Kirala Japanese Restaurant

I came here on a Friday night at about 7:45 pm, and there was still a wait to get in! I had to wait a little longer but the food was definitely worth the wait. I ordered the Sushi Dinner which had seven assorted nigiri sushi and a spicy tuna roll. The presentation was beautiful and fish was incredibly fresh. The spicy tuna roll was also super good. It did not feel like a after thought at all. The spicy tuna roll was just a simple roll yet the spicy tuna was perfectly spicy and with a good ratio of fish to rice. The Sushi dinner also came with miso soup and salad with a tangy dressing. Be sure to get the hot tea too! It’s matcha green tea and was so aromatic and fragrant with actual matcha powder.
Kirala has delicious fresh, traditional, authentic sushi. It’s a little pricier, but with every right so. The fish I had was super fresh and you could definitely tell it was of good quality. They also offer a robata grill with a large variety of grilled meats and seafood. Service was great and I definitely plan on coming back when I get a chance!

Food was yummy, service was a little slow in getting our food out. It was packed, so we waited about 25 minutes before being seated which was totally fine.
We ordered right away, but took a pretty good amount of time for our food to come out. We did enjoy it, however!
It’s a little expensive for what the food is in my opinion. You’ll spend at least $ 25 a person for food and drinks for a nice dinner.

Very fresh except the white salmon and brown avocado on the salad. So popular, there is usually a long wait. Will try again soon.

The food is great but the service is… Overall, it’s a nice Japanese style restaurant. Their baby rib is really nice! Worth to try!

The food was okay and the drinks were decent, but a bit pricy. It was really pack when my friends and I were went.

Pretty great japanese place! The sushi tasted very fresh, and the miso eggplant was awesome. The mushroom soup is simply to die for. They were very friendly and waited for us to finish long after it closed.

Atmosphere was authentic. Fish was so fresh and flavorful. Been there twice and they haven’t disappointed. They also have grilled meat options if you are not into sushi or rolls.

Delicious and fresh food, kind servers (yes there’s a long wait– but that’s a good sign to me), and beautiful presentation.
Kirala has been a long time favorite with my family, and I returned recently for my birthday. It was a favorite amongst all three of us, and we enjoyed a long, leisurely, and delicious meal at one of my favorite East Bay restaurants.

Should be $$$. Expect to spend around $ 30 – 40 per person if you want to be full for dinner (and more if you order drinks).
Kirala has sold out and has been successful for doing so. Since it opened in 2005, there have been much better Japanese izakayas and sushi restaurants that have opened up around Berkeley. I tend to prefer cozier mom & pop style restaurants that specialize in several dishes and put some thought into the specials of the night. Perhaps something seasonal or recently special-​ordered.
On a positive note, the menu probably has something to satisfy almost anyone. It’s like the Cheesecake factory of Japanese restaurants (in the variety, not the Westernization). They have robata (grilled skewers), sashimi, nigiri, rolls, udon, nabemono, sizzling platters, yaki udon, and of course deep fried goodness. They do try to keep their sushi rolls authentic at least, not vandalizing them with too many sauces and deep frying.
The highlight dishes were:
— Hamachi (yellowtail) nigiri: the fish practically melts in your mouth!
— Robata chicken wings: just the right grill marks and very juicy and tender
The lowlight dishes were:
— Wasabi (in general): too weak and not enough kick
— Sanma: had a lot of bitter black insides… I couldn’t appreciate it
— Salmon and avocado roll: rather bland and the seaweed was slightly soggy
— Green tea cheesecake: flavor was weak. The green tea flavor didn’t come through and even the chocolate cake part didn’t really taste like chocolate

Kirala combines amazing Japanese fare with awesome service. We came on a Monday around 6pm and were surprised that it was packed! We waited in the back near the bar, and the bartender was really sweet with our son — giving him some bar snacks, including edamame, and placing a napkin underneath.
For dinner, we ordered a bunch of stuff off the grill — beef tongue (delicious and marinated 24hrs), chicken meatballs (just ok), cod (really good), mackerel (really good), and while squid (awesome and came with 2 sauces). We also ordered the tonkatsu and beef teriyaki dinners, both expertly prepared, beautifully presented, and absolutely delicious. The tonkatsu sauce is probably made in-​house, as is the teriyaki — the best I’ve ever had.
We ordered some sushi rolls, which were good, but we enjoyed the cooked items more. Definitely recommend and will be back!

Headed over to Kirala on a Saturday night around 5:10pm. Got there and saw a long line of people waiting for the restaurant to open. The line started moving at 5:29pm. The restaurant filled up within the first wave of people and still have people waiting outside. Thank god we made the first cut — we were hangry. First impression… Impressive, and must be good here.
Looking at the menu, we ordered the followings:
1. Almond Shrimp — Crunchy fried shrimp, yum
2. Rainbow Roll — assorted fish over California roll with tobiko — good
3. Rock n’ Roll — eel, yellow tail, avocado — creamy with avocado
4. Deluxe Sashimi Dinner — assorted 15 pieces — okay
We might have went over board ordering so much for two people. Our eyes had a bigger appetite. The food was a solid 3 stars. Service was great, very attentive waiters/​staff which I would add another star seeing how busy the restaurant. We were treated very well.

I went there for my birthday dinner last night and we didn’t have a great experience. I do want to try this place again because I am hoping it was just too crowded and our waiter wasn’t great. He forgot to put in one of our orders and the other one we had to cancel because it was still «on it’s way» after we finished our desert. We went on a Sunday night at 8 pm, and had to wait a half hour to get seated. They are closing at 9 pm, which means last call for an order is 9 pm. You actually have until 10 pm to finish your meal. The food we had was fresh and good but not the best I’ve ever had. Definitely better than average sushi though but very pricey.

Amazing food. This place always has a super long line (prepare to wait even if you have reservations) and the space is tight and Loud.
The sushi is GRADE A good and authentic. Huge variety of seafood.
The seafood meals are Pl nothing to brag about but ok. The seafood is to die for.
Also very affordable. We were 6, drank 3+ bottles of sake and about 7 rolls + app’s and still spent less than $ 175 with taxes. Great deal.
Try the caterpillar, 49er, spider, eel rolls and so many others.
**COnrad Roll it’s not on the menu ***

Stopped by this place on the way home from Sports Basement after reading the reviews. The service here confused me and the food was decent save the items straight from the grill. People may have differing opinions on this place obviously but I did not have the greatest experience.
Presentation ³⁄₅:
Located at a corner in Berkeley that is extremely easy to miss and parking lot appears to be across the street. The restaurant itself is nicely laid out with wooden barriers separating the tables from a small walkway down the middle of the restaurant. This is the first Japanese restaurant that I’ve been to with a grill, Robata-​style to be exact (‘fire-​side’). Only thing out of place are the tables and wall design towards the bathroom. It literally goes from a restaurant to a diner.
Customer Service ²⁄₅:
Had so many waiters and waitresses come to my table that all my orders started to come at sporadically different times. Main entrees first, appetizers second, more main entrees. Requested chopsticks and it came five minutes later, requested more water it came moments later with the next order. Sushi is usually consumed with soy sauce and that has a lot of sodium, we for sure need agua.
Food ³⁄₅:
Sushi is definitely okay. The Robata style food is a lot better, observe the menu and basically order what they have on there. Coming off the grill, certain that food is hot and fresh and was made on request. The sushi rolls are questionable.
Tuna Poke: portion was small for the price, presentation is beautiful though
Dragon Roll: can order this anywhere, tempura batter tasted left out, was not crunch at all. requested no avocado and had to send back for them to remake a whole new roll
Overall, not on the list of favorite sushi spots and do not live in the area to come back again. When there is a specific request for no avocado for allergy reasons, that should definitely be taken into account.

came here with my parents and boyfriend as we were all visiting from Reno. From the outside of the restaurant it looks like a hole in the wall on the corner, but once you get inside theres a ton of seats and a sushi bar!
Everything was so delicious! My boyfriend and I were the first to arrive in the restaurant, and within 20 minutes of opening the place was fully packed. The servers were quick to attend our needs even though they were a full house! Totally give this place 5 stars :) OISHII!

Unilocalers, Unilocalers, Unilocalers… You have failed me!!! I don’t know of understand why everyone loves this place!
I was thinking, how bad can this place be. Unilocal reviews were good, Alex Savage from KTVU morning news walked out of the place while we were in line. I was thinking, be open and try the new place.
First off, if you do not know the restaurant or the location you will drive right past it. Just as a heads up, it looks like from the outside that it is an old warehouse building. Have no fear, that is the location. The name is really high up and if you aren’t looking that high, you won’t know. Parking is OK. If there is spaces across the street in the triangular lot.
We waited 45 minutes for a table. Not much room inside, so we were outside where it was cold and raining. Many people were huddled near the door which made it even worse.
Once we sat at the table I was looking over the menu. Right away a server came by and asked for our order. We were then told that we have waited that long and we don’t know what we want? I should have left right then and there!
I had ordered the Spicy Tuna roll that came with asparagus inside as well. It came with 6 pieces and the size wasn’t much bigger than a QUARTER. It had to be the smallest size sushi roll that I have ever seen.
After the roll, I had ordered the Mackeral. It came off the grill, which is great. The fish was HOT when it was brought to the table. However, when you cook fish with the skin on the grill, start off by cooking the skin down, because when you flip the fish over, you can take the skin right off very very easily. It came to the table and I couldn’t really get the skin off. It was very disappointing. The parts that I did get the skin off, there was a slimy grayish film on top of the fish. The grill items come up the normal soup and salad. On the plate of fish came a few veggies that were cold and white sticky rice. Needless to say, after a few bites of the fish I was done!
We also ordered the grilled yellow tail filet. The fish had a different smell, lots of brown areas of the fish which didn’t look good and the taste was off. The grill items come up the normal soup and salad. On the plate of fish came a few veggies that were cold and white sticky rice. Needless to say, after a few bites of the fish I was done!
When asked by the server how everything was, we told them about the fish and they said OK. Took the plates and didn’t offer a discount or anything. Customer service fail again!
I have cooked fish a lot over the past few years and none of my fish has ever came out that bad!
Total for dinner: 2 sushi rolls and 2 fish plates = $ 65.00
Left the location STARVING!!!
I love trying new places… I normally give a place a few tries… NOT THIS PLACE.
SORRY, you have lost a customer!

My favorite sushi restaurants in Berkeley. I love the plain and simple rainbow roll here and also their sashimi and nigiri. Kirala has the freshest fish and it’s soft and melts in your mouth. They are great quality!
Other than their sushi I also enjoy their baked scallops. Super buttery and nicely grilled. I always enjoyed my experience here.
The only thing I would like to see is more attentive service! The servers were really friendly but tend to forget about our table a lot. But honestly, this food makes up for it.
If you’re looking for good quality raw fish I highly recommend coming here. Come early too like right when it opens because the line could go out the door and the wait is endless! Also, for dessert order their fried green tea ice cream. They drizzle it in this strawberry sauce? Not sure what it is but it’s delicious! You won’t regret it :)

Love the sushi served here! All their other dishes are really solid too. I have tried their unaju (grilled eel over rice) too and think it’s worth it. If there is a line, head to the back area to grab a drink while waiting.
Service can be a bit slow but acceptable. I think the food made up for it.

One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in Berkeley!
Tip (you will thank me later): come here early. We came at 5:25pm (5 min before it opened) on a Saturday, and there was a block line already… such high demand! We had to put our names down. For a table for 2, we waited ~20 min to be seated. During that time, I tried a sweet sake. Didn’t get the name of it, but it was pretty good, which says a lot since I’m not an alcohol person.
We ordered:
–Robata grill items (whole squid, duck, wasabi chicken)
–sashimi deluxe dinner
–tempura
–spicy tuna roll
–spider roll
–matcha green tea ice cream
Impressions. Robata grill items were pretty good. We were primarily there for the sushi, so they were nice appetizers. I definitely recommend the whole squid (there’s two different squid plates). I expected it to be too chewy, but it was just right. The mayo + fish eggs sauce that came with the dish was surprisingly good. Next, we saw that people on Unilocal liked the wasabi chicken. I still don’t understand why. Maybe I don’t appreciate wasabi as much. It left me with tears in my eyes. So much wasabi! Note that both the chicken and duck are only one kabob each, so they do not fill you up that much. I removed a lot of the wasabi sauce off the chicken and it still left me with a huge kick in my mouth.
Next was the sashimi. It was sooooo good. My favorites are salmon and tuna, because they were soft. My mouth is watery just thinking about it. The yellowfish is not bad. It was very clean. Albacore was tasty and was seared on the outside. My complaint is the bonita. I don’t think I ever had that before, but it tasted «fishy» whatever that means to you. In my mind, I usually can smell «fishy.» This time I tasted it.
Tempura. THE BATTER WAS GOOD. Crispy and good, and not too heavy.
Spicy tuna roll. Good like always. Can’t screw that up.
Spider rolls. Portion size could be better. Only 4 rolls for $ 15. But it was nice and crispy in the middle.
Matcha green tea ice cream with red bean. Surprisingly good! If you get the ice cream, get it with red bean! It was a good combo. The ice cream might be too much by itself. Talked to a couple of my friends after we ate there. I’ll definitely try the sweet potato pie next time.
The service. Our server was a Asian woman. She had trouble speaking English, so she had trouble recommending dishes when we asked. She had a sour look, but I’m used to it at Asian restaurants. I had the pleasure in talking to one of the partners of the restaurant. She was nice and gave us warm matcha green tea on the house. It was raining outside, so we were definitely thankful for that.
Overall, the food was awesome! Dishes were not cheap, but you kinda expect it with a Japanese restaurant. I HIGHLY recommend this place.

This is by far one of the best places to eat in the East Bay. The owner, akira, created an extensive menu and everything is top notch. He learned how to make soba in japan, which is freshly made for lunch only. The robata grill makes everything to perfection– but i personally love the shiso chicken, shiitake mushrooms, atsu age, and lobster tail. The soft shell crab is a must try.
I see how some ppl are very critical of this and that when they review Kirala. I feel like these are misjudgments and/​or anomalies. I love and appreciate everything about Kirala!

WOW this place is soo popular! My friend and I came here on a Friday night around 8:30PM and still ended up waiting an hour to get seated. They have an indoor bar waiting area, so you can sit while you wait for your name to be called. I think they should consider serving food at this bar area too, so that way more people can be seated quicker.
Nonetheless, when we were seated, the service here was very odd. The waitress was very aggressive and curt, so I didn’t feel particularly welcome. It makes sense since they were very busy, but I was very impressed that my water glass was full pretty much the entire night. They really make an effort to constantly walk around and fill everyone’s glass, which I really appreciate.
The food here was pretty good, but it definitely wasn’t the best. I ordered the Kashiwa (chicken breast) from the grill but it wasn’t as tender as I hoped. I also ordered the potatoes from the grill which were nice and buttery, but I believe they could’ve had a bit more flavor. I also tried the gyoza, which were small but there wasn’t anything special about them. I wish they had been more crispy. My friend ordered the sushi dinner, which he thought was a bit of a rip off, but he thoroughly enjoyed the fish and squid he ordered from the grill.
The best item we ordered off the menu was definitely the tempura ice cream. I would highly recommend everyone to order it. It is fried green tea ice cream, and it had an amazing balance between the fried outer breaded exterior with the yummy green tea ice cream inside. I loved it! I wish I could just come back here just to get the ice cream.

We came in at around 11:30 on a weekday just to avoid the wait. (well there was still a 10 min line but it’s fine) I had been here on 2 separate weekdays for their lunch specials, I have to say that the food is not bad here, but it’s definitely not worth the wait and the price. (Especially dinner menus!)
Favorites:
Lunch Kitchen Special ($ 13.25) — Today was Grilled miso Butterfish, Tempura, Udon soup, with rice
Seafood Udon ($ 10.50)
Other orders:
Nabeyaki Udon ($ 9.25) — Batter fried shrimp tempura, poached egg & vegetables — There was only one shirmp tempura, and it was coated with a thick layer of batter. The soup was vary salty, tasted like soy sauce mixed with hot water. I did not enjoy it at all.

This place get packed! My friend and I came 30 minutes after opening on a Tuesday evening and had to put our name down on the waitlist. During that time, ordered a white sake sangria cocktail from the bar (highly recommended!).
People complain about the high prices, but considering the high quality of the food, it’s worth it. My friends and I ordered mainly from the robata grill: the grilled cod, salmon, shiso chicken, ume chicken, wasabi chicken (a real sinus kicker, so be warned), the squid, and the scallop. Every single item I tried here was melt-​in-​your-​mouth delicious.
Since it was my friend’s birthday, our waitress also gave us a complimentary green tea ice cream with vanilla and chocolate mochi.
Overall, a very pleasant experience. Until next time!

3.5 stars rounded up to 4. Reading the reviews, we knew there would be quite a long wait. Thankfully, we got there early enough and waited maybe 15 minutes for a table for 2.
Service was great even though it was super busy. Although they ended up not having a couple of things we ordered (cod and uni), the server kept it light and funny which made up for it. We decided to order some nigiri and a few grilled items. The grilled item that stood out the most was the whole squid. It was cooked well, not chewy whatsoever, and the creamy sauce complemented it perfectly.
The nigiri pieces we ordered were good, fresh, not necessarily memorable. The rice was also seasoned well. No need to order rolls here as the highlights of this spot are the robata and nigiri specials. Finally, we ordered tempura green tea ice cream which was decent.
Lots of sake to choose from. Street parking. Probably one of the top choices in the Berkeley area.