Moku Yakitori

Small yakitori place. Very personable servers, amazing amazing skewers. All of the ones we tried were top tier. The meats were all still juicy and the sauces applied were perfect.

Romil Lacap

The yakitori was cooking to its highest quality!! I got the wagyu yakitoki (skewer) and I was cooked very well!! I highly recommended this place to eat Japanese skewers!

Essam Abdelazim

Update: it's been a year since my last review. Made it back again this year to this delicious place and I am happy to report that it's still as amazing as it was a year ago. What a treat. Can't wait to go back soon What an amazing food experience. Definitely some of the best Yakitori I've ever had. Mind you the best I had was in Japan and this was as good and as special. In love with this place and I will be going back without a doubt.

Ben W

Awesome awesome spot. Really incredible vibe in there and great music. Food is clean eating and delicious, we ordered a ton and loved everything. The mackerel, mushrooms, scallion chicken, and short rib were incredible. Got one of their highball cocktails as well which was insanely refreshing and a great balance of sweet and sour. Highly recommend this spot! Seating is limited.

Neal

This unassuming restaurant delivers well-priced, fresh grilled meat, seafood, and vegetables. There are only four seats at the bar, but tables further back. Some items are made with a blowtorch and some items are grilled with large fires, so sit at the bar if you want some excitement. Service was pleasant. A few weeks ago, I saw a crowd lined up outside, so I knew I had to check it out. This evening, I had the Harami, Gyutan, Cherry Tomato, and Buta Bara yakitori. They're on skewers, so don't be afraid to get messy. I also had some tea, but that was just to wash the pork fat down. I thought the food was perfectly seasoned, but if you don't, they have three kinds of seasonings in little bottles: Two types of pepper and wasabi salt. I highly recommend the Harami and Cherry Tomato yakitori. The Harami skewers are wagyu steak, being melt-in-your-mouth tender and the grilling enhances the beef flavor. The tomatoes are exponentially more flavorful than raw tomatoes, plump, and juicy. The Gyutan yakitori was pretty good; the beef tongue was tender and it was slightly spicy. The Buta Bara, which was pork belly, was my least favorite out of the food I had, but it was still good. Overall, this is a magnificent place. You need to have the Harami yakitori. Will you be paying double digits for just two skewers? Yes, but you get what you pay for. My total before tip was $45.62 and to me, it was worth every penny. Also, they have boxes, but they're only doing dine-in.

Ashleigh Sumerlin

First time getting yakitori in the US and this place rivaled a shop in Japan. Got a variety to try and it was all great. Recommend the mune and the unagi. Melt in your mouth tender. Quality was excellent and I would be coming back if I lived closer!

Richard Berge

I love Japanese robata grill. For a while I have walked by this hidden spot off of Clement Street, so today decided to drop in for lunch. For my first visit, I went with a few basics to test it out: skewers of chicken gizzards, okra, and bacon-wrapped mushrooms. I was not disappointed: the food was very well executed. Delicious and wonderful! The menu has an unusual beverage selection and lots of interesting items--both grilled and not--that I look forward to trying on future visits. I wish the proprietor well and hope he finds great success!

Judy Zhu

What a great hole in the wall in the neighborhood. My roommate and I went and ended up getting a variety of delicious fish and veggies grilled. The server/co-owner Richard, along with his brother as chef/co-owner, were super friendly and knowledgeable about the ingredients. Needless to say I came back again for date night, and will return for more!

Joseph

feel very lucky to be a neighbor. this is the spot. have been a few times and everything is so good. favorite appetizers include the geso karaage, agedashi tofu, sashimi moriawase, and kiri mochi. as the yakitori goes, it’s hard to go wrong but the ebi, duck, and zucchini (trust me) are addictive. great service and great atmosphere!

D Hwin

If you're looking to experience great yakitori, along with sake.. and takowasa is a must, then please try this spot. I am surely glad I did and had a wonderful experience, great dishes, excellent, welcoming, friendly & helpful service and suggestions. All items we ordered were great, the highlights for me were wagyu and scallop skewers along with the takowasa. Sake and beer were excellent. Warning; It gets smokey in there.. I suspect their ventilation hood needs maintenance or a good cleaning. The place is a little tight on space, but all of this added to the experience of authentic yakitori in Japan. I ate here with my friend, two of us walked in at 6pm and sat at the counter immediately.

Yong Yi

Had always been passing by Moku when planning grocery shopping visits to New May Wah in Richmond. So glad to have made the time to dine out alone at Moku. Though they call themselves a Yakitori-ya, the menu screams Izakaya more so than almost every other Izakaya in the city. There’s a wide selection of Kushiyakis, raw items and fried items. Flavors of the food were fantastic and probably the one place in the city where I feel like I’m in Japan. Though I don’t live in the city anymore, I’ll definitely remember Moku Yakitori-ya as one of my favorite places to dine in one of my favorite neighborhoods in the city.

Gilberto Ramirez

Awesome little spot for great hot and cold seafood, pork belly, sake chicken and more. I ordered the whole squid and by far best cook I've had on a squid. It had a nice ponzi and garlic aoli dip. Will definitely be visiting more often! Did I mention they have great Sake!?

Kristine Lin

Small yakitori place. Very personable servers, amazing amazing skewers. All of the ones we tried were top tier. The meats were all still juicy and the sauces applied were perfect.

Great yakitori! Great sake selection! And they have Suntory Premium Malts on tap. Best place in the city

There's no place like Moku. You can come here to celebrate and/or to lighten your mood, the vibe is so versatile. The food always comes out hot; I love that the specials reflect seasonality and freshness. The service is also superb, you'll feel right at home :) Highlyyyy recommend <3

Lalyn Yu

There's no place like Moku. You can come here to celebrate and/or to lighten your mood, the vibe is so versatile. The food always comes out hot; I love that the specials reflect seasonality and freshness. The service is also superb, you'll feel right at home :) Highlyyyy recommend <3

Temp A hole in the wall Japanese BBQ place that focuses on skewers. Food: 8/10, Ambience: 7/10, Service: 8/10, Price: 8/10. Fave: tofu with chilli oil, scallops, eggplant, mochi and pork cheeks (though could use some salt) We also got: - beef tongue (half are way too chewy, one skewer was salted way too lightly) - Okra (gf liked it, I never did) - Chicken wings (smelled great, but heavily burnt so it’s bitter, prob good flavour but can’t tell) - Bacon Tomato: tastes surprisingly good, but bacon ran out, so it’s just tomato - same price though - Fried octopus legs: as expected - a bit oily with just mayo Ambience: see pics for yourself. Yes those anime figures belong to the shop. Price: the portion is fairly large for this kind of shop. Two of us (one girl and guy) were super full after, and it costed us $100 with tips included. Service: as expected, they ain’t gonna come around like traditional western restaurants but it’s a izakaya/ yakitori style. Last, their shop is small, seats are limited. No takeout or delivery. No phone or website. Menu took as of may 29, 2022

We joined the waitlist ahead of leaving our home, which I'm glad we did, seeing as the overall wait time was 40+ minutes. We tried many of the Yakitori skewers, as well as the chicken karaage, takoyaki and fried rice cakes. The yakitori were good but I was missing some kind of sauce to be able to mix flavors up and not have everything taste similarly. The takoyaki was good, as was the karaage. Overall, a nice place but not worth the 40 minute wait in my opinion.

Tony Han

Temp A hole in the wall Japanese BBQ place that focuses on skewers. Food: 8/10, Ambience: 7/10, Service: 8/10, Price: 8/10. Fave: tofu with chilli oil, scallops, eggplant, mochi and pork cheeks (though could use some salt) We also got: - beef tongue (half are way too chewy, one skewer was salted way too lightly) - Okra (gf liked it, I never did) - Chicken wings (smelled great, but heavily burnt so it’s bitter, prob good flavour but can’t tell) - Bacon Tomato: tastes surprisingly good, but bacon ran out, so it’s just tomato - same price though - Fried octopus legs: as expected - a bit oily with just mayo Ambience: see pics for yourself. Yes those anime figures belong to the shop. Price: the portion is fairly large for this kind of shop. Two of us (one girl and guy) were super full after, and it costed us $100 with tips included. Service: as expected, they ain’t gonna come around like traditional western restaurants but it’s a izakaya/ yakitori style. Last, their shop is small, seats are limited. No takeout or delivery. No phone or website. Menu took as of may 29, 2022

Was in the area and found this restaurant online. Low-key casual little izakaya, off the main street. Atmosphere is cozy and relaxed, service is friendly and helpful, but the food just isn't there. Almost everything was a little over-seasoned for my taste. And the quality just wasn't what I was hoping for. Gyutan was very tough and dry, skirt steak didn't have the deep beefy flavor I was looking for, and the chicken thigh didn't have much flavor. They also wait to serve all the skewers together at once, so it's not as fresh when it hits the table. On the bright side, fried squid was good, scallops were flavourful and perfectly cooked, and the portion sizes are generous. I loved the eggplant and their sauce, but they drenched the eggplant with the sauce which made it too salty. Overall the quality of the ingredients and attention to detail (seasoning) could use some work, but friendly service and comfortable atmosphere. (3.5/5)

First of all, the best thing is that it open every day from 5pm. That’s why I were there when most of restaurants closed on Monday. It also opens during lunch time, but lunch menu is same as dinner menu. It is a small place. Not suggest for the party bigger than 4. Sashimi moriawase is great although each piece is smaller than other places. I got four different fishes (4 pieces each). One of them is Abalone. Also highly recommend the lamb chops. Tasted so good. Service is good. Will come back to try different things. (Updated on Aug 5, 2024): reduced to 3 stars (from original 5). The menu is totally changed now. No more abalone. No more lamb. Choice is less than before and the price is higher than before. Price range now is $50-$100 per person.

I was pretty excited to try this spot and to be fair, there were some good items The chicken heart, the beef that was recommended by the waiter, and the shrimp was my favorite. The others were just ok, some were barely distinguishable between each other. Also I really thought we were getting ramen but then it was just a really dry noodle dish. For $72 per person, we were still hungry afterwards

Gill Tan

Was in the area and found this restaurant online. Low-key casual little izakaya, off the main street. Atmosphere is cozy and relaxed, service is friendly and helpful, but the food just isn't there. Almost everything was a little over-seasoned for my taste. And the quality just wasn't what I was hoping for. Gyutan was very tough and dry, skirt steak didn't have the deep beefy flavor I was looking for, and the chicken thigh didn't have much flavor. They also wait to serve all the skewers together at once, so it's not as fresh when it hits the table. On the bright side, fried squid was good, scallops were flavourful and perfectly cooked, and the portion sizes are generous. I loved the eggplant and their sauce, but they drenched the eggplant with the sauce which made it too salty. Overall the quality of the ingredients and attention to detail (seasoning) could use some work, but friendly service and comfortable atmosphere. (3.5/5)

John Z

First of all, the best thing is that it open every day from 5pm. That’s why I were there when most of restaurants closed on Monday. It also opens during lunch time, but lunch menu is same as dinner menu. It is a small place. Not suggest for the party bigger than 4. Sashimi moriawase is great although each piece is smaller than other places. I got four different fishes (4 pieces each). One of them is Abalone. Also highly recommend the lamb chops. Tasted so good. Service is good. Will come back to try different things. (Updated on Aug 5, 2024): reduced to 3 stars (from original 5). The menu is totally changed now. No more abalone. No more lamb. Choice is less than before and the price is higher than before. Price range now is $50-$100 per person.

Wilson Tsang

I was pretty excited to try this spot and to be fair, there were some good items The chicken heart, the beef that was recommended by the waiter, and the shrimp was my favorite. The others were just ok, some were barely distinguishable between each other. Also I really thought we were getting ramen but then it was just a really dry noodle dish. For $72 per person, we were still hungry afterwards

A T

I’m not sure why there are so many stars for this place. I’m going to say it’s because SF doesn’t have any other yakitori places to compare with. My stars are compared to returning from Japan. So for those of you who were craving yakitori from Japan you will be sorely disappointed. There isn’t a choice listed to have salt or teriyaki. All the teriyaki sauce is drizzled on top instead of cooked with the meats. There is no dipping sauces either. Basically can’t taste any of the meats due to the sweet sauce. The squid was basically sushi squid slices on a stick with no flavor.The prices were not comparable to the dish. Bacon was soft on the inside with no crispiness- it was basically a soggy bacon. Definitely not going back and will have to travel to San Mateo next time to satisfy my yakitori itch.The seating is very tight between tables so it’s not comfortable for larger people. It might be cozy to some but for larger people it’s uncomfortable.

Steak skewers are fantastic, but not the scallops–on the side it’s over grilled and I can see the black crunchy part, and it shouldn’t be like that. Fried oysters are too chewy, felt like they could do better pre frying. Atmosphere is great, but a bit of over priced for the amount of food we (group of two) had, and we still weren’t full after spending $100+ pre tipping.

The server was great. The food could definitely be improved. Idk if we came on a bad day but the beef tongue felt on the verge of going bad. It was very mushy and had a fishy pasty texture and flavor to it. The only thing I really enjoyed was the yellowtail collar

Tommy L (Tommy)

Steak skewers are fantastic, but not the scallops–on the side it’s over grilled and I can see the black crunchy part, and it shouldn’t be like that. Fried oysters are too chewy, felt like they could do better pre frying. Atmosphere is great, but a bit of over priced for the amount of food we (group of two) had, and we still weren’t full after spending $100+ pre tipping.

Angel Nguyen

The server was great. The food could definitely be improved. Idk if we came on a bad day but the beef tongue felt on the verge of going bad. It was very mushy and had a fishy pasty texture and flavor to it. The only thing I really enjoyed was the yellowtail collar