Gyu-Kaku Cooper Square: $5.25 Kirin, Grill-Your-Own Beef and a Late Second Happy Hour
Gyu-Kaku’s Cooper Square branch, the one the chain lists as its East Village location, runs happy hour every day, and twice a day Sunday through Thursday. In the dining room, food and drink prices drop Sunday–Thursday 11am–6pm and again 8:45–10pm, and Friday–Saturday 11am–6pm. At the bar, drinks stay discounted until 9pm Sunday–Thursday and 10pm Friday–Saturday. A Kirin mug is $5.25, Asahi $6.50, wine $9 a glass and cocktails $10.50. It’s at 34 Cooper Square, between E 5th and E 6th St.
The verdict: this is a drinks deal with a grill attached. Almost every drink on the menu comes down by about a quarter. The $7 Kirin mug is $5.25, the 32oz Mega Mug drops from $15 to $11.25, and a $14 cocktail is $10.50. The meat moves by a dollar or so: toro beef is $7.95 instead of $9.45, kalbi chuck rib $8.95 instead of $10.45, and the best-selling Harami skirt steak stays at $13.95. The window worth planning around is the late one. From 8:45pm to the 10pm last seating, Sunday through Thursday, dinner is back on happy-hour prices.
Also at: Gyu-Kaku Times Square, on W 44th St.
The Happy Hour
The times come from Gyu-Kaku’s East Village location page, updated September 28, 2026, and the prices from the à la carte and drink menus linked there. The drink menu itself just tells you to ask your server for the times, so here they are:
- Dining room, food and drink: Sun–Thu 11am–6pm and 8:45–10pm; Fri–Sat 11am–6pm.
- Bar, drinks only: Sun–Thu 11am–9pm; Fri–Sat 11am–10pm.
Drinks: Kirin Ichiban mug $5.25 (usually $7), Mega Mug $11.25 ($15), 60oz pitcher $21 ($28), Asahi Super Dry $6.50 ($8.50), Sapporo Light, Blue Moon, Corona or Stella $5.25 ($7), a 300ml carafe of house sake $7.50 ($10), chardonnay, pinot grigio, cabernet or pinot noir at $9 a glass or $27 a bottle ($12 and $36), Suntory Toki $9 ($12), and cocktails like the Yuzu Sour, Lychee-Tini and Coco-Mo at $10.50 ($14).
Food: edamame $5.45 ($6.45), fried pork gyoza $6.95 ($7.95), spicy tuna volcano $8.45 ($9.45), toro beef and Angus beef rib $7.95 ($9.45), kalbi chuck rib $8.95 ($10.45), bistro hanger steak, New York steak and filet mignon $9.95 ($11.45), pork belly $6.95 ($7.95) and garlic shrimp $8.45 ($9.45). The premium cuts, Harami, the prime kalbi short rib and A5 wagyu, have no happy-hour price.
The Room
Gyu-Kaku is yakiniku, Japanese barbecue: the tables come with a grill and you cook the marinated meat yourself, from a chain that started in Tokyo in 1996. This branch has a full bar with counter seating and a private room, per its OpenTable listing, and no patio. For a group the math changes. The Premium all-you-can-eat is $61 a head for 45 items over 90 minutes, and weekday lunch all-you-can-eat is $35. The honest caveat on both: anything you order and leave on the plate gets charged at à la carte prices.
The 6 at Astor Place and the R and W at 8 St–NYU are both a short walk. For more windows nearby, see our NoHo happy hour guide and East Village happy hour guide. For the rest of the city’s Japanese spots, there’s our best Japanese restaurants in NYC.
Who Gyu-Kaku Cooper Square Is For
| Occasion | Why It Works |
|---|---|
| Cheap beer with dinner | $5.25 Kirin mugs during happy hour |
| A late dinner, Sunday–Thursday | Dining-room happy hour comes back 8:45–10pm |
| Groups and birthdays | Shared tabletop grills, a private room and $61 all-you-can-eat |
| A weekday lunch | $35 all-you-can-eat, Monday–Friday |