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Yesterday was my first time at Ippuku. My friends and I were a group of 8 and they were able to accommodate us but in 2 separate tables - I believe their large table was already reserved. This worked out fine for our group. The menu had various options and eye-catching beverages! My table ordered 3 versions of the Chu-Hi's. Quite pleasant. I liked my Meyer Lemon Hi, it came with half of a lemon which I freshly squeezed and poured into my drink. I thought that was very fun! The quality of each dish was cooked well. My favorites were the crab croquettes, chicken heart, one of the marinated skewers (I can't recall the name of it), gizzards, and the squid ink fried rice. I'm definitely curious to try the bacon-wrapped mochi at a future visit. The only downfall was that the kitchen was extremely backed up during our visit. It took well over what felt like 20-30 minutes from our 1st order to our 2nd Chef's Choice dish. That negatively impacted our experience, but it happens. I'd like to try Ippuku again and hope there will be less of a delay. Our server was nice & attentive, came around a few times to refill our water.
It's one of the first and top izakaya's in the Bay Area and it's been around for a while. An OG in Berkeley. The skewers are fun to try, though costs can rack up quickly. Nice ambience and decor reminds one of Japan. The skewers are on the authentic side, which is great but also means it is also on the blander side, the seasoning is mostly salt, togarashi and Japanese condiments. Can be a bit less satisfying less varying. Hard to park, duh, like everything in Bay Area. Want to relive your Tokyo visit? This place is good. Energetic staff, helpful.
We had ordered two main dish and 7 skewers for two person. (My partner was concerned about the portion based on his previous experience at first) However, we were totally able to get full. The free cabbage+mayo appetizer was very filling. I am honestly half full already after the cabbage and the udon. The portuon and the price of the skewers are fine to me. However, the beef tongue is overcooked, the first bite really tastes like charcoal. and that actually happened to half of the skewers that we ordered. The chicken neck and the skewer with green onion was good, sweet and juicy. But the rest are not so juicy and has a bitter taste. Squid juice fried rice is good and has good value for price. The urchin udon is very tasty, though a bit expensive. The fact that the skewers are overcooked is disappointing, otherwise it's 4-star. No one asked how we like our food, so we weren't able to give feedback at the restaurant :(
Came back here and it was just as amazing as the first time. This time we tried the : daily specials which was fried fish ( in place of their fried oysters), Neck, bacon wrapped asparagus And we got the Ippuku Salad and Squid Ink Rice again because they're so good! Amazing will be back Monique served us again and she is just wonderful and it's nice to see her again.
Been here a few times and it's always yummy. Service is good and the ambiance makes you feel like you're in Japan but slightly nostalgic / retro. All the skewers are good, though depending on texture preferences people have - the skin does have a slight chew. The minced meat skewer was juicy and full of flavor, and I always love the heart and gizzard. The sauce for the cabbage is great and not too mayo, and I like the black sesame with the spinach. I also love the karaage here - crunchy and juicy. The porridge is a nice finish to the meal.
Walk-in at Ippuku in Berkeley came with a pretty long wait, and there is no online waitlist which makes planning difficult. We were seated around 7:30 (which is still prime dinner time imo) only to be told that many of the menu items had already sold out, which was disappointing. The items that were still available were good and we still had a nice time overall. FYI, the non-alcoholic beverage selection is quite limited. At this price point, the wait plus the number of sold out dishes makes us question whether we would come back.
This place has been on my want to go list for a while, and I finally got to try it! We didn't make a reservation and walked in instead. We waited for about 30 min and the restaurant texted us once the table was ready. We ordered quite a few dishes and started with Omakase gushi, which came with chicken breast, thigh with leek, heart, cartilage, and minced chicken. We also ordered the oden set, sasami, tori tataki, gyu-tan, enoki bacon, and buta bara. Evertyhing tasted pretty good, but the most impressive dish was sasami with umeboshi, which was inner bresat with umehad was the inner breast with umeboshi. It was my first time trying raw chicken, and it tasted really good. The chicken breast was really tender, with a tuna-like texture, and without any slimy or odd flavors. Ever since then, I've been telling my friends to try it. The Tori Tataki was seared chicken breast sashimi with ponzu, which tasted a bit plain compared to the sasami. So I would highly recommended to get theeir sasami!
They ran out of dessert before 630pm on a Friday -boo! But the food and drinks were great, as always. Good service. The salmon was excellent. Love their salad with chicken and apple, Brentwood corn fritters, anything with bacon or mochi (or both), the $30 squid is worth it, and the skewers. Clean dining area and very nice area to sit around the tables where you remove your shoes.
Appreciated the small dishes for variety, but quality differed between dishes and I also found many of them lacked flavor. My favorite dishes were the negima (thigh with leek), the shisho making, and the goma yogoshi (spinach in sesame paste) for their more unique tastes. I wouldn't recommend the Nama-Yuba nor the mochi wrapped in bacon or nori. Service is good with the plates coming out in intervals to accentuate the dining experience which has beautiful booths or tatami mats for seating. Would recommend making reservations since the restaurant gets packed quite easily.
Fantastic izakaya that specializes in chicken skewers in downtown Berkeley! Parking can be tricky - street parking or parking lots are your best bet. We got there right as it opened and so we were seated right away. It might be good to make reservations especially when school is in session. There's booths (with heaters!) and tatami areas where you take your shoes off and sit on the floor. The food was excellent! We got the salad, gyoza, rafute, skewers, negiyaki, gyuutan, and crab croquettes. Izakayas are places to drink so they serve small plates for sharing. It seems they have some bigger plates but we did not order any. The salad was refreshing and rafute, negiyaki, and crab croquettes were very tasty. The chicken skewers were fresh and flavorful. It is great for small groups and a date. Definitely recommend!!
One of my favorite izakayas in the U.S./Canada, especially if you love chicken skewers. Ippuku features LaBelle Rouge heritage breed chickens, which originate from France and are known for their rich flavor, firmer texture, and slower growth compared to conventional broiler chickens. Naturally, we ordered as many chicken skewers as possible, and every single one was fantastic. The hearts were especially impressive--soft and tender, which is rare since most places tend to overcook them. The karaage was also top notch. The biggest surprise was the bonjiri. I had to look it up, and once I realized it was basically the chicken equivalent of rich, fatty oxtail-style meat, I knew I had to try it. Holy hell, it was easily the best chicken skewer I've ever had. I would honestly come back just to order multiple of these. The squid ink rice was incredibly savory and filling, and paired with a few beers, this made for such a great evening out. All in all, Ippuku is a must-visit in Berkeley if you're into izakayas.
We came before a Pixies show at The Greek and it was honestly very hard to leave. The interior design is amazing and has a mix of traditional and eclectic, a hint of the cool weirdness is their website design as well: https://ippukuberkeley.com/ The menu is very expansive and had some interesting stand-outs like Squid Ink fried rice. This is the one I really wanted to try but we were so full after we skipped it. The big thing to note is they take much longer than other Yakitori places for the dishes to come, I want to say at least 15 minutes but the quality was very good. Chicekn Yakitori Pieces: Thigh, wing, gizzard, cartilage. The gizzard and cartilage are challenging to cook right and they were some of the finest I've had in the Bay Area so if you like these cuts I would try them here. Hi-Balls: Japanese cocktail made of soda and whiskey. We had the lemon and plum ones and both were excellent. Korokke: Perfect fried potato balls with nice creamy mashed potatoes inside. These came out first and set the bar very high.
First time at Ippuku for Izakaya. Our waiter was incredibly helpful and knowledgeable and made some good recommendations. We sat at a table and I appreciated the heater underneath since it was cold. They had a bidet in the restroom! For drinks we ordered Suntory Premium Malt beer and Mito No Kairakuen Umeshu (plum wine). The beer was refreshing and perfect pairing with yakitori. The Umeshu was slightly sweet with slight taste of plum. We ordered skewers: Negima (thigh with Leek) -moist and had a teriyaki sauce; Shiso Maki (breast rolled with shiso and plum) was our least favorite because it was slightly dry; Kurobuta Bara (black pork belly) was good and served with a pineapple tasting sauce; Gyu Tan (beef tongue) was our favorite , it was tasty and moist and had that char grilled smoky scent; Yaki Imo (sweet potato) was delicious and served with shoyu butter. We came right when it opened at 5 p.m. and was seated right away. read more
4 months ago
9 months ago
Delicious. Here's what we ordered for two people: cabbage appetizer (included), grilled mochi, spinach salad, chicken thigh, and chicken breast. Portions are small, as you'd expect with izakaya. The most special part was our waiter. He was really knowledgable about the restaurant. He recommended a bunch of dishes for us and also gave us a background on the architecture and interior design. He somehow had all the time for this while managing a ton of other tables on Valentine's Day! read more
1 year ago
Ippuku serves up delicious Japanese comfort food in a warm, intimate setting that's perfect for catching up with friends over drinks. Portions run on the smaller side, and the food came out a bit slowly -- but that's because everything is made fresh to order, which I totally appreciate. My absolute favorites were the squid ink fried rice and the bacon-wrapped mochi -- both were packed with flavor and cooked perfectly. Normally I never eat liver, but their version completely changed my mind: tender, rich, and not dry at all. The grilled chicken breast was also impressively juicy, which is rare since it can easily turn dry. The staff were attentive and friendly, making the whole experience even better. A cozy, authentic Japanese spot that's worth lingering at. read more
A friend reserved a 7 pm dinner for a group of 5 and we were fully settled and eating by 7:30. Service is good and the restaurant felt pretty traditional with how you're seated! We ordered miscellaneous skewers, sashimi, and appetizers to do family style. None of the skewers really caught my attention- most were pretty lightly seasoned and the sashimi was mediocre. read more
2 years ago
One of the best izakaya/yakitori experiences I've had. They specialize in chicken skewers and I would hands down recommend trying them all. They're simply seasoned but have a big taste. And I don't usually love chicken. My favorites were the chicken skin, chicken thigh oyster, pork belly (we ordered more of these), and sweet potato. The bacon wrapped mochi is interesting, but not as good as the others. One big critique is that they brought out the squid ink fried rice 10 minutes after we finished all the skewers- rice should have been served alongside the proteins, so timing could be improved here. We walked in right at opening since reservations went fast, so definitely grab a res when planning to go. I'm eyeing their floor-level group tables next and definitely want to try more of their menu (eyeing the oden and squid!) read more
Great izakaya spot! We got tree house seating this time around and it felt very intimate. I loved the whole experience, and our food tasted so yummy. The stand outs for me were the fish cake, and chicken skewers. We had a birthday and the server made sure desert came out. read more
1 year ago
by far best yakitori spot i've had in the bay. great meat quality, smoky binchotan. wear something light and machine washable esp if you sit at the counter (we smell like smoke and it's very warm near the grill). favs were squid ink fried rice, bonjiri, sori, and tsukune. only nit is some skewers aren't seasoned enough even after a dip in tare. we made use of the tare/tama from the tsukune and their sansho and shichimi. worth making a res two weeks in advance and driving 30 mins each way. read more
Was excited to try this place after hearing lots of good reviews, and was disappointed by the food. The atmosphere of the place is a very traditional japanese dining with intimate booths, and service was very attentive. Our waitress was incredible and we even saw her go sit with guests and explain the menu! The food fell short to expectations. Sashimi [10/10] Starting with our favorite, the sashimi assortment came with 3 different kinds of fresh fish and three pieces each, perfect for my group of three. Fresh, flavorful, and pleasantly surprised by the fresh grated wasabi, we gave this a 10/10. Assorted Pickles [6/10] Fresh ingredients that however fell short in pickled flavor and instead tasted like chopped up vegetables. Gyoza [8/10] Delicate wrapper allowed the well seasoned and juicy chicken to shine through. However the filling was a majority cabbage and the sear of the gyoza overwhelmed any of the chicken flavor. Yaki Nasu [5/10] Plain, skinned eggplant that had very little seasoning. Waiter even suggested using the provided soy sauce and admitted that there was little flavor. Omakase Skewer [8/10] Chefs selection included Heart, thigh, breast, and wing. Breast piece was quite dry, however charcoal flavor wasn't overwhelming in the way it was with the gyoza. However there was no other exciting flavors aside from the flavor from the grill. Karage [9/10] Tender and juicy with a crunchy exterior, came with a lemon which donated to the flavor. Would've hoped for more flavor in the crust Squid [9/10] Tender, fresh, buttery, flavorful. Squid was perfectly seasoned and flavorful, and would have appreciated if all of the dishes were as well executed as this dish. Tofu Skin [2/10] Texture was not for me which is a subjective qualifier. However, flavor was very bland and I would not have ordered this again. For the high price tag, we will probably not be back due to the lack-luster dishes. read more
6 months ago
1 year ago
The food was amazing! I don't go to fancy restaurants often so at first, the portions looked small to me but once I ate the food it makes perfect sense the portion sizes they serve! I usually feel bloated and/or can't finish my food at most restaurants in America so it was nice to have these portions that felt just right! I was able to leave the restaurant feeling full and satisfied instead of slow and bloated. More importantly, the food quality was just amazing! The inside of the korokke (I believe was crab croquette) was so creamy inside and delicious, not oily or greasy like most croquettes I've had! The meat from the rafute (if I recall right was braised pork belly) was so tender, my boyfriend was able to pull a piece apart with his chopsticks. My boyfriend ate most of the gyu-tan (meat skewers) but the parts I tried of it (thigh, neck, and wing I think) were very yummy! He also enjoyed the heart!! I know it seems over the top to talk about the cabbage mayo side but it really was good! My boyfriend asked the waitress how to eat it and she gave some options like breaking a piece off like a chip or just taking a bite of the piece, et cetera. We ended up going with the chip idea since I had food gloves on me and it was a lot of fun to eat and a good break between the salty taste of food! Thank you to her as well for answering our questions and explaining the gyu-tan! :) Our server was Sam and he was very cordial and attentive to us! I was wary about portion size and he answered my questions when I asked about how many pieces of meat there would be and their respective sizes. Thank you very much for your patience and service Sam! The ambiance of the restaurant is gorgeous! They really made do with the space they had. It feels bigger than it might actually be. The dim lighting adds an air of sophistication and elegance to the space. It was nice seeing the section of seats where you had to remove your shoes to sit! It kind of adds to the immersion. read more
This spot is literally just a hole in the wall, and I can't believe it took me so long to finally try it. The restaurant's aesthetic is fantastic! I'm obsessed with the ceramic plates and the condiment caddy. I love the concept of the kotatsu, where you can take off your shoes onto the platform and dine comfortably in a cozy atmosphere. The staff was very friendly, and the food was exceptional. I especially enjoyed the squid ink fried rice, karaage, grilled squid, bacon-wrapped mochi skewer, beef tongue skewer, shiitake mushroom skewer, eggplant, and the complimentary cabbage appetizer, which was incredibly crunchy and fresh--I've never had anything like it. The bacon-wrapped mochi was delightfully soft and chewy, pairing perfectly with the salty bacon, creating a great balance. The ambiance, service, and food all exceeded my expectations, and I can't wait to return and try everything else read more
I went to Ippuku with some friends after walking over from campus, and I was immediately enchanted by the "speakeasy" feel of the hole-in-the-wall restaurant tucked behind a curtain. Our group of five had a reservation, but due to the limited seating, we were asked to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. To kill time, some members of our party went ahead and started ordering drinks at the bar. We started off our order with the potato salad and chicken gyoza, followed in quick succession by: knee cartilage, thigh with leek, scallion pancake, minced chicken egg yolk, chicken skin, squid, bacon-wrapped asparagus, bacon-wrapped mochi, pork belly, and yaki onigiri. (Note that the knee cartilage is available in extremely limited quantities - we got the last order of the day.) We only ordered 1-2 plates of each dish for our table, and this turned out to be plenty of food for the group to share. Highlights for me were the potato salad - not at all what I was expecting but extremely creamy and delicious - and the satisfyingly crispy bacon-wrapped mochi. From an experience standpoint, the restaurant provides a very intimate setting with cozy seating and dim lighting. We were well taken care of during our visit, and we already discussed coming back for round 2. read more
4 months ago
3 years ago
Ippuku has some good food but it is definitely thriving due to its location because there's no way it would survive anywhere else. Unfortunately, it's doing so well that I doubt they'd fix the issues anything soon. First of all, it's SO hot in there - there's no AC or fans of any kind, which makes it so difficult to enjoy an izakaya. Second, because they're so busy, the staff are mean and never available. I do feel bad because they're clearly understaffed but I'm also a customer here to enjoy the dining experience yk? Once again, because they are so busy, the food comes out astronomically slowly. It took about 45 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes to get all of our food and we wanted to order more skewers after trying some but dreaded that wait time. The whole time, remember you're also sweating in the dimness. On to some pros, they finally have online reservations god bless. I used to spend my evenings calling them and hoping they'd pick up so I could place a reservation. They accept walk-ins but you'll be waiting a while - perhaps as much as it took to get our food lol. My menu highlights are the bacon mochi, chicken thigh, chicken oyster, and the scallion pancake. Mehs include the corn tempura and the squid. The definitely skip are the beef, the chicken patty stick, and the broth with rice ball. Ippuku you have good food especially for being in a collegetown but izakayas are about the experience and you give me nothing but stress!! read more
My partner took me here for my birthday last week! I remember when this restaurant first opened in 2009, but it wasn't until 2012 that I had the chance to first dine at this cozy izakaya. The darkened entrance and hanging fabric make one feel like they are stepping into a secret dining den. The overall low light is accented by colorful bottles behind the bar and spots of illumination at each table. Ippuku is definitely doing its best to serve up Japanese bar mood. and before I forget, the calligraphy art in the restrooms was beautiful and cute! We had a great server who thoughtfully explained dishes we were curious about and offered recommendations. She also drank some sake with us and poured a little extra! Now the meal. Here's my best attempt to recollect what we ate (menu not available on line and photos on Yelp are older menus): a sashimi appetizer, pickled cucumbers, yakitori: chicken thigh with leek, pork belly (the condiment was a superb mixture of tanginess and pepper, but not spicy), crab cakes, squid ink fried rice, fried salmon skin, and bacon-wrapped mochi. The bacon-wrapped mochi was novel and delicious! Sweet and savory gooeyness with some crisp in one bite! I would definitely go back and order this dish again. We finished with green tea gelato, always a solid choice. I recommend taking your time with the menu, order a couple dishes then a couple more, and then a couple more. read more
3 years ago
I've been a long-time Ippuku fan, and was very glad to return after so many years. Ippuku did not disappoint! Everything is as good as I remembered! | Food | Standouts tonight: - Nama-Yuba: fresh tofu skin with ankake (dashi sauce) and wasabi. I can never resist yuba when it's on the menu and this one was outstanding! It was so good I ordered an extra one to bring home for the hubby. - Chicken thigh oyster: Crunchy skin on the outside and juicy on the inside. Sooo good! - Omakase: While ala carte orders of skewers come in two skewers per order (except for tsukune/chicken meatball), an omakase order includes five skewers. It's both a great deal and offers good variety. Our omakase includes: chicken neck, negima (chicken thigh with leek), chicken heart, chicken thigh, chicken shoulder blade. I especially liked the chicken shoulder blade! | Service | We didn't have a reservation and arrived ~10 mins prior to opening this Friday evening in hopes to get a walk-in table. We lucked out and were first in line. A line quickly formed behind us and there were easily 10+ people behind us by the time doors opened at 5 pm. Doors opened right on the dot at 5 pm; we were welcomed into the restaurant and seated right away. Service throughout our meal was great! We felt both well cared for and given privacy to chat over dinner. read more
Came by for dinner the other night and it was a decent experience. Parking is available on the street and/or in parking garages nearby. The BART station is nearby. Made a reservation via Tock and our table was ready upon arrival. There is a $30 deposit per person along with a $2.25 procesing fee. The deposit was applied to the final bill. Our table was alloted a 2 hour window despite the restaurant being merely half full on a Sunday evening. Staff was cordial although there were some bizarre interactions. For example, omakase chicken yakitori wasn't available. Interestingly enough, merely a few items on the were "low in stock"... Halfway through the meal, our waitress informed us that the credit processing machine "was down" and that we would need to pay for the bill in cash?!? ...I wonder what other diners did if they didn't have enough cash on hand?!? Started off with the dungeness crab croquettes and they were excellent and world class. There was done of dungeness crab and the potatoes were super fluffy and fried to perfection. There was a nice bed of cabbage with sauce underneath too. The fried fish with tartar sauce was also excellent. Super fresh and light friend topped with super flavorful tartar sauce. The negi-yaki scallion pancake was decent, although a touch on the drier side and heavy on the sauce. The A5 wagyu ribeye cab skewer cooked rare was excellent. Marbling was excellent. Flavor was on point. Surprisingly, I found the chicken yakitori, the house special, probably the weakest with the chicken breast being very dry along with thigh with leeks...bummer. The restaurant was also a touch warm for a late summer evening. I did notice that perhaps they didn't have air conditioning as the windows were open... read more
4 months ago
1 year ago
Fantastic yakitori beer house restaurant located near UC Berkeley. I especially like the tsukune with egg yolk. The bacon mochi was also surprisingly good. Friendly staff. Great atmosphere and ambiance. read more
8 months ago
Can't believe I have never written a review about this place. Whenever I am craving for yakitori, this place pops up in my head. Everything is so good here. Besides their chicken skewers, I also love their bacon wrapped mochi. Their whole grilled squid is also exceptional. It has the perfect balance of flavors and it's on my must order list whenever I visit. To complete the meal, my go-to items are their yaki onigiri, squid ink fried rice and chicken ramen. I definitely recommend reservations in advance. If you decide to walk-in, you need to arrive before the restaurant opens else you will find yourself waiting for a long time. This place has a cozy ambiance and reminds me of Japan. They also have attentive servers which gives you a great experience from beginning to end. read more
2 years ago
We loved this place! Excellent atmosphere and delicious food. It's a small-plates thing, so know you'll be purchasing quite a few items. Our favorites were the agedashi tofu, the braised pork belly, and the onigiri which was properly charred and crunchy. A good chunk of vegetarian/vegan options, and little to no dairy, so good for a variety of dietary needs. Staff was very kind--we got especially good tips from the friendly staff person who was dropping off our dishes. read more
9 months ago
Great Japanese izakaya in Berkeley, delicious food and friendly service. Will be back soon. read more
3 years ago
This is one of the few izakayas that hit the spot. All meats are fresh daily from jidori chicken and grilled with binko tan charcoal. There is a wide selection of different types of skewers, ranging from breast, thigh, gizzards and even liver. It is very delicious! There is three types of seating within ippuku (sans bar seating), and reservations need to have a card/ deposit before booking on Resy. Would reccomend array of the chicken skewers depending on your preference of organ and/ or meat and the squid. We ordered omelette and fritters and also the mountain yam (but the stars of the show were the chicken skewers) We also drank and I got the black sesame spirit which was very surprisingly good. My husband and I will comeback with a larger group. read more
2 years ago
3 years ago
I really wanted to like this place especially after so many friends recommended it to me, but I didn't think it was all there. My friend and I didn't make reservations so when we walked in we were told it would be an hour wait. This wasn't a problem, so we just walked around for a bit in the meantime. An hour passed and our table still wasn't ready, so we came back and decided to just start ordering at the bar. After we ordered and were waiting for the food, our table opened up so we got seated inside. The actual seating arrangement was really cool. I honestly never really noticed this spot when walking by, and was surprised to see that something like this existed in Berkeley. Our table was covered by a curtain, and we sat next to each other on the booth looking outwards. For food, we got the pork belly skewers, bacon wrapped mochi, and chicken omakase. The food arrived after a while, in the order it was ready rather than all together. Out of everything we had, I would say the bacon wrapped mochi was the only one that I thought was unique and good. The salty bacon complemented the slightly sweet and chewy mochi really well. The pork belly just tasted like normal pork belly with a little more char and was definitely not worth $12, while the chicken was also just average. It was cool that they give you all the different parts though. Service was also a little all over the place, which I would expect to be better at a place like this. Overall, this spot didn't really meet my expectations, but I'm glad I still gave it a try before leaving Berkeley. read more
I first came here for a date back in my undergrad Cal days, and was impressed by my date's choice. Years later, my boyfriend brought me here for our anniversary. They don't take reservations, and so we put ourselves on the waitlist. When I got the call that our seat was ready, and I told the hostess that we were on the way (we were a short walk away and hadn't strayed far), imagine my surprise when we got back to the restaurant, only to be told that the hostess told us she canceled our seats because she thought we weren't coming back. WTF? She told us the next table would be for us...which took about half an hour of just sitting around waiting. Even though I had ended our call with "We're on our way back," and the hostess said "Okay," I don't know what made her think we weren't coming back and had to wait on top of a really long waiting time. Once we did get seated, we sat in a cozy little booth. It was as nice as I had remembered it. Here's what we got: DRINKS: House-made Grapefruit Spritzer Mito no Karaikuen Umeshu EATS: Bacon Mochi Ikasumi Cha-han (squid ink fried rice) Ika Yaki (large hokkaido squid) Shiso-Maki (chicken breast rolled with shiso and plum) Omakase Gushi (chicken omakase) Everything was absolutely delicious! Even shared between us, we got hella stuffed. Even with the annoying wait, it was worth it. Definitely want to come back here with a group of friends. read more
3 years ago
Came here for Father's Day with a party of 7. Some tips: make your reservation early! Most of the parties being seated had a reservation. Also, try to make your reservation early in the evening. We had a 7PM reservation, but many of the items were already sold out by the time we ordered (including the chicken skin that we really wanted to try!). Favorites: Chicken Kaarage Pork belly (skewer) Neck (skewer) Bacon-wrapped mochi (skewer) Gizzard (skewer) Would pass: Chicken porridge (didn't stand out. We wanted a hot, more carb-y dish and we were choosing between this and the squid ink fried rice. I'd probably go for that next time instead!) Scallion pancake (wish it had more ingredients!) read more
1 year ago
Dimly lit, romatic/intimate spot for some bites and drinks. Skewers were all well seasoned and charred to perfection. I also got a chicken udon to have some hot food to go with the skewers. We got a grapefruit and lemon Chu-Hi which was refreshing! read more
3 years ago
I love the place. It's so authentic, and the food is SO good. Quite pricey though. You can easily rack up quite a bill. Our waiter recommended that we order 3-5 dishes per person. We each ordered four dishes, and we were SO full I ended up taking a dish to-go. When you are seated they bring you a warm towels and a plate with raw cabbage and some mayonnaise dipping sauce. There are so many yakitori options, mostly chicken dishes. I ordered the chicken thigh and it was so smoky and delicious. I also ordered the king trumpet mushroom, also so good. We got the agedashi tofu, and it was amazing. Ippuku salada: so light and refreshing. The dressing went perfectly with the seasonal greens. My absolute favorite dish though is the onigiri. It is PERFECT. There is no filling, but the rice is so flavorful with a sweet taste, and the outside is gloriously crunchy. Just writing about it makes me want one so badly! The restaurant does take reservations, but they get snatched up quickly. They take walk-ins, and the line gets pretty long. We weren't able to get a reservation so we went to wait for the restaurant to open. On Saturday night, we started waiting around 4:40 and we were first in line, so we were seated immediately once the restaurant opened--yay! read more
I've come here a couple times and Ippuku never disappoints! I love the izakaya concept and the small plates offered - you can order as much or as little as you want depending on how hungry you are. There is usually a wait so I would recommend making a reservation or coming early to get a table. I've sat in the normal booths and in the ones where you have to take off your shoes and enjoyed sitting at both. All the food is really good; a couple of my favorites: omakase chicken skewers, bacon wrapped mochi, pork belly (thick cut one). The service is relatively quick and the plates keep coming as they are made, which is nice. Depending how much you order, the bill can be high but I think it's worth it. Highly recommend checking this place out if you want delicious Japanese small plates! read more
2 years ago
5 star food & menu selection. The simple but intricate combos are worth exploring. Hostess was great! Veg options as delicious as meat Drink menu was on point. So much more to try. Minus a point for service. May have been understaffed. Server didn't have knowledge of dishes. Owners, your restaurant is so good. Maybe explain dish components beyond "cucumber read more
More info about Ippuku
2130 Center St
Ste 101
Berkeley, CA 94704
Downtown Berkeley
Directions
(510) 655-1969
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Ask the Community - Ippuku
What are the gluten free options? Curious if I can bring my friend who has celiac.
What is the parking situation around this place? Easy to park? Is there a lot or all by luck street parking?
Street parking in the evening is possible within few blocks south of Center. There are also parking lots near by such as Allston Way, Center street Etc. You can see them on Google map. BART station is super close.
Do they serve Bonjiri?
Yes. It is on their menu, yakitori of all parts of a whole chicken.
Is a reservation a must on a Fri/Sat night?
It would help. It is crowded and we did not have reservations and had to wait about 40 minutes.
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Why does Yelp recommend reviews?
69 reviews that are not currently recommended
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