We ordered the 8 piece chicken, and it came with two seasonings. You order at the counter and go find your own table, and clean up after yourself. It's pretty much self served. The food came out relatively fast. Chicken was juicy and crunchy on the outside. For additional $3, you could add salad and rice to make it a bowl. It was overall delicious and inexpensive, will come back if I'm in the area. read more

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Went back through. Love the wasbabi sauce on everything. Oyakodon is great. New Favorite is the Oyakodon Sando. The mustard on it is so good. Definitely my new go to. Staff was amazing. Pretty busy Friday around 6:30/7. They got the orders in and out and were friendly and helpful. read more

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Aburaya is a really nice and unique Japanese chicken spot. Their main dish is boneless fried chicken, and while it may appear pricey at first, it's actually really worth it given that each "piece" of chicken is an entire boneless chicken thigh. I didn't realize that when I ordered 8 pieces and was blown away by the portion size! Really worth a try - I stopped by every day when I had jury duty in Oakland read more

Aburaya - 8 piece boneless chicken - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

Came by this place to visit my friend from out of town, and found this great fried chicken spot! Although the price looks a little steep, it really evens out with the actual portion size of the chicken itself. My two friends and I (3 in total) felt definitely full after taking on an 8 piece meal. You can also replace the cabbage with rice if you're not into cabbage. We ordered the garlic miso and the orange honey aioli and we liked the garlic miso better. The aioli seems a bit too lightly flavored for our liking, but it was great nonetheless! Service is very nice, you just line up to order, tell them if you're ordering in or out, and they call your name to get it when it's done. For dine in, you find your own seats like a food court. Ambiance is super cool! It's kind of spooky rock and roll themed, and I found a funny friend in the bathroom too. Overall, if I visit Oakland again I'll definitely be back to try the other flavors! Really exciting to see this place thriving. read more

Tasty vegan and gluten free options, cool punk ambiance and soundtrack, and helpful caring service.

I love this spot they are the best great service amazing food. I recently found out that I have a gluten allergy and majority of their menu is gluten friendly, basically being the only spot I go to for gluten free chicken! Solid proportions definitely a new regular here. :) read more

Aburaya - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

Look at the environment! This place says fun! The customer service is remarkable . Definitely returning. The menu is detailed but not tough to follow. Yet, this is not your regular chain wing place. This place was reccomended by a coworker. I am so glad I took the suggestion. The wings were amazing. They aren't tiny. They are full of "flying" wings. These portions are generous, savory and have an amazing texture. Check it out! read more

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This review comprises of two separate visits; for the first, I ordered ahead on their website for an 8 piece of chicken with orange honey aioli and umami salt as the seasonings as well as their tater tots, and the second time I ordered a surprise bag from Too Good to Go. Orange honey aioli: 4/5, you might like this if you enjoy citrus. It's a wet flavor, so I feel like that helped with combating dryness of the meat. However, I felt while the outside was seasoned decently, the inside of the chicken was plain and underseasoned. Umami salt: 3/5, it's one of the dry flavors. I felt this flavor needed to be stronger and more distinct, it really didn't taste noticeably different than just fried chicken to me. Tater tots: 5/5, these are topped with BBQ sauce, orange honey aioli, bonito (fish) flakes, nori (dried shredded seaweed), and katsuo bushi. The BBQ sauce is a bit spicy. However, I think it's a fun spin on tater tots and they really packed the box full. The seasonings were quite flavorful and the tots were crispy enough that the sauce didn't make them soggy. Too Good to Go surprise bag: 4/5 mainly because it was good value ($6.60), pickup was very fast. The pickup time window was very large compared to the typical Too Good to Go, the day I went it was open from morning through nighttime/closing. I was given 4 piece chicken, miso, with rice, and on a bed of cabbage, and also a Crazy Block yuzu cheesecake which was a collaboration between Aburaya and Crazy Block cheesecakes. It's a layer of faintly yuzu flavored mousse on top of cheesecake. The cheesecake was rather small but I thought it was a nice surprise. The chicken was so-so, it didn't taste old or stale but I just feel like the seasoning and flavor need to be stronger (especially on the inside of the meat). I don't understand why they always put so much cabbage under the chicken. Maybe it's to avoid meat juices damaging the box, but the cabbage doesn't taste good and it's an excessive amount in my opinion. Overall, I'd say Aburaya is an okay spot if you are looking for various types of savory seasoning choices for fried chicken but I actually felt the tater tots were a lot tastier than all the types of chicken I've tried. read more

My partner and I ate here for the first time! The interior was so great because the themes were punk rock bands. The service was great. Our order was DELICIOUS! The garlic miso chicken was the most delicious fried chicken ever. I will definitely be making my way back on my own. read more

Aburaya - Orders - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

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Always such a solid choice for fried chicken. Yes the price might seem a little steep for a few pieces of fried chicken, but trust me they are meaty pieces of chicken and I usually can space a 8 piece chicken over three meals. Can't comment on the dishes other than the fried chicken. Of the sauces that I've tried, I lean more towards the wet over the dry spices, but I have enjoyed everything I've tried. - Top sauces: orange honey aioli, garli miso, curry - The karashi honey is delicious but it does have a strong mustard kick which might not be everyone's favorite - Teriyaki is classic but a bit too sweet to me The chicken comes with cabbage and miso ranch dressing. I wish there was more dressing included. If you wanted more they do charge for it. Overall, one of my go to fried chicken places and 100% plan on coming back. read more

This is a great fried chicken spot in Oakland! I love the range of flavors they have - I tried the miso habanero which was delicious and SPICY. I got the 4 piece rice bowl and it was a huge portion for only $15, definitely a great deal. Miso ranch was the highlight - the salad was good but I felt there was a bit too much cabbage so next time will probably ask for no cabbage. Would def come back and try other flavors! read more

Aburaya - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

Wednesday happy hour you can't beat $2 sapporo and I got it with w 2 piece with the recommended rub (but you have a few options, more if you get a larger order) and lastly I tried the pickles as an appetizer as part of happy hour. Loved the sour and sweet ju that it came with, combined with the chicken but wished it had more pickles and less veggies. read more

Aburaya - Fried Chicken (4 Pieces) - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

Aburaya is the best at Japanese fried chicken and the only place I get it. Love all their dishes and their homemade miso ranch.

Delicious chicken spot! I must say reality didn't exactly meet expectations, I thought it was more of a karage spot but I'd characterize it as Japanese style chicken thighs. It was not very crispy. That said, it was still tasty! And the portions were HUGE. The dry rubs could be more seasoned in my opinion - I'd love to try other rubs but the ones I got were just ok. Rest of the menu is fun too, we enjoyed the tater tots and pickles. A lot of beer and sake options too! A fun spot to visit with friends for a casual meal read more

Aburaya - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

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The taco rice is a glorious mess of chicken, rice, parmesan, taco seasoning, and guacamole. You really see the Okinawan fusion there and it is good. But it does get a bit tiring towards the end; what would help is an acidic hot sauce like Tabasco or even the house habanero to cut through all the fat. The burrito is interesting, but I'd prefer a much crispier chicken for textural contrast. Maybe hot sauce would be nice here too. The fillings are what you'd expect: thousand island, tomato, lettuce. I prefer cabbage to lettuce here, being the superior vegetable. It's sweeter, crispier, and bites cleaner. The karashi honey chicken is interesting and has good texture. The curry chicken is a bit light. I'd expected something like curry katsu, but this is a fundamentally good fried chicken. read more

First timer and the food is fire. Tots, . Avocado . Chicken . Aburaya will be in the weekly rotation for sho. I can't wait to try some of the other items on the menu. read more

We were in Oakland the other night and decided to stop by Aburaya after finding it on Yelp. Had great reviews and we love fried chicken so was excited to try. Waited in the long line and ordered the infamous Japanese fried chicken. We opted for dry Garlic Miso seasoning. The chicken was very good. We also ordered the 2 piece Vegan chicken drumsticks, fried tofu, fried cauliflower "To Go" for our daughter who is vegan. When they called our name, my husband went to get our order. He noticed the miso ranch dressing on the tray. He then asks if the Vegan chicken order also has ranch dressing. Cashier stated it did. He asked if they offered vegan ranch. Cashier stated they do but he should've requested that when he placed the order. He's very confused as why they can't just swap it because he has not yet taken the tray and hasn't even touched the to go bag. She says he will need to purchase the vegan ranch for $2.00. He comes back to the table to tell me what just transpired. We eat our meal then he proceeds to get back in line to purchase said vegan ranch. Yes, there was a line when we purchased the $2.00 vegan ranch. Very disappointed that we ordered vegan chicken that didn't automatically come with vegan ranch. Disappointed that as a new customer we were expected to ask for said vegan ranch when placing order. Of course we would've asked for it had we known you offered it. Would've been nice for the cashier taking our initial order to maybe ask us the customer if we would like vegan ranch instead of regular ranch. This is your establishment and if you know that you offer vegan ranch, why not ask our preference since it was a Vegan entree being ordered? Not sure if we will be back based on the service we received. Giving 3 stars because chicken was good but customer service was not so great. read more

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I've gone to Aburaya a couple times already and you cannot go wrong with their food! The establishment is smaller with limited seating and can get pretty busy during rush hours, but we went around 4pm and were the only diners. The restaurant itself has a very cozy atmosphere and is decorated with both Japanese and Oakland memorabilia. This time, we ordered the shichimi 4-pc meal to share. The chicken was fried to perfection and had a wonderful flavor and coating. You didn't need the sauce to truly enjoy the flavor of it! It was nicely paired with a salad and rice to offset the heavy nature of the fried chicken. I definitely recommend coming here and trying their fried chicken! read more

Aburaya - Shichimi 4-pc with rice, salad - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

Aburaya catered my 40th. I have always loved the food -- unique, delicious, authentic. They were so easy to work with. It was a hit at the party. Thank you, Aburaya! read more

Good vibes, drinks, and interesting flavors on the menu. However, everything tasted really mild. Needs some msg or something. Would come again for a passive drink and food read more

Aburaya is a solid 4 stars restaurant. They're 5 stars if you are lucky enough to catch them thru the discount TGTG end-of-day save-the-food app. I was pleasantly surprised to see their availability on TGTG for the first time ( first time for me ) last nigh. I snatched a chicken meal for just $6. The fried chicken was done just right. Crunchy on the outside, juicy and tender inside. The steamed rice went well with the chicken. It was very satisfying. read more

Aburaya - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

One of the best places to get Japanese fried chicken. Juicy and crispy. I love that you can get it sauced or coated any way you want it. I love that cabbage with it to have the freshness with it. A must get are the tots! read more

Aburaya - Fried Chicken (8 Pieces) - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

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*4.5* $22 for 8 pieces of fried marinated Japanese chicken thigh might have been one of the most worthwhile culinary investments I've made to date. Combined with one of the most eclectic restaurant interiors I've ever seen and a punk rock playlist to boot, Aburaya is sure to come to mind every time you come to Oakland once you try it. Waiting in their consistently long line puts you face-to-face with a wide variety of local brews, special liqueurs, and merchandise galore. I believe they've occupied the next door business for seating space because of the limited options in their main storefront, so after you order at the counter try to snag a table while you wait for your name to be called. When I placed my order for a half garlic miso, half karashi honey 8-thigh box at 6PM on a Friday forever ingrained in my memory, the girl at the counter warned me that the karashi honey was "wasabi forward". I love wasabi. This mainly applies to real wasabi and usually on fish, but I'm okay with the horseradishy stuff as well. However, when I took my first bite of the karashi honey thigh without dipping it in their miso ranch it felt like EVERY pain receptor from my nasopharynx to esophagus collectively screamed in agony and spontaneously combusted - but just like that, it was over. Confused, I did it again to the same effect. This sauce should come with a bright yellow warning sign and an affidavit written by me attesting to the pain. I can still envision myself pitifully wiping my eyes and nose between bites of steaming hot, delicious chicken. The garlic miso chicken is seasoned well, albeit a little too concentrated in different spots, but yummy regardless. Another note - both the 4 and 8 piece come with one ranch cup, which personally isn't enough, and an additional tiny cup of extra ranch will run you $1.65 - a bit high in my opinion. Regardless, I will most definitely be back to try other flavors and subject myself and my friends (and maybe try that yuzu beer I've been eyeing) to this pseudo-masochistic dining experience (just kidding!) ((not really)). read more

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Awesome fried chicken here that I stumbled upon in Oakland. The dishes are eye catching; we sat outside and people walking by and would do a double take on our food. The chicken flavors are a hit on any of the sauces. My favorite was their orange garlic aioli. It was rich and tangy and very unique. I never tasted anything like that. The tater tots are also great; I would recommend getting these as a side to share amongst a couple or a few people. I hope that in the future they try to do bone in chicken instead of the boneless. The thighs we got were a little dry. read more

Aburaya - Tater Tots - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

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Starving, I came in searching for a quick meal. $11 a sandwich didn't seem bad. Service was quick. It's pretty dead in there 3pm on a weekday. I've had their rice and chicken before the pandemic. This sandwich was something I hadn't had. When I put the bun on top of the sandwich, I realized the sandwich was too damn big to fit in my mouth. I scraped off half the coleslaw and split the chicken apart. I smushed the bread down to bite. Still, I was unsatisfied. I asked for hot sauce and got a small container of house habanero sauce. It tasted a little better. I used about ten napkins to wipe my fingers and hands after each bite. It's a messy sandwich. Eventually I gave up. I cut the chicken up and ate it with the side salad. All in all I wasn't impressed by the sandwich. I've had better japanese style fried chicken sandwiches in the bay. But for $11 I gave it 3 stars. read more

Aburaya - Chicken sando - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

Their vegan chicken is very good though I do wish the teriyaki wings came with more sauce. Also the vegan ranch is $2 and the 8 piece only comes with one small container and $2 just felt crazy to me! But food was very good so I will be back. read more

Came here with my friend and we loved it! It's such a cute shop with merch and other goods but also delicious eats! We got a 8 piece fried chicken and made it into a rice and salad combo. You can pick two flavors for each four piece chicken so we picked umami salt and orange aioli. Both flavors were so good! We also got fried cauliflower and aburaya elote. OH MY GOODNESS THAT ELOTE WAS SO GOOD! A little kick from the spices but the seasoning was so good. Should definitely get that when you come here! Super friendly staff! Utensils and water are self serve at the side counter. Definitely want to come back soon for more! read more

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This is a great hole in the wall place in downtown Oaland. Punk esthetic and crazy good food. It's a unique local business and definitely worth a visit. read more

I've wanted to try this place for so long. I met the owner the other night while walking my dog and he was so nice, so I made a point of coming in the first chance I got. All the employees I made contact with were kind, and knowledgeable about the food. Seemed pretty happy with their own menu. They have some stuff you can buy there also. Soaps and hand creams, sake, beers, things of that nature. There is indoor seating "next door" it's quiet considering where you order is lively, with music and what not. The food comes out pretty fast. The portions are good. The food is super flavorful and delicious. I ordered 2 items, since I hadn't eaten all day. There are more I want to try since I'll definitely be returning. read more

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If you ever get a weekday off, come to Aburaya for lunch. You can get traditional dishes like oyako-don or try their namesake fried chicken meals. Their Japanese fried chicken is delightfully crispy not oily or overly battered. I had to go for the 8 pieces fried chicken--there's also a 4 pc, but let's be honest...anything fried means going all out. The chicken itself is so tender and juicy, no complaints there. BUT the sauces y'all. You have the option to choose two different sauces, so I got their two bestsellers: BBQ and garlic miso. The BBQ did not do it for me. It's not a traditional BBQ sauce but it has something extra to it...almost a star anise-y flavor that I've had in Japanese food. I liked the garlic miso better, but honestly I think I'm more of a traditional/boring umami salt kinda gal. I like my fried chicken with dry rub vs wet sauce, so that's what I'll do if I ever find myself here in the future. You can order online, but honestly finding parking is half the battle so most people dined in. There are small tables in the shop/ordering area, but if you go to the next room there's HUGE picnic tables (all indoors) where it's kid and group-friendly. You can serve yourself water and there's plenty of utensils too. There's no outdoor seating, and it's pretty much a order and serve-yourself type of situation. I think the shop itself is kind of confusing, I wanted to look at some of their merch but the signs and decor are overwhelming for those of us that get overstimulated. I did peep some beers, tees, and stickers...but there seemed to be a lot of other goodies there too. My friend enjoyed the oyako-don and we both took our leftovers home for a second meal. Service was with a smile and were very friendly. read more

Aburaya - Oyako don - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

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BASIC ! Not nasty but basic. I had the miso fried chicken and I wasn't impressed. I got my chicken with the rice, salad, and cabbage combo. Definitely won't get the combo again bc it's just like a glob of rice and lettuce LITERALLY! I would go back 1 more time to try something else bc they do have potential to be an okay chicken spot. The inside of the place was okay, a bunch of random things everywhere. The service was good, especially since it was my first time and I had a lot of questions. read more

I've been trying their fried chicken with different sauces for my lunches and I am loving how Aburaya is becoming my go to. I can do protein with just green, or greens with cabbage or can also include rice if i feel like. The sauces are really great and the way the fried chickens turned out are really great. I usually just pick up the food but their ambience is definitely crazy with the big spider (soft toy) they have hanging on the fan, a skeleton playing guitar at the entrance haha! Spooky and special! And lastly i like that the service is pretty fast! I order from home and its usually ready in 10mins almost always. Sauces ive tried from best to not so best for me: Orange Aioli Honey, Habenaro miso, garlic miso, Teriyaki and Karashi Honey! read more

Aburaya - Menu at the counter - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

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Amazing chicken, great prices, and generous portions! Service was also great! Cool layout with pretty nice decorations and punk rock vibes. read more

Aburaya - Fried Chicken Sando (contains gluten), Fried Chicken (4 Piece) with rice bowl and tater tots - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

Been coming here for over 3 years chicken was so dry I couldn't eat it tonight No flavor at all Service was amazing Friendly and accommodating Will try again Could be an off night read more

I thought it was a small, skimpy place until I saw the dining area next door. I love all the Japanese aesthetics mixed with the Rock culture. Definitely a place I would come back to over and over. Oh wait, I forgot the food! Chicken is crispy and crunchy. That's all :) read more

Aburaya - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California

Cool little spot out in the side street. I actually just found it by accident while walking around and exploring. Really cool decor very punk and cool music. You walk in and order and the counter . The prices aren't too bad and they have happy hour also which is the time i walked in so i got lucky. Food was delicious mostly fried stuff I ordered the fried chicken 4pc 5/5 Tator tots 5/5 Cole slaw 3/5 not to flavorful Pickled veggies 2/5 small portion read more

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Great chicken, my go to spot lunch and dinner. Great price, portions and quality. The new jerk sauce is amazing. I wish they offered the 8 piece In a sample platter so I can try all the flavors. read more

My friend and I came here a while back ago and got an 8 piece of chicken thighs with half garlic miso (dry) and half karashi honey (wet). Both were flavorful and juicy and also really affordable given the area. The karashi honey is a wasabi flavored seasoning, and that will really give you a kick in the nostrils. The cashier person was kind enough to explain this to us, but for some reason, we thought we could still handle it. They also have a variety of beer/sake selection at the restaurant for you to choose from (some of which were local beers from what I saw). Overall, super solid fried chicken place in Oakland. I had to get takeout at the time, but I'd like to come back to try it fresh from the kitchen. read more

Fun - what looks like a hole in the wall counter but actually has a decent amount of seating - chicken place with Japanese flavors. Came here for lunch twice and it's pretty popular with lines not out of the ordinary. Recommend using their online ordering system to bypass the line. I absolutely love how they douse everything with an extra handful of salad here. Way to get the veggies in my guy. Apps ==== Deviled avocado - If you like avocados straight up, you'll likely enjoy the extra savory goodies they add: egg salad, salt, bbq sauce, onions. Fried Cauliflower - Can get this with any sauce, we tried dry garlic miso rub and it was not very flavorful. - The miso ranch is rock solid tho. - With the amt of Napa cabbage they give you, this is easily a salad. Vegan drums - These were tasty - had this with orange honey aoli. - With the amt of Napa cabbage they give you, this is easily a salad. Entrees ====== Fried chicken burrito - Best in show, can eat this any time any day. - Love the heat of spicy bbq. - Def go easy rice. Oyako Don - A heavy dish, but homey. Good for sharing. - Can be split 2-3 ways, easy. Sando - Love this b/c it's action-packed with veggies and slaw. - Piled high, maybe 2.5". - Can be split b/w 2 adults. Wings - Kids love them. - Gotta get the miso ranch for life. read more

Love this place, menu has lots of variety but not overly complicated, friendly staff, fast service, clean and ample seating also good for take out, resonantly priced easy parking in downtown Oakland read more

Aburaya - Izakaya Near Me - Oakland, California