I promised we'd come back, so here we are. Corn tempura, pork belly yakitori, beef tongue, sake sashimi, grilled squid, clams in miso soup, Asahi draft beers and warm sake. In my opinion, anything you order from the menu is going to be a hit. Service was excellent once again. Quite a busy night after a CAL men's basketball game. The wait for the table took some time because we didn't reserve our table through Yelp. The restaurant was playing some good Japanese pop music which is a plus. Makes the ambiance more relaxing and enjoyable. Definitely will be back for the hat trick.

This place was beyond incredible. We came in indecisive because everything looked amazing. We asked our wonderful waitress Angelina to take the reins and she asked a few thoughtful questions and chose absolutely everything from sake to dinner to dessert. She gauged our hunger level appropriately, it was timed perfectly, and absolutely every dish she brought left a lasting impression. I don't even know the names of the dishes but the beef tongue, sea bass, corn fritters and pork belly were all equally fantastic. This was beyond a 5 star experience for service, the food and the vibes. This was one of the best meals we've been to in a while and we somehow got out of there for $100. A meal that would have easily been $300 elsewhere. We will absolutely be returning! P.S. For a super fun date night, start with axe throwing next door. We had such a blast!

When I saw the Kaisen Don, I knew I had to try this place. I went around 5:30PM on a Tuesday and the place pretty much filled up within the hour. My absolute favorites were the Kaisen Don Deluxe (a bit on the pricier side) but it tasted so good and fresh (bonus for them using Japanese Bafun Uni instead of Santa Barbara Uni) and the Unagi Yakitori, which had a hint of wood charcoil and made it sooo tasty. Service is amazing and they are very attentive. The ambiance and vibe is giving small, cute Japanese shop as it is very cozy. I love that they have baskets on the floor for you to put your bags. Overall, this spot was perfect for a cute date night and I would definitely go again.

Amazing place, people are friendly. The sushi is very real, same i had in Japan. The vibe is calm and cozy making you want to stay there for the day.

One of my FAVORITE places for sushi with a HIGE con. I ordered the DX kaisen Don for $70. Lots of delicious seafood the way it was meant to be eaten!!!!!!! So fresh and came neat and well presented in a wooden type box. Now the con... the picture on doordash makes it look larger then it is... and for the price it's not very filling... At all. I made a pizza after eating this and I get full easily, so that's saying something. And for the price you pay, you should be satisfied at least. Also, I wish they door dashed more nigiri I would love to order that to be delivered. I'll still order this plate for the price because it's good but damn, increase portion size. I ordered this for "free" due to my meal stipend but I'm still considering the price in its score. So they get a 4/5.

Easily my favorite restaurant in Berkeley. Service is always warm and considerate and I've not had a single miss on the menu. The space itself is quite small, and be prepared to wait if you don't have a reservation, but it's definitely worth it. Note: if you make a reservation, there's a $40 minimum. Menu changes often, offering variety of dishes izakaya style. My favorites: grilled squid, corn tempura, and the sweet potato crème brulee. The sashimi is consistently fresh and the grilled items have the ideal smoky flavor. Street parking can sometimes also take a little bit of time but it's manageable. Highly highly recommend!

dinging a star because they do a $50 minimum per person on reservation which is kind of annoying but it's not that hard to hit that... We got a reservation at 7:30 which I highly recommend you do because it's a bit hard to seat otherwise / the space is kind of small. we were sitting next to two tables that were unfortunately really loud. the menu is extensive, long, and delicious. I will say the vibes are sort of hectic / they're serving a lot (but it does come quickly!!) so it's not like a casual sort of hang out with friends / drink izakaya but like you are coming for a MEAL sort of deal. everything is great, no notes.

I had heard a lot about this place, people around me really do recommend this place. And a couple months ago, I finally tried it out with my friend. This place gets packed, so we came right at 5 pm to beat the rush. They do priority people who have their whole group here already, so even though there were a couple of groups came before us. The two of us were seated immediately. The inside of the place was quite small, but cozy. They had quite a few server for the size of the restaurant. We got a few items to try. Grilled Squid: (5/5) highly recommend. I did not expect this to be this good. The squid was cooked to perfection and the sauce with it was just amazing! I would recommend this to everyone! nigiri omakase, (4/5), it was 5 piece nigiri set, very good and very fresh. Uni cream pasta (3/5) I was looking forward to this, but I dont think this was a good as I would like. Corn tempera (4/5) this was very unique and for people havent tried it yet should get it too

Loud and crowded atmosphere in an intimate space, get a reservation or expect to wait! Service was good but we experienced a long wait for some items. The food was good but was pricey and inconsistent from the first time. - Assorted Sashimi was super fresh! Definitely worth it - Snow Crab Tomato Salad was interesting, the tomato was prepped in a way where it was super tender with a unique texture - Clams were overcooked but had a tasty sauce - Beef Intestine Skewers were absolutely delicious and melt in your mouth! - A5 Wagyu was really disappointing, for $78 it was overcooked and lacked salt. Still super tender, but not at all what I hoped for - Kiraku Salad had burnt (and bitter) garlic on top of bitter greens, not pleasant - Yaki Udon was tasty but also bitter towards the end! Overall, it was a tasty meal but I wasn't as impressed as the first time. Given the hefty price, I might reconsider going back

I really appreciate Kiraku and as long as you get a reservation, this is a fantastic izakaya experience. Love the squid, uni pasta, and the pricey yet delicious wagyu. It's a cozy spot with tight seating, but it's a nice restaurant for a date night or get together with 1-3 other people. Since it's on Telegraph near Berkeley campus, you'll need to deal with street parking so plan to come 5-10 min early.