Delicious little Sushi bar! I was craving some good fish in an intimate setting and I found it at…read moreMujiri. Arrived on time for my 8:30am reservation and of course had to sit at the welcoming bar. Thank goodness I made a reservation because there were walk ups that were waiting outside for a seat. Started off strong eith a good ole bottle of Sake and its rare i find a place that carries one of my favorites (Kurosawa) so i was a hapy camper there. I had the sashimi combo and the Nigiri combo. Both were great and lovingly made by the pros at the bar. It was great seeing them take great care with the fish and forming the nigiri. Everything was so so so good! I totally understand the hype of this spot and I know ill be back again very soon.

My experiences here have been night and day…read more What Mujiri does well is having a selective menu and offering fresh nigiri and sashimi options. A simple menu allows the customers to order quickly and for the restaurant to crank out the items for fast turnover. As others have mentioned, it's less of an Omakase and more of a sushi or sashimi set. Mujiri definitely have their business model set up well in practice. The thing that has always been lacking has been the service. Through my three times here, dine in and take out guests are always waiting until they get some attention from whichever staff gets flagged down while they're in the middle of something else. During my most recent visit, the order predicted an online pick up of 40-50 minutes. I ended up taking my time leaving the gym and arrived at the 40 minute mark. Waited around and noticed my delivery ETA shifted for another 10 minutes. Once the 10 minutes were up I tried to flag a staff, and they told me it would be another 15 minutes. Through watching the orders, they had obviously not even started on my order yet. It was literally 30 minutes before closing when I got my order. It also didn't make sense as there wasn't much turnover for the dine in customers. They definitely need a better system as it was apparent that me and five other parties easily waited an additional 30 minutes each with no real explanation. It's unacceptable for a restaurant to neglect customers or giving timely updates and expect a disingenuous apology would make up for it. I admit that I like that offerings, but for the actual quantity and poor service, this place is severely overrated.

Unassuming Soba Ichi is such a delicious place for a casual meal…read more I have been to soba Ichi twice at this point. This most recent visit I was able to try the duck breast soba. The duck was juicy and tender and I love the broth they make. The flavor is deep yet the meal is light. Each spoonful of broth is like a savory umami bomb. I love it! This is the type of place where you order at the counter and wait for your meal. I appreciate that they ask if you'd like to sit inside and if so, they will make sure there is a table open for you. My only critique of this place is I tend to still be hungry after finishing a bowl. I wish the portions were a little larger.

Upscale noodle place for soba and assorted Japanese bites. The level of craft here is remarkable…read more The dishes are made from simple ingredients with elegant preparations. We ordered the tofu, cold and hot noodles, tempura, and the weekly special, mochi. The cold noodles were a showcase for the soba noodles themselves -- nutty and earthy in flavor, and toothsome without being gummy. But the broth for the hot noodles was a welcome blend of flavors: sweet, salty, sour, umami at the same time. All while remaining relatively light. It would be easy to sip it all down on its own. (Our nine year old nearly did! We saw other kids there and I suspect they may have done the same.) The tofu came in thick blocks with three separate dressings -- onion, pickled cucumber, and bonito. Each one transformed the creamy bean curd into a different dish. Because the preparations are so simple, the best strategy may be to order a variety of appetizers which cover a range of flavors and textures. Then, hunker down with a couple shared plates of noodles for the entree. This is a place to take it slow and to appreciate the care behind each bite.

Came here on a Friday night and had to wait over an hour to get seated at a table. Highly recommend…read moremaking reservations ahead of time if you don't want to wait. We ended up seating at a shared communal table for dinner. We ordered maguro tuna carpaccio and hamachi hand roll set as appetizers to start. Carpaccio was very thinly sliced with interesting Asian fusion flavors. I loved the hamachi handroll set; well seasoned thick cuts of fish. We also shared the ocean trout and mentaiko pasta for entrees and both were good. Crispy skin on the fish was excellent. The pasta was buttery but felt like it was missing something. We got yogurt soju and Sauvignon blanc wine, both were really good. Small restaurant with small tapa style plates. Great vibes and suitable for date night. Prices were high for the amount of food but amazing service!

Planned a friend date and suddenly I knew what it felt like to be a guy…read more With no context of what the girl likes, and judging by her taste in make up, catalog of stamps from around the world, and a diverse palette Bob Ross could paint with, I provided two options. Oken was 1st choice while the 2nd choice was somewhat more casual. MAGURO CARPACCIO - FRESH MAITAKE TEMPURA - Great texture, not greasy BAECHU SALAD - lots of flavor and love a crispy topping WAGYU KALBI SHORT RIB SSAM - TENDER af, great flavor STRAWBERRY SHORTCAKE - subtle, not too sweet Asian fusion can sometimes be a hit or miss but Oken executed every dish beautifully. Make reservations because this place fills up quick. Good date spot. Great service. Amazing food.

This place was incredibly cozy, staff are all friendly and welcoming and answered any questions we…read morehad. Our server was super attentive. The vibe and ambiance of the place was also very nice. Food: omakase had an amazing presentation and selection, you could either order nigiri or sashimi for the omakase. I especially recommend the lychee crème brulee for dessert. It's amazing how they infused lychee into crème brulee, the flavor of the lychee was hinted, not incredibly strong. Khatan roll is also really good, it wasn't spicy in the moment but the spice kinda lingers after so just beware. Overall, I loved the place and will be coming back!

It's nice to see a great new option for sushi in Oakland. It's vey convenient to get to from BART…read more The interior is nice, and the seats are comfortable. Service was friendly when I was there. I tried the Lake Merritt roll and some ribeye skewers (a special that day). It hit the spot and I would definitely come here again for more sushi cravings.

Want your fix of quality & fresh cuts of fish that reminds you of the markets in Japan? Ebiko is…read morethe only place I know of that offers this. I'm never disappointed with the food here and I'm super hard to please when it comes to japanese. Omakase quality cuts at grocery store prices. Stop in and give them a try :)

Love the easy grab and go concept, although the rice could have used some work…read more There is a huge lunch rush, so it's best to arrive right at opening. The refrigerated display was fairly small while the back wall was lined with shelves of Asian snacks. The sushi section was only wide enough for three or four people, so guests frequently had to reach over one another to grab their selections. The staff at checkout were friendly and packaged everything neatly. I also appreciated that the chopsticks were noticeably higher quality than standard takeout utensils. *Tuna Avo Roll: good balance of tuna, rice, and avocado. The avocado was slightly underripe, giving the roll an overall sharper, tangier profile. The tuna had a pleasant texture, though it was a touch fishy. The rice was at its best in this roll compared to the other items I ordered. *Omakase Nigiri: an incredible value for the quality and generous portions. Each piece was topped with thick, fleshy cuts of fish. My set included three tuna, two salmon, one scallop, and one ikura nigiri. The tuna was the standout and nearly melted in my mouth. The salmon was solid but fairly standard. The rice, however, was on the firmer side with only subtle vinegar seasoning. *Salmon Aburi: the beautifully torched top looked promising but surprisingly lacked any noticeable smokiness. The salmon was over torched, leaving very little of its natural raw richness and rendering away much of its fattiness. The rice was firmer and even more bland than the rice used in the other items. I really appreciate the reasonable prices and convenient grab and go setup, but the rice needs more consistency in texture and seasoning. Perhaps the refrigerated display contributes to the firmer texture, though the seasoning also varied noticeably between the three items I tried. Fortunately, the seafood itself was fresh, well cut, and generously portioned, which was enough for me to round this up to 3.5 stars.

Absolutely LOVE marafuku!!! Top 2 restaurants in the bay for me and I loved my server Amanda! She…read morewas so sweet!

All time favorite place. It's always packed with repeat…read morecustomers. Our all time favorite place is chicken paitan and tantanmen. I do like veg ramen too. It's a perfect place to go before pub / club hopping or on a rainy or cold night. Parking is a challenge but you can find a spot on a parallel street.

Wow. Sushi Salon was easily one of the best omakase experiences I've ever had and absolutely worth…read morethe trip from San Francisco. What makes this place so special is their fish supplier, famed Japanese fish concierge Hiroshi Hasegawa. He's known for sourcing rare and unusual fish that are rarely sold commercially, and he sometimes even free-dives to catch them himself. Sushi Salon is currently the only restaurant in the United States that he supplies, which means you truly won't get this exact experience anywhere else. The rice alone deserves its own praise. The vinegar they use is only supplied to a select few in the U.S., and in my opinion, it was the best sushi rice I've ever had. I could honestly eat the rice on its own. The space is incredibly intimate, with only seven seats per seating at 5:00pm and 7:30pm. Watching each course being prepared right in front of us made the entire experience feel personal and immersive. Every piece of fish was excellent, but the standouts for me were the saba, uni, medai, ninjin, and kegani. Joji Nonaka and Anna Osawa were wonderful hosts. They engaged with guests throughout the evening and shared thoughtful insights and history behind the fish and techniques, which made the meal even more meaningful. Parking was surprisingly easy with street parking nearby, though the surrounding area feels a bit gritty, so I wouldn't leave anything visible in your car. At the end of the omakase, you're given the option to order additional pieces or specialty items not included in the set menu. I highly recommend taking advantage of that and trying as much as you can. Overall, if you're looking to splurge on a truly unique and elevated omakase experience, Sushi Salon is absolutely worth it. It's special, intimate, and unforgettable.

This is an omakase where you can get a more unique variety of fish than what is typical in Bay…read morearea. The price is reasonable for the variety, for the bay, and the sushi is fresh and tasted great. The restaurant itself is elegant and cute. Highlights for me were all the Japanese fish, which are specially curated and killed with a technique to reduce fish stress. The taste was close to what I got in Japan, and each coming piece was exciting. The sashimi courses at the beginning were also amazingly crafted, especially the first tuna course. Where it lost a star for me was 1) the amount of food was quite small. In total it was about 17 courses, but each is essentially one small piece of sushi. They did give a large hand roll at the end but I still didn't feel full. I did order one supplemental piece, but the other two options weren't interesting to me. Anyway for $300 a head after tip and tax I was not expecting to want to grab another bite after. 2) you have to go to some sketchy pizza place next door for the bathroom. Again, when you charge a premium price, you should deliver a premium experience

For someone who prefers sushi rolls over hand rolls - this place blew me away! The quality of the…read morefish, thoughtfulness of the coursing, the cocktails, and the service - what an experience! They have pre-courses out flights but a lot of à la carte hand rolls as well you can sub out for or add on. 6 hand rolls seems to have been the right amount. I ended up ripping some of the seaweed off each time but absolutely no complaints. I still think about this place...can't wait to come back.

Yonsei is a quaint little spot serving up fresh, flavorful hand rolls that are sure to satisfy any…read moresushi craving. You can order individual hand rolls or opt for one of their curated sets--we went with the set, and it was the perfect way to sample a variety of offerings. Every hand roll arrived freshly made with crisp nori, yummy fish, and well-balanced flavors. Simple, yet delicious. If you're a hand roll fan, this is definitely worth adding to your Oakland dining list.