Photo: b nine / GoogleThe Best Japanese & Izakaya in San Francisco
What is the best japanese & izakaya in San Francisco?
By consensus across 5 independent sources, Rintaro, On the Bridge, Sobakatsu lead the japanese & izakaya ranking in San Francisco.
How the consensus ranking works →The ranking
RintaroⓘWhere it’s ranked
MICHELIN · Rec · Infatuation · SF Standard
Binchotan-grilled tsukune comes melt-in-your-mouth tender under a show-stopping char, served in a serene plant-filled courtyard of arched wooden beams and hand-cut soba.
On the BridgeⓘWhere it’s ranked
Eater · Infatuation · SF Standard · 7x7
Shinjuku-style curry blankets crispy chicken katsu in a booth ringed by shelves of tattered manga, plushies and sherbet-colored chairs since 1992.
SobakatsuⓘWhere it’s ranked
Eater · Infatuation · SF Standard
Naturally gluten-free soba milled from Maine buckwheat comes out nutty and al dente, bathed in a bonito-and-kombu broth inside an 11-seat room.
Yakitori EdomasaⓘWhere it’s ranked
Eater · Infatuation · SF Standard
The grilled tsukune is soft enough to cut with a chopstick, anchoring a $30 charcoal set of thigh, wing, heart and skin from a 1924 Tokyo yakitori house.
Udon MugizoⓘWhere it’s ranked
Eater · Infatuation · 7x7
Housemade udon anchors eighteen different bowls, from a rich, spicy tonkotsu with a side of fish powder to beef curry and smoked-salmon cream.
Super MiraⓘWhere it’s ranked
Eater · Infatuation
A Japantown market where the coolers hold grab-and-go bluefin nigiri, futomaki, donburi and potato croquettes, all under $10 — come before noon or it sells out.
ShowaⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation · SF Standard
A twelve-course parade of katsu on wire racks — dry-aged Duroc pork, bluefin, Dungeness crab croquette in dehydrated-rice crumbs — with bottomless cabbage to cut the richness in a 16-seat room.
Sora Soba DiningⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation · SF Standard
A theatrical drumbeat greets you at this fourth-generation soba house, where cold, slurpable buckwheat noodles arrive with rosy-seared aigamo duck and airy kushi tempura.
TBDⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation · SF Standard
A $60 tuna Wellington wraps bigeye in nori and puff pastry, sharing the counter with honey-butter karaage that arrives with a chicken claw poking out.
Kui Shin BoⓘWhere it’s ranked
Infatuation · 7x7
The menu runs as long as a 5,000-piece LEGO manual — takoyaki, donburi, ramen and agedashi tofu — a laid-back, affordable overflow when Sasa next door has an hour wait.