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The blue-painted building with a red neon sign on Shattuck Avenue does not undersell what's inside. This is a sousaku izakaya, meaning the menu leans into New Japanese cooking, the kind you'd find in Tokyo or Osaka right now: hot pot, skewers, fried fish cakes, seasonal sashimi added only because regulars kept asking. The menu rotates constantly, which makes repeat visits feel less like loyalty and more like good sense.
Four honors, in evidence:
The record strongest first
- Esquire #38 · The Best New Restaurants in America
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Sushi Restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best Berkeley restaurants
One number, weighted & current 75
How we scoreThe dishes from the writeups
- Kaisen don San Francisco Chronicle
- Anchovy nanban San Francisco Chronicle
- Fried black cod fish cakes San Francisco Chronicle
Nearby in the record closest first
- Easterly Hunanese Eat · 65
- Great China Chinese Eat · 82
- Ippuku Japanese Eat · 82
- Pizzeria Da Laura Eat · 66
- Kiraku Japanese Eat · 62
- Comal Mexican Eat · 74
- Rose Pizzeria Pizza Wine Bar Eat · 72
- Tane Vegan Izakaya Eat · 65
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