Kirala is a popular Japanese restaurant in Berkeley. They have 2 locations. The one in North Berkeley is a to go shop. They do no take reservations, so the place fills up rapidly. We came for lunch. They have a separate lunch menu as well as a sushi menu.

Sushi Bar

Decor, Vibe - Classic Japanese restaurant decor. Lots of workers in their 30’s and 40’s were eating lunch.

Menu Pictures

Lunch Menu

Sushi Menu

Appetizers

Dinner Menu

Wine List

Picks:

Sushi Lunch Special ($12.95) had 3 pieces of real crab California roll, hand rolled Unagi sushi, salmon ball, and 4 different types of fish sushi. Very good quality all around, even the miso soup was good.

Kitchen Lunch Special ($11.25) came with a small chicken teriyaki, piece of cooked sea bass, and a Mushroom Soba noodle. Great variety and good quality all around. They have a sample the lunch special placed right near the front door every day.

Nabayaki Udon ($8.75) with Batter fried shrimp tempura, poached egg & vegetables came out very hot and steam from the stove. Lots of noodles, fish cakes, a nicely tempura’d shrimp.

OK:

Seaweed Salad ($5.50) had Sesame seasoned seaweed mix and tasted average. Good quantity, but nothing special.

Pans:
None

Kirala has above average service. Lunch was a good deal. Dinner is more expensive, but they have a much more extensive dinner menu including many small plates of Robata grilled items. Cannot wait to try it sometime. They also have a large Sake selection. Wines by the glass start at $5.25, Bottles from a reasonable $23.
This is one of the best Japanese restaurants in the East Bay. Be sure to give it a try if you like Sushi.
Berkeley Bowl is two blocks away, be sure to visit this interesting supermarket.

Kirala 2 To Go menu

Kirala 2 To Go Selection

Kirala 2 (To Go)
1511-D Shattuck Ave
Berkeley, CA 94709
510-649-1384

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Fentons Creamery has been around since 1922. They produce their own ice cream and toppings batch by batch on site. They serve breakfast, sandwiches, burgers, salads, but the main draw is of course ice cream. Their creations are simply huge. Even the kid’s ice creams are huge.
Decor, Vibe - Classic ice cream fountain decor with booth seating lining the wall. Lots of families, college students, and big groups enjoying breakfast.

Menu Pictures

Website Menu

Picks:

Bacon and Eggs with red potatoes ($3.95 Kids) was huge. Just think how big the regular sized one is. Quality of items was good.

Ice Cream Float ($2.50 Kids) with Vanilla ice cream and root beer. Massive amounts of ice cream. Hard to see any root beer in there.

Banana Split ($4.95 Kids) with any 3 scoops of ice cream, 3 toppings, and whipped cream was pretty big. The regular one is about 100% bigger. Good smooth ice cream and lots of toppings.

Belgian Waffle ($5.95) One giant, fluffy Belgian waffle served with a blend of Vermont maple syrup, butter and a dusting of powdered sugar.

OK:

Old-Fashion Oatmeal ($3.95) Steamy oatmeal served with brown sugar, cinnamon, raisins and non-fat milk.

Pancakes ($3.95 Kids) with choice of Farm-Fresh Buttermilk or Whole Wheat. Served with a blend of Vermont maple syrup and butter.

Pans:
None

Fentons Creamery is a classic place to go. They serve basic comfort food but specialize in huge ice cream creations. They are also known for a mean crab sandwich. Definitely go there if you are in need of an ice cream fix. They have a to go ice cream counter and ice cream cakes.

Also at:
Fentons Creamery at the Nut Tree
1669 East Monte Vista Avenue
Vacaville, CA 95688

707-469-7200

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B Star Bar serves Asian style comfort foods with flavors from Thailand, China, Burma, India and Japan. It is the sister restaurant of popular Burma Superstar Burmese restaurant and is located a couple blocks from it.

Decor, Vibe - Clean modern Asian oriented decor. Small bar area. Some families, couples, and mostly people in the 30’s and 40’s were dining.

Menu Pictures

Menu Cover

Appetizer, Soup, Salads Menu

Drink Menu

Dessert Menu

Picks:

Vegetarian Samusa Soup ($7, small) Burmese soup with flafals, lentils, cabbage, potatoes was delicious, especially the samusa. A little too many potatoes. Slightly spicy, not a lot of broth. Good quantity for even the small size order.

Pork and White Beans ($13.50) had tender braised pork belly with jasmine rice, white beans, and bok choy. The meat was delicious and not very fatty. The rice absorbed the meat juice and tasted very good. Not a lot of beans.

Grilled Calamari ($8) with cherry tomatoes, edamame, shallots, peanuts in a basil vinaigrette had chewy calamari, but very good greenish broth that goes well with rice.

Black Rice Pudding ($6.75) with coconut ice cream, cream, strawberries and sesame seeds had a big slab of very warm rice pudding. Very good ice cream and moist pudding made it a good balanced combination.

OK:

Portabello Veggie Fresh Spring Roll ($7.75) with tofu, basil, mint, cucumber, carrots and a very good peanut sauce. Without the sauce, the rolls were pretty tasteless. Good for vegetarians.

Wild Rice Salad ($9.50) Hijiki with pickled gobo, avocado, cilantro, cabbage, cucumbers, and pepitos with Grilled portabello mushrooms had a small amount of mushroom and lots of brown rice. Flavors were good and this dish was very healthy entree.

Mango Mojito ($7) was made with Soju and not vodka. A little on the weak side, but very fruity. Soju added a slight after taste.

Pans:
None

B Star Bar had very good service that was friendly and had no issues. The food is Asian fusion fare with good quantities and fresh ingredients.
Prices are reasonable make this an easy choice if you are nearby looking for a decent meal. Clementine across the street is also a very good restaurant.

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Maruichi is a Japanese Noodle restaurant on Castro street in Mountain View. With so many restaurants nearby, this place stands out.

The noodles are home made by the worker in the front corner. They specialize in Kuro (Black) Ramen. They just have deep fried chicken for those not looking for noodles.

Decor, Vibe - Minimal Japanese restaurant decor with counter seating in the middle, booths on the sides. People of all ages including locals, shoppers were eating lunch when we were there.

Menu Pictures

Window Sign

Picks:

Combo B - Kuro (Black Ramen) Lunch ($9.65) included average California rolls (3), and crunchy deep fried gyoza (3). Good broth, lots of pork, a delicious egg. Solid noodle dish, great value.

Shoyu Ramen ($7.45) had very good broth with crunchy noodles. Lots of yummy pork, Egg, Sea weed.

Tempura Soba ($7.45) had good noodles, a little bit of chicken, and a seaweed tasting broth. 2 pieces of Shrimp Tempura and Fish cake was nice. All in all a very good hot soba noodle dish.

OK:
None

Pans:
None

Maru Ichi delivers very good Japanese food and has reasonable pricing to give it excellent value. Their service needs work as we never got refills, nor did we get something we ordered. Servers barely came by.
Compared to legendary Santa Ramen in San Mateo, this place has more variety and is definitely in the same class quality wise. It all falls down to personal preference on which is superior.
Kids meal is available. Cash only.

Also at:
530 Barber Lane
Milpitas, CA 95035

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Gamine is a French restaurant on the Union street shopping corridor that used to be named Chez Maman but was purchased by the manager and renamed. Everything else remained the same.
They have a lunch menu and serve Sunday Brunch. They focus on more lower cost fare than many of the expensive restaurants nearby. They are know for the friendly waitstaff.

Decor, Vibe - Small homey dining room, French accent decor, with some counter seating by the kitchen. Couples, people in their 30’s, shoppers, and families were enjoying their food.

Menu Pictures

Dinner Menu

Lunch Menu

Wine List

Picks:

Escargots ($10.50) in garlic butter were of high quality with a strong buttery flavor. Nice and chewy. Use the leftover garlic butter for the bread.

Warm Frisee and Duck Confit Salad ($11.50) with poached egg, lardon, white wine vinaigre was a solid salad with a decent egg and light dressing. Not enough to act as an entree.

Grilled Flat Iron Steak ($18.50) with Bearnaise sauce and french fries was cooked to perfection and tender. Nice but tiny fries. Good sauce.

Marinated Grilled Lamb Loin ($19.50) was very good, tender, not gamey, and cooked perfectly. Quantities of meat were on the low side, but lardon potato gratin was huge.

Berries & Creme Fraiche Crepe ($7) was full of raspberries and blackberries, not a lot of creme inside, so it was lighter than expected. Pretty good quantity.

OK:

Basic Burger on a french roll ($10.50) with Cheddar cheese ($1.50) with fries was juicy and cooked to our desired medium rare. The bun was a little soft, making it a little mushy with the meat juice. Solid but not excellent.

Onion Soup Gratinee ($6) had a lot of dry sherry flavor and decent cheese crusting. Soup was decent, nothing fabulous but solid.

Sauteed Tilipia ($18) with garlic spinach, tomato concasse was good not great but a solid value. Crust was nice, meat was tender, but no special flavors.

Creme Brulee ($7) was huge, especially at this price. Hard crust, lots of custard. Smooth, creamy, and good, but not as delicate as others we have had.

Spinach ($7) was average.  Nothing special.

Pans:
None

Gamine had above average service, not as attentive as we would expect such a small place, but it was adequate. Glasses of wine start at $9, with a great Baileyana.
Food was decent and prices reasonable. You can get a taste of France without flying. Gamine is like a lower cost and better quality Left Bank.
Other decent places nearby include Asian fusion restaurant Betelnut.

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