CONTRIBUTED BY ANALICIA MCCLELLAN

Goen Girls
One of my favorite places to eat on island is at Goen, a Korean BBQ. Ever seen a orange, red, and yellow building with the strobe lights at night? That’s Goen. Really gets your attention, doesn’t it? I first went there with a friend and now go there at least once a month!

Goen grill Goen meat
It’s yakiniku style (where you grill your own items) and it is all you can eat for 1998Y (Adults). For an extra 700Y they have an All You Can Drink (in one hour) menu.  You can choose from a variety of meats (chicken, beef & pork) and sides and eat as much as you want. They bring the marinated meats and veggies to your table where you cook it on a small grill in the middle of your table. The only seafood I’ve seen is Cuttlefish as a side. There are also alot of sides to choose from like corn, veggies, soup, ramen, salad, and naan. They also usually have a “soup of the day” that you can help yourself to as well. Oh yes, and soft serve ice cream machines!

It’s easy and tastes great and I’ve never left there hungry. If you order too much, they will charge you for the leftovers, so make sure you can eat what you order! Click here to buy dinner vouchers.

Goen Outside Goen Family

Hours: Noon to midnight, daily

Phone: 098-921-7529

Address: 545-3 Kamisedo, Chata

Google Maps Coordinates: 26.3297914, 127.77700970000001

Directions:  To get to the Chatan one, Go out Gate 2 and take your first right onto the 85. Pass the Entrance 4 to the Expressway and it’ll be on your right a few light down.
For the Courtney/McT folks, there is one on the 75 inbetween the Courtney housing Gate (224) and the 8. Going south on the 75, it’s on your right.

Website: goen.tokukei.co.jp – Check it out for more locations and hours. There are quite a few of them and most are open from noon-midnight.  Click below to see the menu.

Goen menu Goen menu 2

22 COMMENTS

  1. So I’ve eaten here several times and it’s usually a good experience. The trick is to come between 1100 (new open time) and 1500ish when the place is empty. People prefer to come here for dinner rather than lunch, and during dinner hours the place is packed. They have a nice area to the right where you can take your shoes off, and the tables are lowered into crevices in the floor so you’re at floor level but still sitting like you would at a regular table. You have to request to sit there, otherwise they’ll direct you to the reg tables to the left. Music selection is a bit lacking, it’s usually just 10 or so American pop songs on shuffle. Someone previously mentioned smoking, but I’ve never encountered smokers here. Might be different during dinner though. The one con I don’t like much is they don’t let you take food home, not even for paying extra. Maybe they don’t have boxes anymore or something, but when I asked, I was only met with ‘sorry, can’t do,’ even after the waiter asked the manager. After eating, they offer you lollipops and gum before you leave. Overall a really nice place, just be careful not to order too much because you can’t take home leftovers.

  2. We just went to the Chatan one. Good food, tasty seasoning, lots of variety, LOVED the Naan bread. The drink machine was really nice, soft serve was ok. No time limit was FABULOUS. For 2 adults & 2 kids the total was around 6200 yen. We got the biggest menu but next time would go down to the middle menu. I wanted the shrimp & scallops but the effort wasn’t worth the cost and all of the food we ended up loving is on the middle menu anyways.

  3. I can’t say enough good things about Goen. The only bummer is that they allow smoking inside. Otherwise, the food is top quality, the price is good, and no time limit is awesome. I’ve been to three different one’s and they’ve all been great. They do take credit cards. Note that from about 6-10 there can be a long wait, especially Friday and Saturday nihts.

  4. My family and I enjoy eating here, it’s a kid-friendly and date-friendly place (there’s something about cooking your own food, even if you have to pay for it, that’s relaxing to me).

    The menu has changed a lot…some of our favorites are gone and there is less variety. They still have the “stamina” sauce which is a favorite, but it’s just not the same.

  5. My apologies, Josie, but as far as I’m aware there are large quantities of meat laid out at bamboche. You’re free to pick pieces that are less fatty than others. My husband is incredibly picky about his meat (like you, apparently) and he’s never had a problem. Same with Kuroton-though Kuroton is more than twice the price.

  6. I’ve been here two times, and both times were a complete fail. They do have quite a few options, but there is zero quality when it comes to the protein selection. Extremely poor cuts of meat with high amounts of fat (same as the Bamboche place). If quantity is more important than quality, go for it!

  7. 85 turns into 23 at that point.
    Also, everyone who is complaining about having to pay for leftovers, just eat it and enjoy! 20 bucks is a reasonable price for all-you-can-eat yakiniku!! Just follow the advice of those who said to order a little at a time. Usually the staff at these places are VERY attentive and are more than happy to bring more when you ring the bell. I highlt recommend Karubi Daioh (“Meat King”) in Awase area. It’s 2100 yen, but the best on island!!

  8. They don’t actually charge you for leaving food leftover. At least they didn’t at the one closest to Kadena while we were there. I think they say this to prevent wasteful ordering and if someone ordered a few entire tables full worth of food and left everything untouched, they probably would charge for it then I would imagine. We never finished absolutely everything we ordered though and were never penalized for it. We also didn’t over order though. Just order small amounts at a time and then order more if and when you want more.

  9. Forcing customers to pay for leftovers is tacky, especially when you’re paying over $20 to eat at place that makes you cook your own food. If I go into a restaurant and pay 1998 yen for dinner, it is well within my right to not eat a bite of it if I don’t want to. The owner of this chain is probably laughing all the way to the bank.

  10. Paying for leftovers just keeps people honest. Too many times before they started this people would order then not eat. The restaurant loses money when people do this. Several other places do this as well. There is a very nice Chinese buffet restaurant here that is all you can eat, but you order by the dish. They will not allow you to order if you still have too much food on the table. Good for the owners to have started that. Too many good places have folded because people try to take advantage.

  11. They bring you the food here and they do not bring crazy sized portions. So order a few things, see how it goes and order more from there. You will have an idea of how much food they will bring you.

    My husband and I have been to the Courtney location a few times and both really liked it. We have left a few pieces here and there and have not been charged for it. I am sure the charge is for people who order way too much and waste it.

  12. Being forced to pay for leftovers is a great idea! It’s a buffet-therefore you choose how much you can eat. I think it’s absolutely ridiculous and horribly wasteful when I see people at a buffet with plates piled high and they eat a couple of bites.

    You don’t have to overeat OR pay the fee. You simply have to take portions reasonable for your body-and that’s pretty simple to do!

  13. They charge you for the leftovers?! That’s ridiculous! Doesn’t the price of 1998yen kind of cover the fact that you may leave left overs? So in an attempt to not waste food, they are really forcing people to possibly overeat or pay a fee. And you have to cook your own food on top of it all? No thanks! It may taste good, but I can pay that kind of money at other establishments off base for delicious food and NOT be forced to pay if I leave some food on my plate.

  14. My family and I just went here last week near Camp Courtney for our anniversary. It was awesome! It was much better than the one across the street. Here, we can eat all we want whereas the other place we couldn’t, and it was more expensive. They also have chairs, bumbo with tray, and toy cart for the kids. With a toddler, this things are very important to have. It keeps them away from the grill. The other thing I like about this place is that their grill is built inside the table. Whereas the other place, they bring the grill to you and put on top of the table. Imagine my nerves!

    The other place I would recommend in this area is the 100 yen sushi. It’s on the same street and on the same side. It’s near the 100 yen videos. You can grab the sushi on the moving belt or order on the computer which a remote controlled car will bring it to you on your table. We love this place!!! We can get our sushi fix for cheap price. Everyone wants the booth where they have the computer and remote controlled car, so I highly recommend to go no later than 7pm as it gets packed really fast.