Iyasare

I always make sure I have a reservation ahead at Iyasare when I visit Berkeley. If you dine inside, it can be a little noisy, but very energetic and beautiful and you can watch the chefs prepare the meal. The bar is always a good choice if there’s No seating in the parklet or outdoor dining. Everything is tastefully prepared from the miso soup to the salads to the sushi and entrées. I always make sure I get a ramen dish or soup and some hot tea…but go and explore and you’ll understand what everyone’s talking about.!

Stopped by for lunch on Labor Day and they were able to easily accommodate us as a group of 3. The restaurant is classy and inviting with a great outdoor area. Every single thing we ate was wonderful save for the miso Caesar salad being good but unexciting. I didn’t see a la carte sushi but the rolls were top notch. It’s a place I would easily return to.

Delicious vegetarian dish, the presentation was beautiful and the food was great. Mixing in the spicy mustard was key! Started with the Brussels, cooked right with a subtle and addictive flavor. Evidence presented is the empty plate, if I wasn’t full I would have licked it!

Olivia was our server and was simply fabulous! All meals GF, and experienced zero issues. Items which are naturallyade GF are all starred in the menu. Items were unique and delicious. We've been here many times and will continue coming back!

Great little spot In Berkeley! The staff are rockstars and it shows in every way. The service staff worked harmoniously together and the food was plated with pride. Bar staff goes up and beyond. Food is high quality and rich in flavors.

The food is different from your usual Japanese place, and is excellent. I saw that almost e everyone recommended the kakiage tempura, and there's food rain for that. It's like they took a bunch of ingredients and made a pie, then tempura fried it and finally cut into slices. It's a must order.

Everything else we ordered was great, too. Being an okonomiyaki lover, I'd order theirs again. The bacon mochi is unique but delicious.

It's a bit more expensive than other places, but it's well worth trying.

Really eye catching restaurant, nestled in the corner of a street. Breathtaking interior and very attentive and professionally groomed staff. From host stand to bartender. I got all vegetarian options and they were spot on. The miataki with the butter ponzu is out of this world! The only thing that could use a kick, would be the Cesar salad. Kind of bland. But everything else was knocked out the park.

Found this gem from a legit source and absolutely loved it. Arrived without reservations a few minutes after they opened and was seated promptly indoors. Received a very welcome introduction from the wait staff along with recommendations that I ordered from.

The kakiage tempura with shrimp was incredible. I would not have ordered this without the recommendation because of the sweet potato but with the dipping sauce the sweet potato flavor that I dislike was not present.

Next was the Alaskan cod which was so tender you could cut it with your chop sticks and came with a delicious broth with an explosion of seafood flavor.

The final dish I tried was sushi. I ordered the geisha roll because Iyasare specializes in raw fish. This one came with fried shrimp and snow crab. It was one of the best sushi experiences I've had so I highly recommend it.

Cocktails were interesting, adhered to their unique Japanese theme and were on point.

Definitely a must try if you're in the Bakery l Berkeley area. The street is lit up like Christmas and made me question why I've not been here before.

Love the food and the service is great!
We started with the seaweed salad. The crunchy cooked seaweed and squishy tofu paired really well together.
The warm sake is very smooth.

The volcano ramen with pork belly was really good. I will skip the minced chicken in it next time.
The veg shoyu was very flavorful and the tofu in it was soft.

You’ve scored if you eat lunch here on a trip to 4th Street. A well rounded and very creative pan-Japanese cuisine. Hot and cold dishes made with personality and style. The sashimi and sushi are outstanding, but so are the donburi dishes, curries, grilled items, and salads. I always get excited in a place like this when the meal starts with an unexpectedly awesome miso soup.

I consider Iyasare as one of my top restaurants of all time and I think that’s saying a lot.

On 4th St in Berkeley, where the bar is high, I think this Japanese restaurant delivers on high quality food, at a good price, with amazing service, and plenty of available spaces. I’ve been a stickler about highly rating restaurants that are inaccessible to everyday people and often require months of advance notice or booking to get in.

We go here for celebratory occasions or just everyday dining. We normally get the kakiage, an amazing tempura yakitori-style dish that serves veggies in addition to huge prawns. We’ve ordered the ramen, many of their fresh salads, sushi/chirashi, and unagi donburi. You can’t go wrong with anything on the menu.

As always, a deliscious experience. Beautifully presented dishes and good service. Reasonable prices for the quality. Pleasant but busy restaurant, you should make a reservation to ensure a seat.

Excellent restaurant. The service was amazing. Very in tune with the flow of the dinner. I took my teens and they were even impressed. The food was spectacular and abundant. I was truly impressed by the quantity recieved with each dish. Very high quality. Bar was excellent. We will most definitely be back.

The food was the best Japanese food I have had, including in Japan. DelIcious, unique and completely satisfying. A delightful find with excellent service. The only down side was the closeness of the tables and noise. It is now my favorite Japanese restaurant in Berkeley.

Good material, good taste
Should reserve the table 1 day before.

My partner and I decided to walk in after finding Iyasare on a best restaurants list, and we were in for a treat. Our host, Mariah, was so welcoming and gave us suggestions for every course of the meal. She suggested the Kakiage tempura with tiger shrimp, this was one of the best foods I’ve ever had, I lived in Tokyo for three years and I have not seen this concoction before, the texture, the taste, and the spices were perfect.

The birria ramen was decent, a little salty, but the meat was cooked perfectly, and the hot sauce on the side was very spicy!

The sake (salmon) ikura don was great, the ikura tasted amazing, and the salmon was fresh. The sushi rice could have maybe used a bit more flavor like vinegar. But very good.

The Sakura cheesecake was a very tasty cheesecake topped with cherries and a red sweet sauce, but I am not sure where the Sakura part came into play.

The experience was great, especially the tempura and Mariah’s service, the tempura was exquisite and Mariah brought a good energy to the experience.

Had lunch here, overall good!

ORGANIC ICHIBA SALAD, really good salad, usually I don’t eat salad, but the sauce of this one is really good, just right amount of saltiness, no MSG, sauce is flavorful not too sour. Vegetable is fresh.

SAKE AND IKURA DONBURI, salmon and seaweed and salmon roe balanced so well! Rice is also good.

‘KARA-AGE’ JAPANESE FRIED CHICKEN, sadly this is chicken is over fried, meat is a little dry, but really like the idea that this plate provide few choices of spices and sauce

This is not an authentic Japanese place. However, it has a unique twist to it and regardless has great flavour. The kara-age and the ganache is really good. However, I wouldn’t recommend the unagi bowl that much.

So tasty and fresh. The workers were nice I ordered a sashimi salad to go and miso soup was probably the best I’ve had! Definitely will be coming back for dining experience

Beautiful and excellent dishes, lovely patio, and friendly staff. We enjoyed our meal on the patio – everything was delicious. We had the spicy chicken, Brussels sprouts, Suzuki yaki, and a few nigiri (the hamachi was stellar!) great experience, I look forward to visiting again!