Thick Japanese burgers come to this new ‘Chubby’ restaurant in Arcadia

Japanese-style burgers and high-end skewers are cooking over a charcoal fire at this new Arcadia restaurant.

Restaurant company Chubby Group continues its offerings of Japanese-inspired dining with Chubby Don, an open kitchen spot that debuted Aug. 19 at The Shops at Santa Anita.

“People can taste a similar burger that they would taste in Japan. And our kushiyaki is the best in L.A. right now because it has all these different flavors,” said April Li, CMO and VP for Chubby Group.

Chubby Group runs more than two dozen different restaurants nationally and internationally including X Pot and  Chubby Cattle BBQ. At the heart of Chubby Don, the company’s first Don concept in the United States, is the restaurant’s thick hamburger patty made of a majority mix of Japanese Wagyu beef with Prime Angus. It’s cooked over Japanese charcoal, which is a premium, ultra-dense hardwood fuel prized for burning exceptionally hot and clean to allow natural food flavors to shine.

“We’ve made this burger perfect, juicy and tender,” Li said. “You’re getting the juices and smokey flavors from the charcoal grill,” she added.

Joining the hamburger patties, which are served on rice without buns, are kushiyaki, the Japanese term for skewers. Here at Chubby Don the meat selections include beef tongue, pork belly, Wagyu beef, chicken gizzard and more cooked the same way as the burgers.

“All the grilling is going to be in front of the customers in the bar area with all charcoal grill,” Li said.

It’s all paired with unlimited daily soup, Yumepirika rice and a pasteurized egg plus house-made sauces, including the signature barbecue sauce, yuzu vinegar, honey mustard, garlic sour cream and others.

And weekly specials that include things like charcoal-grilled oysters and prawns can get pretty fancy with add-ons like caviar, foie gras and sea urchin. Chubby Group is planning on adding another Chubby Don in Irvine sometime in the future.

Chubby Don is located at 400 South Baldwin Avenue, Arcadia. For more information go to chubbygroup.com.