Kamado Sushi

Hot towels to clean your hands before eating! FOOD IS SUPERB. Much try their Kalbi: D

What an amazing find! Found this here in Unilocal while in Berkeley for business. Came in on a Tuesday night around 8 but they were hopping pretty well! About 80% full, I was quickly seated at the sushi bar right in front of the owner, Jin. The service was absolutely impeccable! Teresa was one of the best servers I’ve ever had, as was Jin! The food was incredible. I ordered the sashimi special which came with miso soup (top 3 ever!) and a rainbow roll. The fish was fresh and the sushi was amazing. There was a couple seated next to me that had a very large bottle of sake that they keep on site. They even offered me some! If you are here and love sushi, this is the spot! Thank you!

Questionable on a number of things…
Came here upon my friends choosing for a place for a little mini-​reunion among old friends.
We had:
+++Agedashi Tofu+++
I love tofu in general, but this lacked that crunchy exterior or golden brown crisp I’m use to having. The plating was too simple. No garnish.
+++Croquette+++
Warning: It’s only a small single patty. We had ordered food to be shareable, but was not expecting only one paltry cake. It was nice for the dime size piece I had.
+++Kaisen Futomaki Sushi Roll+++
Our server said it was his favorite because of the different fishes. It had six different fishes. It tasted fresh, but in my opinion, there were too many proteins to really pinpoint a cohesive flavor. I personally enjoyed the salmon roe on top.
+++Fried Tempura Vegetables+++
Only highlight of the evening were these perfectly fried veggies. The batter was light and crispy.
I honestly cannot remember the other dishes we had in addition because they were okay.
+++Service+++
The young gentleman named Hesed, who was our server was nice in the beginning. But that was pretty much it. Our water glasses were empty mostly during the meal. He stopped by only once throughout the meal. Attentiveness is lacking. He dropped the bill before we were done before checking in. As a restaurant manager, I have a pet peeve against dropping the bill before the table is cleared or even before we are asked if we are finished.
Overall, would I go back? No. Potential for improvement? Absolutely.

Awesome service and food! We ordered a miso soup and plate of Nigiri. Kamado offers a broad variety of fish (also from Japan) and the chef even makes the Ikura himself! They have daily specials of Nigiri, like Wagyu Beef (which we had and which was delicious).
So we ordered a plate of Nigiri (picture) and received a beautifully round platter. The heritage and taste was comprehensively described by the chef himself! Best thing: He already arranged it in a progressive way that makes sense according to the taste of the fish. So he started with Hotate and finished with Tamago. Great Stuff!
Pricewise it was totally fine. With all the special fish we ordered, we ended up at around 110 $, which is more than fair for the quality. Would come here anytime again.

What a hidden gem. Kamado Sushi is 100 times better than Kirala in Berkeley but without the 30 minute wait! This place is clean, modern, and charming. The service was perfect. Our server poured us new tea every time we finished our cup. We were provided wet hot towels to clean our hands before dinner. The sake was good. We enjoyed the 8 piece sushi (very fresh fish) with miso soup and a roll with four kinds of fish in it. The combo tempura came with two shrimp and some veggies but the batter was a little too dense. Otherwise, the food overall and service was the best for a Japanese restaurant I’ve ever been to. Definitely coming back!

What a great spot in North Berkeley. It’s not the most affordable option but the prices aren’t too bad, especially given how good the food is.
Between the two of us, we ordered he hamachi collar, tempura udon, spinach with sesame, choro tuna nigiri, dragon roll and hamachi nigiri. That was definitely a lot of food and we could have done without the dragon roll. For me, the highlight was the hamachi collar which was cooked and seasoned perfectly well and was a fairly large portion. Similarly, the udon was big with a lot of tempura. We got the daily special of the choro tuna nigiri which was deliciously fatty and rich.
We were there on a Wednesday night, pretty early around 6 pm. It was quiet with a number of tables open at that time but it quickly filled up over the next hour.
Service is speedy and friendly.

Definitely come here for the lunch set specials, though the prices have risen since a year ago. Therefore, I was somewhat disappointed with the food to price ratio. The quality of the sushi was very fresh, but the quantity was pretty small — perhaps «Japanese» portions. The green tea tasted really watered down as well.
All the sushi chefs there were Japanese as well as the main waitress. I also noticed a couple of older Japanese couples, so that was probably a good sign as well. They really paid attention to the small details like the cute origami folded chopstick holders.
The chirashi set was $ 18 with just a few slices of sashimi. The sushi set at $ 13 was good, but the shrimp wasn’t too fresh. The rest of the fish were all very fresh, especially the salmon. Don’t know that I would come back here at these prices, but I was glad I was able to try it once. The prices may be better for a special occasion although it was quite a casual setting.

«Making that good first impression»
During Hanabata (small kid) days one of the first things we are taught is, «make a good first impression». This is the same with any business, especially restaurants. As so many people do, when deciding where to eat, we will check with friends and our modern version of the «word of mouth», which of course is Unilocal.
Berkeley seems to have many great Japanese restaurants so we decided to go to a new, well regarded restaurant close to where we were. Kamado Sushi is located in a newer, low-​rise retail building across the street from a CVS store.
A medium-​sized first floor restaurant, your first impression upon entering is a clean, contemporary feel with friendly and courteous service. The menu is similar to what you find at other Japanese restaurants but the key is noticeably better ingredients and superb execution. They also came with paper origami chopstick holders which we thought was very clever.
We ordered the Chirashi and it came with a delicious miso soup, a great soup made from scratch with two miso pastes. It is clearly not a run of the mill soup.
The Chirashi used the freshest cuts of seafood and tamago and was really tasty. The portion size was perfect, just the right amount of rice to topping ratio.
That first impression, from the time walked in to the completion of our meal was all thumbs up. A perfect way to end our passing visit through Berkeley. This is now our go-​to Japanese restaurant when in the area.

The best period!!! Get the chefs choice. I had the best scallop of my life as well as the best mackerel. Amazing.

Kamado is in an interesting and convenient location, nice atmosphere inside — although it feels a bit cramped when sitting at the bar. I really don’t like when I am sat at the bar and forced to sit next to someone when there are empty seats all around. I was too embarrassed to mention that when the hostess pushed my chair in she crushed my ankle and skinned it. I was bleeding but I didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable. Be careful when being sat.
My 6oz pour of sayuri was pretty expensive at $ 7. The miso soup was very tasty and I like the bowl they serve it in. The rice on the sashimi was very small and the amberjack didn’t have too much favor, texture seemed a bit off. I also had a dragon roll that didn’t have very much rice either. Unagi was flavorful but other than that one of my least favorite sushi places I have ever had.

Came here today for lunch. Treated this place as just another typical sushi place with overpriced and mediocre quality fish, but I was wrong!
I ordered a Tempura Udon (~$ 11) and a Sake Sushi (~$ 6.5), and it was phenomenal. I was greeted warmly and sat down with a hot cup of Matcha green tea. First, the Salmon pieces were surprisingly fresh, and they’re not stingy with their pieces at all. Usually at other places, the salmon piece is thin, but they give you a lot of rice on the bottom, but it’s the opposite for this place! The salmon really melted in my mouth, and it’s exceptionally chewy and flavorful. Second, the Tempura Udon really hit the home run for me. At other sushi place, you’ll probably just get a bowl of Udon with two pieces of shrimp tempura on top, but not here! I got a fresh bowl of tempura (with a variety of veggies and 3 pieces of shrimp) and a hot bowl of Udon paired with it. So much food for $ 11?! so worth it! The Udon was so decorated with many pieces of cucumber and shredded green onions; looks very authentic and appetizing. I also heard they have amazing Chirashi here, and I’m definitely coming back here for that soon!
So, amazing food, large proportion, and great service! What else could you ask for?

It was not just great sushi but also a great experience. Chef Jin explained us about all the sushi that he served with his lovely attitude. Each item in his selection had character. Each tasted great, and some were hard to call fish (melting like butter in your mouth).
I highly recommend the place, and definitely the sushi bar experience.

By far one of the best sushi restaurants I’ve been to!
There’s ample parking so you don’t have to worry about fighting for one because this is near a college and luckily, it was during summer when we went and it wasn’t as busy. Came here around dinner time and there was no wait time, thank God.
We were seated quickly and it was cute how they had paper stands for the chopsticks. If you don’t understand what I’m saying, you need to go to this place to experience it yourself! First time I’ve been to a restaurant that did that. They also give you hot, wet towels so you could clean your hands before eating.
The roll I got was amazing. It was perfectly made and you could taste all the ingredients. I love tempura so my sushi roll had crumbs of it so I could still taste the sushi wrapped in tempura. Ate through my roll quickly and wanted to get more but I decided that getting another roll would just be too much and I’d end up not eating all of it and just wasting it.
The staff was nice and the atmosphere of the restaurant was aesthetic. We were seated near the windows and the location was perfect since it’s between two roads.
Would I come back here again? YES! Would I recommend this to a friend? Absolutely!

Bel Forno Café and Bakery RIP. When this address was Bel Forno Café and Bakery, many St. Mary Magdalen parishioners used to stop by for a post-​church coffee and pastry. Kamado Sushi has taken over the old Bel Forno spot, it sure has been unoccupied for quite some time, and it is sure nice to see life back in there.
I have been eager to try Kamado Sushi since reading (my fellow Unilocaler and Golden Bear) Brittany N.‘s glowing golden review. I was greeted by a hostess and sushi chef Chef Jin. I only had time for takeaway sushi, so I ordered my usual litmus test of Tamago, Tempura, and Kappa (cucumber) sushi. I asked how long it would take as I had a bus to catch. I was informed that it would take about ten minutes as there were no orders ahead of me. I got there about 15 minutes to closing time, which is 2:30.
I walked around a bit before Chef Jin invited me to sit down and wait for my order. I was impressed with the minimalist décor. And the chopstick rests are origami cranes. There was origami sculptures at the sushi bar. I definitely want to come back here to enjoy a leisurely meal. My order was ready in under ten minutes, and enough time to catch the bus.
I was able to eat the sushi before the bus for home at the designated bus stop. I really loved the Tamago, moist and sweet in every bite. The tempura sushi roll was drizzled with a sweet and savory sauce as well and covered with a lot of tobiko. And the kappa maki was totally mighty fine. Cucumbers were fresh and crisp to the teeth. Oh yeah, I shall return for a nice leisurely lunch. I shall return.

Came here on a Friday night at around 8 pm. Restaurant was pretty full but we managed to get a table right when we get there.
Service was meh, we waited for 10 min to get our tea and to order food. Food took a long time to serve. We actually see our food waiting next to the sushi bar (for like 5 min) and but the waiters were too busy to serve them to us.
We ordered a rainbow roll and the sake oyako don. Both were okay… I have had better. We also ordered fried calamari legs as appetizer. But the appetizer actually came out after the sushi and after the first bit, I realized that it was ice cold. We told the waiter about it, and she came back with a hot sizzling one (probably refried it). It was much better. We also ordered the yosenabe. In the description they claimed to have oysters, but it turned out to be mussels –_​– Food does not really worth the price.
2 stars cause of the service but the food was worth 3 stars.
Overall, I think this place is with great potential, may come again sometime soon.

My boyfriend and I went here for our anniversary and we loved it! We started off with sake and calamari rings. The sake came in a giant bottle and as a cute touch we got to choose our sake cups from a nice selection. The calamari rings were by far one of our favorite things! They were crispy and delicious!
The sushi was also really good. My favorite was the shrimp tempura roll. To top it off, the waitress was very nice and helpful. Definitely looking forward to come back soon!

Kamado Sushi is my new favorite Japanese restaurant in Berkeley! I’ve come here 3 – 4 times since their opening day and have enjoyed every meal. It is situated across the street from Safeway, right where Shattuck turns into Henry Ave.
When you first walk in, you are warmly greeted by the sushi chef himself (Chef Jin) as well as the friendly servers. The lighting is soft and warm, with dark woods and grey tiles on the floor. There are folded origami chopstick holders perched atop square wooden tables. Service has always been very accommodating and amiable.
Each dish mirrors the excellent service — delicious to the last bite! My favorite dish is the sake oyako don, which I’ve ordered twice already! Thick slices of high quality, fresh sashimi salmon are arranged on top of a thin bed of sweet vinegar rice. The sashimi rose has seared edges so the rose petals have a unique and delicate look. Radish sprouts, daikon, salmon roe, and yellow tamago triangles accent the bowl with appealing colors. I’ve also had the pleasure of enjoying the tekka don bowl, which is the same idea as the salmon bowl but with tuna instead of salmon. One of the great things about these bowls is that they use the right amount of rice. There is never too much rice, which is often what happens with these types of bowls when I order them at Japanese restaurants. Every bowl also comes with a 5-​star, deliciously fragrant, miso soup!
We’ve also thoroughly enjoyed ordering the agedashi tofu for appetizer, as you get a generous amount of lightly fried tofu squares with savory broth. Others have told me that they’ve really liked the assorted seafood tempura as well. Kamado not only has excellent quality sashimi, they also know how to expertly fry a thin skin over their tempura and tofu. This wonderful restaurant brings the warmth of a home to a table full of skillfully crafted Japanese dishes. I’ll be back many, many times! =D

Kamado Sushi is open for lunch! relatively small spot. single diner, given choice of bar or table. either one ok, went for table by window. (almost all of them by window, this space is that small)
menu: typical, ramen, udon, appetizers, rolls, 3 kinds of izakaya. browze menu looking for chirashi, sashimi deals.
eats:
–chicken breast skewer @3.50
not a lot of flavor, fresh breast meat…3ish stars
–chirashi (lunch) special (13.50)
couple set pieces plus chef’s choice…
tuna (2), hamachi, seared tuna, grilled mackeral, tamayo (2), ebi, salmon eggs, seaweed, sliced mushrooms, suzuki
*every item fresh, flavorful, even the tuna. 5 stars, quality, value.
temaki:
–have no idea where Master sushi chef Jin hails from (Ochame?), he’s GREAT!
–nice paper origami chopstick holders on each table.
–service is what u get with one waitress. on duty. (no pretensions however).
–go for the sashimi here at the minimum.

Kamado Sushi has got some serious potential. It’s a cozy restaurant with a more sophisticated feel to it. Each of the 10 – 12 tables inside is set with an origami chopstick holder, and it’s beautifully furnished. (And I rarely talk about a restaurant’s décor.) The sake oyakodon is fantastic: thick slices of raw salmon, with a scoop of salmon roe, two pieces of tamago, with mushrooms and pickled radish over rice. The meat-​to-​rice ratio isn’t deceiving like it can be at other Japanese places, so it was worth the $ 16.
Although the entrée was delicious, I wasn’t impressed with the appetizers. The calamari rings come with about eight rings and ponzu sauce, and they were too breaded for my liking. The chawanmushi (Japanese custard with shrimp, chicken, and mushrooms) comes in a super small container and tasted like mushroom soup. The service here, unfortunately, left a lot to be desired. They completely forgot that we ordered agedashi tofu and forgot to bring our miso soup twice.
Still, I give them the benefit of the doubt. Kamado is a new restaurant, and once they work out some of the kinks, I think this could be a great place in Gourmet Ghetto.

Master sushi chef Jin has opened his own place at the North end of the gourmet ghetto (after establishing the reputations of other restaurants here and across the bridge), and it is a welcome addition to the local scene — if you love fresh, creative, and delicious Japanese cuisine served with the heartfelt warmth of a team dedicated to ensuring a wonderful dining experience, this is where you need to be.
I am sure this will become an East Bay destination as his team gets into the groove and word gets around. Thoughtful details include hot steamed towels as you are seated (in Japan you eat nigiri sans chopsticks, the towels facilitate), origami chopstick holders, excellent presentations, abundant smiles, and gracious greetings.
A great indicator is the miso soup — this is house made fresh daily with the dashi stock started in the morning as the base. They use two kinds of miso as well so the result is a very rich and layered flavor — not that out of the box broth that other restaurants sometimes use.
The lunch specials are also really great — $ 12.50 for amazing quality sushi or sashimi assortment with miso soup. The spicy tuna roll is very good — big strips of tuna with spicy sauce.
If you are a seasoned sushi enthusiast I recommend sitting at the bar and asking Chef Jin to treat you to an Omakase evening. He selects his ingredients from multiple vendors and always has something intriguing that you won’t find elsewhere.
Yes you can drive across the bridge and pay an inordinately high premium to feel smugly exclusive (I am guilty) or you can come here and feel like you are a part of a family that cares about you and leave with a smile and warm feeling in your heart.