The Public Izakaya

Everything was delicious! our favorites were the Flaming Toro roll and the Millionaire Tonkotsu ramen - yum!

I tried this place for the first time on a Saturday night. I made it just in time for their happy hour (10pm-11pm). Their menu options looked sooo good, but because I wasn't that hungry, I ordered small dishes.

All of their sushi rolls looked and sounded delicious. Next time I'm ordering a roll and a bowl of ramen.

But I ended up ordering oysters, the albacore sashimi, pork belly+wagyu skewers, and the happy spoon! Oh my GOSH, the pork belly and wagyu skewers were melting in my mouth. I wish we had gotten more, and I'm kinda sad I didn't get a picture of them. I literally devoured them before I could get the chance to.

The inside of the restaurant is super cute and feels super cozy. Parking can be hard to find on a busy night in the city. I got seated pretty fast though, and the food came out really quick. I love that they're open late too!

Negative 10 stars

They didn't have negative stars so 1 star it is.

The sushi you can get better at Berkeley bowl, Whole Foods. Absolute dog shit.

The ramen has no taste but overcooked Sun noodles (also dog shit)
No umami
Tough pork belly (LOL at your cooking)
Sad place.

Keep serving whole broccoli florets in your ramen.

This is such a fun place. A perfect place for when you're out with friends downtown after a show or something and need a place to eat and hang. They're open pretty late and have something for everyone.

I personally like their candy wall and pork belly skewers the most. They have drinks and while they can usually accommodate bigger groups, I'd recommend calling ahead of time to check if they have availability since it can get pretty crowded in there.

Wow - so many good things to say here. We got the "Flaming Toro" roll and it blew us away, the sushi literally melts in your mouth. Great balance of flavors. I loved the Millionaire Tonkotsu ramen with house spicy garlic sauce so much, I literally had to will myself to take breaks to enjoy the Gyoza, Fancy Rolls, and Sake we ordered to share.

The staff is attentive, kind, and patient. They were happy to answer our questions and make recommendations, and the recs did NOT disappoint. The decor is awesome and fun to observe while your taste buds are taken to the next level. Do yourself a favor and come here.

A must try if you are in the neighborhood.

We arrived around 7 on a Wednesday night. There was no line and a few tables available. The deco gives an obvious izakaya vibe.

We ordered quite some food for two adults. I would highly recommend all the yakitori items. We went with the chicken sampler so we can try most of them, and we loved them all.
- The chicken thigh and chicken tsukune are particularly strongly recommended.

We also ordered the Japanese beef tongue and A5 wagyu beef skewers.
- The beef tongue was grilled to perfection, very juicy and tender.
- I had high expectations for the wagyu but had mixed feelings after tasting it. It definitely was flavorful (only lightly salted which is the right way to go) and juicy. The unique fatty feel of wagyu was very noticeable. But it was very chewy. Took me quite some effort. Given its price tag ($18 for 3 chunks), I find it less recommended than the other grilled items.

Grilled Yellowtail collar is also great, highly recommended, especially with the sauce that comes with it.

For the raw items we ordered happy spoon, baby sweet shrimp and toro flights. Note that happy spoon is minimum 2 servings (not mentioned on the menu). I am overall satisfied with the quality and freshness of the raw items.
- Happy spoon is a nice fusion of various ingredients and flavors that I didn't regret.
- Toro flights has four fish belly nigiris. I liked the nigiris, but the price tag is a bit intimidating ($22).
- Baby sweet shrimp is one that I regret ordering. Not that it's bad, but I don't think it's worth it ($18 for 18 pieces). You can probably get them from Japanese supermarket for much less.

Had a bit of incident with the grilled Wagyu skewer. We ordered the $18 pure Wagyu skewer but was served the $12 Wagyu and pineapple skewer. The waiter kindly replaced it for us. Overall the service is really good.

The $30-50 per person price tag could be a bit misleading, unless you are ordering mostly grilled chicken and fish. We got a bill of $140+ for two adults before tips.

I would certainly come back and try more items on the menu next time I am in the city. Giving it five star because: 5 star grilled items - 1 star for value (particularly raw items) + 1 star for service.

Public Izakaya is a great addition to the neighborhood. My friend had been wanting to try this place since it opened but it was always packed. This time, on a weekend night, we were able to get a table without much of a wait (add your name and party size to a list opening entering).

We ordered a few dishes - the Korean fried chicken with the honey garlic soy sauce, agedashi tofu, truffle hamachi carpaccio, the classic skewer sampler and the flaming toro roll. As it's a izakaya, there are plenty of drink options available but I had the thai iced tea.

The KFC came bone in wings (flats) or white meat tenders. The sauce is served on the side for dunking. This ensured the perfectly fried chicken doesn't get soggy. The wings were plump and juicy and perfectly fried.

The tofu was a good-sized portion and easily shared. The sauce was perfectly balanced with the fried tofu.

The fish for the carpaccio and toro roll was perfectly fresh. The portion sizes for each bite wasn't too large and had a good balance of textures and flavors.

The skewer sampler had one skewer each of wagyu beef, chicken thigh, pork belly, garlic shrimp and salmon. All were perfectly cooked. I thought the chicken thigh was the best would happily eat any of them.

Service was great! They seated us within a minute of arrival and were attentive throughout our meal. Tables are spaced at a decent distance from one another so it felt spacious.

The menu offers a good variety of cooked and raw fish dishes, soup noodles, grilled items, rice dishes and nabes. The food was really fresh and well cooked.

Parking is available on the nearby streets.

I came here for lunch when it first opened with my good friend and neighbor.

I got the chirashi bowl (which came with miso and a nice side salad) and he got tonkotsu ramen. It was yummy and a good value, but service was very slow. I didn't think much of it.

Fast forward a little over a year, and my boyfriend said his friend recommended the Public and then they went together, so we had to go together! We went for dinner and it was packed on a Sunday night after 7pm. I loved my Tom yum noodles with lobster tail, mussels, and scallops--they didn't skimp on seafood, and for $26, seemed like a good value for all the seafood they included. He loved his fiery wagyu ramen noodles with chips. Both noodle dishes were large, filling, and unique.

Check-in on Yelp and get a free Sapporo beer! I like that they're open late-night and the interior decor is warm, cozy, and feels like (how I imagine) Japan (would feel.)

The menu is extensive--so much to try! So much variety! The cocktails and happy hour look good, too. I'm excited to come back and try more dishes. I texted my mom immediately after saying we needed to come together.

We were in the Bay visiting for just a few days, and this place happened to be within walking distance of our hotel and was open super late. We were just here during the weekday, but boy was it still busy even on a Tuesday but for good reason!!

The food is absolutely delicious and SUPER affordable during Happy Hour. Located in the heart of SF, I can't believe how good the food and prices were. The ambiance was amazing as well. It really feels like you're on the street in Asia eating street food.

We ordered karaage, sashimi, and nigiri. The sashimi was FANTASTIC. The portion was surprisingly large, and the fish was fresh! The karaage had a wonderful seasoned crust that you don't find often and it was piping out!

You also get 1 free Sapporo beer with check-in!

This place cannot be beat! Definitely would go back to SF just to eat at this restaurant again!

We stopped off at this quaint spot and were so satisfied with what we got. Fed our family of four and under an hour and everything was so delicious. Return and highly recommend if you're in the area going to this place. Service was excellent.