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!

What a great spot to pop in to! Nice menu offering both sushi (Monday-Thursday I believe) and ramen. Various crispy chicken available, etc. Atmosphere is intimate- good place for a date. Service was attentive and kinda. Will be back for seconds!

We stopped in before going to Berkeley Rep. Low key, relaxed atmosphere. Delicious broth with the tempura udon; really nice yakitori (chicken heart and shiitakes) and sashimi. Adding it to favorites in central Berkeley.

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!

Food was delish 10/10. Cocktails not so good but the beer was crisp ice cold. I would recommend to try the yellow tail and the rolls.

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.

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 stuff The 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!

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

The inside of the restaurant is so cool! It feels like you're being transported to a bar in Japan. The service is also super kind and it's an open kitchen so you can see the chefs making your dish. However the food isn't exceptional, but since the restaurant seems to be a late night drinks and mingle type of place it's not that big of a deal. Agedashi tofu which: 7/10 flavorful but not crispy Grilled mackerel: 8/10 Grilled rice ball: -/10 no option. I don't think I've ever liked it at any restaurant so I don't think it's for me Sukiyaki: 7.5/10 it was a bit salty and gave me a headache. Initial flavor was good so maybe the quality of ingredients wasn't