Izakaya Ginji

Solid place, recommend a reservation because they get busy. You will easily spend $80-100 per person. Yakitori that we tried: Heart Black Angus Beef Bacon Scallop Pork cheeks which was very good Loved their Ginjo Lion King roll and their Ginji Soba 🍜

Food was very tasty, they sat our large group down almost immediately The food Came out relatively quickly. All the staff we interacted with from the server to the person who greeted us was nice.

It’s quite good but a bit expensive. We ordered lots of grilled food and also a lion king roll and a rice cooked with soup. Everything is quite good. Only the first grilled mushroom was a bit raw and not cooked but just warmed up. Otherwise, everything is quality.

Ordered bluefin sashimi, oyako donburi and udon with salmon sashimi. The food was delicious and prepared quickly. The bluefin in particular seemed well presented. They have a call system to get the attention of the wait staff; you just press a button and they rush over.

+3

We like this place. Service is great. Beef tongue and bbq eggplant are our favorite. They are very popular. If you want a table, even for just two people, you’d better make an appointment.

What can I say? A comfortable Japanese pub with consistently delicious, precisely made food and top notch service. I don't drink, but my friend enjoyed their wide Japanese beer selection. Also very nice people - I went there for a birthday dinner with friends and got a free mango pudding with a cute decoration! Reminded me of when we got to go food during the pandemic and they always added a thank you with a smile to the to go bag- made you feel good.

Came with coworkers that had a good introductory experience to yakitori! Skewers and beer on tap are the perfect combo. Chicken was great, karaage was fresh. Dont skip the veggies like mushroom. Deep fried pork belly was a bit too fatty and hard to chew. Flavor was good. Also got rolls and ramen - average vs other ramen shops in the area. Friendly staff. Service is a bit slow during dinner.

It is a nice izakaya food place. The staff there are very kind and attentive. We were able to get a table and order easily. Came during happy hour so wasn’t too busy either. The ordering was quite quick as you can order the happy hour dishes through the online menu. The skewers you order through the paper. Once we ordered the food came quickly. The skewers were pretty tasty. I liked the chicken skewers and the sausage skewer. We also tried the carbonara udon, and it was nice. The curry fries though, it was really tasty. Almost taste like a poutine. Overall a lot of yummy stuff.

Skewers were juicy, well seasoned and overall yummy. The beef finger and lamb were my favorites. We ordered a lot of the tapa plates and enjoyed most of them, the pork cheeks were very crispy and reminiscent of chicharrones, the karaage chicken comes in very large chunks, and the eggplant(miso nasu dengaku) was nice and saucy. I enjoy pork belly but the buta bara miso glaze was okay. I wish it was more tender. The ika maruyaki or grilled squid is a go to for me, as well as the ankimo. The fried hotate or scallops were nice and crispy with yummy slightly chewy scallops inside. The chuhais were fruity and very easy to drink.

Went out with some coworkers while visiting the area and was blown away with the food. We wended up ordering a lot of dishes which all had their own amazing flavors. My favorite was the Ebbi Chile, but the chicken karaage was a close second. Very cheap beer plus mouth watering food made for a very memorable outing. Friendly staff as well! Thanks y'all!

I really enjoyed the udon and the skewers! The udon is very basic but very flavorful, the seaweed taste very good! The beef skewer is a must try! The meat is so juicy and perfectly done. I also love the chicken thigh and the scallop. Just simple salt seasoning but very flavorful! The staffs were very helpful and kind. I am 100% coming back again. March-2024 I tried the miso katsu chicken! Very crispy on the outside and very tender chicken with flavorful sauce! I will try this again. April-2024 Beef tongue: must try! May-2024 Beef tongue and miso curry chicken katsu June-2024 Beef finger, sushi and shrimp! July-2024 Beef udon and oyster and lunch special beef bowel! Kaisen don and beef udon!

One of the best place to get Japanese food. The restaurant’s inside is decorated in Japanese style culture. It’s very nice, and we instantly fell in love with the decor. The place is always busy, so sometimes the order is a little slow but they always try their beat to attend to the customers. One other things I like about this place is the effort they put in to serve the little customers. See that cute little tiger plate? My baby likes it very much. The yakitori, or skewers, is very tasty, and they have 2 different flavors for you to try. During peak hours, the yakitori might be served a little slow due to high demands of orders. Besides that, the udon also is good, but the don is just so so, but it’s not bad. The desserts are yummy, but it’s too sweet to my liking.

Came in for lunch and expected izakaya but that's not served during lunch..... But we were pleasantly surprised by the food we got off the lunch menu... Shrimp was very good. Big and fresh and crispy. Agedashi tofu is one of the best I have had. Curry was also very good.

We happened to be in the area and we were craving for good Japanese food. We found Izakaya Ginji on Google map. Luckily we arrived early and we were sat right away. They have a paper menu which you mark on for yakitori, which is Japanese skewer. And there is a separate online menu to order other items, food and drinks, on your smart phone. We ended up with about a dozen of various yakitori, sashimi, and other items. We loved the yakitori and everything was very tasty. The place got crowded soon after we sat down. I'd recommend making reservation ahead of time. The service was very good and fast, everyone was friendly and attentive. The price is a bit on the high side. My wife and I ended up over a hundred dollars plus tax and tips. This is a good place for a drink and good Japanese food with friends. Highly recommended.

Really fun place… warm, almost five bar , atmosphere. Really excellent food. I would say the most notable for me was the akadashi miso soup… something i hadn’t had before but was delicious.

This is a great find in downtown San Mateo. The yakitori is excellent! The beef tongue and chicken liver in particular. Great atmosphere and staff. They are all attending their guests in a timely manner. I will comeback here along with my family and friends with me.

This place is expensive, but we thoroughly enjoyed every single dish we ordered. Came here with 4 adults on a Wednesday night, and we had to wait for a table since we didn't have a reservation. Wait wasn't too bad, especially since we started listing our orders while waiting to be seated. Since we listed everything on the piece of paper they gave us beforehand, ordering was as fast and easy. They brought each dish as it was made instead of waiting for all dishes to be ready. This ensured everything came to the table hot and fresh. We ordered grilled chicken thighs, chicken skin, chicken liver, wagyu beef sausages, beef ribs, scallops au gratin, sashimi, rainbow roll, unagi don, agedashi tofu, ebi tempura, and spicy chicken karaage. We also tried the grilled rice balls, which had good flavor and texture. Be prepared to wait longer for the grilled rice balls though. Ours came towards the tail end of our meal, which was not ideal, but we still thoroughly enjoyed every bite. The dragon roll we ordered came last, even after the rice balls. We expected it to come first, but I guess the kitchen was busy. Overall, a great experience.

Awesome place to get Yakitori. It gets busy but I really enjoyed my experience. The staff was friendly and welcoming. They got a good variety of Yakitori for the right price and offer both Tare and Shio flavors.

Sir Kumamon

It is a nice izakaya food place. The staff there are very kind and attentive. We were able to get a table and order easily. Came during happy hour so wasn’t too busy either. The ordering was quite quick as you can order the happy hour dishes through the online menu. The skewers you order through the paper. Once we ordered the food came quickly. The skewers were pretty tasty. I liked the chicken skewers and the sausage skewer. We also tried the carbonara udon, and it was nice. The curry fries though, it was really tasty. Almost taste like a poutine. Overall a lot of yummy stuff.

Eugenie Ooi

Skewers were juicy, well seasoned and overall yummy. The beef finger and lamb were my favorites. We ordered a lot of the tapa plates and enjoyed most of them, the pork cheeks were very crispy and reminiscent of chicharrones, the karaage chicken comes in very large chunks, and the eggplant(miso nasu dengaku) was nice and saucy. I enjoy pork belly but the buta bara miso glaze was okay. I wish it was more tender. The ika maruyaki or grilled squid is a go to for me, as well as the ankimo. The fried hotate or scallops were nice and crispy with yummy slightly chewy scallops inside. The chuhais were fruity and very easy to drink.

Steven Calhoun

Went out with some coworkers while visiting the area and was blown away with the food. We wended up ordering a lot of dishes which all had their own amazing flavors. My favorite was the Ebbi Chile, but the chicken karaage was a close second. Very cheap beer plus mouth watering food made for a very memorable outing. Friendly staff as well! Thanks y'all!

S Duan

I really enjoyed the udon and the skewers! The udon is very basic but very flavorful, the seaweed taste very good! The beef skewer is a must try! The meat is so juicy and perfectly done. I also love the chicken thigh and the scallop. Just simple salt seasoning but very flavorful! The staffs were very helpful and kind. I am 100% coming back again. March-2024 I tried the miso katsu chicken! Very crispy on the outside and very tender chicken with flavorful sauce! I will try this again. April-2024 Beef tongue: must try! May-2024 Beef tongue and miso curry chicken katsu June-2024 Beef finger, sushi and shrimp! July-2024 Beef udon and oyster and lunch special beef bowel! Kaisen don and beef udon!

Judy Margaret Chen

One of the best place to get Japanese food. The restaurant’s inside is decorated in Japanese style culture. It’s very nice, and we instantly fell in love with the decor. The place is always busy, so sometimes the order is a little slow but they always try their beat to attend to the customers. One other things I like about this place is the effort they put in to serve the little customers. See that cute little tiger plate? My baby likes it very much. The yakitori, or skewers, is very tasty, and they have 2 different flavors for you to try. During peak hours, the yakitori might be served a little slow due to high demands of orders. Besides that, the udon also is good, but the don is just so so, but it’s not bad. The desserts are yummy, but it’s too sweet to my liking.

Joyce Lam

Came in for lunch and expected izakaya but that's not served during lunch..... But we were pleasantly surprised by the food we got off the lunch menu... Shrimp was very good. Big and fresh and crispy. Agedashi tofu is one of the best I have had. Curry was also very good.

Stephen Lam

We happened to be in the area and we were craving for good Japanese food. We found Izakaya Ginji on Google map. Luckily we arrived early and we were sat right away. They have a paper menu which you mark on for yakitori, which is Japanese skewer. And there is a separate online menu to order other items, food and drinks, on your smart phone. We ended up with about a dozen of various yakitori, sashimi, and other items. We loved the yakitori and everything was very tasty. The place got crowded soon after we sat down. I'd recommend making reservation ahead of time. The service was very good and fast, everyone was friendly and attentive. The price is a bit on the high side. My wife and I ended up over a hundred dollars plus tax and tips. This is a good place for a drink and good Japanese food with friends. Highly recommended.

Jacob Gunia

Really fun place… warm, almost five bar , atmosphere. Really excellent food. I would say the most notable for me was the akadashi miso soup… something i hadn’t had before but was delicious.

Dnshift & Other things!

This is a great find in downtown San Mateo. The yakitori is excellent! The beef tongue and chicken liver in particular. Great atmosphere and staff. They are all attending their guests in a timely manner. I will comeback here along with my family and friends with me.

Marie Tepman

This place is expensive, but we thoroughly enjoyed every single dish we ordered. Came here with 4 adults on a Wednesday night, and we had to wait for a table since we didn't have a reservation. Wait wasn't too bad, especially since we started listing our orders while waiting to be seated. Since we listed everything on the piece of paper they gave us beforehand, ordering was as fast and easy. They brought each dish as it was made instead of waiting for all dishes to be ready. This ensured everything came to the table hot and fresh. We ordered grilled chicken thighs, chicken skin, chicken liver, wagyu beef sausages, beef ribs, scallops au gratin, sashimi, rainbow roll, unagi don, agedashi tofu, ebi tempura, and spicy chicken karaage. We also tried the grilled rice balls, which had good flavor and texture. Be prepared to wait longer for the grilled rice balls though. Ours came towards the tail end of our meal, which was not ideal, but we still thoroughly enjoyed every bite. The dragon roll we ordered came last, even after the rice balls. We expected it to come first, but I guess the kitchen was busy. Overall, a great experience.

Riley A

Food was very tasty, they sat our large group down almost immediately The food Came out relatively quickly. All the staff we interacted with from the server to the person who greeted us was nice.

Friendly wait staff. Food was top notch! Great for tapas. Cold beer and good selection of sake and Japanese drinks.

+2

We didn’t make a reservation therefore taking outdoor seat. Small portion but very tasty!

+4

The skewers are delicious, you must. Everything else ordered so far has been great. I like the order from your phone service, no waiting around or flagging down someone. Fast service. We were able to sit at the bar but apparently reservations are recommended, since they only had bar or outside seating at the time we went, which was pretty early at 5PM on a Friday.

A bit pricey but the food is good. The roll was not impressive. I like the chicken skin most.

Definitely a place I will visit again. Izakaya ginji definitely feels more like a Japanese izakaya with its decor/ambiance, menu offerings, and cutlery. Our group got the Russian roulette style takoyaki (so one of them is filled with really really hot sauce). I actually won't recommend if one member of your party can't handle spicy. It was really hot. I really liked their agedashi tofu too!

Very good izakaya space. 👍 Food are authentic as far as I can tell. The pork curry was a but bland but filling. The karaage was decent. The skewers with tare is a bit sweet for my taste. I will probably try salt next time. 👍 Drink: Oolong-high is decent. Calpis soda is nice. I wish they have lemon sour as an option 👍 Service was pretty good. They misplaced one order but was quick to fix it. Wait time was not too long and everything was clean and pleasant.

I saw the review says it’s too salty if order soy sauce flavored skewer. So for most skewer we ordered salt, but the flavor was too plain. On the good side, you can say it provides the natural flavor of the ingredients…. So the $16 wagyu skewer was very tasty, but the rest of the skewer we ordered were just so so. The rice sausage dish we ordered come with a dipping sauce, which also was very good. On the other side the beef rice was also bland. The restaurant was quite busy, and servers are rushed. One advice to improve the service: no need to ask customers “if I can take your plate” it’s just an empty plate after we finished the skewers. I’d appreciate you could simply take it. Overall it is ok place, I may give it another try since there aren’t many good yakitori place.

Lots to choose from. Yakitori is decent albeit a bit pricey and the appetizers (tofu and chicken lollipops) can definitely be skipped. The ramen is passable. Ambiance is interesting. There’s a table near the back of the restaurant that just faces a wall but there is privacy.

+5

Holiday Bites 💯 With two other long-time and popular izakayas in San Mateo (Izakaya Mai and Yakitori Kokko), I had never had the chance to dine at Izakaya Ginji On a quiet Xmas Eve and with welcome holiday hours, that chance came and I left happy and joyful The strength of Ginji is clearly the high fire binchotan grill and all items chicken Chicken skin, tail meat, and momo thigh with salt are all delicious and even better is the comforting tori zosui or Japanese style chicken soup The corn butter is skippable but the Houjitea panna cotta is delicious 📷 A5 Japanese Black Wagyu $16 / Kawa ~ Chicken Skin Salt $4.25 / Bonbochi ~ Tail Meat Salt $4.95 / Momo ~ Thigh Salt $4.00 / Hatsu ~ Heart Tare $4.00 / Tsukune ~ Meatball $4.25 / Chicken & Scallion Citrus Ponzu $4.95 / Tori Zosui ~ Japanese Chicken Soup $9.25 / Houjitea Panna Cotta $9.00 📍Izakaya Ginji (San Mateo, CA)

+6

Pretty decent place. Nice decor and music. Staff is attentive. Mobile ordering system good (everyone can order on their device and all go to the same check) but UI navigations can be improved. Food is pretty good but rather pricey. We ended up spending ~$75 per person (sharing 1 pitcher of beer)

Food was very good but some of the dishes were on the saltier side. Fun place to dine and socialize.

+6

After being outside and a little cold, their soba noodles were SO satisfying and warm. The tofu was well marinated and had great flavor as well. Definitely interested in coming back to try more things on the menu.

Great menu with lots of options for the adventurous and not-so-adventurous eaters. Ordered the wagu beef and scallops w bacon yakitori... beef and onions beef bowl.. bento with fried fish, chicken, california rolls, and both the miso, and chicken and rice soups. Ordering process was easy and fast via QR or table ticket. Food came quickly was plentiful and delicious. Loved the relaxed atmosphere and the vintage Japanese beer prints on the walls. Would eat here again.

Friendly and attentive service! The atmosphere is cozy and has a sense of place, with Japanese art decorating the walls and food served in Japanese pottery. The food came out quickly and tasted fresh. Detailed food notes below: I ordered skewers with shishito peppers, petite tomatoes, and shiitake mushrooms, all with salt. I wish they had seafood options (e.g. salmon or scallops) and more vegetables. * The tomatoes were juicy and flavorful. There were 4 grape tomatoes per skewer. * The shiitake mushrooms tasted a little dry, and I wish I had ordered them with tare instead of salted. There were 2 mushrooms cut in half (4 halves total) per skewer. * The shishito peppers were solid but didn’t stand out. * My partner ordered the chicken thigh with tare and said it was the best he had ever had. I even gave them some of my rice so that they could scoop up the last bits of sauce/chicken grease. Truly outstanding! Kakiage tamago don - rice bowl with scrambled eggs and vegetable tempura * This rice bowl was delightfully filling although I wish it had more non-rice items. The rice filled perhaps 80% of the bowl, was covered with a modest layer of scrambled eggs, and topped with two pieces of vegetable tempura. It also came with a bowl of miso soup. * The vegetable tempura was the highlight of this dish - it was lightly fried and delicately greasy. Each piece was quite large - perhaps 3 inches in diameter and contained onions and other veggies I couldn’t identify. I wish I could have eaten more than 2 pieces. I’m still thinking about that tempura a day later. * The scrambled eggs were enjoyable but had too many scallion pieces for my taste. The scallions overwhelmed the eggy flavor. * The miso soup was solid but didn’t stand out. Overall, the food was enjoyable and the service made us feel well cared for. The prices are steeper, but I suppose this is downtown San Mateo in 2026. If they offered more seafood and vegetable skewer options, I’d be more likely to return! 😉

Popular Japanese Izakaya with a variety of yakitori skewer options. This place is always crowded so advanced bookings are recommended. Food is of good quality and a bit high price. Expect $75 pp if ordering mainly skewers.

Tasty meat skewers grilled over a charcoal fire, along with a decent selection of beer and sake. Some skewers can sell out quickly, though. Service was subpar, starting with the check-in process that was very disorganized. Tables are small so the plates will fill up quickly if you order too much food.

Loved the vibes of this place and that you can see the lead chef grilling up the yakitori right up at the front. We came on a week night right at dinner time and it was quite busy but got lucky with a seat right away. The waitress was very nice and helped to explain how the menu works. We tried a variety of yakitori, meat and veggie, and a couple items from the full menu. The yakitori was very good, melt in your mouth level and with nice flavoring. It did skew on the smaller size for its price, it only comes with 1 skewer per order. I’m glad we also tried some of the other non-yakitori offerings as well and highly recommend doing so for more variety of food.

Seaweed salad and takoyaki were too salty. Other dishes were okay. I like the deep fried chicken knee. The waitress was nice and friendly👍🏻

We were looking for a good Japanese restaurant in the area, and we came across this one. They had good food with reasonable prices. We ordered through the QR code they provided, which was easily navigable.. Service was ok. In terms of the food we ordered, we ordered the Ginji Bento (not pictured), Bento Box #A, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Tamago Toji Udon, and the Buta Kimchi Carbonara. As for the carbonara, I’d say that it was a little salty for my liking, otherwise good. Solid 4 stars.

Kat

Friendly and attentive service! The atmosphere is cozy and has a sense of place, with Japanese art decorating the walls and food served in Japanese pottery. The food came out quickly and tasted fresh. Detailed food notes below: I ordered skewers with shishito peppers, petite tomatoes, and shiitake mushrooms, all with salt. I wish they had seafood options (e.g. salmon or scallops) and more vegetables. * The tomatoes were juicy and flavorful. There were 4 grape tomatoes per skewer. * The shiitake mushrooms tasted a little dry, and I wish I had ordered them with tare instead of salted. There were 2 mushrooms cut in half (4 halves total) per skewer. * The shishito peppers were solid but didn’t stand out. * My partner ordered the chicken thigh with tare and said it was the best he had ever had. I even gave them some of my rice so that they could scoop up the last bits of sauce/chicken grease. Truly outstanding! Kakiage tamago don - rice bowl with scrambled eggs and vegetable tempura * This rice bowl was delightfully filling although I wish it had more non-rice items. The rice filled perhaps 80% of the bowl, was covered with a modest layer of scrambled eggs, and topped with two pieces of vegetable tempura. It also came with a bowl of miso soup. * The vegetable tempura was the highlight of this dish - it was lightly fried and delicately greasy. Each piece was quite large - perhaps 3 inches in diameter and contained onions and other veggies I couldn’t identify. I wish I could have eaten more than 2 pieces. I’m still thinking about that tempura a day later. * The scrambled eggs were enjoyable but had too many scallion pieces for my taste. The scallions overwhelmed the eggy flavor. * The miso soup was solid but didn’t stand out. Overall, the food was enjoyable and the service made us feel well cared for. The prices are steeper, but I suppose this is downtown San Mateo in 2026. If they offered more seafood and vegetable skewer options, I’d be more likely to return! 😉

Daniel Xue

Popular Japanese Izakaya with a variety of yakitori skewer options. This place is always crowded so advanced bookings are recommended. Food is of good quality and a bit high price. Expect $75 pp if ordering mainly skewers.

Wei-Ai Tai

Tasty meat skewers grilled over a charcoal fire, along with a decent selection of beer and sake. Some skewers can sell out quickly, though. Service was subpar, starting with the check-in process that was very disorganized. Tables are small so the plates will fill up quickly if you order too much food.

Melinda Ng

Loved the vibes of this place and that you can see the lead chef grilling up the yakitori right up at the front. We came on a week night right at dinner time and it was quite busy but got lucky with a seat right away. The waitress was very nice and helped to explain how the menu works. We tried a variety of yakitori, meat and veggie, and a couple items from the full menu. The yakitori was very good, melt in your mouth level and with nice flavoring. It did skew on the smaller size for its price, it only comes with 1 skewer per order. I’m glad we also tried some of the other non-yakitori offerings as well and highly recommend doing so for more variety of food.

Hsin Huei Li

Seaweed salad and takoyaki were too salty. Other dishes were okay. I like the deep fried chicken knee. The waitress was nice and friendly👍🏻

Julia Basina

We were looking for a good Japanese restaurant in the area, and we came across this one. They had good food with reasonable prices. We ordered through the QR code they provided, which was easily navigable.. Service was ok. In terms of the food we ordered, we ordered the Ginji Bento (not pictured), Bento Box #A, Shrimp Tempura Roll, Tamago Toji Udon, and the Buta Kimchi Carbonara. As for the carbonara, I’d say that it was a little salty for my liking, otherwise good. Solid 4 stars.

- Seaweed Salad 3 normal - Hamachi Carpaccio 4 thick slices, not fishy, garlic crunch on top, ponzu sauce, flavorful - Ebi Chili Mayo 4 deep fried tiger shrimp, sweet chili glaze, not spicy, crispy - Buta Bara Miso Glaze 2 deep fried slow cooked pork belly, sweet glaze, too fatty, crispy - Tofu Okonomiyaki 5 great flavor, corn - Agedashi tofu 3 - Soft shell shrimps 4 - Ginji Lion King Roll 5 seared salmon, ask for no jalapeño, spicy, flavorful - Mentaiko Carbonara 4 creamy, fishy cod roe flavor, flavorful - Salmon Carbonara 3 creamy, too little salmon, not flavorful - Chicken katsu curry 4 - Miso soup 3 normal - Salmon Belly Sashimi 5 rich, fatty, fresh - Houji Tea Panna Cotta 5 tea flavor super strong - Mango Pudding 5 real mango (can be a little sour), better than dimsum version Skewers: - Chicken Skin 4 crispy, slightly greasy - Chicken Cartilage 3 no meat, only bone - Chicken Gizzard 4 crispy chewy, soy flavor - Chicken Heart 3 soft chewy, soy flavor - Chicken Meatball 3 soft, ginger taste, medium flavorful - Chicken Scallion 3 medium tender, ponzu sauce - Japanese Waygu 5 rich, juicy - Beef tongue 4 crispy chewy, juicy - Beef ribs fingers 4 very chewy, well seasoned w/ salt - Scallop & Bacon 3 juicy, not flavorful - Eggplant 3 not soft or flavorful

Cindy Lu

- Seaweed Salad 3 normal - Hamachi Carpaccio 4 thick slices, not fishy, garlic crunch on top, ponzu sauce, flavorful - Ebi Chili Mayo 4 deep fried tiger shrimp, sweet chili glaze, not spicy, crispy - Buta Bara Miso Glaze 2 deep fried slow cooked pork belly, sweet glaze, too fatty, crispy - Tofu Okonomiyaki 5 great flavor, corn - Agedashi tofu 3 - Soft shell shrimps 4 - Ginji Lion King Roll 5 seared salmon, ask for no jalapeño, spicy, flavorful - Mentaiko Carbonara 4 creamy, fishy cod roe flavor, flavorful - Salmon Carbonara 3 creamy, too little salmon, not flavorful - Chicken katsu curry 4 - Miso soup 3 normal - Salmon Belly Sashimi 5 rich, fatty, fresh - Houji Tea Panna Cotta 5 tea flavor super strong - Mango Pudding 5 real mango (can be a little sour), better than dimsum version Skewers: - Chicken Skin 4 crispy, slightly greasy - Chicken Cartilage 3 no meat, only bone - Chicken Gizzard 4 crispy chewy, soy flavor - Chicken Heart 3 soft chewy, soy flavor - Chicken Meatball 3 soft, ginger taste, medium flavorful - Chicken Scallion 3 medium tender, ponzu sauce - Japanese Waygu 5 rich, juicy - Beef tongue 4 crispy chewy, juicy - Beef ribs fingers 4 very chewy, well seasoned w/ salt - Scallop & Bacon 3 juicy, not flavorful - Eggplant 3 not soft or flavorful

Reserved a table here for our first visit. Ordered a combination of yakitori, udon and tempura along with beer. Food was quite underwhelming but service was good . The yakitori was almost too charred and I have had far better ones. The grilled shishito pepper were some of the driest vegetable yakitoris I have had. The tamago udon was better than yakitori but on the saltier side. The renkon/lotus chips were tasteless and the ebi/shrimp tempura was not truly Japanese style and had too much thick batter. They have a huge menu, so I am not sure if we ended up ordering the weaker items. i felt it was too pricey for the quality of the food but then this is the bay area. If I am in the area I may give them a second try but would definitely avoid their yakitori or tempura items.

Urvashi B

Reserved a table here for our first visit. Ordered a combination of yakitori, udon and tempura along with beer. Food was quite underwhelming but service was good . The yakitori was almost too charred and I have had far better ones. The grilled shishito pepper were some of the driest vegetable yakitoris I have had. The tamago udon was better than yakitori but on the saltier side. The renkon/lotus chips were tasteless and the ebi/shrimp tempura was not truly Japanese style and had too much thick batter. They have a huge menu, so I am not sure if we ended up ordering the weaker items. i felt it was too pricey for the quality of the food but then this is the bay area. If I am in the area I may give them a second try but would definitely avoid their yakitori or tempura items.

Terrible service On 10/29/2025 my girlfriend & I had dinner here. My girlfriend is considered a regular. She often comes with her friends & knows the Japanese waitresses. But I’m African American &! It was my 1st time. I attempted to order a Sapporo beer, but they where out.I asked can I try the other options beer because I wasn’t familiar & I was declined my girlfriend was shocked by the Japanese waiter response after spending lots time & money here. The Latin waitress working there were really nice…

Cory Daniels

Terrible service On 10/29/2025 my girlfriend & I had dinner here. My girlfriend is considered a regular. She often comes with her friends & knows the Japanese waitresses. But I’m African American &! It was my 1st time. I attempted to order a Sapporo beer, but they where out.I asked can I try the other options beer because I wasn’t familiar & I was declined my girlfriend was shocked by the Japanese waiter response after spending lots time & money here. The Latin waitress working there were really nice…