Love this spot for all the things! High quality food and a nice vibe, two of my favorite attributes…read moreof a five star restaurant. Everything I have had here has been delicious. Current favs: 1) beef bulgogi- super generous portion and great flavor. Make sure to soak up all that sauce! 2) karage & gyoza: I love both these items for a starter and hate choosing. This combo gives a little bit of each and I appreciate it. Sauce has a little kick and is delightful. 3) wagyu and pineapple skewers- just.say.yes! 4) beans with wok you sauce. More please! The Kyoto matcha beer has a great flavor and is a nice treat. Have you been? If not, slide on down to The Public Izakaya and put your name on the sign in sheet. Wait patiently and enjoy a fantastic meal!

* Who: friend, partner, & I * What: late night dinner…read more* When: Saturday * Why: Pride weekend & needed to refuel after the night * Space/Decor: decent sized & more rectangular. Decor was cute & helped with the vibe w/o being too much. This would be a cute date spot or grabbing food to go. * Service: was OK/decent. My 1/2 challenge was the wait was really long & they didn't really communicate on actual wait time. The 2/2 challenge was at the end they also took a long time to check on us & give us the check. * Food: I don't mean to be a broken record but it was also OK haha. Like the tempura was crispy-ish. The sausage didn't really have a flavor. My partner did say the udon hit the spot ‍ * Final Thoughts: cute & busy Izakaya that can work for a romantic date or meet-up with friends, with a standard menu & to be expected flavor. I'd recommend & would return, though if it was between here or exploring a different spot, I'd go with explore. * Final Grade: B+ or 8.5/10

Beautiful venue. Excellent service. delicious food. I recommend it and hope they open for dinner…read moresoon.

One of my favorite restaurants in the Bay FORREAL. Japanese izakaya style food, which is basically…read moredelicious small bites. My brother took me recently and we went IN! Some standouts were the otoro nigiri, eel skewer, miso black cod, the pesto udon, as well as the sweet potato creme brulee. But we ordered way more food and all of its delicious!! It's very authentic. The service is good but they do have limits on the tables because it's sooo busy there so don't be offended if they tell you to get your big back up. Def make a Rez because it's always a wait. Im finna go back soon mmmm.

Came for happy hour and enjoyed the spicy salmon hand roll and karrage. Next time, I'll skip the…read moreunagi, negi toro, and tostada options. I thought the takoyaki was fine and so was the spicy tuna. The spicy salmon crispy rice, chicken wings, hamachi sashimi, seared bluefin nigiri, and snow crab hand roll looked really good though! Food came out quick and there were a lot of seats that filled up after opening. Seems like a quick wait during happy hour. I'd come back for a casual bite while shopping in Fillmore.

Checked out the Nono Baru x Bubu happy hour on a Wednesday around 5 PM and got seated at the…read morecounter right away. They have two different happy hour windows (4:30 to 6:00 PM and 8:00 to 9:30 PM), and the deals are seriously good. There is a 60-minute time limit and you can only order a maximum of 2 rounds, so make sure you make it count! You get a dedicated happy hour paper menu to fill out with a pen, but you can also order off the regular menu if you want to supplement your meal. Service was super friendly, though it did slow down just a bit toward the end as the space completely filled up. Overall it was a great experience, just make sure to make those two rounds count!

Small izakaya place in inner sunset area. Quick service and was pretty clear inside on a Tuesday…read morenight. Heard about their ramen and decided to go here. The tonkotsu ramen came with a slightly thick soup. The noodles were perfect and the seared chashu was tasty. The hamachi carpaccio was solid. My favorite was the satsumaimo fries. Japanese potato similar to sweet potato. Crispy from the crust it had and seasoned well with a creamy sauce. The sake steamed clams garlic butter had decently sized clams and cooked well. Solid izakaya place with tasty ramen. Good options of yakitori to choose from.

Been here many years ago before our visit last week. The place was dead on a Saturday evening but…read morethat's okay. Ordered several yakitori dishes and a daikon salad. A few Japanese bottled beers too. Chicken skin is my favorite with beer but not here. The chicken skin was crispy on the outside but chewy and rubbery on the middle. Bacon wrapped Enoki and bacon wrapped mochi were tasty. Pork jowl good. Daikon salad was tasty. Overall not bad. The price was a bit too steep honestly.

We discovered this fun little Izakaya (Japanese social eatery) when coming into town for the…read moreLadytron show at the UC Theater on busy Saturday night on University Avenue and we are glad that we decided to give it a try. It was conveniently located across the street from the venue, and the unassuming outside of the restaurant did not hint at the amount of fun, ambiance, good food, and warm hospitality contained inside. First, there is the name. Not sure if it's some sort of play on words, secret joke, or if it's someone's actual name, but it works, kinda. It's kinda a restaurant, kinda a bar, kinda of a hangout, and kinda fun. The tiny entrance and plain facade reveals a bustling world of delicious food, tasty beverage, and lots of decorative eye candy to keep you looking around the space while you are hanging out with friends, on a date, or just relaxing after a long day. The decorations there are very upbeat, eclectic, fun, and distinctly Japanese pop culture. Posters, banners, flags, lanterns, toys, and trinkets can be found all over the restaurant, and made it fun to keep looking around and discover new novel things to look at. I did feel like I was in an authentic Izakaya somewhere in Shinjuku, Shibuya, or Ebisu in Tokyo. The place had a lot of personality & personal flair in an otherwise, tiny & industrial small warehouse type space. Service was excellent. The host was the cute & personable Mina, who couldn't have been more accommodating, patient, friendly, and engaging. It was very busy, and even though it was our first time there, Mina made us feel welcome into their home and was also very helpful to guide us around their experience. The other staff were less engaging, but still professional, efficient, and polite. Service was quick, attentive, and friendly on all accounts, and they as a team, managed to serve an entire full house of hungry & happy patrons during the entire Saturday night dinner rush. Fun place with a good staff. We opted for Izakaya-type, shared small plates to satisfy our hunger cravings without getting too full and weighed down on big portions of heavy, rich foods. Everything on the long & expansive menu looked great, but we mostly stuck with small appetizers to sample & savor. It was nice that there were plenty of lighter, fresh vegetarian options as neither of us were really in the mood for seafood, fried food, or big heavy entrees. We ordered the Kinda Tofu, Kyuri sliced fresh cucumber salad, and Kinoko butter-grilled mushroom hot platter and washed it down with some green grape Jinro soju. Everything was pretty good! Not overly fried, greasy, salty, or seasoned. Lightly cooked, delicately glazed, with just enough seasoning & oil/sauce to make it taste good, but not end up too complicated or messy. The taste really came through using these minimal cooking & seasoning techniques. The taste of the original vegetables & tofu came through perfectly, and were only complimented by their light hints of adding flavor. Portion sizes were ample for two people, and presentation was appetizing and organized. The bill for 3 apps + 1 bottle of Soju was less than $50, so it was a good value for the fun experience & good food. Wait times during the dinner rush are long, and there isn't really anywhere to sit or stand, so reservations are recommended. You can also enter and go straight to the 10-seat bar if there are openings, but we got a table for two after around a 20-30 minute wait. After that, everything moves pretty quickly, from ordering, getting food & drinks, to wrapping up and getting your check. Perfect system if you're trying to get to a concert, movie, or appointment with a specific start time. I really liked this place, not Kinda, not Sorta, but Definitely, or Absolutely! Kinda Izakaya will always be our destination to eat & hang out next time we come back to Berkeley, it is a true gem of a Japanese Izakaya/light meal fare right in the heart of downtown Berkeley. It's fun, tasty, busy, and friendly. Small & cozy, yet also airy & comfortable.

2nd Visit. I'm smitten with the menu and vibes. $6 Kyuri:…read morerefreshing vinegary counter to the fried and grilled items. $12 Crispy Chicken Knees: very karage like. Excellent. $6 Bacon+Oyster: Least surprising. Tasty at least. $4.50 Chkn Skin: kinda sweet! In a good way, charred, and fatty. Delicious. $31 Ika Yaki: delicious

We've stopped here a couple times in the past month before catching a concert or a movie nearby. We…read morelove Taniku because it's a meal that rarely disappoints. This most recent time my girlfriend was craving ramen but I wasn't so I got creative. I love their black pepper chicken, so I got that and asked for a side of rice. On top of that we got the ribeye skewers and their new snow crab hand roll. The sauce for the black pepper chicken was really really tasty. That sauce over the rice, was so comforting. The ribeye wasn't super tender but tasty. The snow crab hand roll came with so much snow crab, I felt like it's one of the few hand rolls I've had that was filling. If you come for happy hour, they have good deals on ramen. I think like $13ish, which is a great deal. It ends promptly at 5:30, so plan to get there well before 5:30 if you are looking to take advantage. Something to think about it, Theres no sign up list for waiting for tables, and everyone who's waiting just lines up outside and down the block (no waiting inside). While the ramen (especially their Niku ramen) is still a solid choice. Piecing together meal with some appetizers and a side of rice might be my go-to way of ordering here now. Taniku really does do a lot of things well and the food is always tasty.

I went here for dinner around 6:30pm and a line started forming right after we arrived, becoming…read moreabout 10 people deep. We only waited about 10 min. We started off with the Mekyabetsu (Brussels sprouts), Ba-Ra (pork belly), and Kobe (beef). The Brussels sprouts were my fav starter, and the sauce paired so well with it. The Ba-Ra was pretty good, but nothing amazing, and same for the Kobe, which I found to be a bit bland. We also split the Hokkaido Miso ramen. The broth had a great flavor, and the pork chashu was possibly the best I've ever had(!) as it was soooo tender and flavorful, and not very fatty. I did think the cauliflower left room to be desired, and kinda took away from the ramen overall. We finished our meal off with the matcha Panna cotta - this was a great dessert and wasn't too sweet ;) This place definitely seems to be pretty good at a lot of dishes, but not amazing at any single one. The vibe is great, service was great, and prices are a biiiiti steep but not unreasonable.

Cute but pricey izakaya (it is owned by non-Japanese Asians!) They have a parking lot so don't park…read moreon the street like I did (alternatively, you could take Caltrain as they are right across the street from Broadway station!) The private booths are intimate, the lighting is dimmed, music is bopping (not to age myself, but it was bops from my high school years) Fitting, as I was getting dinner with my best HS friend! I love how you take off your shoes to get in the booths! So cute and fun. There were some families there and the kids were given coloring pages. Coming from SF, this is how you know you're in the suburbs. The skewers were delicious. A group of 4, we ordered 4 of each. We tried steak, chicken, takoyaki, fries (which were pretty much takoyaki fries), bacon-wrapped mochi, bacon enoki mushroom, unagi, fried chicken skin, Uzura Tamago (Quail Eggs), and more! Everything was good and flavorful. However, it ended up being over ~$70/person, so not cheap. I will say service was lacking. They didn't bring us the bill for over 20 minutes. Relatedly (in that it's negative), whoo boy was my stomach upset after! It was delicious, but at the cost of being greasy.

A great, reliable spot if you're looking for a fun yakitori and Japanese tapas-style dinner…read moreexperience, especially one that closes decently late no matter the day. We came to Mokutanya for a casual night out. It was pretty late for a sushi spot to be open on a Sunday night (around 8:30 pm), and overall, it hit the spot. The menu has a lot of variety, and it's definitely a good place to share dishes with friends or a group. FOOD: 8/10 The skewers were the highlight for me and, I believe, one of their specialties. They were well-seasoned, nicely grilled, and served hot off the grill. I also enjoyed trying a variety of small plates, which made the meal feel fun and interactive. Some dishes were better than others, but overall it was a solid experience with good flavor and variety. We ordered their Raw Oysters, and it was decent. It definitely was not the freshest we've ever tried, but it was still good, thankfully. SERVICE: 8/10 Service was standard, but the staff was chill and easygoing. AMBIANCE: 8/10 The restaurant has a warm, lively, and slightly upscale-casual feel, great for groups or a casual night out. You can experience zashiki seating, where you take off your shoes before entering the dining area and sit down at low tables. The lighting was pretty dark, lol. Overall, it's a solid late-night option if you're in the mood for skewers, small plates, and a relaxed group dining experience.

When they said this is your favorite sushi chef's favorite sushi place, I was skeptical…read more They were correct!!! All their sushi was amazing! Regular Sushi platter: normal name but delicious game!!! Assortment of tuna, yellowtail, shrimp, white fish, salmon, eel, and smelt roe nigiri, and 3 pieces of California roll. Philly roll was a perfect balance of cream cheese and fresh salmon. All seafood was so fresh, I thought their gills were still flapping! Rice was sticky and light. Seaweed was not too tough nor tough like leather, and nicely seasoned. Dining area was intimate and nice. Staff was friendly and attentive. I recommend this restaurant to anyone who keeps the main thing the main thing. There is no substitute for great food!

The small plates are great for sharing, especially the yakitori and appetizers, which are flavorful…read moreand well-prepared. Food comes out fresh and pairs well with their drink selection. Service is generally friendly, though it can slow down a bit when it's busy. Overall, a nice spot for a laid-back meal with good comfort-style Japanese food.