We had an excellent meal here. The Gyoza was great and we all adored our sushi rolls. They were affordable and very well-made. The ramen was delicious. Pretty standard but well-made and would definitely come back for it. The only thing that was a bit off was the timing of the meal. We wanted to enjoy our appetizers and drinks before getting the meal ending ramen. The icing was more like dim sum. The wait it was about a half hour and there are a lot of great places to go have a drink to pass the time. Or you can just wait on the patio.
Bustling Japanese-style pub that is well worth the wait to get in. The menu offerings are pretty standard for an izakaya outpost: an array of small plates (think tapas) as well as entrée-sized noodle and rice dishes. Comfort food all around! They used to also have a page of more off-beat and limited-time specials that were quite memorable too.. hopefully that's still a thing but I may have missed it this time around. Make sure to check the board!
Service is fast once you're seated and ordering. Food is hot and fresh. The Masa Karaage Fried Chicken is a must-have.. tender and moist Japanese fried chicken. Their cold zaru soba is excellent too; the soba is cooked to a good chewy consistency, not mushy and overcooked like some other places do.
Note that they don't take reservations at all. Arrive early and/or be prepared to wait. But again, worth the wait!
Great food! Great atmosphere! Felt like an izakaya in Japan. I got the Hakata ramen, spicy salmon roll, and the house sake.
I’ve been stopping in every trip I take to San Diego for a few years. I was so excited to eat here since it had been since the start of the pandemic since I’d been. You do usually have to wait a bit for a table, but the service is quick and high quality and food comes out fast. The food is tasty, I haven’t had anything I didn’t enjoy, but definitely have my favorites.
Pretty nice and authentic. TLDR: soft shell crab is bomb but an acquired taste. It seems very traditional compared to any other place I’ve been too for sushi and ramen; I had the soft shell crab and it was amazing but definitely a acquired taste since it’s the whole crab fried and halfed and the dynamite lobster roll which was good too but seemed pretty standard compared to any other I had until I paired it with the sauce that came with the crab which made it way better. I also had the green tea ice cream which was a lot less sweet then I expected but it didn’t ruin it, it made me feel mellowed out which is nice. I’d recommend dropping by when there is parking.
Really like the decor. Delicious food and they had hokke on the menu. I should have brought cash because none of my major cards were accepted except my debit card. The server also didn't seem to like that we requested a table change (size preference for the amount of food we ordered) so it was slightly weird. There was no one waitlisted at the time.
My husband and I love going here! The food and service is always great. The only thing we don't love is how tight it can get with seating sometimes, since they are always so busy.
Our average wait time at this restaurant is 45min - 1hr. We go during dinner time (anywhere from 6-7:30) and have gone several different days of the week. Definitely worth the wait!
Got there at 6 right when they opened and man were we late!! But after the 30 minute wait we sat down ordered some sake and some small plates. I can't remember everything we ordered but everything was superb!! Everything was cooked perfectly and tasted great! So ready to go back and try other stuff!! GET THERE EARLY!
Legendary place that’s been around for a while! You get the fun Japanese pub vibe (Izakaya) with quality food and authentic dishes. No reservations and sometimes limited days open for business, we try to walk in every chance we get!
Study the menu and try them all! This isn’t your run of the mill “sushi place” but their sushi is great! My staples here are the rice don (egg onion savory sauce over fried chips over rice, their fried oysters, and SURPRISINGLY their California roll alll really clean-your-plate-leave-no-grain-of-rice-behind good!
Awesome place been giving you tasty Japanese flavors since as early as my college days, can’t go wrong with this place!
I've traveled the entire USA eating ramen this to me, is average. They don't offer soft boiled eggs to go with your ramen. On top of that the broth left many things to be desired. The takoyaki appetizer was the best part of my meal.
My husband ordered the gyudon and it was fabulous!!! If your craving traditional entree's/ appetizer's I would give this place a try. If you're coming here just for ramen you might leave a little disappointed.
We had more food than the pictures but both my hubby and my brother dove in before I could take pictures. Everything was delicious.
Tip: This little place is popular (hidden gem that it is), I would suggest arriving at least a couple minutes before they open to get your pick of seats.
We arrived barely 30 minutes after they opened & already they were at capacity, there inside and small outside patio full of happy chatting customers. We already had 2 couples and a group of 3 ahead of us and by the time we were seated there were even more people waiting to have dinner from this wonderful treasure.
They also did pickup but you have to call, you can't walk in and order for pickup.
I will definitely recommend to my friends who live in the area & who come to visit.
Great late night eating spot! Got the same vibe as the ones in Japan. Quick service, recommend the hot house sake! 🍶
We’ve been coming here for years and it’s always a great time with great food. Worth the wait (it can be a while ~45 mins or so) but make sure to stay around the area.
We usually have their ramen and/or sushi rolls but anything you’re craving it won’t disappoint.
Ok folks is this taking my top spot for best ramen??? I’m definitely doing a hard hard think on it. This is how the ramen was in Japan. The ‘hakata ramen’ in particular had a prefect level of oil to the base… something that too often gets overlooked and ruined in other SD ramen joints. Noodles had the perfect bite. Wowzers im very satisfied and of course will return. PS on a Tuesday night around 9 the dining room was empty! Food came within 5 minutes of ordering. Very friendly folks here. 10/10 easily
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