Super tasty little spot. Everyone left happy. We grabbed lunch here before going to the De Young. We barely made it before they closed for the afternoon (after finding parking) and they were very accommodating. "Dining" area has only a couple tables, but they provided table service. We all had bento lunches with milk tea. Very generous servings, especially for the price. My daughter's roll was hefty! My husband said the teriyaki was not too sweet and his gyoza actually had meat in it read more

Ever read reviews and wondered if you went to the same restaurant as other people? Maybe we ordered wrong or came in on an off day but we didn't have the same food experience like some of the other reviewers. We got the Beef Donburi and the Oyakodon for pick up. The beef in the beef donburi was really tough. The Oyakodon was okay. Afterwards I wondered if maybe we should have ordered bento boxes instead since it seems to be more popular and therefore better? I do like that they open late and the service was friendly. Located on Balboa and 7th Ave. read more

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The tennis team had a late match. We were hungry and wanted to hang and chat. Not many places were open when we left around 9:15pm but Xiaoyu's was until 11! Parking was hard on Balboa. It's heavily residential and most nearby businesses were closed when we got there. At first, it was empty. Then as the night went on, the place filled up--both with takeout orders, but also in-person groups eating! We thought this place was Chinese food when we picked it (based on the name...) We were fine with Japanese! Everyone got one of the combo boxes--$17 for 2 items or $20 for 3 items? A San Francisco steal!! You could pick various teriyakis, rolls, gyoza, agedashi tofu, and more! It also came with soup and salad. I opted for the $22 unagi Donburi (I love unagi!) It said it came with salad and soup but I only received soup. The vegetables in my bowl were 2 slices of tsunumono (pickled radish.) The unagi was very good! Prices are reasonable. Service is efficient. There's maybe 4 tables inside and 2 seats at a bar by the window. If you need late-night noms, this is the place! read more

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I thought we were goin to a schmack place given the ambiance. The floors were sticky, service was ok, and you can hear the deep fryer frying. All the variables for a bust down Asian restaurant The portions were A1 as we had left overs for a full other meal. The waiter was sick and he was kind enough to provide discounts for inconveniences. Though, quality of food brought it down. The salmon was dry and the katsu didn't taste like much. Good cool spot if we got the drunchies. Otherwise, meh read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

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This place is small and a bit tight, with bright fluorescent lighting. The server was friendly and the food was reasonably priced. The only thing I didn't like was the hamachi, which was listed as a $1 upcharge, but was actually an extra 3. These were dry and hard. Everything else was good. There is free delivery on orders above 30 - perfect for their $30 dinner combo. Their canned beers are only 3 dollars, which is awesome. Another plus is that they actually stay open until the listed time - 11pm. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Dinner combo. veggie gyoza 9/10 chicken katsu 8/10 grilled hamachi 3/10 Also comes with miso. - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

Solid late night Japanese food! They seem to be mostly geared for takeout food but we snagged a spot in the limited seating area. Great bang for your buck and service is excellent. We ordered the 2 item bento for ~17 (California roll and pork katsu) which was delicious and plenty of food for dinner. Came with hot miso soup and ample rice! read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Bento with California roll and pork katsu - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

The 2-item Lunch Box $14 is a delicious special served Noon to 4:30 pm daily. We recommend the Saba Shioyaki/mackerel, Mixed Tempura, Dengaku, California Roll, Chicken Katsu, Salmon Teriyaki. Agedashi tofu Teriyaki. Tea is $4. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - 63. 2 Items Box with Mixed Tempura and Chicken Katsu. - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Super good place went here late at night would come here again. Chicken pierogi was really good for an appetizer and California rolls were amazing and my girlfriend got the Ramen and she loved it. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Chicken karate bento 63. 3 Items Box and 96. Assari Ramen - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

Great hole in the wall restaurant in the Inner Richmond District. The server doesn't speak a lot of English but food is a common language for all. I normally show pictures I see on Yelp and he knows what I'm looking for. The food is always fresh and during dinner time you get 20% off for dinning in. Items I've tried that were delicious: Bento boxes, chicken karrag, pot stickers, ramen, miso soup, taro milk tea. The teriyaki chicken and salmon were amazing. Ca sushi roll and the fried roll were delicious. The regular sushi roll was very fresh. Priced well for the area. Definitely recommend. read more

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Heard this was a late night sushi spot so I had to stop by with my kids & try it out. For starters, restaurant itself is really small, they only had about 4 tables & I don't know what their occupancy was but at 15 people inside were already really crowded. We dined in. My kids and I all got our own dinner bento boxes ($17+). Lunchtime bento boxes are a tad bit cheaper but the options are all the same. Your choice of 2 or 3 items and the box came with house salad, rice and miso soup. The quality of food was definitely worth the price. Everything tasted great & was freshly prepared. Parking is mild to hard, gotta really keep an eye open. Definitely would return again! read more

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This was an amazing late night find in San Francisco. My friend and I came here on a weekday after a long day of work. There was only one other couple in the restaurant, and there were around 10 seats. This is what we ordered: -Tonkatsu Curry: The curry was not too expensive and was greatly sized; I had enough for another meal worth of leftovers the next day. The ratio of fried pork cutlet to rice was perfect. -Bento Box with Beef Teriyaki and Fried Chicken Cutlet: The bento box was also greatly sized, and both our dishes came with miso soup. While the food tasted good when we were hungry, it also tasted just as good the next day. There was a discount towards the end of the day, so it was rather a cheaper meal that kept us full. I would love to come back to visit again! read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Bento Box (left) & Tonkatsu Curry (right) - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

Cute little neighborhood spot! The prices were great for the portions they gave. We got the tonkotsu ramen and the curry tonkatsu. Both were delicious! Will definitely be coming back. *I unfortunately took the picture after we started eating!* read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - 99. Tonkotsu Ramen - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

there's only like three tables so there's not a ton of places to sit but we came pretty late and with a large party even they were still able to seat us. bento box with tonkatsu california roll and chicken teriyaki (4/5): solid serving size, made a like bit more would have been nice. garlic edamame (5/5): seasoned edamame and it was actually really delicious sauce. chicken karaage (5/5:) good crunch, no problems here, a solid karaage. tonkatsu curry (2.5/5): the curry was very watery but the tonkatsu was good. this also took maybe 30 mins to cook so everyone was pretty much done with their meals by the time mine came out...would not recommend getting this if you are HUNGRY. tempura donburi (4/5): nice crisp tempura, good serving size as well. tonkatsu ramen: didn't try so i'm not sure how it was. read more

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I did not have the pleasure of enjoying the food here, but the owner has such a generous and kind spirit, and I just know the food is a reflection of that. My husband and I were struggling with a delivery and he not only came out to help, but he also brought a dolly to assist us. People like this are rare, especially small business owners who jump in to help other small business owners outside of their industry. We plan to return soon, not only for the food, but to also properly thank the owner and his wife for their generosity! read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Kindness! - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

The food there was so excellent. It was fresh and had a lot of flavor. Definitely recommend coming here if you're looking for a good late night spot. The service was super fast and they were somewhat attentive. The ambiance is what you would consider a family owned hole in the wall, which i actually like more in my opinion. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - 12. Soft Shell Crab - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Hidden Gem. Fire cheap food with big portions open late. Super nice people working there too. Blessed to live nearby.

Xiao Yu's Kitchen in SF is a total gem if you're looking for a quick, satisfying bite without emptying your wallet. The value here is unbeatable--about $20 gets you a hearty, delicious meal that fills you up and then some. It's not your typical Japanese spot you might find in the area, but that's exactly what makes it stand out. The portions are generous, and the flavors are solid. It's not trying to be fancy, but sometimes that's exactly what you want--just good, flavorful food that hits the spot. It's perfect if you need something fast but don't want to sacrifice quality for convenience. If you're in the area and want a solid meal that's easy on the wallet, Xiao Yu's Kitchen is a great choice. It's a no-frills place that gives you great bang for your buck. Service is very nice and polite. read more

Very small restaurant with a large menu, we got the 3 item dinner box and it was an immense amount of food for $20/box. The tonkatsu and chicken katsu were good, salmon teriyaki was flavorful, and the veggie tempura were very good. Each set also comes with a small salad and miso soup. The only disappointment were the kaki fry, the oysters weren't very good but I didn't expect much. We got takeout but I can tell the inside can seat 4-6 people, and the service was nothing special. We would come back for a cheap lunch / dinner in the future. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - 63. 3 Items Box - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

We are from Arizona and don't get the chance to indulge in authentic Asian cuisine often. This hole in the wall offers great food for an even better value. My partner and I ordered two dinner combos and paid under $40 for plenty of food. Friendly service, and food was delivered hot, fresh, and flavorful. We will definitely be back next time we are in town. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Dinner Combination - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

Really great staff and good food. We ordered pick up and everything was really high quality, fresh and just a solid dinner choice. We ordered the chicken Katsu read more

We arrived at 3pm, and we thought the place was closed. The lights were turned off and so was the OPEN sign. We asked if they are open, and an employee said YES. The employee could show a little more enthusiam, but he didn't. Maybe he's a low energy person. This a small mom and pop restaurant. It seats around sixteen people. There's limited metered parking and very limited free parking spots around this restaurant. We ordered the three items bento box lunch special, seafood ramen, and spicy seafood ramen. The bento box came with miso soup and salad. The three items for the bento were teriyaki salmon, California roll, and saba shioyaki. The salmon and the saba shioyaki were moist in the inside and flavorful. The California Rolls were freshly made. The seafood ramen was flavorless. It was very bland. The spicy seafood ramen was lack of flavor as well. When I was eating half way through the ramen, I realized that there were lots of pepper flakes at the bottom of the bowl. I guess I was supposed to mix it before eating it. Regardless, they just can't do ramen right. However, they weren't stingy on the seafood and had various vegetables. read more

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The chicken Katsu was good but otherwise was underwhelming. We tried: - Bento box with salmon teriyaki, chicken teriyaki, and chicken tonkatsu. Chicken tonkatsu was actually very good, really crisp, moist, and well seasoned. Unfortunately, that is all we really enjoyed. The chicken and salmon teriyaki were both pretty mediocre, a bit dry and under-seasoned. Teriyaki sauce was just okay, nothing special. - Pork katsu curry - this was really disappointing as the tonkatsu was smothered in lacklust curry. The pork was overcooked, dry, and lost any crispy texture it had. The breading was falling off of the cutlet because of how soggy it had gotten. The curry itself was very plain and not flavorful. On a positive note, they offer a discount for dinner and the portions we're pretty generous especially considering the price. Can't recommend this place overall read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Bento box: teriyaki chicken, teriyaki salmon, chicken Katsu - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

delicious & convenient neighborhood gem w rare late hours. impressively extensive menu, both traditional (bento box combos!) as well as creative (baked scallop eggplant appetizer!). always fresh & satisfying. we do take-out as well as dine-in. the shopfront setting could be enhanced with better interior lighting (use warm bulbs & let in the lovely natural light from those large windows) & background music would add a nice touch to the ambiance. hardworking small business w extremely nice staff & excellent chef. read more

A hidden gem of a restaurant in a quiet residential area. The business has a Chinese name yet everything they serve on their menu is Japanese. The "Combination Lunch Box" meal was perfectly cooked and very tasty. I will definitely explore the other items on the menu so stay tuned for more postings... read more

*Delicious 3 item bentos for $17 *Wide variety of options to chose from on the menu *There is NO raw fish/nigiri/sashimi of any kind here I've been here 3 times and really enjoyed their bentos and sukiyaki (unfortunately I forgot to take a photo of it, but it was delicious and a generous portion)! At first, I was confused since this restaurant called Xiao Yu means little fish in Chinese, but looking at the extensive menu, it's a Japanese restaurant, no doubt. It's a small, cozy, and quiet restaurant good for eating alone on lunch breaks. Due to the amount of space indoors, it wouldn't be ideal for big groups. When it comes to service, the owner seems pretty chill and doesn't do small talk from my experience. He gets rights down to taking your order and bringing out the food asap. You may be asked to pay by the cashier stand immediately after ordering there. I usually do that since I was asked. It's to save them a trip back and forth to your table. After paying I just seat myself as well. In my photos I have the eggplant special and their 3 item bento. For the eggplant, think of a lion king roll, but make it eggplant! It really is quite a unique and tasty appetizer. For the 3 item lunch bento, the photo features salmon teriyaki, agedashi tofu, and saba shioyaki. As other Japanese places, the bentos come with a side salad and miso soup (as did the sukiyaki entree). Everything I've tried here has been quite tasty and I appreciate their large menu. It can definitely fit any of your Japanese food cravings (excluding raw fish since it's not available at this restaurant)! They also have plenty of milk tea flavors here, though I have yet to try it. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - 15. Eggplant Special; Imagine a lion king roll but instead of sushi, it's eggplant; Interesting & tasty! - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Exceptional quality. Fried food-- light, juicy, crunchy. Ramen-- Gingery and light, subtle flavor. I was blown away by the Saba-- perfectly oily and savory. Quiet place, relatively clean, yet table was a bit sticky. Server barely understood English, nevertheless provided everything we needed in professional manner. This fine restuarant has wonderful potential to be even better! In a heartbeat I would unequivocally dine here again. Yum!!!!! read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Karaage Ramen - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Food was so good for such a great deal. The lunch bento boxes are also available on the weekend! We walked in at 1:30pm on a Sunday and were the only ones there. It's a pretty small place so we chose to order takeout since it seemed like those were the vibes. Had pretty low expectations since it seemed like too good of a deal to be true, but everything was good! I ordered the 2 item bento with salmon teriyaki and CA roll. Salmon was small portion but great flavor with a little crisp. My partner ordered the 3 item bento with saba, chicken teriyaki, and salmon teriyaki. Chicken came in a pretty good portion and was juicy and flavorful. Wanted to gatekeep this but also want this place to do well! Would definitely come back and be a regular. read more

Customer service was HORRIBLE.said hi to the waiter and he completely ignored me.when ordering, we asked for adjustments and he laughed at me.i asked if there's any tea with no caffeine,(struggle with anxiety and caffeine isn't my friend) again mocked me.immediately left.don't laugh at your customers if they ask for preferences.they may be allergic? Have you thought of that? And now as a result of my honest experience,the business owner is accusing me of discrimination and yet again mocking.if anything we felt discriminated by the way we were treated from the moment we entered the premises.lying doesn't get you far. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Rude business owner - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

Excellent bento box lunch, very reasonably priced. Will definitely go back in the future read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Excellent bento box lunch, will go back soon! - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

This little unassuming restaurant is a total hidden gem! You would never guess from the storefront or decor, that very tasty food awaits you on the inside from their kitchen. Each dish was served hot and all their ingredients seemed to of quality and fresh. Big points to their cook who is control of their deep fryer. From the mixed tempura appetizer, age-dashi, chicken karage, tonkatsu, etc were all very very good! Surprisingly so! Their tempura battered California roll was a surprise treat! We went to town and ordered 5 appetizers and 3 entrees. The tonkotsu curry was very home style with perfectly fried cutlets and chunky veges. My only tiny tiny critique is I wish there was more curry sauce. We pigged out! I am giving this place 5 stars for the entire experience of the surprise with the wonderfully prepared, tasty food. PLUS the bonus of 20% off for our dinner! We are def returning. read more

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This is a low review but it's out of love. The people that work there seem nice and the service was pretty quick. But the food quality sucked. Me and my friends ordered around $100 of food, and the mixed tempura was only one piece of shrimp and the rest is random vegetables, so not worth it, and you literally can't get just a meat tempura in their "value" combo box. I also got the fish katsu and I wish I was joking when I said the fish tasted like it died a week ago and they forgot it in the deep fryer 30 minutes too long, so there was barely any meat. Just hard, crusty, strips of overcooked fish. I could only take a few bites before throwing the entire meal away. The best part of the meal was the miso soup that came with the meal. Edit: lowering to one star. Got an incredibly rude message from their yelp account. "Are you crazy? We have two shrimps. Are you sick?" read more

Absurdly absurdly slow, mid food, not big enough portion sizes to make up the difference.

I live nearby and looking for a new place to try. I've driven past Xiao Yus Kitchen many times so decided to see what the yelp hype was about. They have 20% off dinners so i tried the 3 item combo -- beef teriyaki (+$3), veggie tempura, and tonkasu. First off, everything in my take out container was piping hot. The tonkasu was crispy but light batter with juicy pork. The tempura was also fresh temp hot and was great with the provided dipping sauce. The beef teriyaki had good flavor and neatly sliced. Came with a heaping scoop of white rice, light dressed salad (side container), and bowl of miso soup (side container) with seaweed and tofu. It was a lot of food!! Most importantly all the food tasted good and seemed like a great value. Don't be misled by the name of the place. This was very good family style Japanese food with a large menu. I'll be back to try other items. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - 3 item combo. Tonkasu, beef teriyaki, veggie tempura. - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

This is a small, very reasonably priced, looks like a family run business that we happened upon driving home last night. The food, portions and service are good. There were 7 of us and we had 3 box dinners with tempura shrimp & veggies, chicken Teriyaki, cucumber roll, salmon Teriyaki along with a bowl of Miso soup, salad and rice. Also had a dish with unagi over rice, a curry noodle soup dish and an Udon seafood dish. All were tasty. For apps we had seaweed salad, grilled octopus and complimentary crab puffs - all of these were very, very good. We'll be back, especially knowing this place is open until midnight! read more

Xiao Yu's is a very solid restaurant my boyfriend and I always do takeout to. The food is consistently great quality and the portions are large, especially for the price. The owner has always been kind to us. This is a no thrills restaurant, it is not fancy but the food is consistently delicious and flavors are always solid. My boyfriend always order the 3 item box and I have tried most of the items and they are all tasty! I highly recommend this spot! read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - 63. 3 Items Box - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

The quality of the unagi I got yesterday sucks. For a $22 bowl usually and everywhere I order inagi, they give me a whole piece of it but this one, its like they just put together all the left over unagi to fill out the container. This is not acceptable. read more

This place was pretty good. I'd eat here again if nearby, but I wouldn't seek it out. We tried it because it's walking distance from the DeYoung Museum and Conservatory of Flowers in Golden Gate Park. For that purpose, it was super convenient and one of the few places for lunch within easy walking distance. It's not the best for vegetarians, though you can make do. I got a 3-item bento box. I tried to ask the man at the register if I could get agedashi tofu without the bonito/fish flakes to make it vegetarian, but either he didn't understand or wasn't willing. He was pleasant but I don't think he understood English well. I tried asking which Bento items were vegetarian and he just shook his head. I got the vegetable gyoza, cucumber roll, and avocado roll. A couple other items looked possibly vegetarian, but when I asked about the dengaka (eggplant), he said it had shrimp or another seafood, I forget. Anyway, my bento box didn't have as much variety as I would have liked, but the food was good and fresh and I enjoyed it. I skipped the miso soup because it has fish (flakes? sauce?), but it worked out because my kiddo took my soup and gave me his salad. The salad was a bit overly dressed, but I've never had a bento box where it wasn't. My kiddo also got a bento box, with fish katsu and california roll. He liked it. My spouse got the seafood ramen with soy broth (he's pescatarian so can't do the pork broth). He didn't think the broth was very good, but I was impressed that they even had a vegetarian broth, as most places don't. This place only had limited seating -- 4 spaces at the counter facing the sidewalk, and I think 3 tables. When we got there around 12:30pm, it was empty, but a few people came in after we were settled in. Like some other reviewers said, it was calm and peaceful there. You order at the register, but they bring the food. There is a fridge case with beverages, but we got cups of water. There is no bathroom for customers. This is a very small place, and my guess is they do more to-go orders than eat-in. If I'm in Golden Gate Park again and need lunch, I'll definitely go here. read more

Strange to have japanese food under the umbrella of a Chinese name. At first I thought it was Chinese food, but it's actually serving Japanese food. We came for a quick lunch. 3 items for $17 lunchbox. Comes with small soup and salad. Ordered teriyaki chicken, gyoza, and agedashi tofu. Chicken was tender and tasty. Gyozas were fried and too hard, but eatable. The agedashi was hot, flavorful, and crunchy. Worth a stop if you are in the neighborhood. read more

Xiao Yu’s Kitchen - Soup and salad with lunchbox - Japanese Curry Near Me - San Francisco, California

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A Chinese named restaurant serving authentic Japanese food... Mainly a take-out place with a few tables. read more

Food is tasty and texture is good. They even threw in some freebies for me with my last order. Their ventilation is not good. I had to take a shower and wash all my clothes when I sat inside to wait for my order. read more