Kirala 2 Japanese Cuisine

Stopped by for a quick dinner. I like Japanese restaurants that give you a warm wash cloth for your hands. The service was fast. I sat at the bar and my sushi chef was wonderful. He was funny and easy to chat with. Overall I had a great experience.

***100% Japanese approved***
Great place for a fish craving. The sushis are a bit expansive ($ 13) but if you purchase worth more than $ 10 you get another bento for free! Which is awesome.

It was a decent experience with average food. I was hoping that they had more selections. We got some of their sushi, gyoza, and shrimp shu mai. Their shushi tasted the same and it was one of the most average sushi I had. Gyoza was decent as well as the shrimp shumai.
The good thing though was that their outdoor seating was beautiful. It’s shaded so it made our experience much better.
Would I come back here again? No I wouldn’t. If you love pre-​made sushi, maybe this is a place for you. The price correlates with its quality.

Best pre-​made sushi I’ve had.
I didn’t make note on the names of the take-​out I grabbed. But you can see it in the pics.
One bento was 5 nigiri and a roll.
The other was a bento of 3 small rolls.
All were do good. The nigiri was super fresh, with wasabi perfectly matched under the fish.
The roll’s rice was tight but not wet.
Just so good. The rolls are worth it.

Got the takeout nigiri. I actually was pleasantly surprised by the flavor, and the overall quality was not bad. The pieces were pretty big, also the mini spicy tuna rolls were good.

Not bad for a takeout meal, but a bit pricey.
Kirala 2 is one of the takeout places in the Epicurious Garden. It feels different from the main Kirala, so it is best to think of it as its own thing.
I’ve tried several items from them including the sashimi, a few of the seaweed salads, the inari, the seasoned rice, and the katsudon. Everything has been pretty tasty. I was even surprised at the fresh taste of the sashimi. Paying $ 10 for 6 pieces of fish is not uncommon at a restaurant, but for some reason it feels more expensive when it is just takeout. It always looks so temptingly delicious though…
The best things are probably the things you can eat without having to reheat them.
If you just want a fast takeout meal or some snacks for a picnic, I think Kirala 2 is a good choice if you are not on a budget.

We ordered chicken katsu, Alaskan roll and Shrimp tempura. The chicken katsu was cold and very chewy and the rice was cold and very very sticky. The shrimp tempura bites were waaay to big for any human-​sized mouth and fell apart before it had even reached my mouth. Probably because of all the green decoration they decided to add in. Got almost no ginger, and if I wanted more I would have to pay extra. The only good thing about this place was the salmon.

So, if you’re famished on a Friday night, this may not be the place for you. We had a 45 minute wait. However, if you’re up for the wait GO FOR IT.
Started with pot stickers and a seaweed salad. So delicious. The pot stickers were coffee to perfection. Our house salad arrived and I find myself, not so much wanting more greens but the dressing. Oh so divine!
Moat of the members of our party (there were seven of us) ordered different entrees and as we shared there was not one complaint.
My leftovers came home with me and were quite delicious. I’ll return next time I am in Berkeley

This place is heaven-​sent and more of a testimonial and any other of how lucky we are to live in this area. This is top of the line sushi. I feel actually both guilty and ridiculous buying sushi for the same price at Whole foods, when the quality is beyond comparison. As any sushi lover knows, it’s all in the rice and the tight rolls with perfectly done rice, every time is not easy to do but they do it. The fish is always fresh, not fishy, generous slices of melt-​in-​your-​mouth goodness.
Well worth the price which is totally reasonable relative to sushi prices overall and given the quality. A+++

Fresh sushi on the go when you are a mom with 3 kids in tow. They also offer cooked items like salmon bento box with Japanese veggies, rice & pickled plum. The seawees salad is refreshing. A great spot for kids.

The take-​out Japanese food (sushi, bento boxes, and other things) available at Kirala 2 is, as the subtext for Unilocal’s rating system puts it, A-​OK. Depending on the item, I would say their prices range from reasonable to somewhat higher than I would prefer to pay to for the quantity and quality of food.

This place is over hyped and priced! Oh, but is in the Bay Area where everything is over priced! Don’t get me wrong, the food is good, just a crowded place! The rolls that they give you are small as hell and its a great place to go if you want a nibble! But when I got my salmon and avocado roll it was like giving a whale a Tic Tac! I guess eating sushi in LA has spoiled me to the point that when I order a roll I get a nice portion and my money worth. When they gave me my roll here, the six pieces I got were the equivalent to two prices I usually get! Oh well, you can’t please everyone! Go here if you want a «taste» but not a meal!

Japanese food-​to-​go and oh so yummy!
Chicken karage, seaweed salad, vegetable fritter (thinly sliced onions, vegetables and deep fried). Fresh, flavorful and inexpensive. And if you come in early enough… if you spend more than $ 10 you get a free item with an orange sticker (day old items from sushi, bento, bowls)

Foods here are both okay and expensive, not at all exceptional like lots of reviews.
Rolls here are no where comparable to Sushi House in Alameda, which I strongly recommend if you want sushi rolls.

Kirala 2 is just ok… Nothing compared to the original Kirala. Sushi is for sure good but too expensive for be a take away place.

We like to come here to get our sushi fix because we can bring the kiddo and not worry about bothering people. Seating is outside or next to the window so super informal. We enjoy the yummy sushi combo (5 nigiri + spicy tuna), sashimi, and this last time got the Alaska roll with brown rice (salmon and avocado with rice on the outside).

Fresh quality take out sushi.

I came here again today, and noted that the service was indeed so deplorable that I will never, ever return again. One word to perfectly summarize the old lady at the checkout: Rude!
She gave me a tiny paper bag; there were clearly larger ones right next to her, so, as I was carrying a lot of things in hand, I naturally asked if I could have the larger kind. She snapped at me and said, «NO, use this one,» and shoved the original one in my face, then proceeded to ignore me and talk to the next customer. I angrily grabbed my receipt and left, shocked at what she just did.
Apparently, Kirala 2 is a business that is too cheap to switch a small, flimsy paper bag to a larger one.
On to the food: cold, dry, tiny portions, and lacking in flavour. I cringe at the thought of how many times I’ve made the bad decision to come here in the past, and thanks to this experience today, I am now sure I won’t make the same mistake of coming here again.
In summary, overpriced frozen food with rude service? No thanks, not even if it were free.
To anyone considering Kirala 2: Please Avoid! You’d probably regret coming here too.

The to-​go sushi offerings are okay. Nothing amazing to write home about. The prices are average, and are by no means a steal. The sushi is pre-​made generally, and are available to be grabbed. However if there is something that is not available, you can order it and they’ll make it for you.
The beau and I ordered: kaki fry (fried oysters); Alaskan Roll; Shrimp Tempura and Avocado Roll and Salmon Skin Roll.
The kaki fry was really good. $ 1.50 each. Fresh and delicious. Wish I had more.
Alaskan roll had a good amount of salmon. Decent size.
Shrimp Tempura and avocado had two pieces of shrimp tempura. They were made to order and were fresh.
The salmon skin roll was underwhelming. Actually so underwhelming that it didn’t feel like there was anything in it at all. I usually expect salmon skin roll to have a nice crunch in there, it was just lacking.
It was difficult to determine what the «orange» stickers mean. There was a sign that said if you spent at least $ 10, you can have an orange item for free, but on each orange item there was a «reduced» price. Ultimately, it was the latter. There were various «orange» items from sushi, bento boxes, salad, appetizers. Of course I tried to get the most expensive one, the katsu bento box. Score! I think «orange» also meant a day old, so long as it was not raw, it’s okay by me.

Kirala 2 is a more informal (takeout) version of the sit-​down restaurant in South Berkeley, Kirala. The first thing you see when you first walk in to the northern entrance of the Epicurious Garden is a brightly lit display of sushi. On the left is their display of bento boxes, rice dishes, and other noodle dishes. They also have a side display next to the cashier, which contains Asian drinks (Ramune!), seaweed salad, and individually wrapped mochi.
All of their sushi is extremely fresh and appetizing, but for a student with a modest college budget, I opted for the less expensive (under $ 10 and probably more filling) rice dishes. I chose katsu-​don, a combination of lightly breaded pork over egg, seasoning, pickled radish, and rice. It was very yummy! I would come back here again for lunch or when I don’t have time to make dinner. One small thing that I appreciate: Upon paying for your meal with a card, there is NO line to write a tip before signing your name. I know this is a very minor detail, but I really like this. Most places, regardless of if they are takeout restaurants or not, include this tip line so you feel obligated to add an extra dollar to your total. Kudos to Kirala 2 for recognizing that they are a takeout restaurant. Very friendly and approachable cashiers and sushi chefs in the back, too!