Iyasare, Berkeley-08/19/2018

Kevin is in town for the weekend and he is asking if he could meet with Nicky on Sunday so Maily suggested that we meet them in Berkeley for Dinner.

Nicky made reservation at Iyasare located on 4th street in Berkeley.  I did not do any research and went in the restaurant without knowing anything about the restaurant.  All I knew is we are going to have Japanese food.

This the view of the restaurant from 4th street.

 

Cute side entrance of the restaurant. They also set up a bunch of tables on the outside if you want to dine el fresco.

 

The entrance of the restaurant with a cute wooden alcove.

This is still summer so the main door is wide open.

The bar and an open kitchen (left).

 

Here you can see the kitchen in the back.

The interior is really nice with a modern chandelier underneath a skyline roof.


On our table is an interesting exotic plant with a fuzzy flower hanging down.  We all thought is was fake but not it is real!

Hoa, Me, Kevin, Nicki, Jenna, Tuan and Maily.

 

Japanese beer with colorful labels.

The beer and sake selection is really nice.

Hoa and Maily a sake that they really liked.

 

AGEDASHI TOFU fried silken tofu /tempura baby artichoke/grated chili daikon/fresh wakame/soy-dashi

This is a classic dish but it is revisited by adding colorful vegetables. 

 

This the special of the day grilled octopus, squid ink sauce, fried shiso leave, roasted pepper

 

Gorgeous presentation, looks almost like art.

 

BACON-WRAPPED MOCHI  nori seaweed/house made teriyaki

Wow, this is really fantastic.  I love the crunchiness of the mochi, the saltiness of the bacon.  This is a simple dish but it is really tasty.

 

KAKIAGE TEMPURA burdock root/yellow onion/sweet potato/shitake/shungiku/bonito soy broth with black tiger shrimp

This reminds me of a Vietnamese dish but I like this better as they put a lot more shrimps and just the right amount of sweet potatoes.

This is a must order dish at Iyasare.

 

Homemade squid ink pasta, roasted chanterelle mushroom, squid, and uni

Delicious-this is also a must order dish.

 

This is a really yummy dish and the presentation is also beautiful

 

Gyu-Niki -Wagyu culottes steak, roasted asparagus, mushrooms,

The steak was cooked properly, it was tender, and the sauce did not overwhelmed the meat.

 

Grilled Hamachi Karma

This also a special dish of the day.  Can't go wrong with Hamachi Kama, the meat is so delicious.

 

MAGURO OROSHI big eye tuna/grated wasabi leaf/yama imo /bottarga /dashi-soy

This is our last dish and it was just okay. The tuna was lightly seared but the flavors were somewhat muted.

 

 

I did not have any expectation as Nicky made all the arrangement.  The food is modern Japanese beautifully decorated. Nice ambiance, very good service and we definitely will be back for more.

 

 Filed under: Restaurants

 

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