Izakaya Restaurant

My favorite hole in the wall Japanese izakaya! The authenticity is really there, I always feel like I'm back in Japan whenever I go to this place. From their extensive menu to the fresh, good quality ingredients for the price, you can't find any other than this one right here. You know the Japanese food is always going to be good when it's ran and owned by a Japanese family.

I highly recommend getting their sushi boats if you're feeling adventurous and can't decide on what kind of sushi you want. For fried stuff, I really love their Nagoya fried chicken. It's perfectly seasoned and crispy with a slight soy sauce and zesty hint to it.

For the perfect little treat at the end, you have to get their fried dorayaki (Japanese red bean filling pancake). It's like a deconstructed parfait.

I highly advise you to come early because this place fills up really quickly.

What a cool little hidden gem! Seriously, if you did not know where you were going, you'd think you were lost. It's in the same building as House of Genji, just go to the left when you walk in. The fact that they close at 11 is a big bonus!!! I arrived late and after checking into my hotel, and running a few errands, it was 10 pm.

Friendly greeting, I was given a seat at the sushi bar. I didn't want to eat heavy, though I could've because whatever was cooking when I sat down smelled sooooo good! I ordered an eel roll and a trio of sashimi: salmon, ahi, and I think hamachi...whatever it was, it was soooooo melt in your mouth tender! Everything was delicious and hit the spot! I also had a Sapporo draft.

The staff is really friendly! I wasn't hurried, I felt I could've kept ordering but it was late and I just needed something to take off the hunger edge. Great place to come to! Not sure about the parking lot, so I parked on the street.

If you're looking for a no frills, bar seating, authentic Japanese food -- this is your place.

Been coming here since I was a kid and this restaurant is a staple of Japantown SJ. It's open late night, so if you're feeling sushi after-hours...

Food is fairly priced and my god, just the taste and ambiance brings me back to Japan. You don't need to go to Michelin/hyped up sushi joints. Those places are for when you're trying to impress someone.

But if you want that legit, intimate experience you'd get walking down an alleyway in Tokyo, this is where you'll have those meaningful experiences and indulge in great food.

I typically get the Omakase or Chiarashi. Both depends on how I feel for the night.

Izakaya is a pretty small and a bit cramped restaurant, but I did appreciate their food and service. It stays open until 11 PM on weekdays, so it's actually one of the rare restaurants to be open that late, making it a very decent choice.

Their bento boxes are reasonably priced for the amount of food they come with. The teriyaki chicken was flavorful and delicious. The veggie tempura was crisp and freshly fried, and their sushi was also very delectable. The chicken katsu is also a very good option to order. I enjoyed the crispiness and flavor of the breading. The salad dressing was amazing - I don't normally eat salad, but I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Their service was actually fast, and the staff were very attentive. They refilled our cups with water even before asking, and always came to our table to ask if we needed anything, despite the restaurant being filled with customers that evening.

Came here for our valentines dinner and it was such a good dinner. This place is small so it gets busy and wait is long but luckily we beat the rush and didn't have to wait too long to be seated. The service was really good and the waiter was very attentive to us

We ordered sake and the waiter helped us pick between our options. I also got an oyster shooter which is one of their popular items and it was so yummy! It has a qual egg yolk inside that complimented the oyster very nicely.

For dinner, we shared an appetizer and I learned the sushi bento box, which was very filling. All the sushi was fresh and the food came out really fast.

I came on a Friday evening with my partner for dinner. It was a bit confusing to get inside because they don't have their own door. You'll need to go through the restaurant next door's entrance, and this restaurant's door will be located immediately to the left. The interior is very small. Upon entering, the restaurant was full, except for 1 table. The waitress said the table was booked for a reservation, but still seated us if we could finish eating by then, giving us ~20-30 minutes to eat. We didn't mind at all and I appreciate her still giving us the opportunity to dine in.

We ordered okonomiyaki, yakitori (chicken thigh and chicken skin), beef tongue, and a tuna makimono. I would skip on the yakitori; it wasn't as juicy and crisp as I anticipated. The beef tongue, makimono, and the okonomiyaki especially were delicious! Food came out promptly and the waitress checked up on us multiple times and even asked if we wanted to order more! It's a cozy place and we had a great experience here.

Small and homey, this place delivered! I called for a res that day and the sweet lady who helped me was hard to understand but I took away that we had a chance for a table for 2 around 7pm.
This restaurant is not Sushi zen which is at the corner of the connected establishments that make up the block where Jade cathay is. We went to the wrong place first. For Izakaya you go into the entrance for the teppanyaki hibachi restaurant and go to the left. Small inside, meaning about 4 tables plus the sushi bar. We put our name on the clipboard list and waited. Our lady came and sat us after the next table of 4 left. There were others with bigger parties waiting but she gave us that table and we were so thankful cuz hangry (only waited about 15mins.) We had made a few pleasantries when I first came in and mentioned the reservation so I think she took care of us. Niceness wins in these situations, not overly high strung attitudes which was what I witnessed among others. It is small. Don't bring your big family and then get frustrated you have to wait a while.
We loved it here- the salad that comes with dinners is large and you get to use as much dressing as you want (loved this,) green tea on ice, oyster shooters and the sushi boat for two! It was small, cozy, friendly and the freshest sushi I've had in a long time. I felt transported to a different time and place, where cellphones don't get you everything and a smile and friendly chitchat go a long way. Our server was adorable, young hip asian and I loved the atmo- good music, nice people, amazing freakin sushi. A great night out with friends or for a date night, Izakaya is well worth the wait!

Date of Interaction: 2024-01-18

TL;DR:
- Actual rating: 4.2/5
- Rounded rating: 4/5
- An intimate and authentic-feeling izakaya with a pretty decent Osaka-style okonomiyaki.

Food:
- Okonomiyaki (4/5): The okonomiyaki was served nice and fresh and had good flavor; while it felt a little bit batter-heavy for me, that might just be me finding out I like Hiroshima-style more than Osaka-style where the toppings are mixed together (essentially it was kind of like a giant flat takoyaki). The portion was also huge--big enough for two meals. I'll have to try the buta variety next time.
- Saba Nigiri (4/5): There was a good balance between the savory richness of the fish's fattiness and flavor and the vinegar's acidity. The texture of the flesh also didn't feel frozen or "overcooked" by the vinegar.

Service:
- Attentiveness & Relatability (4/5): There was some miscommunication, as I ordered the fresh saba but was given the regular saba instead and later learned they ran out of fresh saba. I'll give them the benefit of the doubt on this, and the regular saba nigiri was still good. Also, the waitresses were super friendly and attentive.
- Wait (4/5): They seem to expect reservations, but I came at a time that wasn't busy so was quickly seated. Food came out within a reasonably expected amount of time.

Ambiance:
- Space (4/5): The space is intimate with an interior that's nicely designed and aesthetic. The downside is that the intimacy of the space (it's smaller than I was expecting!) can result in people watching and waiting through the glass panes for a table to open up, which may feel a little bit uncomfortable for some.
- Noise (5/5): I don't recall background music, but the restaurant fills up rather quickly so conversations are the ambient noise here, which I enjoy in a bustling dining establishment.

Tried out this place for dinner on a weekday and got their buta okonomiyaki! My party got the salmon sashimi and bento box. All their food is made very fresh and hot, and generally tastes pretty good. Portions, presentation and service were good as well. The location is small and intimate, with a bar section and several 4-person tables, with total capacity around 25 people. I came around 6 so there was no wait, but I can see this place having a wait on weekends or later times.

The place can be difficult to find since the sign is not obvious. There is a large parking lot on the side with signs for a Chinese place and Genji. The entrance and address for both Izakaya and Genji seem to be the same, so when you enter at the street-side entrance, Izakaya will be directly on the left (do not go straight upon entering towards the counter for Genji).

My SO suggested this restaurant and it is allright. We selected many sushi dishes, different beef tongue flavors, a sushi boat, bento boxes, chirashi bowls and okonomiyaki. The okonomiyaki is the best I have had in the states and this place is perfect for large groups.

They had a large group waiting by the time it was 6:30pm. The food is great for a late night out with lots of alcohol. The food quality is decent and it is a bit hard to find this location. It was a nice place to try out all the dishes and their best dish was easily their beef tongue. Sushi is a pass.