Kinda Izakaya

Hidden gem!Location: Parking might be a little tricky since its located on University Ave. I would check the side streets for parking. The restaurant itself is pretty spacious. It definitely looks smaller on the outside. I would say this is not a place for big groups but groups with 6 or less people. Food: The food here is so good! They have a great happy hour and also a great drink menu. One thing I like about izakaya is that you can try so many things because they are all small portions. I will say the food here is somewhat on the pricey side but I think its worth it for the quality of the food. Service: The service here was good. We went when it was pretty busy and the workers did a very good job attending to us and making sure we got our food and refilled our water. Overall, I will be coming back to this spot!

It's authentic Japanese Izakaya (skewers) place with variety of foods. Good thing they serve all sort of Japanese cuisines from sashimi, sushi, ramen noodles, Izakaya and desserts. Food is delicious and fresh.Waiters are attentive but could be a bit slow in rush hours.Nice interior with lots of anime!Indoor seating with Japanese touches, not easily accessible, narrow entry and pathways with uncomfortable seating.Great for couples and small gathering only.Parking options are close by public parking and street parking.

As I first walked to the entrance, I was immediately amazed by the lovely, intimate ambiance of the place. The decor was beautiful and intriguing, contributing to the overall experience and creating a perfect atmosphere for our date, in addition to the tasty dishes and drinks.My partner and I were quickly seated at around 6 PM on a Friday, however, the line started to pick up around 7 PM. We were seated at a table for two in the middle of the restaurant, with other options available near the wall, window, or bar. The seats were comfortable, but having to hold my jacket in my lap because there was no backrest on the chair was a bit annoying, especially since the temperature was warm.The service was great, and we were helped quickly. We ordered two drinks, the Matcha Fizz and Lychee Nigori, both of which were amazing with the perfect balance of flavors to suit our taste.We started with the Assorted Sashimi, which was wonderful, along with the Beef Tongue, which had a super tasty sauce but wasn't my favorite (mostly a matter of personal preference). We also ordered Chicken Skewers, which were quite juicy, an Angus Skewer, which was just okay, and Chicken Heart Skewers, which neither of us enjoyed. Additionally, we ordered Chicken Karaage, which was tasty but nothing particularly special. Last but not least, we had Miso Soup and White Rice, both of which were what was expected.I would say the best parts of the experience were the ambiance, the drinks, and the Assorted Sashimi. Overall, it's not the absolute best izakaya I've been to, but I really enjoyed my time here and would definitely come back--especially for the amazing wall!

The evening of our date night was off to a rough start - service was slow and the waitresses seemed unorganized and confused about who was taking our order. At one point a waitress greeted us and asked for our order when we just placed it moments earlier. Our lukewarm appetizers - chicken skin & takoyaki - were served and finished before our first order of drinks arrived. We had to get the attention of one of the waitresses to ask about our drinks, then they finally came. After placing our second order of food and drinks I requested that after it arrives to come back because we'll want to order more. We decided to just order our last round of food and drinks at one time to avoid the delay. We noticed that another table had to check on their status of their order too. Four stars because the food was good and in shareable portions and the drinks were really good. My man really enjoyed the highball and my umekko and lychee martinis were delicious. We skipped dessert. The chairs and tables aren't very comfortable either, the benches/stools are too short for the table so it was a bit difficult to sit comfortably. But we're open to coming back because it's a great vibe, pretty good music and a casual place for shareable plates and good drinks. We ordered: beef tongue, hamachi Kama, oshinko, tuna bites, and agedashi tofu.

My wife and I stopped by Kinda Izakaya on a Friday evening right when they opened at 5:30 p.m. and as expected, we were immediately able to get seated at a table. It wasn't until closer to 6:30 p.m. that the place started to get busy and tables started to fill out.Between the two of us, we ordered the takowasa, hamachi collar, fried chicken knee, chicken thigh skewers, bacon wrapped mushroom skewers, beef tongue, and one grilled rice ball. This ended up just being a tad too much food and we ended up taking some of the chicken knee and hamachi collar to-go.To be honest, there wasn't really a stand-out dish for me. Everything was good, but nothing was mind-blowing delicious that I had to come back again to try it. If I had to pick a favorite, it would probably be the beef tongue, which was very tender, didn't have an iron flavor to it, and each piece was cut perfectly even. The one negative to this dish is the strong, spicy wasabi sauce included with it was way too overpowering: a small pea size serving of the sauce is more than enough to make you wince and your eyes tear up.Though most dishes came with a sauce and a wedge of lemon, I thought all dishes could have been greatly elevated with just a single flake of finishing salt. Additionally, some dishes also ate a bit dry, like the chicken thigh skewers and the hamachi collar.Food came quickly out of the kitchen and pacing between dishes felt good.Overall, Kinda Izakaya is a good spot for a casual date night that won't break the bank -- 3.5 rounding up to a 4 stars.

The restaurant is in the corner of the street. It is a small restaurant that would fit only small parties. There were a lot of food selections from noodles, soup, and etc! The server was really nice recommending all the items and they were all really good! I would definitely come back here!

Been craving yakitori and missing japan so decided to come here for Sunday dinner. As you walk in the vibe is giving Japan hole in the wall restaurant! So def check! They have a good mix menu - from warm food, cold food, grilled, summer special, etc. We ordered a bit of everything to try a bunch of stuffThe food taste really great! The chicken thigh are juicy and cooked well w tasty sauce. The hamachi is fresh. The beef tongue is tender. Takowasa was fresh! The kimchi udon noodle is def my fave! And the hamachi Kama melts in your mouth! We also got the matcha cocktail that was so good! The food can take a bit longer, but bec they make everything to order but the servers are nice and friendly!! Would def comeback again!

I really enjoy the vibe of this place! It really makes you feel like you're in an izakaya in Japan. The decor is impeccable and the service is great. The only downside is that it's not the best for large parties unless you make a reservation in advance. It's very cozy inside but not built for more than 2-4 people. The have bar seating and usually those are kind of the unwanted seats because it's hard for larger parties. This place is more for cocktails and nibbles instead of a full-course meal, however they do offer rice bowls, sashimi, sushi, noodles, and much more! I love their takoyaki here and want to go back to try the okonomiyaki too! I've tried their sukiyaki, and rice bowls and they're both great. Cocktails are also delicious, and cute! One of their drinks has a duck in it and it's so cute and yummy! Highly recommend checking this place out! I also recommend going early to find parking since it can be hard to find!

GEM IN BERKELEY!! Tried out this izakaya place in Berkeley and it was amazing. There are so many other great Japanese places in Berkeley but there's always a long wait. Came here on a Saturday night and the wait was around 15-20 minutes for 4 people. The servers were a bit slow, but the service was still great and food came quickly. The inside is so cute with an intimate Japanese look!The food blew me away. We started off the beef tongue, takowasa, and the chicken heart skewers. The skewers were nothing but the other two were so good!! Every dish afterwards is a must-get. Super flavorful and great Japanese staples.Takowasa - Raw octopus in fresh wasabi, so refreshing (10/10) Beef Tongue - Savory and bouncy with a side of fresh wasabi and egg yolk (10/10)Chicken Heart Skewers - (7/10)Sukiyaki - Such a hearty broth and loved how sweet it was (9/10)Ochazuke - Seared salmon with rice with dashi broth poured overtop (10/10)Mentaiko Carbonara - Full of so much flavor!! If you like cod roe and creamy pastas, this is perfect. (10/10)Pork belly over rice - Surprisingly so good and flavorful if you're looking for a meaty dish! (9/10)

Came upon my coworkers recommendation. He said the vibes were good and the vibes were indeed good. I ordered the fried chicken knees, raw octopus with wasabi, and handrolls. The staff was very kind and checked up on the table often.Chicken knees: perfectly battered and fried. I think it's just something I would get frequently texture wise but it's fun and I recommend that people try.Raw octopus: it tasted like normal raw sushi to me with a slight chewy texture. Not as chewy as chicken knees. The wasabi gave it a burning spice.Handrolls: a bit over sauced for my taste. I couldn't taste much of the actual fish to pinpoint the quality.Cucumber smash: delicious and didn't taste like alcohol at all