Alice Hou

I finally got to try Yakiniq in SF, a KBBQ place that has been on my list for a while! My friend recommended it, even though she went to the one in the South Bay area. Pro Tip: Use the Yelp app to get on their waitlist when you’re heading to the restaurant. We waited around 30-45 minutes on a weekend night for a party of 2 at 6:30 PM. Yakiniq offers two AYCE menu options: basic and premium. We opted for the basic, and the experience was great overall! The quality of the meat was decent, with the marinated beef and pork being particularly flavorful. The staff frequently changed the grill without us having to ask, and our table was never empty. The server kept checking on us to see if we were ready for another round.

Revel

The overall experience was fantastic for the group I was with. We had an allergy in the group, that they went above and beyond to accommodate for. They were very gracious, patient, and made a fantastic impression for many first timers to Korean BBQ amongst us! Their cuts of meat were just superb, and all their sides were just incredibly flavourful. There was not a single item that was not a hit! If you have people who are looking for a Korean BBQ experience then give this place a shot. Don't let the price put you off, because the service and food will be more than worth it.

EeSomO

$21.99 for all you can eat Korean BBQ in Japan town— very good! You can order three items on the menu at a time, & it’s all unlimited with sides. Extra $1.99 for a side of lettuce. The restaurant has signs at the entryway stating they only seat a minimum of two diners per table, the gentleman who sat me was kind enough to let me dine. I think that’s weird that there’s a minimum, cause a paying customer is a paying customer, but whatevs. I only ordered four things from the menu & didn’t get very far before getting full. The beef belly is flavorless, but fatty & delicious. The octopus is spicy! I didn’t think anything of the three chilies next to the menu item >.< The galbi is ok, dry & not like the bone in galbi I’m used to, but it was still good. Lastly, I got the large beef intestine-fatty, delicious & flavorful. Brian & a female server were amazing. They helped me with my cooktop & cooking the meats (not that I don’t know how), but they were very attentive for service, price & ambiance. Five stars all around for ambiance, service & food.

Came here cuz a nearby restaurant had a really long wait and there was no wait here. The staff was super helpful and quick. Ordered a mango nectar drink which was delicious. The ramen I had was Kinuki(?) and it was only okay. The ambiance of this place is nice and can seat a lot of people, very clean.

We had to get ramen while we were in Japantown. The ramen here was delicious. I got the Spicy Ramen with medium on the spice level. I wanted to play it safe since my friends make fun of me that I can only handle “white boy spicy.” The broth was super flavorful and complex. My friend got the Wantan Ramen since he’s a sucker for chicken-dashi broth. He loved it! It wasn’t busy since we were here on a Thursday night. They are centrally located in Japantown and I recommend coming by to satisfy your ramen cravings while you’re here. 🍜

Friendly staff, clean store and only thing I am not satisfied is rice taste not right for Japanese food, a bit dry.

Aref Aasi

Very good Korean BBQ place, the overall quality of meat is good and everything is delicious!

+3

Auria Red

Yakiniq SF was good as a standalone place, but given how great other locations are, it could’ve been better. The SF space is much bigger than the SJ location, so that was nice. I personally like the crowded “bustling” atmosphere of the SJ location, but others might not. In YakiniQ SJ, you order through a QR code. In SF, it’s traditional ordering. The servers were all really nice but some of our items were forgotten, and waiting on them to come around was a bit inconvenient compared to instantly using a QR code. My party of 2 came on a Monday. YakiniQ does this really cool thing where there are a few selected meats from the Premium plan that people with the Regular plan can order just once per person. At SF, they only have one selected Premium meat : LA Galbi. It’s is a very standard cut of meat for KBBQ. The Premium meat selection for the Regular plan is worse at the SF location. Additionally, some items were missing. They said they were out of rice paper and soju cocktails. Not their fault but didn’t help. Lastly, it seems the sauces/sides are inconsistent between YakiniQ locations. SJ has teriyaki and a sesame peanut wasabi sauce. SF had soy wasabi and a chili peanut butter sort of sauce. So if you’ve been to another YakiniQ location, the sauces will not be the same at another location.

Wee Khim Lee

Came here while craving Korean BBQ while in Jtown. Looked at a few before giving this place a try - we’re mildly impressed. First - the price matches the quality of food. The meats tasted good and considering this is a all you can eat. We opted for the basic set (no mix and match of premium/basic at the table) and found it to be more than sufficient. Didn’t think it was worthwhile to pay for the few additional dishes for the premium set. Service was good it helped there were not a lot of people - this definitely looked more like a dinner/supper place. Overall good experience.

The restaurant was pretty average. The small plates and dishes they gave us weren’t very clean, which was a bit off-putting. The ramen was decent—not great, but not terrible either. The staff were really friendly and attentive, which was nice. The atmosphere was okay, but I personally didn’t like the lingering old smell. There was no lid for the water they provided. The hygiene could be improved.

To be honest, the ramen here is not very special and you can make it at home. Ordered the Yamadaya ramen $18.50 , the noodles are thin, but the texture is not very good, you can even taste the raw noodles. The soup base may have fish flavor, I was thirsty 30 minutes after eating so I think the soup base should mixed from condensed soup base . For topping , here is the pork belly instead Chashu . Service is average , they did their job , that’s all !

Went here because it's my son's favorite Ramen house, but I found just ok. Located in the heart of J town, I'd imagine it gets a lot of traffic. My son ordered gluten free noodles, but they messed it up and he had to wait until it was resolved. I thought my bowl was extra tasty and sadly I was right for the wrong reason. After we finished and I was driving away, I got hit with an MSG rush starting in my lower spine up my back into my head. Leaving a headache for about an hour. Warning.... if you're sensitive to MSG, order something without the broth or just don't drink it : )

Aleksandra Savchik

We love the food and come here often,but the guy at the front wearing glasses was Extremely rude and spoke to us in unacceptable disrespectful manner raising the voice almost yelling in anger, when we kindly asked to change our seat to one of the available vacant booths. After this unpleasant conversation, we just left without being seated. Absolutely unacceptable behavior and service.

francisco sanchez

YakiniQ has some strong points, but overall, my experience fell short. As a first timer in a Korean BBQ costumer, I’ll start with the positives: the service is truly outstanding. The waitstaff is attentive, patient with explaining the process and how it works, friendly and quick, making you feel well taken care of throughout the meal. Now, the downsides: the food, unfortunately, lacked flavor. For a BBQ spot, I was expecting bold and exciting tastes, but it just wasn’t there. The restaurant also felt overcrowded, and with poor ventilation, the smoke from the grills clings to your clothes—definitely not ideal. At $45 per person, there are plenty of options for prime cuts. A big issue was the automatic 18% service fee for parties of 5 or more. While this isn’t unusual, the waiters should clearly explain this policy upfront, especially before asking for an additional tip. For those like me who don’t pay close attention to the bill, this feels misleading and can leave a bad taste after an otherwise polite dining experience. Would I go again? Probably. The service is excellent, but transparency around the service charge is a must.

Been visiting this joint for years for good ramen near Japantown. To be fair, I have not tried the other ramen houses within the japantown complex itself but this place compares favorably with similar eateries on the peninsula. On my most recent visit in Dec 2023 the quality of the food seemed to have gone down a little from years before. Nevertheless the ramen broth is flavorful, the chashu and stewed pork are soft and flavorful and the egg well done (firm outside and soft inside). The ramen texture is not great. Appetizers are fine - portions are big but the quality is so-so. We had the fries with cheese, geso karaage and house salad. Extensive menu beyond ramen. Sep 2025 update - not sure what happened but the food quality has plummeted since we ate here a year ago, and definitely nothing compared to what it was years ago. The tonkutsu broth is tasteless, the noodle texture was off and the tsukemen was terrible. Will not be returning.

Tourist Trap. Go somewhere that values your hard earned money. Do not get the coconut curry. They randomly tossed in a lemon and carrots in it. It wasn’t even listed in the ingredients. Broth was diluted and watery. Service is average, nothing that sticks out. Ambiance is dark and dingy. No music and smells of cheap commercial chemicals like Fabuloso.

Came at the end of the lunch rush nearing 2pm. The place felt convoluted and people didn’t receive their full orders having some people start before others. The broth in my Yamada Ramen was bland and the egg upon biting it was cold, it felt like I was eating it raw. Granted I will not be coming back.

We were out checking out the Blossom Festival and ended up in line at this spot—mostly because everything else was packed and this seemed like the best of the options. Big mistake. What followed was one of the worst dining experiences we’ve had in a long time. You know that feeling when a good meal brings people joy? Yeah, this place doesn’t deliver that. Every dish we tried was off. The gyoza tasted like it came straight out of a Costco freezer bag—bland, rubbery, and weirdly artificial. Ever had something so oddly “pipe-flavored” that you start questioning not just the plumbing, but your life choices? That was us. I ordered udon and my partner got the spicy ramen. Both were terrible—easily the worst ramen I’ve ever had. And trust me, I’ve had instant ramen that puts this to shame. Honestly, second place in the “worst food” category goes to Dumpling Time in San Jose—just to give you a sense of how low the bar is here. The shishito peppers were a whole other offense. They should be grilled—smoky, blistered, and tender. These? Crunchy like they were trying and failing to be bell peppers. And serving them with a side of mayo? That’s not just wrong—it’s a betrayal of everything good and holy about Japanese small plates. Service? Painfully slow. We waited forever to be helped, and you could just feel the awkward energy around the room—people nodding like they were all in the same boat of disappointment. The water was lukewarm, no ice, and tasted like it had been sitting in jugs all day. Not a great first impression. To top it off, the waiter basically tossed the receipt at us and clearly didn’t know how to handle our complaints. Thankfully, another staff member came by and comped our ramen and noodles, which we appreciated. Moral of the story: if you’re in San Francisco and craving ramen, do your homework . Don’t be fooled by the reviews—this place is not it. I’ve had better ramen at gas stations.

Alexander Burda

I hate writing reviews… I hate writing this review. It was our last night in California. We fly out of San Francisco. We love Korean BBQ. This place was highly recommended but unfortunately it failed all expectations. The food was mediocre and bland. The service was nonexistent. There was nowhere to place scissors or tongs after handling raw meat… I had to balance them on an unused cup. The servers would nod they understood my requests but then completely disregarded me. I don’t want to continue complaining because it’s just dinner. I hate bad mouthing companies because I know how hard it is to run a business… but cmon. Do better.

Marcel Wilson

My partner and I are big Korean BBQ fans and go often back home in NYC, so we were excited to try YakiniQ for the first time. Unfortunately, it didn’t live up to expectations. The food was just okay and lacked flavor, even on the premium plate. The beef bulgogi didn’t really taste like beef, and overall, nothing stood out. Service was also disappointing. After waiting an hour to be seated, it took another 10 minutes before anyone checked in to take our order, and the couple next to us (who arrived after) were served first. Even water took about 20 minutes to arrive…. I also didn’t realize it was self-cook, which might be fine for some, but the experience felt very “here’s your meat, good luck.” The ventilation could use improvement too; the smoke builds up quickly and makes your eyes sting. Overall, not the experience we were hoping for.

This is by far the worse ramen I'd ever had. Firstly, the service I received was terrible, server had a massive attitude and was borderline throwing our food at us. But surely it's fine because the food is good right? Wrong. Out of the 4 ramens that we've order, I only would've willing eaten one. They put looks over taste. None of the broths were creamy and was served like it was heated up. On top of all of that the broth is for some reason bitter. I'm sorry but this is just one gigantic tourist spot. If you want some good ramen just go to Marufuku 2 blocks away cheaper and better.

Edited 7-6-24: hate to say it, but a lot of what I used to love about this spot in no longer present. I understand that inflation is brutal right now…. But….Portions have gotten cut in half despite the price being the same. I’m not being dramatic here…. My bowl was 50% full when dropped off at the table. Not to mention that the ramen had the chintzy’est portion of pork…. it was laughable. The chicken karrage is still awesome with its different style options…. But as a whole it’s evident they’re trying to save money downsizing. Its was so obvious that I’m stuck with ‘voting with my wallet’ and not coming back. Que Serra Serra…. Change is the only constant. This place does Ramen right. The Black Garlic is the heavy hitter on the menu. Service is good but can be a bit hectic around dinner rush. It is also quite loud in the main dinning room. I know this is a chain but the quality and service is outstanding and easily in the top 5 of ramen spots in the city worth checking out. The ‘experimental ramen’ section of the menu has some really interesting options as well

I gave it a one star because I can't put down a zero star. I am a lover of Asian cuisine and let me tell you, this place is a tourist trap. It's terrible and a waist of your $$$$$. We love ramen soup but it was watered down, no flavor or taste. There's no way it took 20 hours to make the broth. My braised pork rice bowl was 99% rice that tasted old, 5 very small thin pieces of very dried up pork and a table spoon of shredded cabbage with some mayo. There's no sauce what so ever on the meat or rice. My recommendation, don't go.

The Korean chicken karage I ordered was undercooked and gave me food poisoning. The other food was crisp but had such a weird consistency in the inside. On top of this our server forgot to give me our melon soda until I asked at the end. Would not recommend.

Everything tasted left out and reheated. Waxy and chewy karage, waxy bao buns, soggy tempura left sitting in the seafood ramen, over cooked noodles and barely warm broth and very little seafood. We specifically asked for the sea food ramen to be boiling hot, and was told that “all our broths are boiling” nothing was even close to hot. House ramen lacked flavor, bland broth and overcooked noodles with very little meat and bamboo and cold egg. We did not finish the ramen. Wanted to give them the benefit of doubt after reading the reviews and waiting a while. We asked more than once for napkins, water cups and chopsticks. There were a few groups of 4 but by no means were they slammed! $87 down the drain. Unfortunate because it’s the perfect weather for ramen. Let’s hope things improve and maybe today was just an off day.

Chris

The food is average. Service staff are indifferent yet amenable - except for the guy who wears a mask and glasses and speaks with a heavy accent; he was quite rude to us and ushered us out 30 minutes before the time limit. I don't recommend this spot to anyone, and I will never be back.

Marielle Margarita Santiago

I called asking, "Can I make a reservation tonight for 5 people?" the worker said "No you cannot." and hung up on me. I usually do not make a reservation with this restaurant because its only me and my partner but since I have family in town i decided to take them here because this kbbq is my favorite. But with this experience and disrespect. I will never be back here again. If you're busy and stressed out with your job. Do not take it out on other people!!!!!!

Jingyi Chen

Dry, flavorless meat, terrible sauces, and cold noodles that are nothing like the real deal. Service was beyond bad—food took forever to arrive, and the staff couldn’t hear basic requests without constant repetition. The place was noisy as hell and choked with cooking smoke, plus the prices are sky-high for this garbage quality. Total waste of time and money!

Eddie

Food is ok. The service is terrible. We are on business trip. We asked nicely to see if we can split tickets for more than 2 people. The manager gave us a very bad attitude keep saying NO. Our attitude was very nice Why he is so angry about us? And the bathroom floor is really stinky and dirty.

AJN AJN

The only good thing here was that they brought us the banchan right away because we were starving. They tasted good. Once the server arrived, he took our order and we never saw him again. Like literally he just never came back. He forgot my beer and bottle of soju and brought it out once I was already full from the meal. Forgot our steam rice, and mushroom as well. Besides the service being nonexistent, the soontofu was missing its Korean depth, and the bibimcooksu was flavorless. They do have the soft rice paper rolls so I can give them that. KalBi was good. This was quite the worst KBBQ experience I’ve had. Borderline offended at how bad the experience was.