Fish & Bird Sousaku Izakaya

We had a lovely evening. The food was amazing, and the service was very attentive without being intrusive. 

This is one of my favorite restaurants in Berkeley. Outstanding food, excellent service, great atmosphere.

Wonderful. The fried tofu was divine. My husband said his salmon was the best salmon he ever had. We enjoyed our meal here, thank you!

This is by far the best Japanese restaurant I’ve been to in the U.S. Their homemade tofu was outstanding, and every dish struck a perfect balance of authenticity and refinement. The food is elevated without being pretentious. If you’re looking for exceptional Japanese cuisine served with honesty and care, this is the place for you.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Big disappointment. I've been here several times and always loved it. Tonight I brought friends from out of town to show what great food we have in Berkeley and much of what we ordered was really hard to eat and kind of meh when we managed to eat it. Even the Basque cheesecake (which I have always loved) was dull. Maybe it was just a bad night, or has there been a major change in the kitchen?

Enjoyed a lot

Went here for my wife and I's very first izakaya experience. W O W the experience was a delight - wonderful server, delicious food, and the music was very relaxing. We ordered the ika karaage, the spicy dynamite roll, and the salmon kasukaze. HIGHLY recommend the salmon as it was sublime.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 5

Service: 5

Fish and Bird is an all around ripoff. Low quality fish (both frozen and stale) which the owner admits, though they charge more than the most expensive restaurants in the entire Bay Area (avg. $20-22 for two pieces). When I asked, Yoshika the owner admitted this, and arrogantly stated that "the customers are not that sophisticated and would never notice" . Unfortunately, after living in Japan for years, we did noticed this was anything but "authentic Japanese", including the Salmon Gindara which was the consistency of paste from being over-marinated for too long and was so salty we couldn’t eat it (we were charged for it anyway). Anyone from Japan would have been ashamed. We paid nearly $300 for an inedible meal served inexperienced waitstaff managed by an unapologetic owner that cares only about her profits. Don’t waste your time here - the experience will end badly. You’ll walk away, hungry, disappointed, and with a hole in your wallet.. Our advice - Stay away….

Fish and Bird is an all around ripoff. Low quality fish (both frozen and stale) which the owner admits, though they charge more than the most expensive restaurants in the entire Bay Area (avg. $20-22 for two pieces). When I asked, the owner admitted this, and arrogantly stated that the customers would never notice . Unfortunately, after living in Japan for years, we noticed right off the bat, including the Salmon Gindara which was the consistency of paste from being over marinated for too long and was so salty we couldn't eat it (we were charged for it anyway). We paid nearly $300 for an inedible meal served inexperienced waitstaff managed by an owner that cares only about her profits. Don't waste your time here - the experience will end badly. You'll walk away, hungry, disappointed, and with a hole in your wallet.. Stay away....

Delicious food and a wonderful atmosphere. I can highly recommend this restaurant for a special occasion and a great evening with cocktails and delicious meals.

Went here for my husband's birthday. We both had the pre-set menu.
Food: The sea bean and corn tempurawith a side of matcha. They were tasty, but no different from the tempura I've had at other restaurants.
The sashimi salad was also tasty, but nothing special. Just a salad with a few pieces of various raw fish.
I had the Salmon Kasuzuki. I have to say this was actually delicious! A perfect blend of sake and miso with the salmon. It was a lovely cut of meat and perfectly cooked. Delicious!
My husband has the Wagyu Bikini Hamburg steak. I would say it was nothing special. A big chunk of hamburger. Good quality hamburger and not too oily, but still just ground beef.
The Matcha Tiramisu was tasty. Not too sweet.
Overall, I'd say a little over priced for what you get. About half the dishes stood out as above average.

Atmosphere. The atmosphere was pleasant, although the music was a bit loud. The high ceilings help with the noise. While we were there, the table next to us brought a DOG into the restaurant...not a service dog ..which I thought was against the health code, but no one said anything to them.

Service.
The service was attentive. She checked in with us after each dish was brought to make sure everything was good. Although my husband's main dish was brought to the table at least 5 minutes before my dish arrived. Not good for, but not the server's fault. That's the kitchen's fault.

Overall a good experience, but a bit pricey. It was about $200 for two prix fix meals , drinks, tax and tip.

We love this place. This was our third time, and our guests were impressed as well, particularly with the sushi.

We all quite enjoyed the restaurant and the food. The seating which was located in the rear near the restroom area, not so much. For beverages we had a large bottle of Sake, Gin&Tonic, and Waters. Loved the Sake!! We started with the appetizers of the French Fries and Sea Beans & Corn Tempura - delicious We had various sashimi and sushi rolls, Unagi, Spicy Tuna, and assortment of fish.....again on point and delicious. One critique was the distance between service which at times felt like awhile before the next serving of food came along. It was busy, so we put that equation into the review and well, we relished the sake and conversation with our family, so all was good

Absolutely fantastic food, amazing fish, and deserts are devine. But the service was mehh. Nothing happened that would ruin our night, but it was lacking.

Tuna collar… delicious! Five starts