Exceptional food served bite by bite, beautiful presentation, great description of each dish, superb wine pairing. An other worldly dining experience, from beginning to end. Great chatting with the chef, sous chef and somm. Remarkable in every way.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caramel Custard
Claudia S.
4.5 stars. A late review as their last day of service is 8/31, but here to give a shout-out.Yakitori is a specific cultural culinary experience that is more often than not casual. As 焼き鳥 translates directly to grilled chicken, it might be odd to some to have an omakase experience with just chicken. But there are a number of renowned spots doing fantastic prix fixe yakitori experiences in Japan, and luckily here in SF we have Hina trying to do just that.The food was well prepared. Each skewer thoughtfully designed to incorporate great ingredients and complimentary flavors, with the chicken pieces cooked to perfection on a charcoal grill. The chicken parts were meticulously chosen, and I had no bone to pick (literally) about any of the combinations. My favorites were the nanban (woah!), bonjiri (chicken butt), and pâté, which I wish there was an option to order more à la carte.As you know ya girl loves her gohan, and there were also some familiar flavors done with an elevated touch: a lovely bite of unagi with the best shari I've had in a while, as well as my favorite of the night - the oyakodon. Absolute perfection, and almost gave me an Anton Ego moment where a chef recreates your childhood favorite peasant dish.I would say the only reasons I deducted half a star are that 1, the chicken soup was not very memorable, and 2, I wish the beer selection was better considering it being a yakitori spot.Lastly, the staffing was lean but effective, everyone was more than welcoming and very respectful. I will absolutely be back to give their transformed/new restaurant a try, if they decide to do that.
Jenny O.
Hina Yakitori has been on my to try list for a while and on my friend's list too. So big thanks to him for organizing this dinner! Who knows how much longer it would have been before I tried it otherwise. The food was delicious! I love that they use so many parts of the chicken. And the chicken is Pennsylvania Golden Heritage chicken that is slaughtered 8 hours earlier so it's really fresh. It's really difficult to narrow down my favorites but I'd say the chicken butt and chicken oyster were highlights. Also got the beverage pairing and it was fantastic too.And now I've just seen that Hina posted on IG that their final night of service is 8/31! We went just in time. If you want to experience this chicken deliciousness too, run don't walk!
Caitlin Barta
We love Hina. Amazing flavors, top notch quality, friendly folks. We tried an award winning yakitori omakase place in Japan and Hina was even better. And the wine pairing is fantastic - the wines and food feel like they go together so well. Never had a pairing where I actually could taste the flavor changes like this. If you haven't tried Hina it's totally worth it! Chicken really can be that good.
Qiushuang Zhang
This is the second time I am here. The first time was good. This time, we had the worst experience ever. Highly recommended to avoid by all means. If I were the owner/partner, I would fire the server and the chef. It completely ruined our most important date.
Jack Brown
i honestly don’t know what to say. our menu was the “all chicken” version vs what you see in the maps photos, so that was a bit of a letdown. out of the 12-15 courses, half were good, 1/4 were amazing, and 1/4 were a little scary. i’d go back because it’s a singular experience and cool to watch the open kitchen but do brace yourself and be ready to be adventurous.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Khloe M.
Our experience had its ups and downs. The good part was that the service we received was good. The staff was friendly and attentive. The chefs showcased their cooking skills by preparing each yakitori skewer perfectly. The use of special charcoal gave the food a tasty smoky flavor. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant was pleasant and made our visit memorable.However, we were disappointed with the high price we paid. Even though the service and food quality were excellent, the portion sizes were not enough. The dishes were delicious, but they didn't fill us up completely. We expected more for the amount of money we spent. It was a letdown to realize that we needed to eat more somewhere else to satisfy our hunger after leaving the restaurant.
B E
Truly wonderful dining experience. Authentic yakitori omakase where all parts of the bird are beautifully highlighted. Clean deep chicken flavor under the wonderful aroma of the binchotan. Every dish was a win but highlights were the tomago, chicken skin with pate and caviar, the gizzard and chicken with Japanese onion. White asparagus was perfection. Wagyu beef and firefly squid were welcomed additions. Wonderful service in a intimate dining format. Love seeing every dish prepared start to finish. Having eaten at every new addition to the Michelin guide, dumbfounded that Hina is not starred.*** I’ll just add that some of the poor reviews are quite hilarious. Eating at Hina and complaining their is too much chicken is comparable to complaining about too many grain at a bakery. Like do you even understand the restaurant concept or traditional yakitori?
Recommended dishes: Caramel Custard
Zac Oldenburg
Great stuff, lots to try, lots of subtle flavors, surprises too. You will eat all the chicken.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
James Ho
Although great service and atmosphere I was disappointed at the flavors and portion. Definitely a fusion take on yakitori.
Excellent service , excellent tasting experienceMiss their karaage boxes over the pandemic. Hands down the best spicy fried chicken ever. Ever. (Still waiting on news of this offshoot continuing. But in the meantime their main yakitori experience was similarly well executed.)
Doug E.
Some people get it and some won't. There is a difference between dining and eating. This is a dining experience for me which focuses on the flavor, artistry. History and respect for tradition. When we first walked it the the table area was set and gleaming for our experience. We were greeted very cordially and drinks were quickly offered. After settling in our waiter provided simple instructions that skewers go into the gold bin. Even so, one of my dining partners needed a follow up. Nearly every part of the chicken is expressed in a unique way with a common thread of heat and smoke. From the beginning bite of chicharron topped with caviar to the last indulgent creme brûlée, I was thinking how skilled the chef is to get each part of the chicken to have a unique chew/mouthfeel/texture, smokiness, and preparation. Kudos to keeping us sharp and present. It was a true gift to enjoy this meal.
Justin C.
I love yakitori and decided to give this place a try with some friends. You are sat in a cozy 10-seat dining room with an open view to the chef on the grill. The experience itself was phenomenal! It was fun to see all our skewers being made and prepared right in front of us and then served to us immediately. In terms of food, I do believe that the taste was good but something just felt missing. For the price ($165/person), none of us were particularly full after the meal. We could have still gone for a burger afterwards. My favorites were the chicken tenderloin and all it's fried goodness with the perfect sauce combinations, and the sunagimo sausage, which I compared to a decadent meat lollipop! Overall, the presentation and the flavor combinations were top-notch but in the end chicken tasted exactly how we expected it to. 4 stars because the food was great, but nothing exceptional to blow my mind.
Michelle H.
A wonderful experience all around and a must try for those who are looking for an omakase-style setting but want something different from the typical raw fish. It was so cool to be able to see each skewer/dish being prepared, and trust me, by the end of the meal, you'll leave feeling so stuffed and satisfied. FOOD: You get to eat all different parts of a chicken (a lot of them were firsts for me!) plus more, with my favorites being:- Chicken wing with fresh wasabi- Broccolini with mullet roe - Drumette with Japanese green onion- Chicken cartilage- Grilled unagi over rice- Grilled shittake mushroom- Wagyu beef with yuzu salt- Oyakadon All of their meats are so so juicy, tender, and flavorful, and they do their veggies SO WELL! I could eat more of the veg for sure!SERVICE: Amazing. Can't say enough good things about how good their service is and their attention to their customers. The restaurant sits ~12? at the counter, so the vibes are intimate and everyone is super kind. Couldn't say better things about the chefs and staff there!Definitely a must try!
Victoria Chai
This place is so lovely! Very small and intimate for a yakitori place. They put in so much detail and care to each plate. Every piece of chicken was so juicy. The wagyu was very tender and so buttery. My favorite was probably the chicken gizzard! The texture and flavor melts in your mouth!
Exceptional food served bite by bite, beautiful presentation, great description of each dish, superb wine pairing. An other worldly dining experience, from beginning to end. Great chatting with the chef, sous chef and somm. Remarkable in every way.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Caramel Custard
4.5 stars. A late review as their last day of service is 8/31, but here to give a shout-out.Yakitori is a specific cultural culinary experience that is more often than not casual. As 焼き鳥 translates directly to grilled chicken, it might be odd to some to have an omakase experience with just chicken. But there are a number of renowned spots doing fantastic prix fixe yakitori experiences in Japan, and luckily here in SF we have Hina trying to do just that.The food was well prepared. Each skewer thoughtfully designed to incorporate great ingredients and complimentary flavors, with the chicken pieces cooked to perfection on a charcoal grill. The chicken parts were meticulously chosen, and I had no bone to pick (literally) about any of the combinations. My favorites were the nanban (woah!), bonjiri (chicken butt), and pâté, which I wish there was an option to order more à la carte.As you know ya girl loves her gohan, and there were also some familiar flavors done with an elevated touch: a lovely bite of unagi with the best shari I've had in a while, as well as my favorite of the night - the oyakodon. Absolute perfection, and almost gave me an Anton Ego moment where a chef recreates your childhood favorite peasant dish.I would say the only reasons I deducted half a star are that 1, the chicken soup was not very memorable, and 2, I wish the beer selection was better considering it being a yakitori spot.Lastly, the staffing was lean but effective, everyone was more than welcoming and very respectful. I will absolutely be back to give their transformed/new restaurant a try, if they decide to do that.
Hina Yakitori has been on my to try list for a while and on my friend's list too. So big thanks to him for organizing this dinner! Who knows how much longer it would have been before I tried it otherwise. The food was delicious! I love that they use so many parts of the chicken. And the chicken is Pennsylvania Golden Heritage chicken that is slaughtered 8 hours earlier so it's really fresh. It's really difficult to narrow down my favorites but I'd say the chicken butt and chicken oyster were highlights. Also got the beverage pairing and it was fantastic too.And now I've just seen that Hina posted on IG that their final night of service is 8/31! We went just in time. If you want to experience this chicken deliciousness too, run don't walk!
We love Hina. Amazing flavors, top notch quality, friendly folks. We tried an award winning yakitori omakase place in Japan and Hina was even better. And the wine pairing is fantastic - the wines and food feel like they go together so well. Never had a pairing where I actually could taste the flavor changes like this. If you haven't tried Hina it's totally worth it! Chicken really can be that good.
This is the second time I am here. The first time was good. This time, we had the worst experience ever. Highly recommended to avoid by all means. If I were the owner/partner, I would fire the server and the chef. It completely ruined our most important date.
i honestly don’t know what to say. our menu was the “all chicken” version vs what you see in the maps photos, so that was a bit of a letdown. out of the 12-15 courses, half were good, 1/4 were amazing, and 1/4 were a little scary. i’d go back because it’s a singular experience and cool to watch the open kitchen but do brace yourself and be ready to be adventurous.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 5
Our experience had its ups and downs. The good part was that the service we received was good. The staff was friendly and attentive. The chefs showcased their cooking skills by preparing each yakitori skewer perfectly. The use of special charcoal gave the food a tasty smoky flavor. The overall atmosphere of the restaurant was pleasant and made our visit memorable.However, we were disappointed with the high price we paid. Even though the service and food quality were excellent, the portion sizes were not enough. The dishes were delicious, but they didn't fill us up completely. We expected more for the amount of money we spent. It was a letdown to realize that we needed to eat more somewhere else to satisfy our hunger after leaving the restaurant.
Truly wonderful dining experience. Authentic yakitori omakase where all parts of the bird are beautifully highlighted. Clean deep chicken flavor under the wonderful aroma of the binchotan. Every dish was a win but highlights were the tomago, chicken skin with pate and caviar, the gizzard and chicken with Japanese onion. White asparagus was perfection. Wagyu beef and firefly squid were welcomed additions. Wonderful service in a intimate dining format. Love seeing every dish prepared start to finish. Having eaten at every new addition to the Michelin guide, dumbfounded that Hina is not starred.*** I’ll just add that some of the poor reviews are quite hilarious. Eating at Hina and complaining their is too much chicken is comparable to complaining about too many grain at a bakery. Like do you even understand the restaurant concept or traditional yakitori?
Recommended dishes: Caramel Custard
Great stuff, lots to try, lots of subtle flavors, surprises too. You will eat all the chicken.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Although great service and atmosphere I was disappointed at the flavors and portion. Definitely a fusion take on yakitori.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 3
Service: 4
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent service , excellent tasting experienceMiss their karaage boxes over the pandemic. Hands down the best spicy fried chicken ever. Ever. (Still waiting on news of this offshoot continuing. But in the meantime their main yakitori experience was similarly well executed.)
Some people get it and some won't. There is a difference between dining and eating. This is a dining experience for me which focuses on the flavor, artistry. History and respect for tradition. When we first walked it the the table area was set and gleaming for our experience. We were greeted very cordially and drinks were quickly offered. After settling in our waiter provided simple instructions that skewers go into the gold bin. Even so, one of my dining partners needed a follow up. Nearly every part of the chicken is expressed in a unique way with a common thread of heat and smoke. From the beginning bite of chicharron topped with caviar to the last indulgent creme brûlée, I was thinking how skilled the chef is to get each part of the chicken to have a unique chew/mouthfeel/texture, smokiness, and preparation. Kudos to keeping us sharp and present. It was a true gift to enjoy this meal.
I love yakitori and decided to give this place a try with some friends. You are sat in a cozy 10-seat dining room with an open view to the chef on the grill. The experience itself was phenomenal! It was fun to see all our skewers being made and prepared right in front of us and then served to us immediately. In terms of food, I do believe that the taste was good but something just felt missing. For the price ($165/person), none of us were particularly full after the meal. We could have still gone for a burger afterwards. My favorites were the chicken tenderloin and all it's fried goodness with the perfect sauce combinations, and the sunagimo sausage, which I compared to a decadent meat lollipop! Overall, the presentation and the flavor combinations were top-notch but in the end chicken tasted exactly how we expected it to. 4 stars because the food was great, but nothing exceptional to blow my mind.
A wonderful experience all around and a must try for those who are looking for an omakase-style setting but want something different from the typical raw fish. It was so cool to be able to see each skewer/dish being prepared, and trust me, by the end of the meal, you'll leave feeling so stuffed and satisfied. FOOD: You get to eat all different parts of a chicken (a lot of them were firsts for me!) plus more, with my favorites being:- Chicken wing with fresh wasabi- Broccolini with mullet roe - Drumette with Japanese green onion- Chicken cartilage- Grilled unagi over rice- Grilled shittake mushroom- Wagyu beef with yuzu salt- Oyakadon All of their meats are so so juicy, tender, and flavorful, and they do their veggies SO WELL! I could eat more of the veg for sure!SERVICE: Amazing. Can't say enough good things about how good their service is and their attention to their customers. The restaurant sits ~12? at the counter, so the vibes are intimate and everyone is super kind. Couldn't say better things about the chefs and staff there!Definitely a must try!
This place is so lovely! Very small and intimate for a yakitori place. They put in so much detail and care to each plate. Every piece of chicken was so juicy. The wagyu was very tender and so buttery. My favorite was probably the chicken gizzard! The texture and flavor melts in your mouth!