Yakitori Taisho — Restaurant in San Diego

Yakitori Taisho is great, nestled between a barbershop and a grocery store you'd probably never guess you were looking at one of the best yakitori-ya in southern California from the outside. Their generous sake selection and frequently changing seasonal food offerings keep return visits interesting, and the charm of Taisho's cramped and slightly smokey interior makes you feel like you've stepped out of Clairemont into somewhere unfamiliar.

Taisho's yakitori is delicious. Organ cuts, skin, quail eggs, scallops, are always perfectly grilled and seasoned alongside other common offerings. However, this is San Diego, a far cry from 200¥ ($1.35) skewers, most cost between $4-10, and sake bottle prices follow wine rules, around 180-200% market price. If you try to eat and drink here until you're stuffed and stumbling, you'll be looking at around $60-$70 per person, steep for what can traditionally be a pretty economical night out drinking.

If you want to eat here you need to make a reservation, by phone, ideally the day before or at least shortly before opening day-of. Taisho's online presence is sadly a bit dated and follows 'if you know, you know' rules. Service here can be inconsistent, last two times I was here I was served by two different people both times with wildly different attitudes and made me feel like I was getting the good-cop-bad-cop routine.

COVID has really ruined one of the things that make a place like this special, all the dividers and barriers in Taisho really isolate you to your own party. Being able to have organic little connections with other patrons is a part of social drinking venues like this. I understand the precautions, but the social aspect is an unfortunate casualty.

Overall, worth a visit and I'll keep...

Chicken heart x8 , chicken gizzard x2, chicken wingx2, pork neck,x2 quail egg x2, cold octopus/fresh wasabi appetizer. The place is tiny. Plays jazz. Good ambiance. The lady server is nice. Make sure you order all at once or its going to take 20 minutes to get your next order in. Taka san behind the gril is a master. You must order in minimum of two's off the pencil write in menu, which you turn in. Go in earlier if you don't want to see your stuff go missing to someone else's order, there are very small quantities available here. You'll have your share of loud disrespectful people, and you'll also have salarymen, lot of engineers, and hip people who live in hip neighborhoods coming to this hole in the wall to enjoy epic yakitori. The hip people aren't wrong though. This yakitori is legitimate like any you might find in Japan. It's cheaper than a flight there too. Don't be tempted to order too much of the non charcoal grill stuff, that will distract you from the premium food. If it's busy prepare to wait 2 hours. It's better to just come back when they're not busy. Seats four on one side of the door, 3 on the other side, 4 along the front right, and maybe 5 along the side left. Single stall unisex bathroom. Rude smokers smoke right outside, the staff does not make them stop even though it's illegal to smoke within 50 feet of a restaurant doorway. The AC over the door pulls the fume right in. It's the only downer. There are generally nice cars outside. BMW M5, Mercedes AMG63, BMW i8, you...

Yakitori Taisho has always been given high appraise by friends and other foodies, but until my boyfriend and I finally got to experience it for ourselves, we didn't realize what we were missing out on.

PARKING - Shares a parking lot with other businesses, and there's plenty of space!

SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT - We made a reservation over the phone about a week out and solidified a spot for 5:30pm. When we arrived, it was fairly empty, although as time got closer to 6pm, it became a lot busier. We got lucky and landed the two seats right in front of the grill! Chef Yas and Chef Yaki were very friendly throughout our dinner, and we enjoyed their hospitality. It's a very small restaurant, so I would definitely recommend making a reservation!

FOOD - It was our first time here so we ordered the entire menu to get a taste of everything... there were no regrets!

Our favorites were: Beef Tongue: SUPER tender!! Chicken Vein: Never had this any where else before, and it was such an interesting piece of the chicken! It had a nice char as well. Chicken Neck: I'm usually not a fan of fatty pieces, but this had a really nice flavor to it! Pork Shiso: Loved the addition of the plum on top. special: Braised Beef Tongue - the wasabi broth is REALLY wasabi-y but so good! Definitely never seen any where else!

OVERALL - I 10000% agree Taisho is the best Yakitori spot I've had here in San Diego! I loved the hospitality and loved all the food we tried. I will absolutely...