Kui Shin Bo — Restaurant in San Francisco

!!!DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME AND MONEY!!! Especially if you want the most from a vacation. I never wrote bad reviews unless it’s really bad. I as so excited to come here, even postponed other plans and was met with a horrific experience. Terrible experience. A worker stared us down at the entrance because we were confused about seating. We tried to ask about seating and the worker walked up to my bf as to not let him in and kept repeating “You have to sit with strangers” which we agreed to but they kept asking despite us saying yes. My boyfriend sat next to me (we prefer it that way) and they said he had to sit across from each other. We understood and he moved and the staff flat out laughed even though they didn’t make it clear we couldn’t sit next to each other, and we listened when they said we couldn’t. Guy taking our order scoffed at what we got? I wanted to get ramen and more stuff but I didn’t think it was worth it to give them more money. Really spoiled my appetite. Wasn’t cheap either. Staff laughed at me and my boyfriend the WHOLE time. Bland food, no flavor. I’m big on tipping but for the first time ever left $0 tip. Save your money for some good food and service. Not...

If it wasn't for being within Japan Town and getting the benefit of doubt of being authentic as well as the spillover foot-traffic, I think Kui Shin Bo would have a tough time surviving. What was really confusing about this joint was that certain dishes were completely authentic and well done, while others were bastardized with whatever pan-Asian influence. I can absolutely see that the original menu and the chef must have been Japanese but it has slowly and surely been fusioned with the chef drift. Whoever is cooking today really isn't "Japanese" for sure.

Now for the highlight - I loved the croquette. I would have to say this was one of the best croquettes you can taste in all of SF. I just wished they had more variants. Just for this, I added a star to the food.

The yakidori and the beef skewers were prepared poorly with tough cardbord like meat. The zaru soba was another shreded cardboard with senseless dipping shoyu, bland and uneventful. The mackarel dish was dry, tasteless, and souless. The okonomiyaki, although tasty, had no grace.

Thankfully, the prices were reasonable for SF standards. But we won't be returning here...

I lived in Japan for 3 years and ate a lot of okonomiyaki (Osaka style) and loved it as a healthy meal. I ordered the beef okonomiyaki at this restaurant and it was NOT the same. Traditionally, okonomiyaki is cooked up, sort of like a savory pancake with filling. What I received at this restaurant came out on a fajita plate and was swimming in oil. In my experience, okonomiyaki shouldn't be super greasy - but this was. Traditionally, the vegetable filings of okonomiyaki are mostly cabbage (thinly sliced), a little bit of green onion (thinly sliced) and maybe some pickled pink radishes. What I received at this restaurant, was mostly chopped white onion, with a little bit of chopped cabbage and pink pickled radishes. The shabu shabu style meat was good and authentic as were sauce flavorings. It was just the amount of grease and crunchiness to the okonomiyaki at this restaurant that made it unpalatable. If you're looking for okonomiyaki like you had in Japan, this is not it. I also had miso soup and green tea with dinner - they were both fine. It might be that the okonomiyaki is the only disappointing dish at...