Kirala - Japanese - Sushi/Robata grill, Berkeley

2100 Ward Street, Berkeley CA 94705
(510) 549-3486
Parking: street parking, parking lot nearby
Hours: Lunch Mon-Fri 11:30am-2pm, Dinner Mon-Fri 5:30pm-9:30pm, Sun 5pm-9pm
http://www.kiralaberkeley.com/kirala/kirala.html

Last Visited: August 8, 2009

Food: 3 to 4 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 2 to 3 stars
Price: $$$ to $$$$

I think it was Hank's photos that first triggered my interest in Kirala. I looked it up, and since I had never been to a restaurant that served sushi and offered items from their robata grill, I thought it would be worth a visit. Of course, you can also get rolls and typical dishes like tonkatsu as well. Since then, I've been twice - once sitting at the bar (alcohol bar) since I didn't have reservations and once at the actual sushi bar (although I was closer to watching the grill than the sushi).

Both times, I found the food to be of good quality, service to be okay, and worth going back.

Located across from the Berkeley Bowl supermarket, you'll find the environment somewhat inspiring - the produce at Berkeley Bowl is outstanding. Although that has nothing to do with Kirala, it's nice to know that if you go to the restaurant, there is a cool destination to check out just across the street. As we waited outside for both visits, I noticed the decorations across Ward Street even matched Kirala - fish on the outside of the building that you can see from Kirala's entrance.

Whether you're early or late, there tends to be a line. Since I had to wait outside, then inside, and only managed to get a bar seat during my first visit, I was more prepared for my second visit. I showed up at about 5:15pm and waited outside around the corner (there were some other well-prepared folks) and managed to get a seat at the sushi bar.

The place is extremely packed (what happened to a bad economy?) and if you're at the alcohol bar, there are a ton of people packed into the waiting area that is adjacent to the bar. It's almost uncomfortable, and quite frankly, I think they shouldn't allow people to sit at this bar since the staff is trying to get drinks for the dining area. At the sushi bar, service is better since there are less handoffs, but it is hard to add items to your order and tea refills are not as frequent as they should be. These reasons account for the two to three star range on the service rating.

The food is presented well and is of good quality. Sitting at the sushi/grill bar, you do tend to get a little smoke from the grill than I would prefer even though the exhaust fans are good. It's a bit hard to avoid.

All of the fish was fresh and as you can see from the photo, the pieces were fairly generous. Prices are fairly typical for the area. Here's a listing of the sushi we tried.

- Aji (Spanish Makerel) - $6
- Hirame (Halibut)- $5
- Maguro (Tuna) - $5.50
- White King Salmon - $6
- Tai (Red Snapper) - $5
- Kanpachi (Amberjack) - $6
- Seared Tuna - $5.50
- Trout - $6

- Unagi - A generous piece of unagi and very good. $5.50

- Agedashi Tofu - During my first visit, I saw some Japanese people order this and so that prompted me to order it for the second visit. Good, but not wow. $6.75

- Ika Temp - A small plate of fried fresh squid - although nicely done because of the light tempura batter, the quantity is somewhat small compared to what you would get when ordering at an Italian place - I would rather pay a couple dollars more and get a larger quantity. Okay, but I would more than likely skip it on the next visit. $7.95

- Atsu Age - I really like fried tofu. I guess it's the combination of textures - slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. A really well done fried tofu is piping hot in the center and almost melts in your mouth, especially when soft tofu is used. The outside should be beautifully golden brown and the edges of the brick should be crunchy and the rest crispy. This one was okay - I wasn't wowed by it, but the presentation was nice with the green onion on top. Chinese fried tofu with salt and pepper is a better bargain - tinier pieces mean more crunchy edges. Okay. $3.75

- Ribs - Sitting next to the grill, one of the benefits was seeing what other people were getting firsthand. Although I had pretty much finished eating, I saw the ribs and they looked too good to pass up. Of course they had to be ordered. I really liked how the wedge of lemon helped to brighten the flavor of the ribs. Delicious and definitely worth getting. $8.95

This is one of those places where the service is the best when the check comes - they're friendly and fast to return your check with change to get you out the door for the next round of patrons. Alas, there is opportunity for Kirala to improve their service overall, but at least the food is good. I would go back for more, although it wouldn't be a destination I would deliberately drive an hour to try.