On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Category: Sushi Bars [Edit]
1019 Camelia Street
Loading...
My parents came up for lunch and I thought I'd take them here. The place is tiny and full of cutesy figurines including the one-paw-raised kitty cat. :P
The menu items are kept simple...probably makes it easier since it's family owned and there's usually only two people serving you. The sushi chef who is the owner and the lady host (I'll find out her name one of these days, hehe) who is also the waitress. Both are very friendly.
The softshell crab was a good appetizer along with my miso soup. My tempura over rice was good. My mom liked her spider roll. My dad was a little bummed that his udon soup only came with a few pieces of tempura but overall enjoyed his meal.
love love love this place. and the bob marley. while i do occasionally go to Kirala or Uzen, it is Banzai that i call my sushi 'home'. wonderful basic fantastic fish. mmmm.
Good, small, neighborhood Japanese food
Habit-forming
It's really a solid three stars. The sushi is pretty standard-- nothing outrageous like - Tarzan vs The Anaconda of Doom or anything. The cooking is reliably fresh and done well. The service is very good.
- Important Things you should know -
The place is a little dirty- a little worn. Compared to most Japanese restaurants you could say it's filthy.
The restroom is not palatial. There is a permanent piss stain burned into the floor front of the toilet. It's dim and depressing in there- definitely not the place to finish your doctoral thesis.
There's a decent Sake selection which I have plans to cover in depth. I return to work after lunch all smiley with rosy cheeks and everyone's my friend.
I used to go here with my parents a lot when I was younger. Nagano-san, the owner and sushi chef, is quite the character and it is worth it to become a regular because he will give you plenty of attention at the bar and let you test out his original recipes for him. Also the music is great since he's a HUGE Bob Marley fan. The atmosphere is a lot better than the trendy sushi bars that one sees these days.
The dinner menu is pretty good too. The food is decent Japanese comfort food fare. It's a bit difficult to find since it's in a residential neighborhood, but it makes for much cozier atmosphere.
My friends took me to this place because they lived nearby. It's difficult to give your heart to a sushi place... you never know how it'll accept. If it'll hold your heart and sing lullabyes to it... or if it'll throw it back in your face.
Anywho, I found this place to be perfect! It was small and quaint and the staff are very friendly.
I love that it's in the middle of nowhere. I tried to lead my friends to it once and I was all, "It's near a green house! Not like, a house full of plants green house, but a house that's painted green greenhouse!"
Yup. It's next to a house painted green. It's delicious and affordable. You should check it out sometime!
Pretty good. Ambiance was really nice, staff was helpful but not intrusive. Worth visiting again.
I've been coming here for more than three years with my (now) husband who has been coming here for almost 20 years. I love this place because the fish is very fresh and of excellent quality. I love, love, love uni and Banzai has not disappointed me. I've also brought many friends and co-workers here and have not had a bad meal. The sushi chef and staff are very friendly. The price is reasonable for the quality of fish. Some sushi/sashimi staples that we order are uni, amaebi, hamachi, shiro maguro, maguro, tobiko with quail egg, katsuo, saba, engawa, unagi, just to name a few. We also eat their udon and teriyaki variations when we want to deviate from the fish, which are also yummy and tasty.
I've been eating here for 20 years now. My dad always gets the sashimi appetizer and German potato, my mom and I typically get saba-shio and maybe a few pieces of nigiri.
One might wonder how this cozy place has survived so long being so secluded and hidden behind the trees out front. Pay them a visit and you'll see a room full of loyal patrons like myself.
Sushi Banzai is an awesome sushi bar that's still remained pretty low key. I'm almost hesitant to Yelp it lest it become too popular, bringing in crowds and ultimately lowering the quality by making the chef have to work insane work hours.
Some college friends of mine made me discover this jewel of a place when I visited them back in the late 90s or early 2000. I've only been back a couple of times since then, but the sushi is absolutely divine and the chef is very friendly. As several reviewers have already said, they take very good care of their regulars. That said, even if you're a Banzai virgin, you'll be very pleased with your dining experience, so enjoy!
Sushi banzai is an authentic Japanese restaurant nicely located in a relaxed neighborhood. The employees there are very very friendly and have a positive attitude. The sushi chef is quite a charactor and you can often find yourself chatting with him for a while. I highly reccomend this place to people wanting to try Japanese food that's not made by authentic japs lol. And the guy that works there owns a very nice Toyota Supra.
I love that there is always reggae playing and the sushi is consistently good!
I used to be in the neighborhood, and ate here all the time. The staff is friendly and recognizes regulars. The sushi is decent (on a par with Sushi California). The waitstaff are very good with children.
Recommended for casual lunch or dinner.
A small, family-owned sushi restaurant near REI. The sushi chef will let you play with the toys if you are nice.
Suhi Banzai is hands-down the most family-friendly sushi restaurant in Berkeley.
I thought is was OK - not great but not bad. It is what it is...pretty good japanese food and smallish, quaint atmoshere. But my tuna sushi was not real fresh so I was abit surprised based on all the posiitve reviews and its proximity to a japanese fish market. Maybe it was because it was Sunday night. At any rate, if you are in the neighborhood, it's worth a visit for lunch but it is perhaps not worth it as a distination restaurant.
one of my friends actually recommended the place so my group and i decided to try it out. the place was cozy, which was very nice because usually places that are "mom and pop" turn out pretty good (at least from my experience). we noticed that all the customers were regulars and seem to get along real well with the chef.
anotehr thing we noticed was that the prices were a bit more than other japanese restaraunts in the area but it was understandable because it was a privately owned place.
the food was pretty good. everything looked delicious and the sushi rolls are great. we had the 69 (which has turned out to be my fave thing at the place now) and this other roll that i didn't catch the name of. the nigiri sushi looked like sushi figurines and the fishes didn't leave a bad after taste.
you can tell that the people running it were a very close group and very intimate towards the customers. i would definitely go back. a friend said that it would have to be the best place in berkeley and i must agree.
I second the Banzai nomination. Good times and great sushi.
Cozy, friendly neighborhood restaurant. I was surprised that they don't have fresh salmon sushi, only smoked salmon sushi. Menu is also somewhat limited, but hold on. I didn't mean for this to be a negative review. The staff is friendly and accommodating and it's very obvious that Banzai has a steady, loyal clientele.
Yet another great Berkeley sushi place. It's far away from everything --- I found it through Yelp!
Seems like it could be OK for non-vegetarians, but it was very hard for us to order. They did give us some edamame to make up for the fact that we couldn't get a bunch of the items that came with our meal. The curry dish was kinda small, but with an insane amount of white rice. This place seems to live off those who shop at the yuppie stores down the block.
One of my favorite sushi places. The chef plays reggae music while he works his magic. It's small and out of the way, a bit far for me, but always worth the trip.
This is some darn good sushi. I came here once on my lunch break, and got the lunch special. It was so good that I had to bring friends. The sushi is fresh and melts in your mouth. The tempura is wonderful, and for a change, it isn't greasy. The service is excellent as well. The sushi chef is friendly, and the wait staff are more than competent. If only I lived a little closer, I might come here more often.
on a snot-drippingly cold day, sometimes theres nothing better than spending your lunch hour steaming over a hot tea and bowl of tempura soba or veggie udon. this spot is especially good for that. the sushi and teriyaki is good, but i like the soup here best. the staff is always friendly here and the prices are reasonable. its a real mom n pop place with stained carpet, old furniture, and can be a bit chilly when you sit next to the window in the winter. obviously you dont go here to be seen or to say youve gone, you just go because you like the food and the relaxed atmosphere. if i could give another half star, i would--just because the middle-aged sushi chef likes to listen to bob marley while he cuts and rolls.
meh. i came to this place for lunch on a weekday in hopes of some delicious fish. sadly, i did not find it. the tuna was a little fishy tasting and the yellowtail roll was weird and mushy. it was like the chef was using the dregs of the fish and trying to disguise it with a bunch of scallion. the unagi roll was pretty good and the miso soup average. the waitress was very attentive (it's a very small place) and the chef was friendly, but i felt like i got gypped for the price. for the price, this was pretty mediocre.
this place is great. i love this place. very cozy and great food
In this sleepy little part of Berkeley, tucked away on the corner of Camelia, is one of the best sushi bars I have ever experienced. I am a traditionalist when it comes to my fish and the chef/owner is a perfectionist in my estimation. For me, the rice, fish portion and combination of flavors are essential in a sushi experience, this chef has that skill. I was also gratefully surprised that the age-dashi tofu, fried baby octopus and sake selection were delicious and again the texture and flavor were just right. I had been eating sushi most of my life and I was shown how to truly enjoy this culinary tradition.
just got back from a dinner here with my boyfriend and his grandparents. legit sushi.
Neighborhood: North Berkeley
Category: Japanese
Berkeley, CA
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: UC Campus Area
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Downtown Berkeley
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Uptown
Category: Music Venues
A nisei's chronicle of Japanese eats in the Bay…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
