Izakaya Restaurants near Berkeley, CA

“Pretty good food. I think we will go back“

“This is one of our favorite places, though the quality/taste of the food is variable. In other words, you need to know what to order because they do some things better than others, which isn't too surprising given the many choices in their menu. My recommendation is to get the mentaiko carbonara, IMHO the best thing they serve.“

“Lovely vibes. Great location and friendly service. The creamy ramen was delicious 🤤 🍜 I wish it was a bit more flavorful. I really liked the spam thing. The bao was so good. Had the spam thing on it too and it was great. The sushi was amazing as usual. Different sushi than the Palo Alto location! Happy hour (5pm-6pm) was legit great deals. Updated from previous review on 2026-01-10“

“Super delicious 👍 I never eat Japan food super good like this before.“

“EDIT: I felt its necessary to make the amendment that, although walking in without a reservation was a thing previously, we've now had multiple visits where we've stood at the counter for 2 hours never to be seated.

You can still eat the whole menu there, but its generally very crowded.

Getting reservations seems to be catered towards friends, or some type of mysterious system, as we no longer have been able to get a reservation even weeks in advance. The food is still the same.

Original Review: I can’t believe that I haven’t left a review for Ippuku; this is as close as you can get to a Tokyo alley izakaya, from the sasami raw chicken special menu (to do for), to the epic yakitori, to the massive shochu selection.

By far one of my top 5 favorite restaurants in the Bay Area, we’ve been here a good 30 times over the years and it has never once changed at all, thankfully!!! Never want it to change, it does everything so well.

Hokkaido squid, chicken oyster, chicken tartare, agadashi tofu, crab croquettes, these are some favorites.

Make a reservation if you can, but otherwise we often walk in and are seated within an hour. Fun to hang out at the bar and wait.“

“Amazing food and service! Sake is the best!“

“Good food, but expensive for what it is. Very authentic and has a similar flavor profile as some of the noodle places I've had in Japan. I ordered the duck soba and the soup was quite bitter and medicinal. I can see why some people like it but personally not for me.“

“Good for lunch. Really value for your money. I had the sashimi lunch set and my wife had the chicken wing and salmon sushi set and both were really fresh and good. Will definitely come again ! Weekdays - reservations not really needed, but I've come by on weekends and you should make reservations.“

“I’ve been looking for a good shio ramen ever since Ramen Halu in San Jose closed several years ago. And I finally found it in Ramen Hiroshi and quite by accident. Absolutely delicious chicken shio ramen - just the right level of salt and very refreshing. The chicken chashu was also among the best I’ve had - very juicy and tasty. I’ll definitely be coming back often!“

“The food was delicious, especially the veggie dumplings and the vegetable dragon roll. And our server was incredibly nice! Also, the cute fish cup they served us in was for sale, so of course I had to buy it. Overall a great gem in the city.“

“We ordered Salted Boiled Edamame as an appetizer, Unagi Rice Bowl, Tonkatsu Ramen, Miso Tonkatsu Ramen and a bottle of local Nigori Sake. The Tonkatsu soup is very umami delicious paired with seaweed, bamboo shoots, thinly sliced ear mushrooms, half boiled egg and two cuts of boiled pork Chashu. The Unagi Rice Bowl has two skewers of Unagi, which lacks more roasting, it needs to be burned or toasted more. It has a combination of fresh seaweeds, fresh salad and plain rice. There were three of us and we paid a little over $80. We will definitely come back for more Ramen and Yakitori. This place is highly recommended!“

“Great fried chicken, and my friends food truck is there!“

“What an amazing place for sushi. I was town and a local suggested this place an I was not let down. I started with the spicy garlic edemame which he's a great kick of spice. I them had akani red tuma dashing and a flame roll. The sushi was perfect and the spice of the flame roll was squelch with my Nigerian sake! I could eat at the this place daily.“

“在美國的日本味道，這是算不錯的“

“We had the most wonderful dinner tonight at Noren Izakaya! Everything was fantastic from start to finish! From the service to the cocktails to the variety of food, to the dessert! Japanese yakitori and grilled street food and even sashimi! My new favorite! A must if you live or are visiting San Francisco! Oh! And tonight is not the night to skip dessert! 😘“

“The food is fabulous, the staff is fabulous. It was a wonderful experience. If I lived here I would go back.“

“Bento boxes were great, so many options to chose from. Would definitely go back.“