Ippuku

Berkeley, CA

Oh Ippuku….I wanted to love you so much. With the glowing reviews from Mr. Bauer, the plug by Queen Alice Walters and the consistent affection provided by yelpers, it couldn’t be a miss, could it? I guess this is one such scenario where poor service really detracts from the enjoyment of the food. We had reservations for 6:30 on a Saturday night with Ghost. Earlier in the day, they called to confirm our reservations and casually mentioned that there were additional reservations at

Japanese table - No Shoes Please

 8:00 at our same table. We tried to make it there earlier as to not feel rushed, but with the combination of heavy fog on the roads and missing the BART, we eventually made it on time exactly at 6:30. The first thing you notice before even walking into the restaurant is the no phone and no photography signs. We tried to respect the rules as best we could by taking only one quick picture of each item discretely waiting for servers to pass us by, and thankfully they turned out pretty good. The décor is dark and simple, a long restaurant with booths along the left wall and traditional Japanese table (where you take off your shoes) along the right wall. The drinks are made in the front corner of the restaurant, with large bottles of sake/shochu hung upside down being dispensed, visually pretty cool. The food is prepared in an exposed kitchen in the back with a bar area where about six patrons can enjoy watching their food cooked.  The small booths are cozy, with a dark wood table, a variety of condiments (Japanese spices) housed in unique bottles and complimentary cabbage as you look over the menus. The cabbage is literally raw cabbage with a dollop of mayonnaise-like dipping sauce with Japanese spices, nothing worth wasting calories on.

Raw Cabbage and Meyer Lemon Chu-Hai ($7)

We started off with the vast alcohol menu, a long list of sake, shochu, and beers. I had previously read about the shochu flight so Ghost and I started with that combined with an Echigo, my favorite Japanese beer. Chu-Toro went with a Meyer lemon shochu with club soda cocktail. Interestingly, the drink came with a half lemon and a small juice squeezer so you can add as little or as much lemon as you like, a unique twist. Our Shochu flights contained three shots from left to right, lightest to strongest. The first was an Imo/sweet potato shochu called Beniazuma. The second, a Kome/short rice called Judai Kutahachi and the third a Awaamor/long rice Yaeyama Seifuku. It was fun to try, but none of them really stood out to me and prefer my overpriced Echigo.

Shochu flight ($12) and Echigo ($9)

The food menu is also pretty large, offering a wide range of items. Before we could really figure out specifically what we wanted, our server came by to remind us that another table was booked at 8 PM. We didn't think much of it, but it became a reoccurring theme the whole evening. Since we already initially felt rushed, we asked for some suggestions and pretty much ordered everything they recommended.

Mekyabetsu (Brussel Sprouts) ($5)

The first dish was Mekyabetsu (brussel sprout) skewers. I thought I had read in a previous review how these were “special” or “unique” these were, but there were simple three halved spouts on two skewers individually topped by the same mayonnaise sauce with the cabbage. Since this sauce was on a lot of items, I’m going to simply refer to it as house sauce.  It was good, but not a $5 item I’d recommend.

Ika Yaki (Whole roasted squid) ($10)

Next up was the whole roasted squid. Chu-Toro and I were first turned to this dish after having it at Uzen, a popular sushi joint at the end of College Ave where Berkeley turns into Oakland. Ever since that amazing offering, we generally order it at any Japanese restaurant that has it, but haven’t found another one to match. Ippuku’s was no different, a perfectly standard offering of the dish. Tender squid, not overcooked, but lacking the smoky flavor I had hoped for, served again with the house sauce.

Omakase Gushi ($14)

The yakatori omakase was up next, offering five different skewers parts of the chicken as selected by the chef. The dish came with (from furthest to closest) wing, gizzard, breast, liver and thigh with leek. I was really hoping for greatness here, but was disappointed. Not sure if it was because by the time I got to each one, they had cooled dramatically. The pace of the food was rapid, literally one dish after another only minutes apart. But the flavors of the yakatori weren't as good as the ones we had at Nombe. 

Bekonmochi (bacon wrapped mochi) ($5)

Bacon wrapped mochi was also a popular talked about item. It was interesting, nothing earth shattering from a flavor profile, it was exactly what it sounds like, bacon wrapped around gelatinous mochi. Cool to say you tried, but not a necessary dish.

Tori Yukka (chicken tartar) with egg ($9)

The one item I was most excited about was the Tori Yukka (chicken tartar) with egg. This dish alone made me understand why people love Ippuku. It was excellent. I’ve never had chicken tartar before mainly due to fear. But we were ensured of the amazing product and a flash boil of the chicken which turns the chicken into sashimi consistency. The flavor of the course was superb. The chicken was soft, sweet, smooth and really flavored well by the slight spiciness, the sesame oil and wonderful egg that brought everything together, a really awesome dish.

Jaga Bata (potatoes) ($5)

I’m not sure what the rage is about Jaga Buta, basically three halved roasted potatoes with clarified butter and house sauce for five bucks. We had it at Sumiya during our last Izakaya meal and although Ippuku’s were much better, still not sure I understand the rage. It’s literally just potatoes and butter.

Hoba Yaki (Duck) ($18)

Another highly recommended dish was the Hoba Yaki (duck), which came out with beautiful presentation atop a small stone pot on a steel grate. The fire below cooked the raw duck that was mixed in by a red miso sauce, pine nuts, enoki mushrooms and scallions. This was Chu-Toro’s favorite dish of the night.

The torrid pace continued throughout the first set of orders and immediately as our last dish came, our server asked if we wanted to order anything else since we only had 40 minutes until 8. Jeeze, the countdown was in full effect, it must have been Mr. Bauer himself requesting that specific table. Nonetheless, we ordered a couple more yakatori despite having a full table of food since we were on the clock. The pork belly, chicken breast with shiso and minced chicken were the next set of recommendations so we went with all of those.

Buta Bara (pork belly) skewers ($8)

I think I've come to the conclusion that pork belly is just not good in this form. You don’t get enough fat and the pork is usually chewy, at least thats the case on the last couple times I’ve gotten this. 

Ume-shiso Maki (chicken breast with shiso leaves) topped by seaweed ($8)

The Ume-shiso (chicken breast was shiso) was good, but mainly because I love shiso since it’s so fresh and flavorful. Chu-Toro complained that the chicken flavor was loss and overpowered by the combination of shiso and seaweed.

Tsukutama (minced chicken) with egg yolk ($7)

The tsukutama (minced chicken) was a single skewer, which I didn’t expect for $7. It came with a large raw egg yolk to coat the chicken meatball. It’s too bad it only came with one piece because it was my favorite yakatori of the evening.  Our server came back one more time and gave us the timer of 20 minutes before we had to leave and asked if we wanted dessert. I still had room for one or two dishes, but opted against dessert since I was still hungry. I asked for the ramen and the grilled rice balls. She replied, ramen is quick, but the rice balls take 20 minutes so we can’t do that one. I was taken back, but that was really the last draw. Seriously? Don’t we all wait 5-10 minutes for our reservations in a really crowded place? It’s not like we had people literally hovering for our table at that moment. 

Ippuku Ramen ($7)

To make things worst, the ramen is probably the worst ramen I’ve had at a Japanese restaurant. I might as well have opened a 25 cent package of Nissn Top Ramen. It was vastly over peppered and the chicken strips tasted like overcooked leftovers from an Albertson’s rotisserie chicken. Not a good note to end on, but we were out of time anyways and the bill was on the table seconds after the ramen arrived.

On top of everything, the bill came out to $160 before tip, a pretty pricy affair for hit and miss izaykaya food and pretty poor rushed service. I would much rather spend that amount at a solid sushi place where I can enjoy my meal. I’m not sure if izaykaya food is just not our thing, or we felt so rushed we couldn’t really enjoy the food, but Ippuku was a disappointment. Sure there was greatness in the chicken tartar and duck, but the yakatori was a roller coaster of highs and lows, the cost was pretty steep for what it is and sadly we won’t be coming back. 

Rating 5.5/10

January 15, 2011


The saving grace to the evening was walking to King Pin Donuts on Durant for a fresh, still warm, chocolate old fashion. Mmmm....
Also there's a place on Shattuck, John's Ice Cream which has $1 scoops with a sugar cone! Makes you want ice cream even in January.