Food was very good but some of the dishes were on the saltier side. Fun place to dine and socialize.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
CaryS
Still one of the best most authentic Japanese Izakaya places in town. They use genuine binchotan charcoal to grill their skewers and the flavors pop better than other Izakayas. Also a lovely family owns this place
Wei-Ai Tai
Tasty meat skewers grilled over a charcoal fire, along with a decent selection of beer and sake. Some skewers can sell out quickly, though. Service was subpar, starting with the check-in process that was very disorganized. Tables are small so the plates will fill up quickly if you order too much food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Corn Butter, Yakitori
Christina Simmons
Great menu with lots of options for the adventurous and not-so-adventurous eaters. Ordered the wagu beef and scallops w bacon yakitori... beef and onions beef bowl.. bento with fried fish, chicken, california rolls, and both the miso, and chicken and rice soups. Ordering process was easy and fast via QR or table ticket. Food came quickly was plentiful and delicious. Loved the relaxed atmosphere and the vintage Japanese beer prints on the walls. Would eat here again.Parking: Downtown San Mateo can be busy, just plan ahead to leave time for parking
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Yakitori
Joyce Lam
Came in for lunch and expected izakaya but that's not served during lunch..... But we were pleasantly surprised by the food we got off the lunch menu... Shrimp was very good. Big and fresh and crispy. Agedashi tofu is one of the best I have had. Curry was also very good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Agedashi Tofu
Iya
Service was great. Food came in a timely manner.The food could be better. The food is expensive for what they serve. They skimp out on the portions. Some of the food images in the menu does not look like the actual dish. We ordered an unagi roll and there was barely any unagi in the dish.Sadly, we will not return to this establishment.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Paige Riola
Delicious food, lots of options, easy ordering, nice indoor and outdoor seating, and super friendly and accommodating wait staff. Definitely my favorite lunch spot when I was working downtown.Frequently enjoyed their sushi and sashimi, especially their melt-in-your-mouth salmon sashimi. Also loved their chicken miso katsu, katsu curry, karaage, tempura, lollipop chicken, agedashi tofu, various seasoned fries... the list won't end if I keep going!They have a great menu for sharing lots of different dishes with friends, or enjoying your own entree.Dietary restrictions: Very accommodating to dietary restrictions. They would make sure to provide gluten-free soy sauce and not include sesame in dishes for my gluten-free friend. They also label their dishes that are gluten-free without modification on the menu.
We always find Ginji's uniquely modern Japanese tapas our ultimate comfort food - silky sashimi, refreshing daikon salad, robatayaki dishes including our fav yakitori, chicken & veggies, agedashi tofu, miso-glazed eggplant, pork belly and grilled fish. I can't forget their homey chicken broth ramen when I had low energy. Yum! Their selections of beer & sake aim to complement the dishes making the whole dining experience very genuine and satisfying.
you wu
Best Yakitori in the Bay area! Amazing food, service and
Haven’t been in awhile but still good yakitori and good old izagaya stuff. Just don’t do the sushi as it is not real Japanese sushi… you know if you know what O am saying.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Yuzu Kubota
Izakaya Ginji is a must visit when you're in town! I highly suggest dining in since they have a wider selection than ordering to-go, including their delicious yakitori.I've tried almost everything on the menu, and my staple items are ginji salad, mentaiko carbonara, takowasa, yaki onigiri, ebi chili, and my personal favorite is the hojicha panna cotta.Staff is always very kind and the owners are awesome people! As a traditional izakaya should be, their food goes really well with beer and other alcoholic beverages.Will revisit Izakaya Ginji over and over and over again!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Buta Kimchi Carbonara, Agedashi Tofu, Unagi Donburi, Wagyu & Pork Blended Sausage Skewer, ESI Tempura, Corn Butter, Yakitori, Chicken Karaage, Amberjack Sashimi from Japan
Andy Cho
Hands down honestly best yakitori in the bay area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Gayle Q
I had been here before years ago (pre-COVID), when they used to have physical menus with more selections. I remembered the yakitori being great here so I put in a reservation for 4. That was easy. My partner and I came earlier than our reservation (by about 30mins) but they had our table ready already so we were able to sit down and get away from the winter cold. Shortly after we ordered, our food came. The yakitori was still just as good as I remembered— except the ones I ordered to be seasoned with salt (there weren’t many you could order with the tare (tah-reh) sauce) were PARTICULARLY salty. I felt they were over salted so I had to scrape off what I could (hence the one less star on my review).Overall, everyone enjoyed their food and we had a great time. They even gave us holiday “gift (scratcher) cards” for a free item that you could redeem from the scratcher card if you came back within the next couple months. We’ll likely come back though, not just to use up the scratchers, haha.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Agedashi Tofu, Yakitori
Hsin Huei Li
Seaweed salad and takoyaki were too salty. Other dishes were okay. I like the deep fried chicken knee. The waitress was nice and friendly??
Food was very good but some of the dishes were on the saltier side. Fun place to dine and socialize.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Still one of the best most authentic Japanese Izakaya places in town. They use genuine binchotan charcoal to grill their skewers and the flavors pop better than other Izakayas. Also a lovely family owns this place
Tasty meat skewers grilled over a charcoal fire, along with a decent selection of beer and sake. Some skewers can sell out quickly, though. Service was subpar, starting with the check-in process that was very disorganized. Tables are small so the plates will fill up quickly if you order too much food.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Corn Butter, Yakitori
Great menu with lots of options for the adventurous and not-so-adventurous eaters. Ordered the wagu beef and scallops w bacon yakitori... beef and onions beef bowl.. bento with fried fish, chicken, california rolls, and both the miso, and chicken and rice soups. Ordering process was easy and fast via QR or table ticket. Food came quickly was plentiful and delicious. Loved the relaxed atmosphere and the vintage Japanese beer prints on the walls. Would eat here again.Parking: Downtown San Mateo can be busy, just plan ahead to leave time for parking
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Yakitori
Came in for lunch and expected izakaya but that's not served during lunch..... But we were pleasantly surprised by the food we got off the lunch menu... Shrimp was very good. Big and fresh and crispy. Agedashi tofu is one of the best I have had. Curry was also very good.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Agedashi Tofu
Service was great. Food came in a timely manner.The food could be better. The food is expensive for what they serve. They skimp out on the portions. Some of the food images in the menu does not look like the actual dish. We ordered an unagi roll and there was barely any unagi in the dish.Sadly, we will not return to this establishment.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 1
Service: 5
Delicious food, lots of options, easy ordering, nice indoor and outdoor seating, and super friendly and accommodating wait staff. Definitely my favorite lunch spot when I was working downtown.Frequently enjoyed their sushi and sashimi, especially their melt-in-your-mouth salmon sashimi. Also loved their chicken miso katsu, katsu curry, karaage, tempura, lollipop chicken, agedashi tofu, various seasoned fries... the list won't end if I keep going!They have a great menu for sharing lots of different dishes with friends, or enjoying your own entree.Dietary restrictions: Very accommodating to dietary restrictions. They would make sure to provide gluten-free soy sauce and not include sesame in dishes for my gluten-free friend. They also label their dishes that are gluten-free without modification on the menu.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Agedashi Tofu, Tempura, Chicken Karaage
Great food. The mentaiko carbonara was delicious!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
We always find Ginji's uniquely modern Japanese tapas our ultimate comfort food - silky sashimi, refreshing daikon salad, robatayaki dishes including our fav yakitori, chicken & veggies, agedashi tofu, miso-glazed eggplant, pork belly and grilled fish. I can't forget their homey chicken broth ramen when I had low energy. Yum! Their selections of beer & sake aim to complement the dishes making the whole dining experience very genuine and satisfying.
Best Yakitori in the Bay area! Amazing food, service and
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Haven’t been in awhile but still good yakitori and good old izagaya stuff. Just don’t do the sushi as it is not real Japanese sushi… you know if you know what O am saying.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Izakaya Ginji is a must visit when you're in town! I highly suggest dining in since they have a wider selection than ordering to-go, including their delicious yakitori.I've tried almost everything on the menu, and my staple items are ginji salad, mentaiko carbonara, takowasa, yaki onigiri, ebi chili, and my personal favorite is the hojicha panna cotta.Staff is always very kind and the owners are awesome people! As a traditional izakaya should be, their food goes really well with beer and other alcoholic beverages.Will revisit Izakaya Ginji over and over and over again!!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Buta Kimchi Carbonara, Agedashi Tofu, Unagi Donburi, Wagyu & Pork Blended Sausage Skewer, ESI Tempura, Corn Butter, Yakitori, Chicken Karaage, Amberjack Sashimi from Japan
Hands down honestly best yakitori in the bay area.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
I had been here before years ago (pre-COVID), when they used to have physical menus with more selections. I remembered the yakitori being great here so I put in a reservation for 4. That was easy. My partner and I came earlier than our reservation (by about 30mins) but they had our table ready already so we were able to sit down and get away from the winter cold. Shortly after we ordered, our food came. The yakitori was still just as good as I remembered— except the ones I ordered to be seasoned with salt (there weren’t many you could order with the tare (tah-reh) sauce) were PARTICULARLY salty. I felt they were over salted so I had to scrape off what I could (hence the one less star on my review).Overall, everyone enjoyed their food and we had a great time. They even gave us holiday “gift (scratcher) cards” for a free item that you could redeem from the scratcher card if you came back within the next couple months. We’ll likely come back though, not just to use up the scratchers, haha.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Agedashi Tofu, Yakitori
Seaweed salad and takoyaki were too salty. Other dishes were okay. I like the deep fried chicken knee. The waitress was nice and friendly??
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5