Kitaro — Restaurant in San Francisco

Great value, descent taste and quick, friendly service!

They have an unusual combination in lunch specials: Udon with salmon sashimi bowl. I also added spicy miso broth to udon for $1 extra. Spicy and miso are also a surprise, but the taste was very smooth. The bowl of rice is covered with a dozen or so salmon stripes, cut smaller than your typical sashimi but still has enough meat to fill me up. The salmon tastes rich and fresh, just what I expected. At a total of under $11, that’s a steal. I also ordered a side of edamame with garlic sauce, another surprise considering most restaurants serve edamame sides plain. My entire meal costed $15 and odds, and was so fulfilling I couldn’t eat dinner.

I entered the restaurant after 2pm on a Sunday. The orders came very quickly. With three waitresses and at least one waiter, I expect orders to be equally fast on weekdays - if you can get a seat. The space is really small, I think they have less than a dozen tables that barely seat four each. Decoration is light yet themed. (The Japanese name suggests ghost, so there are monsters on the wall. There is even a hint of Godzilla although I do not see it in display.)

Update: I have since come here several times with my daughter and have not been disappointed. This is surprisingly close to the Golden Gate Park.

All in all, this is a great place to eat if you come...

Sushi good, that's it. We were served by a female waitress, who was very penetrant. After 5 minutes in the restaurant she asked us if we are ready to order and continued asking this after few minutes (it happend 2-3 times until i was very stressed and decided spontanously - by this, we were not more than 10 minutes in the restaurant). We orderd miso soup, some maki sushi, chicken teriyaki and tempura vegetables. The food was really not good except the maki sushi. Miso soup came without tofu, the chicken was nearly raw and the sauce was not good - in total, not really edible :( The male waiter was friendly and helpful - 1 star for the service because of him, the female waitress would deserve 0 stars. Btw, the employees are not japanese people. Maybe this is the reason for the food disaster. In total, positive: the just the taste of the sushi was ok and the price was cheap, negative: taste of every other food and service were really, really...

Aaah, Kitaro - a favorite in my family - we can choose between sushi and bento boxes, Chicken Don and sashimi - there's something different for all four of us, when we're having trouble deciding what to eat. Their huge menu is well designed, and quick to cook for you. Always with a young crowd, families and teens and young adults and their grandparents. Everyone's happy to eat at Kitaro's. I love to have the combo dinner, myself - half sushi and half chicken or Salmon teriyaki. I also love ordering one or two of their huge party trays when we are going to a potluck or having guests over ourselves. The combination sushi trays go down well, and the big tray of Crispy Chicken is always a big hit with the kids at any party. - devoured in...