Asaka Sushi & Bar — Restaurant in Berkeley

Asaka is a friendly neighborhood sushi bar and Japanese restaurant and I enjoyed dinner very much. They were extremely polite and courteous, very good service and food is served quickly.

The restaurant is decorated nicely and has a charming feel to it. Not overly modernized yet a modern feel. Yet also a cozy sushi bar feel. Well done!

Three of us had a couple bento boxes and a nigiri and sashimi combo. Dinner requires three item bento, and the tempura was the star. Nicely battered and fried just right. Chicken teriyaki was chicken teriyaki, if you know what I mean. The California rolls were good… they go the extra mile and mince the imitation crab as opposed to some places that just slice a little chunk. And the spicy tuna roll was not really spicy but tasty enough.

The sashimi and nigiri were very fresh and decently portioned. I prefer smaller and higher quality, which is what they served. They could go a little hotter on the wasabi. Theirs was mild.

And of course miso soup and salad with that sesame dressing I love. Fun meal, great place.

August update. Visited again cuz we liked it so much the last time. Guess what, still love it! Karage excellent taste and crispness. Hamachi Kama grilled top perfection. Carpaccio melts in your mouth. Bento boxes are good and fill you up. The treasure box sushi was beautiful and simply delicious....

This is a legit sushi bar. It has the highest quality seafood I’ve found in Berkeley. It’s excellent. The service is great and it’s just a little off the beaten path which is a nice change from other parts of Berkeley. The restaurant is clean. There’s a nice mix of diners. Prices are good (it’s not overpriced like every other restaurant in Berkeley). The only thing I wish was different is the plastic tableware. Eating from ceramic and glass is so much better than plastic, but never the less, it’s my new favorite sushi spot.

I had the mango jalapeño roll (excellent), sewers salad (excellent), miso soup (standard), sparking yuzu water (excellent), kagatobi super dry sake (very good). We left full and...

Nice to have another food option in the neighborhood. Fresh sushi and prepared promptly. Compared to other fairly close options, I felt the prices weren’t in line with the quality, but will order from again in next few weeks to verify. Inside dining looked nice when we picked up.

Update: tried again and it seems like a noticeable improvement on the quality (which was already good) that put it in line with the alternative options in the surrounding area. Updated from 4* to 5*. Glad we decided to enjoy their food again. Maybe just had to work out the kinks after they first opened. Will be...