Great place for yakitori and small sharable dishes. Similar to Japanese izakaya.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Balabala W
I saw jar of house made plum wine right after came in, then I got good feelings. We had veggie set, this part was average, I would suggest to switch garlic and onion to something like corn or mushrooms, just feel that $25 for a set should have more veggies. The rest are all amazing, the chicken lunch bento was very tasty! The house made pickle was amazing! Whoever grilled the meat, understand the meat! I have to mention the service, she’s great! Friendly and helpful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Ilia Litvinenko
I think overall it’s too expensive for what you are getting. The portions were quite small: full set of sashimi had like mostly salad for 45$. Very hard to navigate the menu which comes in 3 different pieces. And at the end a 20% tip was added automatically and then they tax the total with the tip and asking for an additional one when paying.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Mark B
This place was super rad. Especially if you like fermented things. Excellent grilled items, good flavors, probably not what you're expecting but well worth it.
Jeremy Kushner
Informal Izakaya style Japanese close to downtown. Really extensive menu featuring something for just about everyone. Also some interesting fusion dishes. It was busy when we arrived and service was a bit slow, but waitstaff was delightful and food was tasty.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Shea Bowman
Went here the other night to celebrate for a low-key birthday dinner for my husband at about 6 in the evening, early in the week. We've lived around the corner about a year but this was our first time stopping in.
The staff was warm and helpful. The only issue was the extended wait time for dishes. I have no real frame of reference for yakitori spots, though it felt a little long for the food we ordered. But we had no other plans, so we didn't mind waiting too much. To be fair, it wasn't so busy when we arrived, but more guests came throughout our almost two hour stay so that may have contributed.
We mostly ordered ala carte from the skewer menu with a few small plates to share. Everything we ordered to our tastes, but some notables include:
The pickle plate was the first time either of were able to enjoy eating okra.
Spicy edamame kept us company throughout the meal and added a little more variety. The pickles helped as a palate cleanser, but we'll skip this one next time to see if it makes a difference.
I appreciated that the shrimp tempura was light, not greasy.
The sweet potato skewer was very balanced; the tsukune was well seasoned and nice and moist, but the star was the bacon mochi. We could have had 5 more of those.
This place isn't cheap, and I can't say if the food justifies the price, but we didn't go here solely for the food. I wanted the ambiance and the food, which was very good, contributed to that, so it was worth it for me. If the food was bad, no matter how nice the place, it would have been money down the drain. This felt like money well spent.
We'll definitely be back. I'll remember to take pictures then.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
August Bachand
Terrible place for service. The waiter told us 10 minutes then proceeded to seat everybody who came in after us. I understand if they had a reservation but she should’ve been more communicative because this is ridiculous. I don’t think I’d be back here.
Nick Ken Y
If you want to charge 20% auto gratuity for all party sizes, you need to make it more clear in the menu, and explain why your business needs to do that. I was going to pay 20% gratuity anyway, despite the 40 min wait for food, but it left a negative impression, so declined the additional tip option.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Scott L
Binchoyaki – Disappointing Experience
Binchoyaki is located near HWY50 on the edge of Sacramento downtown, not too far from the city center. While the location is convenient for drivers, parking is very limited — most people will need to park farther away and walk to the restaurant.
The restaurant does have some appealing touches: a yakitori counter where you can watch the chef at work, plus Japanese paintings and sake-themed decor. The bar area always seems lively, drawing in plenty of locals. They also offer a fancy wooden outdoor dining space, but in reality, it’s uncomfortable. It’s noisy from cars passing by, filled with flies, and even worse — fruit from a nearby tree kept falling onto the tables. To top it off, the table and seating were noticeably uneven.
For food, I ordered four yakitori:
Negima (chicken thigh & green onion): Tender, but nothing memorable.
Teba (spicy chicken wings): Small portion, flavor just okay.
NY Strip Loin (Niman Ranch): I could only taste the plain beef, the sauce added nothing.
Shiitake Mushroom: Only four tiny pieces, extremely underwhelming.
All portions were very small for the relatively high prices. The overall quality didn’t justify the cost.
I also tried two onigiri: Tuna Mayo and Ebi Mayo. Both were disappointing. The nori was poorly wrapped, so the rice fell apart easily. The tuna was chopped into tiny bits with little flavor, and the shrimp tempura was just one small piece compared to the amount of rice. Definitely overpriced and not worth it.
Service was another huge letdown. The wait time was far too long: about 20 minutes for the yakitori (acceptable), but nearly 40 minutes for the onigiri, which should be quick to prepare. Staff service was very slow overall, and it felt like we were constantly waiting.
The final frustration came with the mandatory 20% gratuity, hidden in a small line at the very bottom of the menu. I was dissatisfied with both the service and experience, yet forced to pay extra.
Between the high prices, tiny portions, long waits, poor service, and mandatory gratuity, my visit was extremely disappointing. Two stars only for the decent yakitori quality — otherwise, I would not recommend this place.
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Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Eugene Manalo
Great food, great waitress. Unfortunately, due to it being understaffed, it took about 2 hrs to get our lunch. Hopefully they get more hired help soon. Also, manager should pay the waitress extra for her running the customer floor all by herself, hosting, serving, cleaning, etc.
This is my 2nd time here and we tried some new things as well as stuff we have had before. The menu is expansive with a lot of options so we had some skewers as well as some main dishes all of which we shared. Some of the skewers are a little pricey for how much food you get and our server wasn't the clearest explaining it but everything we ordered was tasty. We really enjoyed the shishito peppers, hamachi collar and the chicken wings. Hands down our favorite was the beef curry cheese fries! Big chunks of beef, lots of sauce, cheesy and simply delicious! I'd go back just for this dish alone. The Yakinigiri was also delicious as well! Enjoyed our meal and definitely would go back again the next time I'm im town!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Nolan Gray
Delicious grilled meats. I highly recommend the liver and tail. (Trust me.) Good Japanese beer selection. The outdoor patio is nice. I thought the corn dogs were a bit overpriced considering what you're getting.
J. Doyle
One of my favorite restaurants in the area. Tons of variety on the menu so there is something for everyone. Very friendly service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Just “GkhanJ” J
I think it was very expensive for very little amount of food. It was decent but nothing mind-blowing.
Great place for yakitori and small sharable dishes. Similar to Japanese izakaya.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
I saw jar of house made plum wine right after came in, then I got good feelings. We had veggie set, this part was average, I would suggest to switch garlic and onion to something like corn or mushrooms, just feel that $25 for a set should have more veggies. The rest are all amazing, the chicken lunch bento was very tasty! The house made pickle was amazing! Whoever grilled the meat, understand the meat! I have to mention the service, she’s great! Friendly and helpful.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
I think overall it’s too expensive for what you are getting. The portions were quite small: full set of sashimi had like mostly salad for 45$. Very hard to navigate the menu which comes in 3 different pieces. And at the end a 20% tip was added automatically and then they tax the total with the tip and asking for an additional one when paying.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
This place was super rad. Especially if you like fermented things. Excellent grilled items, good flavors, probably not what you're expecting but well worth it.
Informal Izakaya style Japanese close to downtown. Really extensive menu featuring something for just about everyone. Also some interesting fusion dishes. It was busy when we arrived and service was a bit slow, but waitstaff was delightful and food was tasty.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Went here the other night to celebrate for a low-key birthday dinner for my husband at about 6 in the evening, early in the week. We've lived around the corner about a year but this was our first time stopping in.
The staff was warm and helpful. The only issue was the extended wait time for dishes. I have no real frame of reference for yakitori spots, though it felt a little long for the food we ordered. But we had no other plans, so we didn't mind waiting too much. To be fair, it wasn't so busy when we arrived, but more guests came throughout our almost two hour stay so that may have contributed.
We mostly ordered ala carte from the skewer menu with a few small plates to share. Everything we ordered to our tastes, but some notables include:
The pickle plate was the first time either of were able to enjoy eating okra.
Spicy edamame kept us company throughout the meal and added a little more variety. The pickles helped as a palate cleanser, but we'll skip this one next time to see if it makes a difference.
I appreciated that the shrimp tempura was light, not greasy.
The sweet potato skewer was very balanced; the tsukune was well seasoned and nice and moist, but the star was the bacon mochi. We could have had 5 more of those.
This place isn't cheap, and I can't say if the food justifies the price, but we didn't go here solely for the food. I wanted the ambiance and the food, which was very good, contributed to that, so it was worth it for me. If the food was bad, no matter how nice the place, it would have been money down the drain. This felt like money well spent.
We'll definitely be back. I'll remember to take pictures then.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Terrible place for service. The waiter told us 10 minutes then proceeded to seat everybody who came in after us. I understand if they had a reservation but she should’ve been more communicative because this is ridiculous. I don’t think I’d be back here.
If you want to charge 20% auto gratuity for all party sizes, you need to make it more clear in the menu, and explain why your business needs to do that. I was going to pay 20% gratuity anyway, despite the 40 min wait for food, but it left a negative impression, so declined the additional tip option.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 3
Service: 3
Binchoyaki – Disappointing Experience
Binchoyaki is located near HWY50 on the edge of Sacramento downtown, not too far from the city center. While the location is convenient for drivers, parking is very limited — most people will need to park farther away and walk to the restaurant.
The restaurant does have some appealing touches: a yakitori counter where you can watch the chef at work, plus Japanese paintings and sake-themed decor. The bar area always seems lively, drawing in plenty of locals. They also offer a fancy wooden outdoor dining space, but in reality, it’s uncomfortable. It’s noisy from cars passing by, filled with flies, and even worse — fruit from a nearby tree kept falling onto the tables. To top it off, the table and seating were noticeably uneven.
For food, I ordered four yakitori:
Negima (chicken thigh & green onion): Tender, but nothing memorable.
Teba (spicy chicken wings): Small portion, flavor just okay.
NY Strip Loin (Niman Ranch): I could only taste the plain beef, the sauce added nothing.
Shiitake Mushroom: Only four tiny pieces, extremely underwhelming.
All portions were very small for the relatively high prices. The overall quality didn’t justify the cost.
I also tried two onigiri: Tuna Mayo and Ebi Mayo. Both were disappointing. The nori was poorly wrapped, so the rice fell apart easily. The tuna was chopped into tiny bits with little flavor, and the shrimp tempura was just one small piece compared to the amount of rice. Definitely overpriced and not worth it.
Service was another huge letdown. The wait time was far too long: about 20 minutes for the yakitori (acceptable), but nearly 40 minutes for the onigiri, which should be quick to prepare. Staff service was very slow overall, and it felt like we were constantly waiting.
The final frustration came with the mandatory 20% gratuity, hidden in a small line at the very bottom of the menu. I was dissatisfied with both the service and experience, yet forced to pay extra.
Between the high prices, tiny portions, long waits, poor service, and mandatory gratuity, my visit was extremely disappointing. Two stars only for the decent yakitori quality — otherwise, I would not recommend this place.
---
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 2
Great food, great waitress. Unfortunately, due to it being understaffed, it took about 2 hrs to get our lunch. Hopefully they get more hired help soon. Also, manager should pay the waitress extra for her running the customer floor all by herself, hosting, serving, cleaning, etc.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 4
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
Loved it!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
This is my 2nd time here and we tried some new things as well as stuff we have had before. The menu is expansive with a lot of options so we had some skewers as well as some main dishes all of which we shared. Some of the skewers are a little pricey for how much food you get and our server wasn't the clearest explaining it but everything we ordered was tasty. We really enjoyed the shishito peppers, hamachi collar and the chicken wings. Hands down our favorite was the beef curry cheese fries! Big chunks of beef, lots of sauce, cheesy and simply delicious! I'd go back just for this dish alone. The Yakinigiri was also delicious as well! Enjoyed our meal and definitely would go back again the next time I'm im town!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Delicious grilled meats. I highly recommend the liver and tail. (Trust me.) Good Japanese beer selection. The outdoor patio is nice. I thought the corn dogs were a bit overpriced considering what you're getting.
One of my favorite restaurants in the area. Tons of variety on the menu so there is something for everyone. Very friendly service.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
I think it was very expensive for very little amount of food. It was decent but nothing mind-blowing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 4
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