Izakaya Mai is a Japanese Izakaya or Japanese drinking establishment that also serves food. They are more small plate oriented restaurants. This restaurant has an extensive drink menu.
This restaurant is located in the downtown San Mateo area that has Japanese restaurants on almost every block. Japanese people run it so it must be authentic. The menu is full of translation errors.

Decor, Vibe - Pretty small cramped restaurant with sushi bar, traditional seating, and regular seating. Pictures all over the walls. Most asians in their 20’s to 40’s were eating. Some families. There were people waiting most of the time for tables.

Menu Pictures

Dinner Menu

Fried & Boiled?

Grill menu?

Specials Board

Picks:

Hamachi Kama ($10.50) - Classic yellow tail collar was tender and delicious. Came with dipping sauce.

Pork Sausage ($5.50) had 6 small hot dog like sausages that looked terrible but tasted good. Includes a Japanese mustard that looks like peanut butter.

Oden ($6.50) had several kinds of fish cakes and an egg. Home style delicious dish.

OK:

Kushi Yakitori ($4.50) was 2 skewers of chicken with teriyaki sauce. Average, nothing special here.

Chicken wing ($4.50) was 3 small pieces of grilled chicken. It was flavorful and tender but pretty burned

Homemade Stewed Pork ($5.75) had 3 pieces of pork that were stewed and then grilled. Fairly average dish.

Baked Squid Tail ($5.75) had lots of quantity but was a little salty and very chewy.

Tekka ($3.95) had pretty fresh tuna in the middle.

California Roll ($3.95) was a pretty average implementation of the classic.

Pans:
None

Izakaya Mai had fair service, slightly above average but the server did not come by that often. The food was fair, not great, but the diversity allowed us to try a lot of different dishes.

This is better and more authentic than O Izakaya Lounge in San Francisco’s Japantown area. It is a welcome change to the usual Japanese fare that is served elsewhere. Frankly nothing wowed us, this place might be best for a quick bowl of Champon noodles and an adult beverage. It is also open late. We have to try Saizo in Sunnyvale and Gochi sometime.

As with most other small plate places, prices can add up quickly, but the fun is in trying different items.

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Yoshi’s Restaurant is a Japanese restaurant in the Yoshi’s Jazz club San Francisco. “Using only fresh, high-quality, seasonal ingredients delicately combined with traditional spices, Chef Sho prepares each dish with his culinary philosophy: “seasonal, simple, and a bit of surprise”.

Decor, Vibe - Fancy new stylish building with modern decor and Asian accents. Dressy crowd mostly in 30’s and 40’s, with many dining before a concert.

Menu Pictures

Website Menu

Picks:

Ginara “Black Cod” ($19) 6oz with maitake tempura and saikyo miso beurre blanc was excellent. A very light sauce, resonable price. One of the best cod’s we have had.

Kurobuta Prime Pork Rib ($23) 10oz with ginger sendai miso marinated with roast garlic jus was a large portion of pork. It was cooked well and had a unique flavor.

Buri Kama ($21) 10oz hamachi collar with sweet soy marinade and yuzu chili ponzu was an excellent classic Hamachi Kama. Deep fried and baked.

Prawns ($11) were good but too few in quantity.

Coconut Soup ($8) was a very good dessert. Balanced with the mango.

OK:

Tsukiji Sashimi Selection ($35) with 15 tiny pieces from Japan’s famous Tokyo Tsukiji fish market was delicious and had exotic fish but each was a tiny bite.

Kampachi ($15) seared kobe style beef topped with uni and tomato ponzu gelee was only fair. Sauce was too heavy.

Calamari ($11) was too spicy but it was tender. Good quantity.

Lamb ($26) was soy marinated and good but not great. At this price it is not a good bet.

Pans:
None

Service was initially good then fell off as concert time was coming. The bill really added up as we kept ordering small plates. It reached a level were it was too much. They have a good wine and sake list with glasses from $7, bottle from $32.

We tried the $18 sake sampler and had some good tastes. The Voodoo cocktail ($11) was very weak.
Be sure to carefully choose what you order. The food is different than most Japanese restaurants, almost like a modern Japanese fusion cuisine. You can also eat more rolls or off the bar menu to minimize the damage.

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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