Kobe Curry

Because Kobe last game won and got 60pt. Warriors beat the 73 history.
So I will try the Kobe Curry tomorrow

I can’t believe they named a restaurant after two of the most popular basketball players

Kobe curry moved from the Shabuway restaurant a few doors down to a Ramen Izakaya Yu-​Gen.
The service was good but the curry was just awful. The meat tasted old and was way overdone. Way too much tomato or ketchup and the curry flavor was lost. Probably the worst curry I have ever had. The side of macaroni salad that came with it was also bad. Crusty and tasteless and probably weeks old.

Ever since Muracci’s closed in Los Altos my BF and I have been looking for our next «go-​to» curry place. We come to Castro pretty often and finally managed to make it to Kobe Curry last Saturday night.
If you are expecting a sit down dinner… apparently that only happens on weekdays? Some reviewers are saying they were seating inside Shabuway, but on Sat. night it is take out only, which was OK with us, just unexpected.
Also this place is the definition of hole in the wall. The sign on the main street takes you down an alleyway to a little door at the very end next to the parking garage. You walk in and there is a small window with a one page menu. Some pictures show it with tables but it didn’t have any when we were there. You order you food and a few minutes later its wrapped and ready to go. It is a good thing it is quick because we were kind of freezing because the door is kept open and it was pretty cold outside
I got the spiciest Katsu-​curry and my BF got the medium. It was a good amount of spice but I’d be ok with even more heat!
The pork cutlet katsu itself was maybe nothing special but it was satisfying and tasty, if maybe a little on the greasy side.
The curry sauce itself was very good, but definitely has more of a vermont curry taste than a golden curry taste. The sauce did have some chunks of beef which was unexpected but good.
Overall the curry isn’t anything exceptional but the price point is great ($ 9.50 for katsu-​curry) when you are used to much more expensive dinners on Castro (I recently spent $ 18 for some katsu at Rumble Fish across the street) and some nights you just want a comforting bowl of curry.
Our search continues for our replacement Muracci’s but for now I think we will be going to Kobe Curry when we really want katsu curry but don’t feel like cooking it at home.

My boyfriend and I love this place. The curry tastes consistent, but the spiciness sometimes vary. We usually get to-​go, which they have a little shop-​like door in the back. Today we decided to be seated outside the patio of shabu way (seating only at lunch time, may be seated inside also). I thought the plating is definitely more appetizing when dining in. We decided to try the dumplings (gyoza), but the skin was so soft and mushy, I asked the guy to either make me a new one or cancel the order, and he canceled my order.
One star off for the inflexible store hours, limited seating time, somewhat difficulty to get the food. But no star off for the taste! (Except for the macaroni salad, not too tasty, but the green salad dressing is typically amazing)

hole in a wall curry joint. I ordered Katsu curry for lunch on Sunday afternoon. When I order thru at their kitchen hole, I saw the chef cut the chicken katsu and decide to re-​fried the already cut katsu pieces… Being a foodie and chef wannabe that I am, my body about to faint when I saw this… :(
the food that I received was A ok. Curry is adequately spiced but not felvety… the chicken katsu pieces was a little dry.

Disappointing.
The curry was just so-​so, not worth the $ 10.
The meat was fatty (I think they use scraps from the shabu-​shabu place?)
Also, some of the meat tasted like mutton, which has a strong flavor and kinda ruined the taste of the curry. I ordered beef, so why the mutton flavor?
Lastly, the macaroni from the macaroni salad was VERY undercooked, almost crunchy. Not sure what the flavoring was on it, curry powder and oil (lots of oil)?

We had party of 3. We all ordered the beef curry plate for lunch, with different levels of spice.
About one third of the beef is pure fat, I don’t know if the cook themselves feel disgusted when making and serving this quality of food.

Ok the setup is pretty strange. Think random entrance in an alley way. Seating is outside in front of shabuway. No seating inside so bummer when the rainy season starts. This place will be strictly takeout.
We came on a Saturday for lunch. I saw pics on Unilocal where people were eating on actual plates. So it came as a surprise when they gave our food in togo containers.
Menu is simple. Pick the type of katsu you want and level of spiciness for your curry. The prices were somewhat high for the portions. They could be a bit more liberal with the rice. It is only rice after all and doesn’t cost that much.
The family got chicken katsu and it was pretty crispy. Though one of the orders was undercooked alittle bit. The curry was the best part. Seems wherever you go, the curry tastes like the boxed kind from the grocery store. The curry here is definitely made from scratch.
Wish they gave more pickled radishes. Those are my favorite. The soft boiled egg still came in the shell, so you have to crack that open on top of your rice.
Not sure if they dont have table service anymore and converted to a full takeout only place? Maybe will pass by again sometime and see what I end up with.
4 stars

Been waiting for one hour and found out that kobe curry is for take out only during the weekend. Last time I ate inside shabuway, but this time they told me that I have to eat for take out. All seats are empty and shabuway manager still doesn’t allow me to eat inside only for 15 mins or so. They should have put the sign outside that KOBE CURRY IS TAKE OUT ONLY DURING WEEKEND! What a disappointment!
ps: I found no utensils at my take out order -.-

The pork cutlet was full of yellow oil absorbed into the batter. So much that for the first time ever, eating a cutlet actually made me feel sick.
The soft boiled egg was also the worse I have ever seen. It was cold and almost raw. It didn’t even come peeled, it was still in the shell when served. Now I know why.
The only redeeming factor was the curry itself. It was actually pretty good. Thus the 2 stars.

I hate giving reviews based on service but in this case I feel it is absolutely necessary to warn people what they are getting in to before going to this curry shop.
I’ll briefly go through the food first. The katsu was average in quality although smaller than I expected or wanted. The curry was average as well and a bit too thick, however, it did have nice chunks of beef in it. Also, the spicy is not at all spicy. The egg was the best part and was nicely soft boiled with just the right consistency as a topping. Overall, I’d say the quality of this shop is below the other curry shops in the bay, including muraccis and kareken.
The service was so so bad that I left this place completely frustrated. To start, the lady taking our order got everything wrong. We both ordered cheese and an egg and neither of our dishes came with it. When I went back in to complain, the lady nonchalantly said «oops oh well.» When I insisted they correct it they had the audacity to try to charge extra again, all the while the curry is getting cold. Finally, another employee took the dishes back to correct it.
Secondly, despite stating that we wanted to dine in, without ever being prompted by the cashier, our order came out in to go plates. This would have been fine except for the fact that they insist to go orders are not allowed to be eaten at their outdoor tables. Even after the first employee said he would let it slide, throughout our meal two more employees came by harassing us with the same message that we were breaking the rules about dine in customers only at the tables. All of this, by the way, happening when we were the only customers at any of the tables! Unbelievable.
Overall, this was by far the most jarring and unfriendly service I’ve experienced in a while. Stay far far away from this place if you value your sanity. «Eek, methinks not.»

* 3.5 stars — Rounded up to 4 since this is a relatively new business *
Outdoor seating /​to-​go containers only. Think of it like a food stand.
Kobe Curry is hidden away on Castro, seemingly a tenant of Shabuway’s kitchen /​rear area. It’s located down that alley and seems to be connected internally to Shabuway. It kinda reminds me of your typical Hawaiian plate lunch, though this is curry. Seats are outside in front of Shabuway.
The curry is cooked with beef, making it really delicious. I went with the pork cutlet curry and opted for the larger size, which is essentially more sauce and an extra bowl’s-worth of rice, paired with a side of either macaroni or house salad. The tonkatus was juicy and delicious with the curry on top.
If I worked on Castro, I’d stop here multiple times a week for lunch and take orders to-​go. We stopped by on a Saturday evening and there was no one sitting on the patio (a bit awkward since it was also really dark), but the chef was nice enough to turn on the heater.

Location:
This place is behind a sketchy looking white door that has a «Japanese restaurant» awning over it. Located behind shabuway (they share the same kitchen/​outside dining tables). Very low key. (I’ve actually walked by this place before and wondered what kind of shop it was and where the front door was. That IS the front door!)
Order:
Had the katsu curry, spicy w/​green salad for takeout. The price came to 10 and change. They have some classic lunch menu sides, stuff like fried chicken (probably kara age– I didn’t look) and dumplings (gyoza).
Food:
The portion sizes were nice (curry vs rice vs salad) and I didn’t get the impression they were cutting corners. The quality was nice. The katsu was fried well enough. Not a quite the crisp golden brown you’d get at a really high end place, but still nicely fried. Exactly what I expect from this kind of place and at this price range. Curry had a nice texture (on the thicker side) with beef cubes and sliced mushrooms in it (nice!) and it had a bit of kick at «spicy» but not overly so.
Staff:
Nice guy. Friendly yet efficient.
Atmosphere:
Seating is limited– take out was fine (the curry came in a separate container to keep the katsu crispy). This doesn’t seem to be a place where you sit down and chit chat, but if you want to grab a nice Japanese curry, it’s a pretty solid place. It’s a nice blend of small, out of the way, and tasty. It probably doesn’t have the seating capacity to become too popular so enjoy it for what it is. A reasonably priced, curry nook (with access to a nice kitchen).
(For context I spent a couple years in Japan blah blah curry blah blah serious business blah blah blah)

Update:
Quality has declined here. Came here on a weekday lunch and the oil must have been extremely dirty because my katsu came out a dark brown color and a bit overdone. My curry also was not mixed very well and had a lot of powder at the bottom which I suspect was a mix of curry powder and corn starch? Whatever it was, it should have been mixed better. The spicy curry is also hardly spicy still, it honestly tastes like mild to nothing.
Old Review:
Currently a somewhat hidden gem along Castro street. While they do have seating along Castro, the restaurant itself is located down an alleyway between buildings, and does not face the street itself. Currently a lack of seating, however they were planning to expand a bit as they have only just recently opened.
Ordered takeout because there were no seats available, I had the pork cutlet curry. The pork cutlet is done very well here, better than a lot of the places around the Bay Area, a thick piece of pork that isn’t too dried out. However, the curry itself was a bit runny and could have used a bit more kick and flavor (I had the medium, but would have ordered spicy). Overall though, it is a great bang for your buck meal, the servings here are pretty generous. I definitely look forward to coming back here in the future.

A couple of weeks ago, I would have given Kobe Curry 5 stars. During my first visit, the chicken katsu was so delightfully tender and plentiful and fried to a golden crisp. The portions were enormous and the ponzu salad dressing is a great touch. HOWEVER, I think that the quality and quantity of my katsu have been declining slightly over my past 2 – 3 visits. It’s still delicious, but just slightly less amazing than, say, 2 months ago.
Anyway, I don’t have a problem with the outdoor seating and lack of storefront. It’s weird but it works fine and everyone should just get over it and enjoy how nice Castro St. is.

I give this a 3.5 I think I have exhausted all the restaurants on Castro and have tried all the good ones. This one is trolly because it is part of Shabuway but you have to say that you are here for Kobe Curry. There is outdoor seating and since it was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, def preferred that. I was able to try the chicken and pork cutlet and even thought they tasted pretty similar and pork was more flavorful, it felt more unhealthy. Sorta hard to say that when they are both fried haha but I would go for the chicken. The curry comes in a saucer thing and has bits of kobe beef in it. I liked that. You can choose from a salad that has way to much dressing and tang or macaroni salad. It is good if you have one of those curry days.

Pretty good curry!
Only gave 2 stars because of the servers, though. From my understanding, there was some management changes that they weren’t happy about. So, there were only 2 waitresses, one new girl and one who was training her. But they were so upset the whole time, it made lunch so awkward!
After we finally got a seat, we waited for about 10 minutes before we had to ask for the menus (lol) and the girls kept saying «okay, one second.» But then never following through. We ended up just receiving them from someone else’s table.
Getting served itself took forever. We ended up spending almost an hour here before even getting our food, and eventually we decided to just eat half of it and get the rest to go because we were spending too much time (more than 1 ½ hrs) on our «quick» lunch break.
I mean… I understand if it’s a bad day at work. But that’s not an excuse to be visibly upset and cranky and annoyed at your customers. I worked as a server in a really busy sushi restaurant for more than year, with pretty bad management, and I get it. But the fact of the matter is that there is no excuse to come to work angry, annoyed, and upset. You will just push that attitude onto your customers.
Also, you have no excuse to complain to US, your customers, about how horrible and unfair and unprofessional management is here. You cannot do that, especially when YOUR attitude is not professional either.
Might try this place again, but honestly am a little afraid to.

The first question that popped to mind is «Is this place better than Muraccis?».
No, it most definitely is not, but it is good and cheap enough to warrant repeat visits.
I ordered the pork cutlet with beef curry. They bring the curry and salad out in a portable box container thing from Shabuway. The curry actually had beef in it and the beef was delicious. The pork cutlet pieces were nice and thick, so it wasn’t dried out.
I really do wish they would give more rice to make it more filling.
I’m not sure how they’ll operate in the winter since it’ll get chilly and by dinner time it will be pitch black, but I do look forward to trying this place out again.

Don’t blink when you are looking for this place because you will miss it. There is no actual, physical restaurant, it’s on the patio of another business. There are very few tables, so if you want to go I’d call and make sure there is one available.
I was starving when we got here and thankfully we had appetizers pretty quickly. The goyza were good, nothing memorable, and the fried chicken was pretty good, it came ‘with a tangy mayonnaise. The menu only has about 10 items on it, and I had the pork with the mild sauce and it was pretty good. The pork was fried and came on a big bed of rice, I would have liked to have had a non fried option but that seems to be their thing.
I give 3 stars because we weren’t done eating when our server brought us the bill, without asking if we wanted anything else or boxes for our leftovers. There was no one waiting for our table and it seemed like they were just trying to get us out because it was close to closing time.

Many of my favorites are waiting for my review of the newest Japanese restaurant in Mountain View, which only opened since earlier in the month.
As some of you have read from my «Quick Tip. It did took me a while, but finding this place was a nightmare and confusing. You need to enter an alleyway behind Shabuway to order your food. And that is what I did. I looked at the menu there were only a few rice plates and appetizers at this young moment. After I paid my meal; owner: Isabu brings my food to the dining table on Castro Street.
I ordered the Curry Chicken Cutlet over rice. For $ 9.50, you get 2 thick Chicken Katsu Cutlet pieces smothered in a thick Japanese curry over rice with side salad. You can choose the level of spiciness of your sauce. I went in-​between and ordered medium spicy. The chicken cutlet is thicker than some of the other restaurants that offer the same Chicken Katsu. This is a tasty rice plate. My meal:
As I was enjoying my meal, I was enjoying the warm weather of Mountain View. I was also staring at the sign on the sidewalk and tempting to order one of the restaurant’s renowned desserts: the Green Tea Brulee! The sign:
And with enough room in my tank I did ordered that enticing dessert. For
$ 3.95 + tax, I get a homemade green tea flavor pudding with a hard caramelized topping and a scoop of homemade agave ice cream in a porcelain ramekin dish. The pudding has a nice green tea flavor, but not too overpowering. This treat was one treat that I can eat and enjoy. My dessert:
Isabu and his team were very nice and did well to accommodate my needs. Their friendly hospitality might want me to return. Hopefully by then, the restaurant will expand more options on the menu.
Credit cards are accepted.
If you come here, read my useful «quick tip» first. Or else, you would get lost like I did!