Kirala

Berkeley, CA

My favorite part of Berkeley is down Shattuck where Cheeseboard, Chez Panisse, Gregoire and Holistic hound reside. You have great food, but one thing that is missing in the area is good sushi. Well apparently, they have that too I just never knew. Kirala, a popular sushi joint down the other side of Shattuck, is often considered to have some of the freshest fish in Berkeley. Little did I know they have an outpost Kirala 2 go which also has fresh cut nigiri/sashimi to order along with a variety of pre-made sushi boxes. We've been two times in the past month, once for a custom nigiri order, and once for a assorted variety. The two visits had different results, one very solid, one less than stellar, but in both cases, its great to have pretty good quality fish easily and readily available in our favorite part of the town. The best part for us is that there's an outdoor table for us to enjoy with Shadow, a rarity for sushi restaurants.

Kanpachi, Hamachi, Tako, Sake

Our first visit we ordered five different nigiri; Kanpachi, Hamachi, Tako, Sake and Hotate. The standout was the Kanpachi, which was a special of the day. All of the nigiri was pretty good quality, better than anything we have in the Sacramento area, so I enjoyed it immensely. It was pretty pricy though, about $30 for the ten pieces. 

Spicy tuna roll, tuna, red snapper, sake, hamachi 

Our second visit we bought the pre-made assortment filled with a spicy tuna roll, tuna, red snapper, sake and hamachi nigiri. At $12, it was a good deal, and with a purchase of $10 or more, they give you a free day old item, so we ended up getting another of the same. The fish quality was still good for the pre-sliced, pre-boxed items but the rice was cold from being refrigerated and wasn't enjoyable. We ate the fish as sashimi and although it wasn't as good as our first visit, it was a good deal. All in all, its nice to have a sushi option with good quality fish and outdoor seating right in our favorite part of the city and I'm sure we'll be back. 

Rating 6.5/10

April 2, 2011

April 23, 2011