Kiraku

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

Impressive! Cozy, intimate izakaya, with great food, and service. I think Ive tried more than half the menu at this point, and continually find dishes that surprise and delight. Here are some of my favs:

Sushi omakase sampler: Fresh fish, good selection, with a little bit of fusion flavors. Sushi is a great mid meal delight in between the more succulent grilled dishes. Couple months ago they had tenmi cut of bluefin tuna, and just last week summer yaitokatuso skipjack tuna (bonito).

Grilled beef tongue: The best I've ever had! Great flavor, and surprisingly super tender. Beef tongue is known to be a little tough (like a harder gummy bear), with the flavor being more about the beef texture. However, the beef tongue here has a great saucy flavor, and the beef tongue is the most tender I've seen in the US and Japan-- It really just melts in your mouth.

Mini kaisen don: Pretty swanky bowl of goodness that has toro,uni, ikura, and salmon over rice.

Fish head stew: Not for everyone, but if you are into fish head, this has a great soy flavor, and you can pick at all your favorite fish head parts.

Service is great, and wait staff is super friendly. You can find street parking, but in evening lots of restaurants nearby also filling up, so it can start getting a little harder.

If you order sake, they let you pick your sake cup to drink from.. small touch, but super cool.

The one fault I can find with this place is that it's too small and/or too popular, and easily books out. I've done walk in twice and had to wait about 60-90 min each time.

A little small hole in the wall, forgot why I saved it in my bookmarks lol but was a little disappointing.

~foOod~
American wagyuy beef tatami was a little underwhelming. Wasn't cooked too well to be soft and sashimi like, felt like a thin blow torched rare steak and it's mainly just ponzu served. 2.5/5

Sweet shrimp is always delicious. A must get!! 5/5

Beef tongue was fairly good. Tasted more like short rib tbh but I'm not tripping! 4/5

Donburi was ok, needed maybe some sauce? Was really plain. 2.5/5

Never really a uni pasta guy but nothing wrong with it! If you like it get it!

Reservations are essential for this popular restaurant, as walk-ins often face long waits. The interior, though cozy, tends to get quite loud. Despite the bustling atmosphere, the staff was attentive and ensured everyone was well taken care of.

The grilled bluefin tuna, beef tongue, and grilled squid were standout dishes, each expertly prepared and full of flavor. However, the uni pasta was a letdown, with a bitter taste and undercooked texture. The beef sirloin also missed the mark, being excessively fatty and oily. These dishes, unfortunately, did not meet the restaurant's otherwise high standards and are not recommended.

Given the restaurant's higher price point, I am 50/50 on whether I would return. While some dishes were exceptional, the inconsistencies in others make it difficult to justify the expense.

Finally made it here (considering that I grew up in the east bay, this was one of the restaurants I should have been to but never did until now! Previously I only tried their chirashi bowl during covid which is stellar btw).

What we ordered:
Pork belly skewer - what more can one say? Grilled pork belly is amazing and glad that Kiraku made this well.

Carpaccio - I forget which type of fish! Sorry! The sauce was okay, I think I would have actually preferred this as sashimi at the end of the day. Usually I love carpaccio, but this one wasn't quite it.

Udon - what a unique twist on udon with the pesto! I was worried the pesto would overpower the dish but it didn't! I liked it. It was lighter than I expected. Quite delicious.

Waygu skewers - again, so good! Good quality waygu, grilled well.

Bluefin toro nigiri - so fresh!!! Melts in your mouth. Quality for sure! This is why I wondered if the carpaccio would have been better as sashimi or nigiri bc Kiraku does a good job with fresh fish. But maybe the sauce on the carpaccio took away from that.

Salmon and mushrooms - this was a light dish. Baking the flavors in the foil is a different take. I think grilling both maybe would have been my preference for flavor profile, but if you're craving something light and hearty, this was good.

Giant squid - yummm. I order this at every japanese restaurant that has it bc I mean... How can I not? Iykyk. And Kiraku did not disappoint.

Overall it was a good experience. I'd give it 3.5 stars if that was an option because we had a reservation but still didn't sit for 30 min after that. And the crowded loud environment just isn't as conducive to date night. Staff was busy and wasn't able to notice our needs as much but they were quick to serve our food. Food overall was good, but perhaps not my pick for Izakaya. Was hoping for more grilled foods.

Kiraku truly delivers an authentic dining experience that makes you feel like you're in Japan! Their waitress was not only helpful but also incredibly cheerful and polite, enhancing our dining experience with her attentiveness.

The food was absolutely exquisite. The uni served in Yuba and the Uni pasta were highlights, boasting a freshness that was palpable, with a sweet, rich flavor that melted in your mouth. The nigiri set was another standout, with each piece offering a unique seasoning that showcased the chef's meticulous attention to detail.

I was thoroughly impressed with every aspect of our meal at Kiraku. I highly recommend this restaurant for anyone looking to enjoy high-quality but not expensive Japanese cuisine complemented by superb service. A must-visit!

Kiraku is one of my favorite places in Berkeley for Japanese cuisine. I love that the portion sizes are just right for two people, and I'm able to still try a variety of dishes without stuffing myself.

My husband and I ordered a bit of everything from each section of the menu, and here were our thoughts:

- Takowasabi: 10/10. Fresh, chewy octopus mixed with real chunks of wasabi. A classic dish that you can't go wrong with.

- Tender beef tongue skewer (2): 8/10. Extremely tender, and the sauce was slightly sweeter than I expected.

- Cartilage: 10/10. Cooked to perfection. The cartilage is soft enough that you're not breaking your teeth, but still retains a great crunch.

- Uni carbonara pasta: 10/10. The pasta was perfectly al dente. The sauce was cheesy and creamy, while the uni and the ikura add an extra umami + salty burst of flavor.

- Mini kaisen donburi: 9/10. Light serving of uni, toro, and ikura on top of a bed of rice.

Great service too! Attentive servers and each dish came out at a reasonable pace. Not everything came out at once, which I prefer, but we also were never without a dish on hand.

I've been to Kiraku twice since I got back from Japan and the vibes are perfect izakaya like.

The food is fabulous, like you would expect in Japan.

Order anything black cod. So flippin good!
Pig ears were great and interesting

Uni was perfect
Uni pasta was ok. I don't really understand the allure to uni pasta. I'd rather have them separate to taste my uni.

Without alcohol the bill isn't too crazy. Come in happy to know you gotta spend $50, cause it's gonna be worth the money. And you can easily get a bunch of small dishes and one big entree for two or three people and the price will be around $50-75 a person.

Cozy, intimate restaurant with the best service with a smile in Berkeley.

I eat a lot of Japanese food and the freshness of the sashimi was surprising! We unfortunately weren't super hungry due to a late lunch so we enjoyed bites more than "meal" type dishes.

What I totally recommend:
. Sashimi Sampler, very fresh
. Salmon sashimi, creamy
. Corn Tempura, familiar yet unique
. Agedashi Tofu, generous sauce
. Fresh fish tempura - also lovely

Would try something else next time:
. Nasu Miso, too sweet
. Beef intestine skewer, too rich but had a bone marrow feel to it if you like that
. Beef tongue, not particularly standout
. Yuzu chicken udon, odd essence

Tip: Definitely make a reservation.

Came at 5 before they opened to join the waitlist and didn't get seated until 7:15 and this place is honestly not worth the wait or the hype. We were told by the host at 5:30 that if the people who made a 6pm reservation didn't show then we would get their table, so we stood outside for an hour in the cold and rain. Not sure why she would say this because not many people wouldn't show up for a reservation without notifying the restaurant. If we knew the wait was going to be 2 hours we would've gone somewhere indoors to kill time.

Yuzu salmon crudo tostada - 6.5/10
Grilled squid 6/10
Beef tongue 8/10
Corn fritter 8/10
Okinomiyaki - 7/10
Cod nanban - 6.5/10
Mini chirashi don - 7.5/10
Uni carbonara - 7/10
Dessert - 7/10

I would only come here if I had a reservation and it wasn't on my own dime. Disappointing considering all the hype.