Opinions KIKI JAPANESE RESTAURANT San Francisco

If you have any experience with Japanese food outside of the Western world, do not come here.

We ordered two items: curry udon and oyakodon. The Japanese curry was extremely dilute, probably too much water added to the store bought curry cubes. A cost saving attempt or poor cooking, who knows.

Apparently no one knew what oyakodon meant, and we were served chicken katsu don instead. When we pointed this out to the server, they told us, "no no, this is chicken atop rice".

Thankfully the owner (?) stepped out and corrected the mistake, only after asking us three separate times if we really wanted oyakodon. The final bout of questioning involved checking if we even knew what oyakodon meant!

The oyakodon eventually arrived, with overcooked eggs and too much broth. Rather disappointing, but given the whole situation, I wouldn't be surprised if they had to panic-cook oyakodon for the first time in years.

Both dishes aren't difficult to cook, which was why we ordered them in the first place -- how hard is it to mess up Japanese curry? Be warned, those who have better standards for Japanese food!

EDIT: forgot to mention that we also ordered some fried california maki. Who uses long grain rice for sushi? The sushi fell apart and was mushy -- maybe that's why it's a repressed memory

Great HH deals and bento set up. I love that they have fried oysters as an option which isn’t something you can find usually.

Oh they also sell the Japanese compartmentalized plate ware of you want to start serving like so at home.

I really love the atmosphere here☺️. The food was good and cheap tho. I came there on Sunday, but the restaurant not very crowded, it s a bit difficult to find the street parking on that day.

Delicious food, polite staff, quality service. I will recommend this restaurant to all my friends!

Nice place, good food, but the service left much to be desired. It was a challenge to get anyone to come to the table, to order, get water, get the check, etc. Other than that, great place to eat!

There are many amazing sushi spots in San Francisco at this price point with better fish and craftsmanship!

Really good Happy Hour

Is i was able to rate Zero Stars i would.... spicy tuna roll looked like dog puke died red and rolled in rice... the udon was sooooo rubbery..... waitresses were great though...

I typically never like to leave a negative review but, I must when I end up asking for a to go box when, I can't even make it through half of a plate of one of my most favorite type of foods.
I ❤️❤️❤️ Japanese food and sashimi. I'm assuming that the owner's might not be Japanese, or maybe they are cutting corners with their food as,
the rice definitely wasn't sushi rice (pretty sure it was jasmine rice). That one, already had me worried. The rice was dry, grainy and falling apart in the nigiri. The sashimi wasn't cut right, it was thin, tough, dry, flavorless, had me worried that it might not be sushi grade. Also, stringy with tendons. Everything was overly salty. The wasabi paste was dried out, gummy and very pasty. Also, pretty sure the soy sauce isn't Kikkoman. Nothing tasted right. I'm both fortunately as well as unfortunately a super taster so, I have a very sensitive palette. Ouch, was my experience. The service was pretty much very impersonal & mediocre. It wasn't bad. I would have asked my server, had she showed her face, about the rice, etc.... she popped my dish down & didn't re appear for several minutes. Nothing was cooked right or presented in a traditional Japanese fashion. All of the textures were wrong as well as the flavors. The eel was chewy, not cooked right, bad texture and with a basic, bottled teriyaki sauce. The avocados were overly ripe, too. Miso soup, terrible and overly salted. Nothing chopped up as would be like in a traditional Japanese restaurant. Edamame, not cooked right and overly salted as well. Definitely, NEVER going back. Definitely not worth the $28 for lunch. Boo in regards to the sushi. Thumbs down ???? on the sashimi, rice, miso soup and eel. Sorry for the bad review. Just have to be honest.

Appetizers and rolls were delicious, everything reasonably priced, quick friendly service, planning to come back soon to try more from the menu

The food was delicious, bigger portions then expected especially for the price, and everyone was so friendly!

Happy hour beer and chicken karaage stonks

I have always liked this Restaurant. Very good food and good service.

It's a nice place and ???? was normal..would be better with sake..but I'm the designated driver lol....I had the tempura appetizer but hours later burping what appears to be the scent of cooking ????....hmm...next time I will stick to sushi....location is a gem though if they minimize the menu...service is good because you feel relaxed and not rushed..

We love this place, I like their sushi, and I was regular there while we lived in San Francisco. The top ones I love are a Sushi Set C with eel, Rainbow, Dragon rolls and udon soup.

Best happy hour - sake & beer for $8 before 7pm. Great bento box

Not the most memorable sushi experience, but a very welcoming environment for families with young kids.

January 2023:
Unfortunately Kiki has really gone downhill in the quality department. My last 3 times here have been disappointing. Especially a glazed salmon bento box that was bordering on unedible. The only item that has stayed consistently good is the chicken karaage appetizer. Also the prices have gone up quite a bit. Increased prices and lower quality food is not good. For now on I will only order the chicken karaage to go.
It's a shame, use to be a decent place for sushi

Decent hang out spot if you want Japanese food with a rowdy group. It used to be aimed more at cheap eats, but it seems like they're trying to go more upscale. The price has gone up, but the food is still meh.

Such a great place! Super affordable, especially for the portion sizes.
The curry udon noodles are amazing. We also had several rolls and other things that were ????

Nothing to write home about. Fish in sushi was kinda slimy and gross. Anything cooked was okay. I’ve had sushi at a lot of places and this was one of the worst.

The Happy Hour here is an insanely good value for the money. Both the drink specials and small bites are delicious. I go here quite a lot but pretty much only for happy hour as the few times I came and ordered off the regular menu I found the food to be pretty mediocre. Service is friendly but it can be hard to get a server's attention. The atmosphere kinda depends on the crowd. Usually it's pretty busy and noisy but never a bad vibe. The bench tables near the entrance are the best in my opinion.

Food is above average, and the price is reasonable. However, the sanitary is not good that the table and chairs feel sticky. So I'm not at all comfortable.

Yummy! The tempura is very good. The tonkatsu is also very good. The service was great.

Nice decorations with Studio Ghibli Movies Posters, relax and quite if it is not busy hour, feel like summer time. Nice SF Roll and Salmon Nigiri, very tasty ????

Bon rapport qualité/prix, cuisine satisfaisante et service excellent. A découvrir si vous êtes San Francisco!