Katana Ya
| Address: | 422 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94102, USA |
| Phone: | +1 415-771-1281 |
| Site: | katanayausa.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–11:45PM 11:30AM–11:45PM 11:30AM–11:45PM 11:30AM–1:15AM 11:30AM–1:15AM 11:30AM–1:15AM 11:30AM–11:45PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 5
DI
Diana Sky
Over the past few years, Ive consistently found myself at this Japanese restaurant late at night because its: (a) Open late until 1 a.m. (b) Centrally located near Union Square (c) A great alternative to greasy, late night fare Ive had a good amount of their soba, udon, and ramen noodle bowls -- from miso to spicy, and enjoyed them all. Their rolls are also quite good, as is their sashimi. Ive had such a selection, that I couldnt name them all here without making this a page-long review! One thing that Ive especially enjoyed are their donburi bowls. Its a Japanese staple, but for some reason, its difficult to find restaurants that serve a VARIETY of donburi. For those who dont know, donburi is basically a bowl of rice with a topping (eel, tofu, roe, etc.) I would have given them a better rating, however, when I ate here recently, they served really low quality Unagi (Fresh Water Eel), the worst that I have ever had. (I eat A LOT of unagi, more than the average white girl!) Fun fact: Eel is eaten in Russian Cuisine! : ) Usually, the eel is delicate and easy to eat. This one was thick, gummy, full of bones, and smelled fishy -- impossible to cut through with chopsticks. Even the eel skin on the back was THICK and disgusting! I actually questioned whether it was eel, it was THAT BAD! Completely inedible! : ( When I called the waiter over, he dismissed me. Finally I got the owners attention -- an hour later. He apologized for the poor quality and offered to take it off the bill and bring me something else. Sad really, as it used to be my favorite thing on the menu. I hope that was just a one-time fluke! Recommended: Hiyayakko (~$4) -- Cold Tofu with Soy Sauce, Ginger, Scallion and Dry Fish Flakes. *I get this every time because they make an amazing rendition of it here. The perfect amount of dry fish flakes, scallions, with a good balance of soy sauce and ginger. The tofu also has a great consistency. Tofu Donburi ($4.50) -- Great texture in the tofu, with a drizzle of house sauce and a pinch of seaweed served over rice Soba and Udon Soups (~$10) Chirashi ($19) -- A large variety of Mixed Sashimi over White Rice -- its a bit more expensive than other menu items, but my friend wanted to splurge Rolls -- any of them are good (prices vary)
KE
Kenji Kiuchi
Went for dinner on NYE with my wife & regretted it immensely. Atmosphere: (3/10) Busy and crowded. We waited a little over half an hour, but it wasnt bad considering it was NYE. Decor and ambiance was not particularly impressive, and seemed quite dated Waitstaff: (1/10) Horrible. Our waitress was utterly rude and practically through our menus down at us. Had to wait over 10 minutes to get an order in, (which I understand if busy, but she passed our table several times and I had to wave to get her attention) No smile, no checking in after our food came. We waited another 15-20 minutes just trying to get the check and get out afterwards. Id like to stress that as someone who has been in the food service industry for over 10 years, no matter what kind of bad day / night youre having - you should never take it out on the customers. Food (2/10) We had some nigri, which was the only saving grace of the place. The cuts were decent and the rice was well proportioned and made properly. We both had ramen and gyoza as well. The gyoza was particularly rubbery and not really gyoza, more of a chinese dumpling. We had the miso ramen which was actually dirty bathwater with miso paste. The noodles were underdone, and the chashu was over cooked. The egg was just boiled. While it can technically be called ramen it could not have been further away from the concept. Overall: (2/10) I wouldnt go back if someone paid me to. Coming from Japan, it is a sad excuse for a restaurant. I should have known better upon seeing their menu which was all over the place and had no particular specialties.
FR
fraulein casigan
The first time Ive heard about this place, I thought someone was referring to a video game character but I was wrong. His real character name is Kazuya Mishima from Tekken. Doh!! Anyway, all the raves about this place urged me to get rid of my bookmark and check it out for myself! The most talked about was Katanaya ramen #12 thats a sure hit and a must try from 7x7 magazine. Well, I couldnt pass up this opportunity! My boyfriend and I came here after a few drinks from a friends birthday. This place was within walking distance, so our late night munchies took a toll on us. After a short discussion with my boyfriend, we already knew what to order. Thanks to 7x7 magazine and all my friends recommendations, I wasnt disappointed! A huge slurp of the broth and a couple of nibbles of the corn, bbq pork and egg, I wished I hadnt shared my bowl at all! By far, one of my favorite ramen places I cant get enough of! Another trip back, Ive had their Butter corn ramen #8, I was awfully happy! Despite the small space and very little accommodations to get a table, try to either come late before they close or come early! Youll end up waiting in line for awhile, but its all worth it in the end! Will I come back?! YES!!! Open late until 2am, short walk from clubs and bars, huge portions, easy on your wallet, and delicious food!!
LI
Lin Jie Wu
Overview: Extremely expensive, even for SF. Food was mediocre at best. Wait staff not the friendliest. Restaurant extremely cramped and dim. Food: The food that was served to me was extremely disappointing after seeing the other reviews and hype for the restaurant. I got the bog standard miso ramen to see how well the restaurant handles the basic dishes. Unfortunately thats all it is. Supremely basic dish. Presentation/plating was lacking, the ingredients felt extremely cheap, the noodles felt like they were instant packet noodles. Whereas one can taste the love put into food and dishes by great chefs, what I felt in this noodle bowl was just lackluster ambivalence. It felt like the kitchen staff merely wanted to push out the dish and be done with it. Price point: The most basic ramen bowl that I ordered cost $13. If you wanted to get even just a few other ingredients the price immediately jumps up to $18- $25. This is not a good price point for lunch meals, nor is it appropriate for ramen dinner meals. Extremely overpriced, even for a San Francisco restaurant. Atmosphere: Very dim, located in a basement. Felt cramped. Not much else to say. Service: Staff was pretty hands off, did not come to check up on me. Attitude was semi-poor, but possibly because they were under staffed. Hard to tell.
FO
Foodlover Girl
I was craving some good Japanese comfort food one night, and we found this place. We had somewhat a high expectation... The exterior didnt look like much. The inside was not too big, it felt very cramped. It had lots of interesting huge light fixtures of many colors hanging, creating this strange, purple - red hue inside the restaurant. Looked a bit old, not super clean, but then again, it was rather dark with weird colored lights. We got seated quickly, and we decided on what we wanted. Easy enough. However, getting a servers attention was not easy. After a little while, we finally caught a server and made our orders. When the food arrived, the strange purple lighting made the food look weird... The food was all ok, nothing special. The worst thing about this restaurant was the service. I am not sure if they care about their customer, they really are not attentive, helpful, or polite. We couldnt get anyone to refill our water. We had to wait forever for someone to take our order and to bring us our check. The way they treated us was almost rude. They were more interesting in chatting with each other than attending to customers. Read my full review of this restaurant and food on my food blog, foodlovergirl.
