Kirala

02/12/11

Greasy & bland

by murraytcat at Citysearch

I absolutely LOVE Japanese food, but this place doesn't do the cuisine justice. The sushi was totally bland. The eel pieces just tasted like cooking oil--yuck!--and the green beans with tempura were soggy. The food was just totally lacking that bright, fresh flavor and texture that makes Japanese food delicious. I am giving them two stars because the food wasn't HORRIBLE--it just wasn't very good either. I did find the service very friendly and efficient, though.

11/18/07

AVOID

by kk2007 at Citysearch

This place is not worth your time. With such great reviews online my partner and I were excited about having dinner here. Let down is an understatement. The wait was estimated at 30 minutes but we waited almost 2 hours for our table. With no lobby or place to stand, this put our evening off to a bad start. Once we sat down the service was so so and the sushi was NOT good. After leaving I became sick and threw up. Today my partner is sick in bed thanks to bad sushi.

• Pros: none
• Cons: the entire experience

09/11/07

decent food. expensive, and long wait.

by eastbaygirl86 at Citysearch

took an hour and a half to be seated, others who had come later then us were seated first and we had to keep reminding them that we were there. when we were finally seated they had messed up my order and my friends. When we tried to tell our waiter he did not understand. He had brought me the nigiri combination when i had ordered the sashimi combination. Then the hostess came over and fixed our order but when the sashimi mix had come it was a very small portion for the price. Not to mention on the menu it said which fish it came with and when they brought it to me there was no salmon, and thats the main reason why I get sashimi is for the salmon. When i asked where it was they said that they were out, but they could have told me this before i ordered. everytime i go it is a very long wait, and it is not worth it at all. I recommend man puku on college avenue where its more of a casual restaurant but prices and food is great!

• Pros: food isnt bad. restaurant is nice and fancy inside
• Cons: always crowded. always a long wait, bad service, expensive

08/05/07

Japanese food?I don't think so.

by hunter at Citysearch

I can't understand why they are famos.....taste was very bad.

If you like this restaurante,You don't know Japanese food.

01/21/07

Unique menu to the area, but difficult dining experience. -really difficult.

by lsheely at Citysearch

*The menu at Kirala is unique to it's area, (East Bay) so I'd say they have a bit of a captive audience syndrome. Customers flock from miles around to enjoy well reviewed sushi and noodles at this large and convenient location. I've been there a few times for lunch, but not yet for dinner, And I have to say, it's really not worth the headache.

If you want to know the truth about the crowds outside their doors, I'm happy to give it to you. 1) They're only open for a small window at lunch time; reopening for dinner a bit later. 2) They seem to have a large following of regulars, who will be expedited to the top of the waiting list and will get your table if you make the mistake of standing outside, or sitting on the railing out of the way of the busy wait staff. 3) If you have managed to make it in for lunch, once you sit down, you may be there for a while. While the menu is vast, a guessing game with your server must ensue, before you can place an order for food. Apparently all the great sushi specials, and many standard sushi selections as well, are being saved for the dinner crowd and not made available to lunch time diners. They can't tell you what you can have, you just have to keep trying until they say yes.

Overall: sushi is fresh, noodles good, -maybe a tad tricky, but any eager restaurateur would do well to open a sushi/noodle place right across the street with the same fare, offering honest straight forward service, seating or standing room for customers to line up and a clear lunch menu and a clear dinner menu. The tyranny of the Kirala rule over Berkeley would be over.

• Pros: Unique menu, easy to park roomy seating.
• Cons: difficult seating policy, vast menu, but nothing actually available