Volcano Curry — Restaurant in San Francisco

This place used to be that girl when it came to Japanese curry in SF. Like, they built their whole identity around it. I used to order from here constantly because it actually scratched that nostalgic itch for real Japanese curry. It was comforting, flavorful, and dependable. Now? It's giving cafeteria food at luxury prices.

First of all, let’s talk about the pickles. They used to give you like, four sad little pieces (barely there, but fine). Then one day they just... disappeared. No explanation. But somehow, the DoorDash menu still gives you the option to remove them, like they’re actually included. Be serious. Now they’ve got the nerve to charge extra for them. For what? Four pickles and a memory?

Then there’s the chicken. It’s actually impressive how they managed to make something deep-fried this dry and rubbery. It's mostly just breading now, wrapped around what I assume is chicken but could honestly be anything at this point. The curry sauce? Flavorless. Bland. Feels like they forgot to season it, tasted it, and just said “meh, it’s fine.”

I also caved and ordered two eggs today. That’s $4 for eggs that taste like they were boiled last week and stored in a shoebox. Normally I add my own, but I was feeling lazy. Big mistake. Huge.

And the real kicker? I added spinach for an extra $3 (because I hate myself apparently), and suddenly they decided I only deserve two baby potatoes instead of the usual four or five. So now we’re just subtracting parts of the dish because I added something? Math isn't mathing.

So now we’re looking at almost $30 for one sad, microwavable container of dry chicken, watery curry, $2 eggs, non-existent potatoes, and vibes. That’s it. Just vibes. Calories.

This place used to be the go-to. Now it’s giving “we buy everything from Restaurant Depot and hope no one notices.” I don’t know if management changed or if they just stopped caring, but wow. They really said "let's charge more and give less."

If you're thinking about ordering, don’t. Save your money. Or better yet, just make curry at home. At least then, when it’s disappointing, you only have...

This is really good Japanese curry rice! If you have had the dish in Japan (or are Japanese, and missing home 🙂), you are in the right spot to get the dish you fondly remember. I don't think this place is a chain, feels more like a mom n pop shop to me. (I could be wrong about that, though.) Not a big deal either way, but if you know the difference between the two, it'll help you understand what "kind" of curry rice I'm taking about.

The recipe they are using is more the kind you'll find in Japanese family restaurants and hotels, rather than the "fast foody" curry shops (like Coco Ichi). The curry is a bit thinner, like a gravy or soup, and it has big pieces of carrot and potato as a standard feature. Volcano has 4 "heat" levels, and you should take them seriously, because "medium/level 2" is already pretty hot. Good, flavorful hot. Not painful hot. Just understand. You'll sweat a bit. It goes up from there. The curry, as I said, is really, really, really good.

My reason for 4 and not 5 stars is just the menu system. There's a bunch of stuff that costs extra, including fukujinzuke, which honestly, should just be on the table, free of charge. Everything is an add on, and it can get a bit spendy. It's not that it's not worth it – there's really not many places you can go to get this if you're craving it, so you will pay gladly. But there really should be some "basic setups" that run the 10-11 dollar range that get you more than just beef or chicken chunks plus carrot and potato. But the curry it's on point, as I've said, so if curry is an itch that you need to scratch, get your a** in a chair here. It's the real deal.

Did I say put fukujinzuke on the table? I did. My love would grow at least one star if I could just put as much of that on my curry as my heart...

The universe gave me a gift today when a 38 bus driver heading towards Transit Center chose not to stop and pick me up today, making me wait 10 minutes for the next one and getting me to Bread n' Chu 7 minutes after their kitchen closed.

I was so sad, but in the area wanting chicken katsu in some form and I spotted Volcano Curry nearby. I was VERY skeptical due to the name (I lived in Japan and am particular with my Japanese food), but saw a decent rating so I decided to give it a try - what a treat!

I ordered the chicken katsu curry and was rewarded with the savory goodness of one of Japan's best comfort foods. The rice was fluffy and the right level of sticky. The chicken was crispy and seasoned to perfection, while juicy and flavorful on the inside. The potatoes and carrots were cut to the right chunkiness and cooked to the right level of soft. Now for the curry, which I ordered medium spicy - it was a Japanese medium spicy to my delight! The spicy tolerance level is lower there than in the US, so a Japanese medium is somewhere between an American mild and medium and they nailed it! And then the taste of the brown curry was super authentic.

I highly recommend this place and hate to not give it 5 stars. The culprit of the ding? The plating. When you dine in, you are served just as if it was to go, in a plastic microwavable container with a flip lid. Such a tragedy! Even when I have take out or delivery at home I transfer it to a plate to fully enjoy the dish instead of scooping it out of the container like some sort of disaster victim in a...