Izakaya Archives - Foodnut.com

Izakaya Rintaro, San Francisco

Foodnut.com — Sat, 01 Aug 2026 19:20:34 +0000

Why did we dine here? – A friend really likes Rintaro and suggested we try it out. Rated 4.5 on Google, 4.2 on Yelp. We’ve shopped at Rainbow Grocery next door and always were curious about this spot. Insider Tip – Need to reserve ahead, week or two in advance. No walkins Cuisine – Japanese Izakaya Location – San Francisco Opened – 2014 Service – Rintaro had very good service with servers passing through fairly often. Our waitress knew the menu and could navigate dietary restrictions. Verdict – Rintaro surprised us with very good food across the board. Service equaled the food. This is an easy place to recommend if you like Japanese Cuisine. This brings best of many different categories of Japanese food under one roof. In Japan, you have places that specialize in much more narrow dishes. (Oden spot, Yakitori spot, etc) Note: The restaurant was on Resy with Amex reimbursement when we visited. Is this restaurant worth a 5 minute drive? Yes. 30 minute? Maybe. 1 Hour? Maybe Rintaro Signature Dishes – Karaage, Oden, Yakatori, Katsu Rintaro’s Menu is very wide ranging, everything to raw fish to oden to skewers to udon. It does lack much in […]

This post originally from Izakaya Rintaro, San Francisco

Izakaya Mai Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Foodnut.com — Wed, 01 Jan 2020 13:32:18 +0000

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. They’ve been here for years. Several similar restaurants have opened over the years, but this still packs them in.. (Izakaya Ginji, Kokko) 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. Our last visit was in 2020 during the Pandemic. Seating was outside and the place was still very busy. Decor, Vibe – Pretty small cramped restaurant with sushi bar, traditional seating, and regular seating. Pictures all over the walls. Mostly Asians in their 20’s to 40’s were eating. Some families. There were people waiting most of the time for tables. Izakaya Mai Menu The Izakaya Mai menu is extensive with everything from ramen to sushi to teriyaki dinners to all sorts of small plates. You gotta try the small plates here. Leave the ramen and teriyaki to other spots. Izakaya Mai Food Picks: Gomaa – Spinach Salad is a perfect vegetarian dish. Nice flavor. Gyu-Tan – […]

This post originally from Izakaya Mai Restaurant Review, San Mateo

Raku, Las Vegas

Foodnut.com — Mon, 21 Sep 2015 07:00:32 +0000

Why did we dine here? – Raku is a popular Japanese restaurant in Las Vegas. Some friends loved this place and suggested we dine there. Raku are located about 15 minutes from the strip, right in the middle the Chinatown strip mall area. Chef Mitsuo Endo has been packing them in for many years. Insider Tip – Make reservation ahead of time Cuisine – Japanese Izakaya Location – Las Vegas Opened – 2008 Service – Raku had very good service. The folks know the menu well and can help steer you to the favorites. Verdict – Raku impressed us. Excellent food, real binchotan charcoal, wide variety at reasonable prices. Better Japanese Izakaya than most places in the San Francisco Area. Cheaper and way better than Pabu in San Francisco. No wonder it is a late night favorite of chefs. Get in a cab and get off the strip now! Keep some room. Be sure to visit sister dessert place: Sweets Raku in the same strip mall complex. That restaurant smells like a warm cookie shop. Yum! Try their 2 course set menu dessert for $15. The egg batter Fried Olives ($4) are unique and a must try. Reservations by phone […]

This post originally from Raku, Las Vegas

Ippuku, Berkeley

Foodnut.com — Mon, 06 Jul 2015 07:00:27 +0000

Why did we dine here? – Ippuku is a Japanese Izakaya style restaurant in downtown Berkeley focused on serving yakitori skewers cooked on robata charcoal grill, soba, ramen, and other dishes in an interesting but narrow dining hall. They have a good selection of sake, shouchu, beer and other spirits. They are located on Center street in a long row of restaurants, a block from UC Berkeley. Be sure to read our reviews of restaurants in Tokyo, Japan – Sushi Kanesaka – RyuGin – Tokyo Mini Reviews We have heard great things about this restaurant and finally got a chance to dine there in the Summer of 2015. Each dining table is separated by wood dividers. Some tables have traditional Japanese style seating, while others are western. Near the door are two ‘counter tables’ that provide an intimate yet, claustrophobic small dining area. Insider Tip – Reservations on the weekend Cuisine – Japanse Izakaya Location – Near UC Berkeley Opened – 2010 Service – Service was good with servers coming by all the time. The waiter was good at helping us order from this large menu. Pacing was reasonable, but some dishes like the vegetable skewers, took a while to arrive. […]

This post originally from Ippuku, Berkeley

Pabu, San Francisco

Foodnut.com — Mon, 29 Jun 2015 07:00:13 +0000

Why did we dine here? – Pabu is a Japanese Izakaya-style restaurant in San Francisco’s Financial District from Michael Mina in partnership with Chef Ken Tominaga. The chef’s Hana restaurant in a Rohnert Park had garnered a local following including Mina. This is the first Japanese restaurant for Mina. Pabu is an upscale (read $$$$) restaurant and next door is the more casual Ramen Bar. We are fans of Japanese and read Bauer’s 3 star review, so we decided to give it a try. In all fairness we were expecting high prices and good but not stellar food. When were in the East Bay the previous week, we visited Ippuku and were impressed. Does Pabu match this high mark? Insider Tip – Beware that costs can add up fast. Be sure to get soup and entrees. Keep room for dessert Cuisine – Japanese Location – San Francisco Financial District Opened – 2015 Service – Pabu Service was disjointed from the minute we arrived. They were overloaded and it took way too long to get our order taken. Food pacing was off, with very long pauses in service. Our Miso Cod took forever to arrive. At these prices, this is not […]

This post originally from Pabu, San Francisco

Yakitori Kokko, San Mateo

Foodnut.com — Sun, 09 Mar 2014 07:00:18 +0000

Japanese Izakaya is hot in the SF Bay Area right now.. Yakitori Kokko is a Japanese Izakaya or drinking oriented establishment (like Sumika in the South Bay, Ippuku in Berkeley or Izakaya Mai in San Mateo) that serves casual food focusing on skewers of meat and liquor. It is run by Japanese folks and feels pretty authentic. Yakitori means chicken grill, so the focus is on charcoal grilled meats. The place has gotten some good buzz, so we decided to give it a try. Our last visit was in the summer of 2015. You will end up spending a good amount of money, as 5 to 8 skewers per person is probably the good meal. Cuisine – Japanese izakaya Location – Downtown San Mateo Opened – 2010 Service – Yakitori Kokko had fair service although we’ve seen many reviews noting how slow food comes when the place gets busy, which is true. The servers pretty much drop and go. Verdict – Yakitori Kokko is a fun Japanese restaurant, offering patrons a wide variety of meat skewers and beverages, at reasonable prices that accumulate quickly. Their quality is good but not as good as Ippuku in Berkeley. Be sure to make reservations, the word […]

This post originally from Yakitori Kokko, San Mateo