You might think this place is Japanese Chinese, but we think that this place is more like Chinese style Japanese tapas (izakaya). That being said, their food are great, but a bit more pricier for the amount and quality. We like their ramen noodle, especially Gomoku, but it is too expensive as their only hint is probably sesame oil.
Mike C.
Sometimes it's not about the latest and greatest. In light of a number of San Francisco institution eateries closing in recent months, a recent KQED article mentioned the closing of this restaurant while describing its background and history ( (I actually dined at the seat with the jacket on it). After running some errands in Burlingame and filling gas in my car, I headed here for lunch on a Wednesday. Not knowing whether there would be a line or how many diners the restaurant can seat, I got here about twenty minutes before they open, scoring a metered parking space in front of the restaurant. There was a lady standing at the door, but she left about ten minutes after I arrived, leaving me the only one waiting. About 11:25 am, a young couple arrived and queued up behind me as, a few minutes later, that departing lady returned. Punctually, the "Closed" sign was flipped over at 11:30 am and the door opened as a lady greeted me and asked me the number of people in my party. She seated me, a solo diner, at the counter, one of seven or eight seats facing the kitchen. She pointed out the QR code to access the menu, but I am still unfamiliar with the nuances with this and already memorized my order from studying the menu earlier. After placing my order and getting a glass of cold water, I waited for my order and looked at the setup. There are about six or seven two and four chair tables; only four tables were occupied with parties ranging from two to four as my food came. There were three tables combined for a larger party of eight to ten towards the back of the restaurant. The first menu item that came was the gyoza ( house made Japanese pan-fried pork pot sticker; it specifically describes how each dumpling is individually wrapped and you can taste the difference. This became a must-order after reading the footnote that there is a limit of three per table. it came with a white sweet vinegar. My main meal came next, the Tantan men ( a spicy chili sesame flavor ramen with house blended miso ground pork, cilantro, and green onion. I really enjoyed this too as it had those old-time flavors and was made with ingredients that I'd use at home, mainly lean ground pork. Knowing that would be the max that I could eat in one sitting, I ordered two more items to take home. Starting the 1st week of May, they stopped accepting online and phone takeout orders to better serve their dine-in customers who wanted to bid them farewell. I ended up eating the two items that evening to avoid any reheating or changing the texture or flavors by refrigerating. I started my dinner with the ban ban ji ( shredded chicken and fresh cucumber with house made mild spicy sesame sauce (included cherry tomatoes not mentioned in the menu). Again, I enjoyed it and had enough for a starter to a second meal. My entree for dinner was the mabo don ( bowl of rice topped w/sauteed ground pork and tofu w/house spicy chili sauce; this was absolutely delicious and had those old-time flavors featuring quality ingredients. The leftover was my lunch a couple days later along with the jii. Do note that prices are a bit above average by comparison but I am willing to pay a little more for this quality. I am thankful for making a visit to dine here before they close. I hope to squeeze another lunch in the following six days that they are open. If any menu item catches your fancy and you enjoy those flavors from the past, stop in.
Heng C
Unpretentious, warm, delicious Japanese Chuka cuisine.
Hugh J.
Overpriced and very small portions. I heard they are closing soon. Now maybe they'll get rid of that cheap worn out banner sign. I live literally right around the corner from this place and even that was too far to travel.
Kumiko E.
This place is an authentic Japanese Chuka (Chinese) restaurant. My favorite is Nira Reba Itame. It's worth to drive from San Francisco to San Mateo for just eating at this place!
照隅
Restaurant is perfect Japanese-chuka style. Very casual and combatable like a Japanese down town restaurant style. The Sheff is professional I can hear the tapping sound of the cooking utensils and some time you can see burn fire at kitchen. he is not too-much talk to customer but waitress are very friendly. I love chanpon and Choka-don. There are most ever good in Bay area.
Robin C.
Yu-Raku is a treasure for me. The category of cuisine is Chuka--which, broadly, means Chinese food cooked Japanese style But Yu-Raku's style of Chinese cuisine is less commonly found here. In the Bay Area, we have learned to ask ourselves which Chinese food do we want to eat? Thanks to the abundant Chinese population in California we have become specific about Chinese food. For any particular meal do we prefer Cantonese, Chiu Chow, Hakka, Mandarin, Shanghai, Szechuan or variants such as Penang, Singapore and Taiwan that are available in the Bay Area. San Mateo County's Shanghai population prefers Yu-Raku's flavors because they remind people of home. Yu-Raku's chef brought his recipes from Shanghai to San Mateo. I am always on the prowl for good food and authentic Shanghai flavors are hard to come by--mainly because some recipes require more labor that we cannot afford or seasonal ingredients that we do not have. Having gotten used to making do, I became complacent (though always disappointed) about the ubiquitous dry Chinese Spring Roll. Until I tried one at Yu-Raku. It is unique in the Bay Area--even though it is the preferred Spring Roll of Shanghai: light and crispy on the outside and stuffed with ingredients such as pork, cabbage, bean sprouts or mushrooms and, in Shanghai and at Yu-Raku, infused with piping hot umami broth. It is a crispy, but juicy Spring Roll--far superior to and more complex than the dry version offered by just about every other Chinese restaurant. For the superior ingredients and added care in its preparation, this Spring Roll is priced accordingly. I think that also characterizes Yu-Raku's other offerings. The prices might seem high and the flavors unfamiliar, but customers are not getting generic Chinese food cooked Japanese style--it is regional. Those of us who recognize the flavors or appreciate specificity will keep returning to Yu-Raku.
Yasu Sano
Real authentic Japanese style Chinese restaurant made by a Japanese cook. I feel 80% of the customers are Japanese. My favorite ramen place in Bay Area.
Rebecca C.
Wish I could rate higher being as it's a mom and pop restaurant but terribly over priced nothing special food. My daughter and I just had a mediocre meal and paid over 50$ for three items .. egg rolls ( with no meat inside and the menu said pork inside) .. potstickers and some beef over rice enough for one person I then ordered a side of mixed vegetables and they Put bean sprouts without me knowing and I told the waitress I can't eat them and she didn't even take the mixed vegetable plate off the bill which is just horrible customer service. Save your money ! So many other good Japanese restaurants in San Mateo to eat at
Jeffrey Ho
Yu-Raku is ran by a Japanese chef. The food tasted fine but it was lacking. Today I had the tonkotsu ramen $15.50 and a side of small fried rice $8.50. The ramen ($15.50) was served with a lukewarm broth containing two pieces of resilient pork. I would have preferred the meat to be softer or maybe fattier so that it melts in your mouth. The rest of the ramen toppings were forgettable, 1/2 of an egg, fungus, green onions and seaweed. It tasted boring. The small side of fried rice ($8.50) was boring as well. It had chopped pieces of pork, egg and rice. I left the restaurant hungry. Usually I'm pretty full after eating an appetizer and an entree, but not at this place. My bill was $31 with tax and tip.
I've driven by Yu-Raku many times, and never noticed it before. After getting takeout from there, and loving the food, I'll be smiling every time I pass it. Or going in to get some delicious food. Ordering take out from Yu-Raku was easy. And the food was ready to go when I went to pick it up. When I unwrapped it soonafter, I noticed how thoughtfully everything was wrapped and prepared. Each box was labeled in neat writing, so I knew what was inside. And the noodles (for the ramen) was wrapped separately, so they didn't get too soggy. I was impressed. We started with the Ebi chili. This was a delicious, saucy, appetizer, and it was flavorful and more sweet than spicy. Superb! Next time, I would get a side of rice with it, just to soak up more of the yummy sauce. The next dish was the gyoza. Perfectly cooked. A little crispy on the outside, and soft and flavorful on the inside. For the main dish, I had Sapporo Miso Ramen, which had a fragrant, and rich broth. The broth alone would have made me happy. And then there were plenty of veggies with a meat flavoring that was out of this world. I also tasted the Kanitama Don, the snow crab omelet, with a sweet/sour sauce over rice. It was also delicious. This place was wonderful for take out, and I look forward to dining there again.
Shahla B.
We visited San Mateo,CA looking for good authentic Japanese food, and this was definitely what we were looking for. My husband said it's like we're back in Japan. Looks like a family owned business and run by Japanese. I've eaten in many Japanese ramen shops here in Hawaii and in Japan, and you can tell they take pride in their broth here. If you are looking for cheap ramen, this not the place for you. My kids commented that the broth was a little too oily but I didn't mind. If you are Japanese and want a home cooked meal, this is the place to come and eat.
Clarence A.
I was able to sample few of there offerings since I was in the area, during covid there is still no in house dining so I took everything to go here is a break down of what I sampled and how each bowl measured up Tan Tan mein - one of my favorite bowls of ramen I always look for when going to any ramen type house. Their version was good, semi spicy broth colored red , the noodles were springy, the ground meat was seasoned well, the veggies also springy and crisp when biting down, I would order this again. I am use to the black tan tan mein offered by another ramen shop in the area, but this place I can easily see myself coming back and sampling more of their offerings based on just this bowl of deliciousness Spicy Garlic Tonkatsu - I was expecting this broth to have a bit more kick but sadly it did not have any kick, again the noodles springy, the veggies, crisp, the broth was creamy and heavy white in color, you will have to adjust and request for more spice on this bowl if you order it, it was good but didn't hit like the tan tan mein broth. If you have kids they will like this bowl, it is perfect for them, no spice and creamy. Sadly I would not sample this dish again, it was good but not what I was looking for. they do offer rolls, and other items deep fried, I will have to come back and sample more, if not eat in once covid restrictions go away. If you are in the area definitely stop by. Parking on a monday evening cusp of 6pm there was parking in front on el camino real, so easy bonus points on my end for making it accessible. ramen **** for the tan tan mein with spicy broth, *** for the spicy garlic tonkatsu price $$ service ***** helpful friendly staff, when I ordered on the phone they stated 15 min, got there in 5 min and my bowls were ready to go ambiance ***** they look ready for in house dining, clean, small tables for 2, upon entering you see the open face kitchen where all the deliciousness is made, watching then cut and prep the dishes is mesmerizing
Amy Y.
Yu-Raku serves chuka, which is Japanese Chinese cuisine. It's quite interesting, as it's neither really Japanese or Chinese. Though I was hesitant because of the prices, you rarely come across a traditional fusion restaurant like this. The bentos look good, but I had to try their popular Yu-Raku ramen, which has a spicy shoyu ramen base with sauteed pork, yellow onion, and kikurage mushroom. Someone else here described it pretty succinctly: it tastes like Mongolian stir-fry put on top of ramen. You can order this in regular style or non spicy. I got the regular, which is quite spicy - it's the chili oil spice that you feel in the back of your throat. The smokiness from the stir frying is a very interesting thing to taste with ramen. There was a decent amount of thin pork pieces. The ramen itself is a bit thin, reminded me of Asian grocery mart noodles, and also like a hybrid of ramen and egg noodles. In terms of ramen, this isn't a flavor that I'd want again, but it was surprisingly filling. I tried my boyfriend's Ma-Ra tantan tsukemen, which was a special of the day. It was significantly better than the ramen, as it had cleaner flavors. The dipping sauce is made with spicy sesame and sansho pepper, and was quite savory and nutty, with well rounded heat. We thought the ramen could use some plumping, so just combined the noodles and dipping sauce as if it was soup ramen, which was fine - it just tasted like slightly concentrated tantanmen. The house blended miso ground pork was great - just some nice, moist, savory minced pork. A large amount of fresh cilantro helped bring a bright taste amidst all the spicy, savory meatiness. They also include a soft boiled egg, which is cold but perfectly runny in the middle. My main complaint is that this seemed like a snack-sized tsukemen, although it did satisfy my boyfriend. I really did enjoy the flavors from Yu-Raku, and can see it being pretty unique comfort food. However, the prices don't really match the food, especially when you're surrounded by so much Asian competition in San Mateo downtown. One awesome thing they might do for COVID-19 takeout orders is doodling something cute on your box, although I didn't get one probably because my order came in small containers.
You might think this place is Japanese Chinese, but we think that this place is more like Chinese style Japanese tapas (izakaya). That being said, their food are great, but a bit more pricier for the amount and quality. We like their ramen noodle, especially Gomoku, but it is too expensive as their only hint is probably sesame oil.
Sometimes it's not about the latest and greatest. In light of a number of San Francisco institution eateries closing in recent months, a recent KQED article mentioned the closing of this restaurant while describing its background and history ( (I actually dined at the seat with the jacket on it). After running some errands in Burlingame and filling gas in my car, I headed here for lunch on a Wednesday. Not knowing whether there would be a line or how many diners the restaurant can seat, I got here about twenty minutes before they open, scoring a metered parking space in front of the restaurant. There was a lady standing at the door, but she left about ten minutes after I arrived, leaving me the only one waiting. About 11:25 am, a young couple arrived and queued up behind me as, a few minutes later, that departing lady returned. Punctually, the "Closed" sign was flipped over at 11:30 am and the door opened as a lady greeted me and asked me the number of people in my party. She seated me, a solo diner, at the counter, one of seven or eight seats facing the kitchen. She pointed out the QR code to access the menu, but I am still unfamiliar with the nuances with this and already memorized my order from studying the menu earlier. After placing my order and getting a glass of cold water, I waited for my order and looked at the setup. There are about six or seven two and four chair tables; only four tables were occupied with parties ranging from two to four as my food came. There were three tables combined for a larger party of eight to ten towards the back of the restaurant. The first menu item that came was the gyoza ( house made Japanese pan-fried pork pot sticker; it specifically describes how each dumpling is individually wrapped and you can taste the difference. This became a must-order after reading the footnote that there is a limit of three per table. it came with a white sweet vinegar. My main meal came next, the Tantan men ( a spicy chili sesame flavor ramen with house blended miso ground pork, cilantro, and green onion. I really enjoyed this too as it had those old-time flavors and was made with ingredients that I'd use at home, mainly lean ground pork. Knowing that would be the max that I could eat in one sitting, I ordered two more items to take home. Starting the 1st week of May, they stopped accepting online and phone takeout orders to better serve their dine-in customers who wanted to bid them farewell. I ended up eating the two items that evening to avoid any reheating or changing the texture or flavors by refrigerating. I started my dinner with the ban ban ji ( shredded chicken and fresh cucumber with house made mild spicy sesame sauce (included cherry tomatoes not mentioned in the menu). Again, I enjoyed it and had enough for a starter to a second meal. My entree for dinner was the mabo don ( bowl of rice topped w/sauteed ground pork and tofu w/house spicy chili sauce; this was absolutely delicious and had those old-time flavors featuring quality ingredients. The leftover was my lunch a couple days later along with the jii. Do note that prices are a bit above average by comparison but I am willing to pay a little more for this quality. I am thankful for making a visit to dine here before they close. I hope to squeeze another lunch in the following six days that they are open. If any menu item catches your fancy and you enjoy those flavors from the past, stop in.
Unpretentious, warm, delicious Japanese Chuka cuisine.
Overpriced and very small portions. I heard they are closing soon. Now maybe they'll get rid of that cheap worn out banner sign. I live literally right around the corner from this place and even that was too far to travel.
This place is an authentic Japanese Chuka (Chinese) restaurant. My favorite is Nira Reba Itame. It's worth to drive from San Francisco to San Mateo for just eating at this place!
Restaurant is perfect Japanese-chuka style. Very casual and combatable like a Japanese down town restaurant style. The Sheff is professional I can hear the tapping sound of the cooking utensils and some time you can see burn fire at kitchen. he is not too-much talk to customer but waitress are very friendly. I love chanpon and Choka-don. There are most ever good in Bay area.
Yu-Raku is a treasure for me. The category of cuisine is Chuka--which, broadly, means Chinese food cooked Japanese style But Yu-Raku's style of Chinese cuisine is less commonly found here. In the Bay Area, we have learned to ask ourselves which Chinese food do we want to eat? Thanks to the abundant Chinese population in California we have become specific about Chinese food. For any particular meal do we prefer Cantonese, Chiu Chow, Hakka, Mandarin, Shanghai, Szechuan or variants such as Penang, Singapore and Taiwan that are available in the Bay Area. San Mateo County's Shanghai population prefers Yu-Raku's flavors because they remind people of home. Yu-Raku's chef brought his recipes from Shanghai to San Mateo. I am always on the prowl for good food and authentic Shanghai flavors are hard to come by--mainly because some recipes require more labor that we cannot afford or seasonal ingredients that we do not have. Having gotten used to making do, I became complacent (though always disappointed) about the ubiquitous dry Chinese Spring Roll. Until I tried one at Yu-Raku. It is unique in the Bay Area--even though it is the preferred Spring Roll of Shanghai: light and crispy on the outside and stuffed with ingredients such as pork, cabbage, bean sprouts or mushrooms and, in Shanghai and at Yu-Raku, infused with piping hot umami broth. It is a crispy, but juicy Spring Roll--far superior to and more complex than the dry version offered by just about every other Chinese restaurant. For the superior ingredients and added care in its preparation, this Spring Roll is priced accordingly. I think that also characterizes Yu-Raku's other offerings. The prices might seem high and the flavors unfamiliar, but customers are not getting generic Chinese food cooked Japanese style--it is regional. Those of us who recognize the flavors or appreciate specificity will keep returning to Yu-Raku.
Real authentic Japanese style Chinese restaurant made by a Japanese cook. I feel 80% of the customers are Japanese. My favorite ramen place in Bay Area.
Wish I could rate higher being as it's a mom and pop restaurant but terribly over priced nothing special food. My daughter and I just had a mediocre meal and paid over 50$ for three items .. egg rolls ( with no meat inside and the menu said pork inside) .. potstickers and some beef over rice enough for one person I then ordered a side of mixed vegetables and they Put bean sprouts without me knowing and I told the waitress I can't eat them and she didn't even take the mixed vegetable plate off the bill which is just horrible customer service. Save your money ! So many other good Japanese restaurants in San Mateo to eat at
Yu-Raku is ran by a Japanese chef. The food tasted fine but it was lacking. Today I had the tonkotsu ramen $15.50 and a side of small fried rice $8.50. The ramen ($15.50) was served with a lukewarm broth containing two pieces of resilient pork. I would have preferred the meat to be softer or maybe fattier so that it melts in your mouth. The rest of the ramen toppings were forgettable, 1/2 of an egg, fungus, green onions and seaweed. It tasted boring. The small side of fried rice ($8.50) was boring as well. It had chopped pieces of pork, egg and rice. I left the restaurant hungry. Usually I'm pretty full after eating an appetizer and an entree, but not at this place. My bill was $31 with tax and tip.
Restaurantji Recommends
So delicious ?
I've driven by Yu-Raku many times, and never noticed it before. After getting takeout from there, and loving the food, I'll be smiling every time I pass it. Or going in to get some delicious food. Ordering take out from Yu-Raku was easy. And the food was ready to go when I went to pick it up. When I unwrapped it soonafter, I noticed how thoughtfully everything was wrapped and prepared. Each box was labeled in neat writing, so I knew what was inside. And the noodles (for the ramen) was wrapped separately, so they didn't get too soggy. I was impressed. We started with the Ebi chili. This was a delicious, saucy, appetizer, and it was flavorful and more sweet than spicy. Superb! Next time, I would get a side of rice with it, just to soak up more of the yummy sauce. The next dish was the gyoza. Perfectly cooked. A little crispy on the outside, and soft and flavorful on the inside. For the main dish, I had Sapporo Miso Ramen, which had a fragrant, and rich broth. The broth alone would have made me happy. And then there were plenty of veggies with a meat flavoring that was out of this world. I also tasted the Kanitama Don, the snow crab omelet, with a sweet/sour sauce over rice. It was also delicious. This place was wonderful for take out, and I look forward to dining there again.
We visited San Mateo,CA looking for good authentic Japanese food, and this was definitely what we were looking for. My husband said it's like we're back in Japan. Looks like a family owned business and run by Japanese. I've eaten in many Japanese ramen shops here in Hawaii and in Japan, and you can tell they take pride in their broth here. If you are looking for cheap ramen, this not the place for you. My kids commented that the broth was a little too oily but I didn't mind. If you are Japanese and want a home cooked meal, this is the place to come and eat.
I was able to sample few of there offerings since I was in the area, during covid there is still no in house dining so I took everything to go here is a break down of what I sampled and how each bowl measured up Tan Tan mein - one of my favorite bowls of ramen I always look for when going to any ramen type house. Their version was good, semi spicy broth colored red , the noodles were springy, the ground meat was seasoned well, the veggies also springy and crisp when biting down, I would order this again. I am use to the black tan tan mein offered by another ramen shop in the area, but this place I can easily see myself coming back and sampling more of their offerings based on just this bowl of deliciousness Spicy Garlic Tonkatsu - I was expecting this broth to have a bit more kick but sadly it did not have any kick, again the noodles springy, the veggies, crisp, the broth was creamy and heavy white in color, you will have to adjust and request for more spice on this bowl if you order it, it was good but didn't hit like the tan tan mein broth. If you have kids they will like this bowl, it is perfect for them, no spice and creamy. Sadly I would not sample this dish again, it was good but not what I was looking for. they do offer rolls, and other items deep fried, I will have to come back and sample more, if not eat in once covid restrictions go away. If you are in the area definitely stop by. Parking on a monday evening cusp of 6pm there was parking in front on el camino real, so easy bonus points on my end for making it accessible. ramen **** for the tan tan mein with spicy broth, *** for the spicy garlic tonkatsu price $$ service ***** helpful friendly staff, when I ordered on the phone they stated 15 min, got there in 5 min and my bowls were ready to go ambiance ***** they look ready for in house dining, clean, small tables for 2, upon entering you see the open face kitchen where all the deliciousness is made, watching then cut and prep the dishes is mesmerizing
Yu-Raku serves chuka, which is Japanese Chinese cuisine. It's quite interesting, as it's neither really Japanese or Chinese. Though I was hesitant because of the prices, you rarely come across a traditional fusion restaurant like this. The bentos look good, but I had to try their popular Yu-Raku ramen, which has a spicy shoyu ramen base with sauteed pork, yellow onion, and kikurage mushroom. Someone else here described it pretty succinctly: it tastes like Mongolian stir-fry put on top of ramen. You can order this in regular style or non spicy. I got the regular, which is quite spicy - it's the chili oil spice that you feel in the back of your throat. The smokiness from the stir frying is a very interesting thing to taste with ramen. There was a decent amount of thin pork pieces. The ramen itself is a bit thin, reminded me of Asian grocery mart noodles, and also like a hybrid of ramen and egg noodles. In terms of ramen, this isn't a flavor that I'd want again, but it was surprisingly filling. I tried my boyfriend's Ma-Ra tantan tsukemen, which was a special of the day. It was significantly better than the ramen, as it had cleaner flavors. The dipping sauce is made with spicy sesame and sansho pepper, and was quite savory and nutty, with well rounded heat. We thought the ramen could use some plumping, so just combined the noodles and dipping sauce as if it was soup ramen, which was fine - it just tasted like slightly concentrated tantanmen. The house blended miso ground pork was great - just some nice, moist, savory minced pork. A large amount of fresh cilantro helped bring a bright taste amidst all the spicy, savory meatiness. They also include a soft boiled egg, which is cold but perfectly runny in the middle. My main complaint is that this seemed like a snack-sized tsukemen, although it did satisfy my boyfriend. I really did enjoy the flavors from Yu-Raku, and can see it being pretty unique comfort food. However, the prices don't really match the food, especially when you're surrounded by so much Asian competition in San Mateo downtown. One awesome thing they might do for COVID-19 takeout orders is doodling something cute on your box, although I didn't get one probably because my order came in small containers.