Gushi Makes Me Wish I Went to UCLA

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A few weeks ago Bibigo opened in Westwood Village to much fanfare, and while I mostly liked the food it didn’t make me as excited as it would have had it been… how to put this… dirtier. So when I saw Gushi (“the long standing beloved Korean shack on Gayley”) casually mentioned in this review of Bibigo I knew it had to be my next Westwood lunch.

Just like Sak’s Teriyaki (which does get me excited, btw) Gushi is a take out window that specializes in huge portions of grilled meat, marinated in an Asian sauce (in this case, Korean) served over rice with salad.  There is no indoor seating, just a few tables underneath the overhang that covers the place.  The menu is mostly Korean (bulgogi, kalbi, japchae, kimchi fried rice, and bibimbap) but has a few Japanese items scattered in there too (like chicken and beef teriyaki, and udon.)

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Their bibimbap is $8 and comes with a soda, and while there’s no hot stone pot involved, it’s actually a solid version.  The bulgogi isn’t the best you’ve ever had, but it does the trick- and unlike Bibigo you get kimchi *and* a fried egg.  And it’s a ton of food.

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If you’d rather have less veg, more meat, the plates are the way to go.  Unless you want to pay $10 for kalbi, the combo is probably the best option.  For $9 you get to choose 2 meats (beef, chicken or bulgogi) and it comes with rice, salad, kimchi and a soda.  The meats were a small step up from Sak’s Teriyaki, and a small step down from Bibigo… but, once again, it’s a ton of food.  (Words that will never be uttered about Bibigo.)  And there’s kimchi.

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The final nail in the coffin for Bibigo was the japchae.  Gushi’s version is $1.50 cheaper, and you get four times as much.  And while there is a clear difference in quality with the meats, I can’t honestly say that Bibigo’s japchae is better.

Do I hate Bibigo?  Definitely not.  It’s a quality Korean lunch option for anybody who works in Westwood.  But now that I know about Gushi all bets are off!  In other words, if you’ve got the time, and prefer to sacrifice the tiniest bit of quality for sheer quantity, that extra 5 minute walk up Gayley is completely worth it. In fact, between Gushi and Sak’s Teriyaki, I’m honestly starting to wish I had gone to UCLA.

THE + (What somebody who likes this place would say)

  • The portions are huge!  I can’t believe how much food they stuff into those styrofoam containers
  • The meat is definitely better than Sak’s Teriyaki
  • They have kimchi!  And they put a fried egg on their bibimbap.
  • Everything seems to be made to order… it wasn’t super fast.
  • I will also choose the old dingy place over the new yuppified chain

THE – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)

  • You get what you pay for!  I’d rather have a smaller portion of higher quality meat.
  • You can’t get a hot stone pot bibimbap at Gushi!  For that you have to hit up Bibigo
  • There’s no inside seating… only outside

Gushi, 978 Gayley Ave, 310-208-4038

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