Ippuku is a Little Piece of Japan in Berkeley

I am so happy right now.

Really. I just ate dinner at Ippuku for the first time, and I am so happy that a true yakitori restaurant has landed right here in my town.

Ippuku feels like a little piece of Japan transplanted into Berkeley. Everything from the entryway to the seating (in-floor recessed seating on one side, booths on the other) feels authentic. And pretty much everyone in the front of the house speaks Japanese, so you’re greeted in Japanese, the menu is in both Japanese and English, and the drinks have a real Japanese feel.

The concept of an izakaya is a place to drink with friends and eat small plates of food (not sushi). Ippuku really delivers here from little plates like Kinpira (sauteed lotus root) which was intensely flavored with a little heat and a lot of sesame… I love lotus root and I was so incredibly excited to see that on the menu, and even happier to eat it.

There’s also yakimono (grilled stuff) including yakitori (grilled chicken). And when I say grilled chicken, I mean all the parts of the chicken including hearts, gizzards, necks, skin, and knee cartilage. Yes, it’s a little weird to eat knee cartilage but it’s one of my favorites (I have been so bummed since not being able to find it anywhere in the US but NYC) — a little meaty, a little crunchy, a little salty. Yum. Not to mention bacon-wrapped mochi which is crunchy, salty, chewy and even a little sweet all at one time. And the individual quail which we pulled apart and split.

There’s also some “fancier” dishes and other warm food — the local uni with ponzu was super fresh and tasted like the sea, and the chicken congee was warmly comforting.

And we drank — beer, and chu-hi, which is a shochu drink mixed with your choice of fresh juice. You get to squeeze the meyer lemon juice at the table and mix it in in your own desired portion.

As for service, our server was really attentive, and when a dish or two took a little longer she was right on top of checking on it in the kitchen. The congee took a long time to appear but at least she kept looking for it for us. And the rest of the service was also good from the manager Dave to everyone else who stopped by to ask if we were ok (at least two others).

So, good luck Ippuku and welcome. I hope you stick around for a long time.

Ippuku
2130 Center Street
Berkeley, CA 94704