This place has great reviews but I'm sad to say I didn't have the same experience. I bought to go and ordered the tonkatsu ramen. More than half the container was bean sprouts. A pinch of seaweed, less than a pinch of corn, very small portion of ramen. I was essentially eating bean sprouts! Hella skimping. & I was so disappointed to bite into the egg only to discover it was overcooked. The egg is my favorite part. ): Broth also gets really salty. Also got the sushi special and chriashi. In my opinion, the slices are small and some fishes are a hit or miss. For instance, Uni was really fresh but the mackarel (another one my favorites that was ruined) and unagi tasted really off. Also asked to substitute tuna roll for salmon to which they agreed but I still ended up with tuna roll. Its okay if they were unwilling to substitute, but I would not have gotten this dish if they couldn't substitute it and I would end up with so much tuna. I wouldn't say this place is expensive, it's average, but for the thinness of the slices and the skimping of my ramen, it is expensive. Definitely did not get my money's worth especially with the ramen. I paid $13 to eat bean sprouts in salty soup. read more

Mitama Restaurant - Look at the amount of bean sprouts I got. - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

This place is all about that location. Being on the corner of a busy cute shopping area the people watching and energy while you is so exciting! I always sit by the window so I can see the cute dogs walk past. Back to the sushi! The rolls are large and in charge. They are a little pricy but you are getting a belly's full with these rolls. I always get the Chirashi sushi for dinner. It is accompanied with pickled onions, orange slices, and nuts! I don't eat them but it's really cool that they come along with the entrée. Inside the bowl they have a nice assortment of fish! And it always comes with miso soup and a salad. This last time I got the meat dumplings, I like that they were pan fried at the bottom without that they would have been a bit plain for my taste. read more

Mitama Restaurant - Salmon avocado roll and Chirashi sushi - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Love their spicy tuna rolls and nigiri combo. The restaurant is conveniently located and and ambience is pleasant.

Super good Small local owned super fresh sushi and Japanese food spot Food usually takes 40-45 minutes if you order anything cooked and it's worth it Best quality in area! I strongly recommend Mitama. The gyoza and their sauce is the most read more

Both delicious, unpretentious and creative. Good humored people run this place. Recommend!

So good and friendly. They had a unique sashimi menu that allowed us to taste different styles and cuts of fish. Def will go here again!! A true Japanese restaurant. read more

This review is long overdue. Thanks to all of you who are supporting our local, small, family owned businesses! Our family has been doing a lot of cooking during shelter this shelter in place period, but I have to say it was such a DELIGHT to have take out from Mitama tonight! Mitama is a family owned Japanese restaurant. Our family has been coming here for over a decade. Robert and Taeko offer consistently delicious, high quality homestyle Japanese staples (chicken, salmon teriyaki, katsu - pork and chicken, tempura, soba, udon - are you drooling yet?) and only the freshest fish for sushi. They are offering take out and are taking the utmost caution to keep us all safe while you pick up your food. Take out also includes beverages - get a ramune (your kids will love you forever), while you get something nice for yourself - beer, sake or nonalcoholic. If you have a hankering give Robert or Taeko a call, your belly will thank you!! (510) 652-6157 http://www.mitamasushi.com/ Be safe everyone! We will all get through this together! read more

Terrible Valentines Day experience. We had a reservation and we Sat there for 30+ mins before being offered water etc. They looked busy but also made no effort to help any customers. They seemed too concerned with door dash orders instead of the restaurant full of customers. The server also seemed like he was on another planet. Yikes read more

I live in the area and have eaten here dozens of times. Mitama is a neighborhood sushi place in the Japanese style with a focus on solid nigiri and sashimi. A great place to go after work or on a date. The fish is fresh and well-prepared, but not showy. The service and drink selection is good. The prices are slightly above average but reasonable for the quality. read more

TERRIBLE SERVICE. Super small place, Waited for a table for 10 mins, got sited... 30 mins wait, waitress completely ignored us... not even water. Walked out, waiter didn't even noticed it. read more

Was in the mood for some comfort food after a long day if lectures at Cal. Found Mitama on open table and checked out their menu and liked what I saw. Found Street parking down the block and strolled to the restaurant just as they opened. I was thirty minutes early for my reservations, but they accommodated me to a seat at a table. I started with a small Sapporo and tako sunomono salad. My entree came with an organic salad, miso soup and steamed rice. The tako sunomono salad was excellent and so was the miso soup. I don't care much for exotic lettuce, so didn't care much for the organic salad. I ordered the shrimp tempura entree. The veggies and shrimp were cooked nicely and had good flavor. I just happened to ask my server if they had natto, and I was happy to hear that they did. I ordered a natto hand roll, which completed my meal perfectly. read more

Mitama Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Cute little shop in Elmwood, across the street from a row of adorable shops. The ramen here is good, as is the sashimi! The robata grill sauces are very heavy. read more

Mitama Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Sweet - a solid sushi bar steps from our door! It's not the fanciest sushi place in this area of town, but the fish is fresh, the sushi/sashimi specials are always great, and they have interesting and authentic seasonal options like Ankimo and Kampachi. Plus the garnishes are always adorable - see the radish flower pictured! We've gotten takeout here many times and it's always been solid, but we recently visited in-person for the first time. Sitting down to eat meant an opportunity to try out Mitama's drink menu. They have a nice variety of sake at very reasonable prices, and we loved that they had us pick our sake cups. On that note, I'm not sure what's going on with the "Sake Bar" which they seem to own next door. I was excited when I saw the construction going on, but now I walk by every night on my way to Safeway and it's always empty and closed - perhaps for private parties only? Minus a star for the service, as everyone else says. We didn't wait too too long (25 minutes, maybe?), but we also had an early weekday dinner and were one of only 3 parties in the restaurant. Much more annoyingly, the waitress just plopped down my deluxe sashimi without telling me what anything was (and it wasn't listed on the menu). Pet peeve for sure. We'll sit at the bar next time; the sushi chefs seemed friendly and talkative. read more

Mitama Restaurant - Deluxe Sashimi + adorable radish - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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UPDATE: Be sure to check out their newly updated happy hour menu! Weekdays from 5:30-7. Features appetizer items, full size poke serving, a variety of rolls and $1.50 oysters (1/2 dz. for $7). ----------------- This is our go-to place for Sushi in Berkeley. Recommend sitting at the bar so you can interact with the chefs in case you have any questions. Plus it's quick service and once they get to know you, they'll start recommending items for you! Check out their rotating nigiri board if you are looking to try new items. They've had a variety of options from sea urchin, toro, sea bream, shrimp head, to oysters. Fish and shellfish always taste super fresh and served at perfect temps (eel is always heated and any tempura roll is fresh fried). As an extra, this is my favorite place for pork broth based ramen. I've tried noodle theory down the road and would rather come here instead. Delicious stuff! read more

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I went here three times before writing this review...on every visit, we've waited to be seated for a crazy long time. And to be clear, there were plenty of tables open and no lines. In two instances, multiple waitresses walked to the front area, where there is a sign that says please wait to be seated, and they all completely ignored us. This last time, we waited by the sign for 15 minutes (about 1/3 of their tables were empty and 3 different waitresses walked up to get pens or run cards without acknowledging our presence) before leaving out of frustration. The previous two times we waiting 10 minutes, sat and ate, and the food was mediocre at best. I wanted to like this place because I live around the corner from it which is why I decided to try the actual food a few times, but with the food being very average (and in some cases not good) AND the service being outstandingly bad, I had to let people know there are really solid alternatives close by. I highly recommend Shimizu in Piedmont (very short drive), or Kirala (slightly more pricy but 100% worth it! Much much better food and for sure service, though that can't be hard to top after this place because it has the single worst service I've ever experienced.). read more

No Reservation, No Problem! Luck may have been on our side. Mitama was flexible in arranging a makeshift table for our large hungry group. They accommodated us with great service throughout our dining experience. Beginning to end went flawlessly. Food was great too! I'm a sushi connoisseur and Mitama definitely didn't let me down. First impressions are important right? This place definitely made a lasting impression with nice presentations and quality of ingredients. All the dishes were yum yum! Would've been nice to have complimentary miso soup and edamame like most sushi restaurants do. Anyways decent pricing and on the saltier end. Overall, I'll probably come back for more! --------------- --------------- Overall rating: 8.5/10 - helpful staff and excellent service for 1 waitress Water quality: 9.5/10 read more

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This place was fine-- the service wasn't as bad as some other reviewers experienced, but the food was a little disappointing. The miso soup was way too salty. The hot sake was more on the warm side than the hot side. My friend and I split the Alcatraz roll and the Ready to Roll, and she also got the salmon belly nigiri which she loves. The Alcatraz roll was good-- I really liked it. The Ready to Roll wasn't too well rolled in that multiple pieces started to fall apart when you pick it up with chopsticks. One of the servers were really nice, but the other one was a little weird mainly in that he came to pick up the signed checks before we got up to leave. I don't think there were people waiting for a table, and we certainly hadn't lingered for a long time so it was a little off-putting to get the universal server sign for "Please leave". We were kinda tucked away in one of the corners by the window so the layout of the restaurant at one of the front corners is a little cramped and you have to maneuver a little around the tables and chairs to get to it, but it was fine and it made for a cozy quiet corner. read more

Best ramen I've ever hovered. Not too salty. Not too greasy. Just right. Mmmm, mmm, mm, mm, MM! read more

Mitama Restaurant - Ramen destroyed - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Food is expensive and mediocre. It might be worth the happy hour prices but I've eaten here about 5x over the last 6 years and I've never left thinking I'd come back. The proximity to my house (0.1 mi) makes it alluring and I'm always hopeful I'll be impressed. It's not horrible but it's not great. AND it's significantly overpriced for the quality. From the beginning, I saw they had toro from the Tskuji Fish Market and I wanted to love this place so bad. But it the sushi falls a little flat. Sushi rice is inconsistent. In my $32 omakase, the rice didn't live up to the fish. read more

Mitama has been around about 10 years on College avenue. I came on a Tuesday evening, just passing by the area and hungry, so drop in here. I sat at the sushi bar and ordered Nigiri: Hamachi, Maguro, Sake (Salmon), Saba, Ikura and Uni. The 2 sushi chefs were Chinese, but knew pretty well what they were doing. The one that served me the Nigiri has been here 6 years, and before that, worked at Yoshi's Oakland. They make the tiny rice balls Nigiri, but the fish was sliced pretty well, and unlike a lot of places, they added wasabi under the fish on the rice, just like any real Japanese sushi chef would do. They have a pretty large selection of Sake to drink, and the prices are pretty reasonable. They offer a smaller carafe, just 120ml, which is rare. They bring out a basket of Sake cups for you to choose to drink from. After the Nigiri, I ordered a Saba Shioyaki to finish off my meal (Salted, Soy Sauce grilled mackerel). It was over cooked and dry. It was the appetizer, only $6.50. This place has decent ambiance and about a 7 stool sushi bar with 2 chefs. It is better to come for sushi after Thursday, when they get their fresh deliveries for the weekend. They do offer noodles, 2 item bentos, other dishes at pretty typical prices. This place is ok if you are in the neighborhood, but not worth going out of your way to reach. read more

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Their Omakase is so good and so fresh (rice to fish ratio is an outstanding balance), paired with Nori chips are a meal fit for any foodie.

While growing up, I never really had the taste for ramen. Maybe it was the countless number of cup noodles I had after school, but regardless of the reason I never got around to exploring high quality raw-men (ramen jk). Recently however, I've gotten really into ramen and was hoping to find some good shops around Berkeley. Unfortunately, when I turned to Yelp, it seemed that few Japanese restaurants in the area were known for ramen. The first one that had the most reviews was Ramen Shop, but I hesitated since this place reportedly charged $17 for a salty bowl of ramen. And so I took my best friend's recommendation to try Mitama. Mitama is a small Japanese restaurant that's located on College Ave near Clairemont. It's a few shops north of Safeway before the intersection. Mitama opens around 530pm on a Friday and when we got there, there was already a good number of people inside. Note that this place has both a sake/tapas part of the restaurant, as well as a food side. Also note that parking in Berkeley is horrendous, but there is street parking. In regards to their menu, Mitama offers a few ramen bowls to go along with some sushi and appetizers. They have most rolls you'd want from a Japanese restaurant if you want that, as well as a healthy assortment of appetizers such as skewers. My friend and I decided to go for the Tonkatsu Ramen, prices pretty normally at $13.5 a bowl. Ramen took a bit long to come out, but we were ready to dig in when our bowls arrived. First thing we noticed was that this place adds A LOT of vegetables into your bowl. Unlike most places, this place packs lots of sprouts and corn. Other staples, like pork and egg, come in average quantities. In terms of taste, I have to say that my ramen was unfortunately mediocre, kind of like how I make mine. The proportion of sprouts and corn to meat and noodles was way too high, the sheer amount of red, pickled ginger overpowered the soup, and the soup lacked that needed flavor in a broth. Some good things were that the soup was creamy and the meat was soft and melted in your mouth. Though I really didn't have the most optimal experience at Mitama, my friend did so you may or may not end up liking this place. The service is good and the atmosphere is decent, so there are good things. I have to give Mitama a "tolerable, sufficient for sustenance" rating. Eat well and prosper folks, read more

Mitama Restaurant - Tonkatsu Ramen - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Not sure why this place doesn't have better reviews, it's a reliable neighborhood staple. Excellent quality fish and rice. Service can be slow or a little disorganized at times, but never intentionally bad. read more

Mitama, a Japanese cuisine located in Berkeley bordering Oakland Rockridge area at the corner of College and Alcatraz. What seems to be a very standard decor that has it's own style and elegance, with various paintings and pictures on the walls, it all combines together to create a very unique look to this restaurant. The food: Various selections of fresh fish and seafood makes their Sushi and Sashimi selections. Specials listed on a whiteboard of whichever they've got that is additional to their main menu, direct from Japan. In addition to the seafood, they've got a wide selection of "cooked" food including tempura, kara-age, to noodles like udon and soba. What's new however is that they've recently added a new selection to their noodle of which I had previously wondered why they never had it on the menu, Ramen. My impression of most Japanese restaurants serving Sushi and Sashimi, always would have some sort of Ramen, even if it is one that is plain Ramen without any additional toppings. First time I came here when I found out they didn't have Ramen I was somewhat disappointed, but now I understood why! Their Ramen broth preparation takes about 20 hours! They use a mixture of pork and chicken bones to create the soup base of what a Japanese Ramen is known for. The Ramen noodles are tender, yet retains it chewiness and not over-cooked. The toppings include 2 pieces of Chashu (sliced pork belly), seaweed, sprouts, corn, nori, and 2 half-pieces of soft-boiled egg. The Chashu is nicely portioned, not thin and not too thick, fall-off-the-bone type of texture. What really impressed me in addition to the broth was the egg, the yolk was raw in the center that oozes as it is brought to the table. The service: Friendly staff, servers are attentive and the sushi chefs will make sure you get what you asked for if you sit at the sushi bar. A definite plus to all the great food that they serve here! The price: Depends on what you order, your usual ticket will range anywhere from $15-$40 per person with tax and tips included. They have so many different combinations that you will not leave hungry. Overall, i would definitely recommend coming here whatever the occasion is. 5-stars! :) read more

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Dinner 4/18/15 It's your neighborhoody Japanese joint. It gets a little busy and service can be slow. *Gyozas ($6.95) steamed and pan fried, crispy bottoms, delicious meat fillings. Hit the spot. *Skewered Scallops ($6.95) from the robata grill comes two big round scallops. They were barely cooked, which I like. I wish they didn't splatter so much sauce on them. *Chicken Katsu entree ($15.95) was a skimpyportion of six pieces of breaded fried chicken. Good but not very fulfilling. The steamed vegetable was just some shredded onions and carrots. Really? *Chirashi ($19.95) was pretty good, served in a lacquer bento box packed with tuna, yellowtail, mackerel, shrimp, octopus and tomato egg. Fish is not if the highest grade but fresh enough. The sushi rice is what I find fault with. Not seasoned/vinegared enough. Overall pretty average. Service can be slow. Their timing was also off because neither the appetizers not the mains arrive at the same time. My partner was half way through his katsu when my chirashi came. read more

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I hate that people give this place bad reviews because of SERVICE AHAHAHAH this place is SO GOOD PLEASE IGNORE THE BAD REVIEWS!! I got negi toro and spicy salmon rolls. They were absolute 10/10. Please come here if you want amazing sushi. Don't listen to these stupid yelpers read more

This is a solid neighborhood restaurant. It's not the most outstanding Japanese food, they serve the traditional fares that cater to Americans. I come here when I don't want to wait in line at Kirala. They have good service and the food comes pretty quickly. read more

Mitama Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Mitama has a split personality, one's a sushi bar, one's a casual dining spot, and one's a pricey locale to get some japo eats menu: innovative, not typical. pricey for small portions sampling: noodle and rice combo(10.95) -chirashi and soba noodles, topped with spinach and okama slices.(fishcake) fresh sliced ika(squid), a salmon piece, and a tuna piece over very tasty marinated sushi rice. sashimi slices average size. -a dab of soba noodles in a hondashi broth with spinach and fishcake as toppings. fresh, satisfying and not enough. -japanese tea very rich and nice. temaki: -fresh offerings but small portions -quality, 4 stars, value 3 stars. -service: 4 stars read more

Mitamo is by far my favorite sushi restaurant in Berkeley. The hand rolls are beautiful (and interestingly named); order their dragon roll and tempura roll, which are so beautifully arranged that you won't want to eat your sushi (but you will...) Be prepared, however, to spend big bucks as sushi comes at a pretty steep price here. Snuggled in the corner of College Avenue and Alcatraz, Mitamo is fairly compact and cramped, so don't bring a huge group of friends for sake bombing or anything. Also be prepared to wait a while, as the restaurant fits very few people at a time and can be very busy in the evenings on the weekend. read more

I was very, very happy with my broiled saba, though the portion was really small. I am usually unimpressed with saba at Japanese restaurants but love the equivalent (mackerel) at Korean restaurants. Mitama was an exception. My friend's salmon was also pretty good. I might come back, but the portions were honestly too small, even for a short, average-weight person. read more

Mitama Restaurant - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Super solid spot for lunch. Had a couple pieces of nigiri (daily special fish fresh from Japan), and the cold soba with shrimp and vegetable tempura. Tasty, wonderful food. I will definitely come back for more! read more

Wow. I've been looking for good sushi in Berkeley for a while now, been sorely disappointed by many, but NOT BY MITAMA. Oh my god they have fresh ass fish from japan n shit bruh that shits so good ong read more

Cheap booze and kinda reasonably priced food. Had the udon with tempura and more sake bombs than I really thought they would serve us (given that all the tables near us had kids). I'd like to try the sushi there but it was pretty pricey but I appreciate them accommodating our grad student needs with regards to our beverage choices. read more

Pretty solid sushi joint. For reference, I'm a vegetarian (no fish), so I'm only reviewing the veggie rolls in terms of the food. I came here with some friends on our way back from Vallejo for dinner and they have a couple of rolls beyond the obligatory avocado or cucumber rolls for vegetarians to choose from, so that's always a plus. Nothing really stood out as being particularly outstanding, but both I and my non-vegetarian friends were satisfied with our meals, so I'd say there's a pretty good chance the fish is fresh even if I can't vouch for it myself! The service was occasionally slow, even though the place wasn't super full at the time, but the waiters and waitresses were friendly and brought us refills promptly after we flagged them down. If I'm in the area and feeling like sushi, I wouldn't mind coming back :) read more

Love their sushi and appetizers and they are very nice. Been eating here for years and are never disappointed. Their salmon sashimi is very fresh and the kids love the teriyaki chicken. Great selection of rolls too. Best hidden secret in the Elmwood area. read more

Yelp 100 Challenge 14' * 22/100 Searching for a Japanese restaurant seemed to have become a reflex during almost any trip now. It's in the blood. And while I really enjoyed the authenticity, I thought the prices were a little off the charts. When headed here, I was famished enough to bypass reading through the menu first. So naturally, I was a bit shocked by price of their tonkatsu entre (miso, salad, bowl of rice and tonkatsu) which was almost $16. Entres in Vegas hardly ever went up $10, including a fee fancy ones on the strip. On the bright side, I love how their staff spoke to each other in Japanese and the pipe-in jazz music really made for a pleasant dining experience. Staff were very attentive, refilling our water glasses every 10 minutes. There's an open sushi bar to the rear left of the restaurant and cute decors all over the walls. Perhaps a good stop every now and then but if you have time, stroll further down college avenue for other great japanese options. read more

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Completely overpriced and not that good. $30 for two regular rolls is over the top and the rolls were subpar. Not going back.

Tonight, after being told we would have to wait an hour at Kirala, my friend and I decided to try Mitama. I drive by it all the time, but had never been inside. I do not think I will be going inside ever again. We were placed at the table in the corner by the window, even though there were some other spots open. I suppose we could have asked for a better table, but I thought being by the window would be nice. It was pretty cramped, but not awful. After waiting about 10 minutes (and asking), we finally got some water, and it was not even crowded in the restaurant. At all. When she came back to take our order, we ordered three types of rolls and one order of edamame. Then, we waited for over 30 minutes for it to arrive! I could not believe how long it took. After we watched TWO tables that arrived after us order and receive their food, we were quite frustrated. I asked the waitress, who said that the chef was very busy because a lot of people came in at the same time. Ummm really? I cannot believe it took over 30 minutes to receive three sushi rolls. Especially since other people arrived, ordered and started eating before our food arrived. We had to bug the waitress for water refills constantly, and the wait for our food was just unacceptable. If you are going to serve a group who arrived after a group who hasn't gotten their food, and they are sitting next to each other, you should at least talk to the people who arrived first and say something like, "sorry about the wait; your food will be here soon." Don't just ignore us while we watch all the people around us get fed, and don't make us ask you where our food is after 30 minutes of waiting. The food was ok. Not great, not awful. It was fresh enough, but honestly no better than sushi you would get at Berkeley Bowl or something. And it was definitely overpriced. Our bill ended up being $40 with (less than 15%) tip, which we felt was a little much for what we got. We should have just waited the hour at Kirala. read more

Mitama Restaurant - The plate we received. It was just kind of...eh. Especially for almost $40. - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great portion size for the Salmon. Had a combo dish Salmon Terriyaki/California Roll. Also ordered a dragon roll. All was very tasty. The steamed rice was topped off with sesame seeds. Not big on sesame seeds but the amount on it wasn't bad. Wanted a Leche Margarita but closest I could get was a Pear Wine. It was slightly sweet and did the job. Also a large size worth the cost. Overall great place to get a bite. I'll go back. read more

Mitama Restaurant - Combo Salmon Teriyaki with California Roll - Japanese Near Me - Berkeley, California

Mediocre sushi at best!! The sushi didn't seem fresh & the rolls were small for the price. We tried the spicy tuna roll, rainbow roll & assorted sushi dinner. We definitely tried a range of fish. We were disappointed & didn't even finish our sushi. Our daughter did like her gyoza. read more