Izakaya Ginji

Solid. Definitely good, but not incredible.We arrived with a group of 6 on a Monday night. Service was consistently quick and warm.Let's talk food. The skewers were okay. The chicken was dry and it was pretty hard to swallow despite being a regular swallower. The peppers were supposedly sweet but my goodness my body was clinging on for dear life. The highlights were easily the two mentaiko noodle dishes as each was savory, creamy, and had us lookin for more. All in all, Good

We have been eating here for the last 4 years, but this was our first time eating there in probably a year. We noticed that the food quality seemed a bit different. Overall, still a good meal but the freshness of the sashimi and food seasoning seemed just a bit below what we remembered.Ordered 1) hamachi appetizer, which didn't have the previously remembered light fresh flavor. 2) salmon avocado roll that was good but same issue with the freshness 3) mentaiko carbonara- still very savory and good, always a favorite 4) agedashi tofu- batter was not quite as crispy Yakitori was overall still good but probably a little salty. We got the wagyu, lamb, and chicken thighs.

The service and the food was great. The place has a cozy atmosphere in general. The only thing I wish was that they didn't have super concentrated lighting in certain parts that would shine too brightly in certain seats. It made the ambiance less comfortable when I have a bright beam of light on me.

Had a good friend visiting town so we came for dinner on a Monday night. Place wasn't too packed or busy which was nice. We mostly just ordered their skewers. Friend orders the chicken soup which was surprisingly good. A good chunk of their skewers were over salted. I probably drank at least 6 cups of water that night.. for some pricey skewers I was disappointed.

Hmm, I personally was not a fan. I made reservations for 3 at 7:00pm and we ended but being a bit early and got there around 6:20pm to check in and see if there was any open spots. As figured, there was no tables so we waited and got seated around 6:55pm, although I will say the hostess said she can sit us initially around 6:40pm but that never happened, which is fine but I noticed her seating people who were walking in. I'll give her the benefit of the doubt since we were early which was our fault. We were finally seated and we ordered via the QR code. Our beer came out in 5 minutes but when I tell you this was the slowest service I had in a while, I meant it. Each of our food item came by one by one and it literally took forever, about 45 minutes. For example, our sushi roll came out and then once we were done we waited another 10 minutes and our karage came out, then we finished and waited another 10 minute and our udon came out. On top of that, the servers were all busy and running around so they didn't even realize we are sitting there waiting for long because we also ordered through the QR code. The whole service was not good in my opinion. Was everyone nice, yes, but was the service good, no...The food was okay, especially after waiting so long you get high expectations but I felt like everything was okay, again not amazing nor bad, just neutrally good. The price was decent and not too crazy so I guess overall it's fine.I personally would not be back unless there was no wait. It was not worth making a reservation and the wait for the food. It was a Friday evening so I understand it was busy, but I felt the service was too bad so I can't imagine coming with a bigger group as all of our food would come out in different times. Luckily I had it family style.

Came here last week because we were craving yakitori.The yakitori was good, but the ones we got with salt were a tad too salty that day.We always get the chicken skin, chicken w/ negi, gizzard, and kimchi carbonara.We tried the chicken neck and chicken harami (skirt) this time. Both delicious cuts of meat and very tender!

Date of Visit: 7/12/2024Japanese izakaya is one of our favorite types of cuisine. Izakaya Ginji located in San Mateo has had great reviews since it was opened back in 2010. It is a family restaurant operated by two brothers. Daisuke Nishimoto works at the back side of the kitchen and curates the extensive sake menu, and Shingo manages the binchotan grill in the front.We made a reservation about 1.5 week prior to our visit, and sat right away. The skewer menu is a physical menu on the table that can place the order of all different kinds of skewers. And we need to scan the QR code to place an order for all others, including sashimi, appetizers, donburi, udon, dessert, and drinks.Sapporo $5Asahi $6We got two types of Japanese beer to pair with our foods.We ordered the following skewers:Shishito Pepper $3.8Shishito pepper was very yummy, but some of them were spicy and some were sweet.Gizzard $4.75My favorite! Love the crispy and chewy taste of the gizzard.Heart $4.75Chicken heart skewers were juicy and delicious!Skin $5Chicken skin was grilled right on point!Cartilage $5.75Cartilage was great too!Fatty Salmon Sashimi $14We got the fatty salmon sashimi with daikon and shiso, and wasabi on the side.Grilled Salmon Collar and Belly $19The grilled salmon collar and belly were big portions.Chicken Knee Karaage $9.5This one paired great with iced cold beer!Mentaiko Carbonara $18One of the most popular dishes, the Mentaiko Carbonara was made with cream and cod roe, on top was decorated with seaweed and green onion. It was very creamy but not too thick.Gyu Don $16And we also got the gyu don. This one is just okay, also with miso soup on the side.

It's rare that an izakaya spot is open for lunch, but luckily Ginji was. We got a bunch of dishes to share but I forgot to take photos of most of them, oops.The food is pretty good and authentic. Portions are large so because when you order.The torched aji was amazing, definitely get that.Friendly service. They gave us free miso soup because we ordered so much.

Made a reservation for three at 6:30pm on a Saturday and when we got there we were seated right away! The interior is super cute with lots of decorations to make it feel like you're getting izakaya in Japan. We came here mainly to try their yakitori. We ordered many and they did not disappoint. My favorites were the bacon scallop, chicken thighs, and chicken gizzard. The scallop was cooked perfectly! It wasn't overcooked and the bacon gave it so much flavor. The chicken thighs were so so juicy and yummy. The chicken gizzards had a good texture to it. My least favorite was the cartilage, it was just a bit tough for my taste. We also ordered a rainbow roll that was good, pretty standard, the fish didn't stand out too much to me. And also soft shrimp skewers which were super delicious! I would come here for good vibes with a group of friends.

It's been awhile since I've last eaten here. The quality and taste are still what I remember. Dining here on weeknight, the place wasn't too busy. I made reservations on OpenTable so we were seated right away. We ordered the following and were stuffed by the time we finished our meal.Corn butter - nothing special, just corn and onions, seemed like more onion than cornShishito peppersMentaiko carbonara (cod roe, cream and egg yolk) - my favorite dish, this was so rich and flavorful, a definite order againKaraage - this dish was more like chicken strips than karaageLollipop chickenMushroomsBeef rib fingerPork rib fingerChicken skinSpicy tuna rollService started quick, but got slower as the night progressed. Noise level and busyness weren't too bad so made for a pleasant evening to catch-up with a friend.Parking in that area is hit or miss depending on night of week, but plenty of street parking and parking lots available.