Izakaya Restaurants near Oakland, CA

“Soba Ichi is my local place. Quirky, genial staff. The appetizer selection is off the chain. Try the tempura and buckwheat tea. Go early if you want to try the house-made noodles. Service is remarkably fast. Lovely choice of sake wines. You won't find better miso plates anywhere.“

“one of my favorite places in the country to eat. whenever I'm in the Bay area, in here“

“This place is our favorite! The food is consistently great, the staff are warm and attentive. We come here almost every weekend and love the half priced Sake on Fridays! I tell everyone about this place and hope it sticks around for a long time :)

We also get the heart skewers, gyoza with house sauce, tantan men ramen and the tonkotsu. The curry is also divine!

Shoutout to G who is the best waitress! She takes great care of me and my family.

Come here asap! Love this place“

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

“I’ve been to the other locations, too—it’s my favorite spot. The food is delicious, the service is excellent, and it’s always a pleasure to come back. I highly recommend it; I always leave feeling happy, satisfied, and light.“

“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.“

“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.“

“The food here was definitely the highlight. Everything tasted pretty fresh and flavorful, and overall I would rate the food about 4/5. The ingredients seemed good quality and the dishes were enjoyable.

However, the service was a bit disappointing. The staff did their job, but they didn’t feel very welcoming or friendly. There wasn’t much interaction beyond the basics, and with the price point here, I expected a more warm and attentive experience.

The atmosphere was also just okay. It wasn’t fancy or fine dining, but it also didn’t really give a strong Japanese vibe either. The environment felt a bit mixed and not very memorable.

Overall, I’m giving 4 stars mainly because the food was good. If I rated the experience as a whole (food + service + atmosphere), it would probably be closer to 3/5. Still worth trying if you care mostly about the food.“

“Right at the edge of China town. Tried a lotus vegetable with mayo it was not good a bit too raw for me, also the squid legs which was good but a bit greasy. However we tried two different Ramen and they were delicious. Broth was very flavorful and heavy. Half egg 🥚 a nice touch usually you pay extra for the egg so it was nice to have it come in the dish. Service was nice and fast. Overall we had a great meal. There is allot of seating areas. I say check it out.“

“This place is a hidden gem seemingly in the middle of nowhere. The fish is super fresh. The staff are very friendly and attentive. The owner is also the head sushi chef, he's usually there. The Japanese decor creates nice vibes, the entry way looks like a historic Japanese house entry way.“

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

“在美國的日本味道，這是算不錯的“

“Insanely good. Overall. Best fried chicken I’ve ever had, 2nd favorite were the skewers. Onigiri, Scallion Pancake, Chicken Skin, Bacon Wrapped Mochi were all insanely good. Only things I would have skipped were the mushrooms and eggplant. Mushrooms were very interesting, didn’t like the eggplant tho. All 3 of us ended full and it was very reasonable price, not expensive at all. Top 3 best if not the best restaurants in the bay.“

“Only stopped by this place for a quick drink, but it definitely left a great impression. Looking forward to coming back and trying more from the menu next time. The drink menu features plenty of options including those from Japan.

The edamame ended up being the highlight of our visit, which was done really well!

Service was great throughout, and we really enjoyed the overall vibe of the place. It had a relaxed atmosphere that made it easy to settle in, even for a short stop.

Would definitely return and recommend checking it out!“

“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! 😘“

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