Michele L.

Kinda Izakaya has been on my to-try list and I've heard mixed reviews from people on know, but I definitely wanted to judge for myself. Today we had something to do in Berkeley, so we made Kinda Izakaya our dinner spot to meet up with a couple friends as well! It was a Thursday night and I wasn't sure if it would be packed or not, but I made a reservation through Open Table just in case. We walked in around 6:30PM and it was fairly empty, but we didn't order until closer to 6:50PM. A little later and it did get pretty pack, so I'm glad we beat the rush. For our group of four we got a lot. We shared: - Purple Tempura - Crispy Knee - Karaage - Shima Hokke - Gomae - Beef Tongue x 2 - Chicken Skewer Set (Special Menu) x 2 My partner and I specially also shared a Chirashi Don and a Ochazuke, while our friends shared another Ochazuke and a Japanese Curry. Of everything we ordered, I had a few favorites: 1) The purple tempura was very nicely fried. It had a crispy outer layer, but the potato was still soft. Who doesn't love some fancy fries? 2) The crispy knee was nicely fried as well. Hard to go wrong with crispy knees when we love the cartilage crunch so much! 3) The Chirashi bowl was beautiful! There was a good variety and I like that they gave two slices of every fish (and tamago). It made for a great sharing bowl with partner. Each piece of fish was pretty fresh and my favorite of the bunch is the Hotate and the Ikura! 4) The Ochazuke was probably my ultimate favorite. The dashi broth was comforting especially when it's a little cold outside. It was also really delicious. They topped it with some fresh salmon pieces so when you pour the broth in, it cooks it just slightly, but still retains the soft texture of raw fish. We also had a few disappointments as well though. 1) Most of the skewers were a bit of a let down and I think it's because they put a marinade on the meat. I didn't like the taste of it that much - there's a weird tangy taste that was a little off-putting. The quality of the meat wasn't bad though. The tongue was actually a nice thick, but soft cut. 2) The Gomae wasn't quite what I expected. Although spinach is the main component of the dish, I feel like the sauce pairing should really elevate it because otherwise spinach is pretty bland. Their twist on this was on the blander side. Overall it was okay, but the sauce could definitely use some work. 3) Shima Hokke was a little tough so I think it's slightly over-grilled. I think I would choose to try the Hamachi Kama next time instead. All in all, service was pretty attentive. The place got crowded, but we didn't particularly feel neglected. Food came at a good pace. I recommend their stuff from their Fried section and Donburi section. The place is such a vibe too. I like how much posters and decorations they plastered around the restaurant. Parking here can be a little crazy, but otherwise, we had a good time here!

Mito I.

Brief Summary - Close to Trader Joe's in Berkeley - Recommended to reserve a seat if you're visiting during peak dinner hours - Portions are great to order a variety and avoid leftovers Been a favorite place to eat with friends in Berkeley. There is a large variety of menus and appetizers to choose from. I did most of the ordering by looking at the menu rather than from the QR code (It didn't work for me when I tried the latter option). I also prefer the menu in this restaurant because it's like a piece of art. The whole canvas is covered in collage of food; I like the pop. I also love the interior decoration. There is a lot of things to look at and observe, the eyes are entertained. My particular favorite is the nook, where the wall panel is covered in manga panels of well-known manga. Favorite dishes I ordered - yakionigiri - yakitori - beef tongue - mentaiko spaghetti - kinda tofu - fried squid - hamachi carpaccio

Vivian

Sometimes you visit a restaurant while traveling and instantly wish it existed in your hometown. That's exactly how I felt about this place. Kinda Izakaya is located in Berkeley, just outside the busy college areas and food streets. It's a cozy Japanese izakaya-style spot that serves small plates, yakitori, sushi, fried bites, and comfort dishes meant for sharing. The vibe feels casual but lively, the kind of place where people sit around chatting while plates keep arriving at the table. I'm currently visiting San Francisco and Berkeley and only have a few days left before heading back to San Diego. My goal while visiting was simple: eat. What I didn't expect was finding a restaurant I loved more than most places I've had recently in San Diego. This place completely blew me away. We arrived around 7:30 with no reservation and the staff was able to accommodate our party of three right away. I appreciated the flexibility, but as the night went on walk-ins quickly turned into a 25+ minute wait, so reservations are probably a good idea. We were seated in a fun booth setup and immediately given menus and water. I also want to highlight the staff here. They were incredibly attentive and kind. You could tell they genuinely enjoy working there through how they interacted with guests. The menu is a little overwhelming because there are so many options, some with pictures and some without. I wanted to order everything but we settled on five dishes for three people which came out to around $56 total: fried mochi, beef tongue yakitori, garlic fried rice with beef, crispy knee, and the cherry blossom roll. The fried mochi was the first surprise of the night. For $6 this might have been the best value on the table. They came out hot and crispy on the outside while staying chewy inside. Think chewy rice cakes cut into blocks and fried, then drizzled with a sweet, sticky, almost teriyaki sauce and topped with bonito flakes. The flavor was balanced and the texture was amazing. I honestly wish we ordered two plates. The beef tongue yakitori was another standout. Large chunks of tender and flavorful tongue grilled perfectly on the skewer. A little tip is to squeeze the lemon over the meat and let the juices mix together. If you have cabbage on the side like we did with the crispy knee dish, that lemony meat juice works great as a dressing. The garlic fried rice with beef was a huge portion for $17 and easily shareable. It was buttery, garlicky, and comforting. The steak pieces stayed tender and soaked up the garlic butter flavor really well. The crispy knee was something I had never tried before but I'm glad I did. If you like karaage, imagine that idea pushed a little further. It has a crispy exterior with some cartilage texture inside that adds crunch. A squeeze of lemon helps cut the richness and dipping it in the spicy mayo made it even better. The cherry blossom roll was unfortunately our least favorite dish of the night, though it wasn't bad. It came out about ten minutes after everything else. The cuts were a little inconsistent in size and it looked smaller than expected for a $20 roll. The fish tasted fresh, but I've had better sushi back home in San Diego. Overall I'm honestly just sad because I want to come back and try more dishes. This is the kind of place I would happily become a regular at if I lived nearby. If you ever find yourself in Berkeley, I highly recommend giving it a try.

Jasmine L.

Quite a disappointing experience all around. My husband and I came for dinner and made a reservation same day. No issues making reservations and being sat. It got quite packed. We ordered a large hot sake ($9) and immediately there was something off about it. Weird yellow sediment floating around, and it tasted and smelled strongly of vinegar. This indicates that it has spoiled and oxidized, presumably from being warmed too long. We flagged over the male server (who was nice enough throughout), and he immediately brought it over to one of the female servers to check. Initially, he offered us a replacement but upon checking with her (as she looked concerned), he asked us if we wanted to replace it with cold sake instead. We said sure. After getting the replacement, this same female server kept giving us dirty looks throughout the night. They also had people they knew keep coming in and they would go sit in the back by the bar, then the servers would go chit chat with them. Made it hard to flag anyone down, besides from the one male server. Disappointing service, besides from the one male server who checked in with us once. The food also came out really slowly; we came at opening and ordered quickly, but the food still came out quite slowly. Food-wise: we started off strong with the grilled chicken skin ($4.50). We also got fried chicken skin ($10) - the chicken skin items were good. Mentaiko udon was quite good, if you like carbonara. The roe was salty, udon was creamy, it's a super 'fishy' tasting pasta but it's really good. $18 atka mackerel: pretty good, tender, less 'fishy' than typical mackerel $18 Fried mochi was interesting, my husband liked it enough. Sweet, crispy outside, chewy inside. $6 I wanted to try a variety of grilled items as they're a izakaya: - Grilled beef tongue was a massive chunk and just overall kind of dry. Not much flavor. ($6) - Grilled angus beef was just okay as well. ($6) - Grilled baby scallops: small because they're baby scallops but also unremarkable and dry ($6) -grilled pork belly: way too much fat and cut too thick of slices. Would've been a much better texture if it was cut thinly, but since it was so thick, the fat was overpowering, it was around 80% fat, 20% meat I would say ($14) Overall, I would recommend the mentaiko udon and the chicken skin items. Mackerel wasn't bad either. Everything else is just ok to not great. I don't know if we'll be back anytime soon. On to the next restaurant to try in Berkeley...

Angeline K.

I'm definitely a fan! The ambience was great, service was amazing, great place. I had the MENTAIKO udon, soooo good with the added bacon. I'm not a fan of the assorted chicken skewer. The best skewer was the chicken skin. We also had the lychee tower, you can't even taste the alcohol. Definitely will be back

Bianca H.

I feel like I was in Japan when I ate here. The vibe gives the same small izakaya feeling as if you were in Japan. The tables are seated somewhat close to each other and there is single seating at the bar. It's on the darker side in here, but it definitely sets the vibe for late night ramen and appetizers. I tried the shishito peppers and tonkatsu ramen. The wait time for food is not bad at all. Appetizers came out quickly, and the entree followed shortly after. Definitely looking forward to coming back but be weary!! There might be a wait!

Cynthia C.

DD a few times from here when I have a hankering for quality snacks: - the sauces are all different and really good - batter on the fried items - light and not overly seasoned - hamachi kama, small portion, super fresh - beef tongue, so tender and love the wasabi Excellent izakaya eats - like Kiraku and Ippuku's love child.

Norases V.

excellent food, all so tasty and generous serving. My favorite was the ochazuke with salmon, the dashi broth was so good I wish there was more! The skewers a a bit small but cooked well and flavorful. The udon was comforting and came with lots of tempura! friendly staff and service. they only have 2 highchairs so if other families with kids are there you may not get one.

Anna C.

Arrived at 6PM on a Saturday as a party of 2 and we were able to be seated immediately with no reservation. The interior is quite cool with awesome decor and moody lighting. Service was attentive throughout as well. The mentaiko udon was definitely the standout--creamy and savory, and the noodles had the perfect chew. I also thought the chicken yakitori set and squid had a great char flavor, although there were a few pieces of squid with grainier texture that may have indicated it wasn't as fresh as it could have been. The tofu was also fried well with the soy sauce adding just enough saltiness. Would skip the yakisoba next time, the flavor was overall on the blander side surprisingly. Decent option for izakaya, especially for the ambiance, but keep in mind the smaller portions/higher price point.

Erica L.

Fun vibes and great decor, best to come with friends and order multiple things to share. Services was so friendly! We had some winners and skips: - lychee Soju tower 10/10 would come back, 2 of us drank the whole tower. It was fresh tasting with the lemon and fun to drink across our whole meal! -Spicy tuna bite- the tuna was delish but confused why they gave us store bought tortilla chips. Odd pairing, we thought it would be wonton wrapper crisps. -Golden spoon - pricey and the soy sauce is way too overpowering/does not pair well, but the uni was good. -okonomiyaki- perfect for 3 people to taste -Karage - like 6 tiny pieces :( shouldn't be $12 -combo tempura - ate it all! -Sukiyaki - we were waiting for this when we saw another group get theirs before us. We notified the staff and they got it to us asap and gave a discount on the item for our wait. Hot and great to share!

Andrea R.

My partner and I tried Kinda Izakaya recently after wanting to try it for a long time. I don't know how we've gone this long without trying this place! With a small, cozy interior, this place is very inviting. They have beautiful panels of manga and other decor plastered all over the walls and casual seating options, including bar seating. The menu is very accessible and has pictures of each menu item, making your selection process a little easier. All the food coming out of the kitchen looked and smelled absolutely incredible. We ended up ordering the udon carbonara, karaage, and grilled squid, as well as mochi ice cream for dessert. The udon carbonara was genuinely out of this world. We mixed the toppings into the udon, and they basically melted right into the sauce. It was creamy, well-balanced, and so flavorful. We almost didn't order the carbonara, but I'm so glad we did! Next time, we'll definitely order two of them. The grilled squid was yummy, as well. I wish the slices had been cut a little thicker, but it was still good! The karaage was crispy and delicious, as was the dipping sauce. For the mochi, we chose black sesame and green tea. I'm not personally a mochi fan, but my partner really enjoyed the black sesame! The service was great; everyone was friendly, polite, and attentive. I expect I'll be back very soon!

Max K.

It's authentic Japanese Izakaya (skewers) place with variety of foods. Good thing they serve all sort of Japanese cuisines from sashimi, sushi, ramen noodles, Izakaya and desserts. Food is delicious and fresh. Waiters are attentive but could be a bit slow in rush hours. Nice interior with lots of anime! Indoor seating with Japanese touches, not easily accessible, narrow entry and pathways with uncomfortable seating. Great for couples and small gathering only. Parking options are close by public parking and street parking.

Haley N.

Went here around 11 pm after a concert at the UC Theatre , glad they were open so late! The sashimi was fresh and good tasting, fav was yellowtail & salmon. Seated us right away and took our orders very quick. Love the service