you won't have a bad bite here! the precision & thought behind each dish is very much apparent. my favorite dish was the ankimo mousse - the sweet potato chips were the perfect, crunchy vessel for the rich monk fish liver! the beef intestine skewer melted in my mouth & the corn tempura reinvented how i view corn! highly recommend making a reservation because this place gets packed! read more

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Hell yea. This place is authentic izakaya style Japanese food. Brought me back to the alleys of Shinjuku and Shabuya (rolll callll.) The fish is super fresh and is sooo flavorful when done omakase style. But of course me and my friend had to go dumb and get a bunch of apps! My favorite was the beef tongue skewer and the corn tempura (why don't more places do that!?) and the cabbage was savory and saucy. The uni carbonara was also creamy and delightful. I will say it ain't cheap. I spent $100 but whatever YOLO. You'll definitely need a reservation to visit. We snuck in with a last minute 5:30 one but I imagine they are packed during peak hours. read more

Kiraku - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Berkeley, California

Food is delicious, staff is very friendly. The portion isn't big considering the price. Waiting time is too long (2 hours). read more

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This was the best sushi I've had since the hole-in-the wall place in LA's Little Tokyo in the 2010s. The 6-piece Omakase is so artfully crafted - every single piece was a masterpiece. Extremely friendly and informative servers. I have a shellfish allergy and they kindly accommodated. If you can get around the $30 per person minimum, Kiraku will make it well worth your while. read more

The most delicious and extraordinary Japanese resturamt that I have ever been to. There is no other menu like the one at this Japanese resturant. Everything ordered was different and unusual and most importantly absolutely delicious. read more

This is a surprisingly small restaurant, so I don't recommend coming with a large group. Maybe max 4?? Also the wait can get long on the weekends! Food is good! Portions are a bit small, but that just means you can try more things without getting full!! That also means the bill can add up, so be careful! I would say the must order is the corn tempura! read more

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This is my sixth time coming back to Kiraku, and it's still one of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area. I usually order a lot of dishes when I come, and this visit was no different. That said, I did feel like the food wasn't quite as good as the last few times. Not sure if it was an off night or something else, but a few dishes didn't have the same wow factor I've come to expect. Even so, the overall experience was still enjoyable, and I'll definitely be back. Kiraku continues to be a go-to spot for solid Japanese food in Berkeley. read more

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OMG food at Kiraku was authentic and SO delicious!!! I'm so happy I found this place :) *Ankimo Mousse with sweet potato chips $22- 5 stars!!!!!!! *Otoro $20 - was very good *Mini Kaisen Donburi - $22 - 5 stars!! *Yuba with Ikura - $18 - 5 stars!! *American wagyu beef tataki - $18 - 5 stars!! *Matcha Mont Blanc - $8 - 5 stars!!! *I thought even Oolong tea there was delicious!! $2 Services - food came pretty quick although the restaurant was packed!! I've made a reservation via Yelp on the same day. I got seated on time:) They sang happy birthday to their guests at two tables while I was dining there. They turned off the light each time, it was so cute :) Ambiance - it's small place but it's so cute:) I highly recommend Kiraku! I will definitely go back and would LOVE to eat their Uni donburi!!!! read more

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I checked for reservations a week prior to visiting Berkeley and snatched one for 8:30pm. The day of, we decided to check our reservation and noticed that they had added 2 earlier time slots. They open at 5:30pm and we picked 5:45pm. We walked in and our table was ready. You'll walk in to a very cozy, loud, and fun space. Be aware that if you are a party of 2, you will be seated very and I mean very close to another table of 2 and if you try to move it, they will move your table back to the original position. The menu stated a minimum of $20 per person, unlike the yelp reservation system, which states $40. Believe me, you won't have a problem reaching either. We were given hot towels prior to receiving our menus and once we ordered, the food arrived in a perfectly paced manner. When we were almost done with one dish, another would arrive. We ordered the following dishes. Tuna 3 ways, was a tasty dish seasoned and cooked in a variety of ways. The dish included, perfectly seared tuna, one appeared fried with potatoes and pickled vegetables and my least favorite of the three was served warm. The Albacore Tataki was super fresh and absolutely delicious paired with the green onions and Ponzu Sauce. Grilled Squid, my favorite of the night! Wow, it was cooked perfectly. Tender with crispy edges on the tentacles. Rock Shrimp with Mayo another must order dish. Perfectly fried and bursting with flavor. My least favorite dish and a regrettable order, the chicken karaage. Using dark meat, some parts were fatty and not edible. It just didn't pair well with the quality and taste of the entire meal. We added the Piri Q which were cucumbers that were fresh and crunchy. I would have preferred them to be a bit more pickled. Finally, we ended with the Matcha ice cream, paired with jelly made from seaweed and mung beans, it was absolutely delicious. Awesome customer service! Water and tea cups were constantly filled and we were checked on throughout the meal. I definitely recommend visiting with a reservation, it just makes your dining experience so much easier. read more

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The hostess asked us in the beginning if it it our first time to here. She told us the minimum charge per person is $30 after I reply "yes". It is totally fine for me because I read many good reviews about this restaurant on yelp and little red note. The space is very limited and the hostess required every customer to sit in the table that she managed. It is totally fine for me also. This is my first time to this place. There was no any picture of food on the menu. How did I know which one was popular and how big was the portion? Also, the menu has too many Japanese loanwords as keywords without pictures, it was hard to understand. Then, I figured out that checked the doordash menu and selected the popular dishes because they uploaded all pictures to doordash. I showed my doordash list to the first waitress. She said the menus for dine in and to go were different. She made me totally confused. I said I had no idea on the dine in menu because there were too much japanese. She said not only japanese but english. Come on! Do you mean "Don"and "Hamachi"are English. I said please just order for us. Then, she said she would give us more time and left. If I did not use the hot towels, I would just leave. You can just pointed out the dishes on DoorDash and told us which dish that we selected were unavailable for dine in instead waiting for us. And, when I asked for help" please order for us", you can just ordered for us based on your waitress experience. Please do not be lazy to use your brain. Please learn from Nippon Curry. Then, I ordered the same dishes with the second young waitress. She just pointed the dishes and confirmed with us. We got the dishes quickly, and the second young lady was the only one person to add water and keep attentive on our area. One more thing, the hostess told us the minimum charge per person was $30, but no one told us the service charge (18%) was mandatory. $110 including mandatory service charge, sales tax, and 4 small portion dishes are ridiculous because the service was poor and the space was limited!!!! I just want to pay the tips to the second young lady. It is very suck to have a dinner in this place!!!!!!! read more

Kiraku - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Berkeley, California

Always a great time at kiraku! Absolutely love the izakaya options. My all time fav is the beef tongue with truffle salt. The seasonal options are also amazing and love the variety. Staffs are all super nice and friendly. Super helpful with recommendations and very very polite and sweet. The restaurant is small and cozy, recommend for party of up to 4/5. read more

Kiraku is one of my most favorite japanese spots in the USA! Highlights are the daily menu (nigiri and kitchen dishes) which changes often. I rarely if ever feel disappointed about the food here. Dishes offer authentic tastes yet very creative presentations and combinations of textures and flavors. Perfect spot to drink and eat. Food comes in tapas/small dish styles. Ask the team members which dishes are recommended or the freshest for that day. Very cozy, but super tiny with limited seata. Often filled up by 6 pm. TIP--do not rely on yelp online reservations alone. If you are close by, just walk over to the restaurant. They always seat people right away if there are open tables (eventhough on the app the tables appear full for the next three hours...). Check in with the host. Small groups (1-4) often work best. read more

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I love this place. Everything is absolutely delicious. Small but cozy restaurant. Reservation strongly advised. read more

A little pricy but the flavor is worth it! Highly recommend the Uni spoon. Don't get the pesto yakisoba read more

Kiraku - Octopus yaki udon - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Very delicious!! I'm so happy we have an Izakaya restaurant in Berkeley. It's pricey, but the variety of food and the presence of Japanese comfort food make it worth it. Everything we ordered was delicious, which is impressive considering their large menu. read more

I've eaten here multiple times and each time the line is always really long. The restaurant is pretty small so highly recommend either making a reservation or getting on the waitlist via Yelp and then coming to physically check in with the wait staff. Their menu changes frequently so you will always have new daily specials to try, which keeps things interesting. One of my favorite appetizers is the fish cheek skewer; it is melt in your mouth delicious! Nigiri sampler and Kaisen don were both pretty good although some pieces of the fish were better than others. The black cod ponzu is light and refreshing. Tried a limited edition plum cheesecake for dessert and it did not disappoint. I liked the consistently of it - more like a pudding than cheesecake and wasn't very sweet. Food is served fairly quickly and the servers are attentive, always filling our water whenever it was empty. Prices are reasonable and the food is delicious! One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in the East Bay. Definitely recommend coming to try this place if you're looking for yummy izakaya style food! read more

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Kiraku is seriously one of our favorite spots in Berkeley--it honestly feels like you've stepped into a cozy izakaya in Japan. The vibe is super warm and casual, and the space is cute without trying too hard. The izakaya-style menu is amazing and has so much variety. We always order the black cod, corn tempura, and Suzuki carpaccio--everything is insanely fresh. You can tell they fly in their fish from overseas because the quality is next level. The staff here are the best. The servers work so hard and are always smiling, super friendly, and excited to share their favorites with you. They really make the experience feel personal. And the chef? Incredible. Every dish is packed with flavor and has that creative twist that keeps you coming back. You can tell there's a lot of thought and care behind the menu. This place is a gem--go if you haven't already! read more

I've been going here for the last 7 years (going on 8 by August) and this is my FAVORITE izakaya in the States. I've tried izakayas in California, Hawaii, Paris, and New York, and Kiraku is hands down the best izakaya outside of Japan. The food here is unique. It's not quite traditional Japanese food, as it seems like the owner/chef has his own unique twists to the dish. But regardless, I can always depend on coming to Kiraku for a great meal for a casual occasion or a special one. Kiraku's food and service are always consistent; there are no surprises and I always come out of each meal happy and satisfied. I always get the same items at the restaurant: homemade tofu, corn tempura with green tea salt, fried chicken cartilage, beef tataki, green tea ice cream, roasted tea blanc manger, and the Iki Na Onna bottle of sake. Specialty items that I enjoy are the wagyu steak (it has been a while since this has been available), wagyu nigiri sushi with either uni or foie gras, bone marrow (no longer available), barbecued skewered whelk clam (no longer available), and the foie gras donburi bowl (sometimes available). For the dishes that are no longer available, it shows that the owner has high standards. He has mentioned that if the item is not up to his standards in cut, freshness, size, etc., he will not serve it to his guests. With COVID, I've been getting the beef tataki, the A5 wagyu rib cap rice bowl, the gomoku rice, and the ohitashi salad. Sometimes I also get the yuzu cheesecake for dessert. Everything is packaged nicely: it's clean, doesn't smell, and doesn't leak. My friend gets the Kaisen bento box and uni rice plate. The fish is still fresh and beautiful by the time we get back to SF to devour the food (30 minutes to 50 minutes with traffic). Currently as of January 2021, they're giving away free ume drinks with purchase. It's a nice salted plum soda that's light and helps stimulate your appetite while also helping you digest food. In If you're looking for quality ingredients, interesting dishes, and nice service, come to Kiraku. It's a Berkeley institution. read more

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The best Japanese restaurant in the east bay! Everything is insanely delicious. The place is small and gets very busy. Make reservations! read more

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When I lived in the Bay Area, this was a favorite Japanese restaurant. Everyone is so nice and the food and service is so good. The best Japanese food in the Bay Area! get there early there's always a line. read more

I very single bite was mind-blowingly delicious!! Absolutely fantastic service and super cute interior. Wish I lived in the area so I could revisit. INCREDIBLE! read more

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So so good 100% recommend if you like uni and sashimi! Have heard so many good words about this place, randomly found a res so just decided to go! The uni rice is not on the menu and is market price. Our price was $90 which was a little pricey but the uni tastes really really good. Otherwise the rice on the menu with fish roe and raw salmon is also really good and would recommend for a better variety of toppings and taste. The restaurant is really small so could get a little crowded and loud. Also crazy wait time if you go without a res. The server is very nice and super patient in explaining the menu to us and serving our good. Would definitely go again. read more

Kiraku - Store - Tapas/Small Plates Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great food worth the higher than average price. Of course it's not realistic to eat here weekly at this price but worth it once in a while.

What a gem of a place. The menu is so diverse and we enjoyed all the recommendations. Our server was super helpful and we took all her suggestions. I was a bit uncertain about adding the 5-piece omakase since I was more interested in all the other dishes, but the sushi was also amazing. One very special touch was that they brought out a tray with about 40 unique and beautiful sake cups and we could choose our own cups. Putting this on my repeat list. read more

The food is amazing! Such a fun place. The skewers are all phenomenal, and weirdly enough I love the fish head stew. Great service

The restaurant was busy when we went there. We had to wait for 50 minutes before we were seated, so I recommend putting your name down on the waitlist sometime before you plan to arrive. The restaurant has a small dining space, so that also adds to the long waitlist. Anyways, my friend and I ordered a few things - 1. Yuzi salmon crudo tostada 2. Sashimi sampler (7 kinds of sashimi) The crudo tostada was delicious. It had the right amount of crispness and strong flavor. The fish was fresh. It had a citrusy and cheesy flavor. The sashimi sampler was decent. Some fish didn't appeal as much as the others. When ordering sashimi sampler, please keep in mind that you have to place 2 orders. Service was fast, and the servers were nice. One of them even walked us through the menu to help us out with their extensive menu. read more

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corn tempura with green tea salt was a sleeper hit. tiny spot so get a reservation or be ready to wait. worth it though.

We love coming to Kiraku, the food and coziness brings us back to Japan. The carpaccio and tataki dishes are the best here - so fresh and full of flavors. The pasta was our first time and deliciously creamy with a generous amount of uni. Corn tempura is a must, always. Unfortunately, we were disappointed by the beef tongue. Unlike other beef tongue we've had, it was just a mouthful of fat. read more

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To dine here, a reservation is an absolute must! This place is PACKED right at open and it's filled up all by people with a reservation. So a walk-in is most likely not even possible. It's also not a place to relax and hangout chatting with friends, they want you in and out as quickly as possible. And if you've taken too long to eat they will come by to ask you to leave because other people are waiting. So this isn't the kind of place for people who take service as a priority when dining. But the food is really freaking good. The ankimo dip with sweet potato chips is a great appetizer. The premium beef tongue was the best dish of the night, crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside and perfectly seasoned. The sashimi was fresh. The dessert was interesting and delicious! read more

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Authentic Japanese izakaya just like being in Japan. Must go. Foods are amazing! Some of my favorites are Corn tempura Suzuki cappuccino Beef tongue tataki Curry croquettes Desserts are also delicious. read more

Tender beef tongue skewer: the sauce was sweeter than expected and a little heavy. If the sauce was toned down a bit, I think the flavor of the beef tongue would come through so much better. I also tend to prefer more umami and salty flavors than sweet. Grilled eel: this eel melted in your mouth but eel is such a common item to have at izakaya spots so i would skip on this next time. Jumbo squid: this jumbo squid was awesome and so tender. The glaze on the squid perfectly complemented it well and I preferred to eat it as is without dipping into the mayo. Sashimi salmon: this salmon was beautiful and worth it! Savored every bite of it!! Great sashimi Grilled beef intestine: oh my god this has to be my favorite item of the night! It was soo buttery and melt in your mouth, you could almost mistake it for bone marrow. It's so fatty yet not heavy! It's quite the delicacy. Uni carbonara: this item was a great choice for us since it was probably responsible for filling us up to a contenting level. The uni was not bitter at all--super soft and creamy. It also didn't disintegrate completely into the pasta which I loved as it was a great texture to pair alongside the pasta. The ikura was wonderful, and gave the perfect burst of saltiness in every bite. It held itself well amongst the noodles. Striped bass carpaccio: I gave this one a try even though this is not a fatty fish (I love fatty fishes) and I also am not too big on citrusy flavors in my dinner but the yuzu and garlic flavors melded well with the striped bass. No fishiness at all! Would skip this next time. Nekitoro maki: the bluefin tuna roll was savored every bite. However, wish the bluefin tuna was not minced so heavily--I would prefer it to be in whole chunks to highlight the beauty of the fatty fish. Overall wonderful izakaya place and would definitely come back!!! Next time will try: -tuna cheek and scallion skewer -bluefin tuna toro sashimi -bluefin tuna otoro with truffle paste nigiri -fresh Hokkaido scallop with pickles and shiso nigiri -spot shrimp with tobiko and yuzu kosho nigiri -omakase samplers Would get again: -salmon sashimi -beef intestine skewer -jumbo squid read more

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I don't get it. Why is this place popular? We've tried Kiraku a few times, and each time, I wonder if the sub-par experience is an anomaly. It's not. The cooked food is solid. But the sushi quality is pretty meh, despite supposedly being from Japan. The service leaves a lot to be desired. The servers are constantly bumping into your chair. One time, the server only brought one omakase?! And then seemed annoyed when I asked where my omakase was. Was she assuming I was just sitting there for fun? read more

It's my new favorite place for sushi and poke bowls. They offer a large menu, the resturant is new and clean and the fish is super fresh. I order take out last night and it was an excellent poke bowl. read more

This spot is super popular so it's best to make a reservation or enter the Yelp waitlist right when they open. You can join the waitlist remotely. Sometimes you can get seated earlier if people cancel or don't show up. They do respect the order in which you signed up. Food was amazing as always. I love the corn tempura and mini kaisen don the best. I've dined here 3 times now and I've always had a great time. The food was always super fresh and service is good. The seating is a bit a cramped, especially when you need to walk around to the restroom/etc. But everything else about it is perfect. Hands down one of my favorite restaurants in berkeley area read more

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This place was beyond incredible. We came in indecisive because everything looked amazing. We asked our wonderful waitress Angelina to take the reins and she asked a few thoughtful questions and chose absolutely everything from sake to dinner to dessert. She gauged our hunger level appropriately, it was timed perfectly, and absolutely every dish she brought left a lasting impression. I don't even know the names of the dishes but the beef tongue, sea bass, corn fritters and pork belly were all equally fantastic. This was beyond a 5 star experience for service, the food and the vibes. This was one of the best meals we've been to in a while and we somehow got out of there for $100. A meal that would have easily been $300 elsewhere. We will absolutely be returning! P.S. For a super fun date night, start with axe throwing next door. We had such a blast! read more

Ingredients soo fresh! Every bite was so smooth and packed with flavor and freshness. Deluxe kaisen box - Negitoro (Minced Fatty Tuna) & Marinated Tuna Sashimi, Uni (from Hokkaido, Japan), Ikura, Scallops, Sweet Shrimp, & Tobiko over special sushi rice (5/5) Sanshoku don - 6 pcs salmon, negitoro, ikura marinated in soy sauce, and seaweed over sushi rice (4/5) Sweet potato brulee - (5/5) one of the best desserts I've had in a while read more

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4.8/5. Best dishes: - the pork belly skewer was one of the best pieces of cooked pork ive had. Extremely tender and flavorful - the carpaccio was one of the best carpaccios ive had. Most places do strictly yuzu, but kiraku added sesame oil which changed the flavor a lot but was still mostly yuzu Neutral: - Chazuke was great but over priced. I recommend not putting the ube in as it was overpoweringly strong. You also only get one bite of salmon. - mini kaizen was too overpriced for what it was - maki was amazing but I would go for one of the more unique dishes - black cod karaage was cooked perfectly. The meat just dissolved off the bones in my mouth. Portion was small though - chicken karaage normal classic karaage Not as good: - lamb skewer was the best lamb ive had but i am not a lamb fan. My girlfriend liked it. Worth a try if youve only ever had really gamy lamb. Atmosphere: -small cute - super loud and kind of squished - service was great read more

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Came here on Tuesday night around 6pm and it was an 1 hour wait at the time. Small restaurant with barely any space separating tables of people. Most staff were wearing masks except our waitress who was unmasked and whispered specials and recommendations to us within 12 inches of my face. The highlights of the night for me were the mini kaisen don, miso black cod, koma inu yuzu white ale and garlic edamame. The garlic edamame was the MVP because it kept us snacking in between bites and ultimately filled us up even as the plates and cost of the bill built up and we were far from satiated. We tried the first 5 skewers on the menu ($6 per skewer, 4 pieces per skewer) and they were okay: beef, beef tongue, beef intestines, lamb, kurobuta pork. I'm not that familiar with beef intestine but it was very soft and felt gross to me. The pork was completely bland, the salty sauce helped. Mini Kaisen Don $20 / super cute! We laughed at how small it is but all fit into the small bowl. It was good and a great way to still get a bit of everything I liked without spending a lot. Uni was fresh and ikura is always yummy. Garlic edamame - again, the best choice of the night. A good portion and the flavor is pretty good on the outside, although the beans are a bit bland inside. Beef tataki- soft and easy to chew, I realize I don't like raw beef. Miso black cod - I really liked this one! Came with two thinly sliced pieces. Fish was tender and perfectly marinated. Drinks: the yuzu white ale is super light and refreshing. Barely any yuzu flavor though. Choyu plum wine tastes like the part near the pit of a dried plum. Desserts! We shared the sweet potato creme brulee and roasted tea blanc manger. Creme brulee tastes like eggy mashed sweet potato. Blanc manger reminds me of a soft panna cotta/pudding. Some hits and misses here. Definitely not worth the money we spent for this spread. read more

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Everything is amazing, food, service, ambiance, lively and fun, great sake selection, wide variety of flavors. Always a favorite, thank you so much Kiraku Berkeley and chef Daiki!!! read more

A long-standing Berkeley gem not to be missed. Use Yelp reservations, Yelp waitlist, or even the walk-up waitlist. Everything about Kiraku is well worth the wait if you can get in. Kiraku serves very authentic dishes that you won't find at many Japanese restaurants. Be adventurous! Sure, the sushi is fantastic, but try the Yuba. You haven't lived until you've tried the Yuba. Seriously. I really won't get into great deal on each dish here since everything was perfect - as this review would go on for days. If I was to single out one plate, it would be the Organic Chicken Karaage -- good, but most certainly not unique. This small izakaya is cozy, to be sure. Service is pleasant and efficient - although you will be asked to leave once you are done with your meal and dessert in order to accommodate the waitlist quickly. You'll likely find street parking eventually, even if it means a short walk. Can't wait to return! read more