dug up Manpuku.
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Food: Mapuku subtitles itself “Tokyo BBQ Dining.” It’s like a fondue shop, only with gas/charcoal BBQ units in the middle of the table (excellently vented) and Japanese food.
Essentially, each table has a BBQ to serve 2-4 people. These get turned on, you order various meats (beef, chicken, shrimp, etc.) and veggies, then grill them yourselves (quickly), served along with various yummy rices and sauces.
The food was quite good — good quality meats and veggies, nicely seasoned. The garlic rice — prepared at the table in a super-heated stone bowl — was nummy, but not so exotic that finicky eaters (child or adult) would be in trouble. There’s a limited but decent wine list, along with beer, sake, and soft drinks. Overall happy eats for the grown-ups and the kids as well.
Service: We had a variety of waitpeople, and our main waitress was not very good at either explaining the ordering pattern (do several small orders, and don’t put too much on the grill at a time), nor at explaining the timing of when things would come out (sometimes we got lots of food at once, sometimes we had to ask what had happened to particular dishes).
The service was friendly, just not terribly efficient.
Ambience: Most of the room was set up in standard booths. There were also some small alcoves to the side with sit-on-the-floor seating (remove your shoes first), in a more traditional Japanese setup.
Prices: Prices were not extravagant, but it’s not a “family” restaurant in prices. It’s a bit difficult to gauge, as you order multiple plates of this and that to grill, family-style (e.g., a plate of prime beef short rib is $9.50 — but you’d order at least a couple of those sorts of things per person, I think). Jim picked up the tab, so I don’t know what the total was, but I would guess it was moderately expensive, but with food to match.
Overall: For a first-time visit, it was quite a find, and I can see us going there again in the future. The place was full (with folks waiting both inside and in the pretty cold outside), but we were among the few guelos in the place, which speaks to its autheticity.
Good place to bring a family (a variety of foods and participation for kids) or a date.
There are two locations — Costa Mesa (where we ate) and West LA.
Manpuku, 891 Baker St., Costa Mesa, CA 92626; 714-708-3290
Sounds like the Korean place in Aurora, Korea House. Lots of fun with odd bits of things to BBQ.
Plus, good Kim-chee.
It did remind me of several Korean places in Aurora. The grill was different, more open and hotter with real charcoal. And the meats, veggies and sauces were of course similar but different. There were several kim-chee dishes on the menu. The pork dish we ordered came with a lettuce wrap, Kim-chee and some other goodies.
Okay, interesting. Sounds like a greatplace to go and also sounds like fun place for kids to go and not be bored as well. 🙂
So we went back to Manpuku again last night — Jim and Ginger, Margie and me, Nick / Alex / Katherine, and Michelle.
Much the same as last year — great food, lots of fun, but service that was distracted, ill-timed, and not terribly English-proficient (but also very friendly).
Obligatory notes for next year:
The garlic appetizer (seasoned garlic cloves in oil, set in their little metal container on the grill so that they cook in place, or can be put on the grill individually) was *very* good.
The lettuce pork wraps (cook the pork, use the wraps brought out on a separate plate) were good.
The skirt steak was better than the short ribs.
Good eats!