Dan Izakaya Restaurant
| Address: | 1306 Saratoga Ave, San Jose, CA 95129, USA |
| Phone: | +1 408-249-6020 |
| Site: | danizakayarestaurant.com |
| Rating: | 4.5 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–1:45PM 11:30AM–1:45PM 11:30AM–1:45PM 11:30AM–1:45PM 11:30AM–1:45PM 12–2PM 5:30–9:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
SO
Sonya Li
You’ll find this restaurant in one of those sleezy looking strip malls, but the food is homey and not pretentious. This place is always packed, so prepare to wait for a while if you don’t have reservations. They have an extensive menu, but I’m a creature of habit so I always get the clam ramen and the grilled onigiri with salmon, but my partner was more adventurous and tried the stir fried yakisoba noodles with sauce at our last visit. The ramen is made in house. It’s delicious and they’ll give you a generous portion. The Asari clam broth is simple (garlic, green onions, clams, and sesame) and so good that I will ask for a to go container for the remaining broth. Yes, that makes me super Asian, but I really like using the broth to cook rice with for my lunch or dinner the next day. Since my last visit, the flavors in the broth are more intense, but it’s not overwhelming. The crispy rice balls are why I love this place. When I was young, my grandmother would fry up chicken offal (nothing went to waste with her) until both sides were a beautiful golden brown and wrapped it in crispy rice and lightly drizzled corn oil and salt on top. These were amazing treats and so fun to eat with my hands. Dan’s crispy rice balls are topped with scallions, tobiko, and niboshi. The outside is always crispy despite the soy sauce it’s soaked in. Inside you will find soft rice with salmon. The soy sauce is not always evenly distributed, there’s only a smidgen of salmon, and it can be too oily sometimes, and even though it’s vastly differently from my Po Po’s, it’s reminiscent of my childhood and just delightful. The yakisoba noodles came with beef, cabbage, and was topped with bonito. I’m pretty sure the noodles were dressed in Bull Dog sauce (or something similar), which is a thick, savory, sweet, and tangy sauce. It tasted like the typical bachelor fare of ramen. It’s simple and adequate if you’re hungry, but after the tenth or so bite, your taste buds are exhausted. Not everything on the menu is great, but I still recommend this spot. If you do go, the crispy rice balls are a must.
ED
Edward Wu
My new favorite japanese restaurant! The menu here was so long I thought I could spend at least an hour just pouring over all the items if I wasnt so hungry. I arrived at 6pm, opening time for dinner, and the place was already partially filled and the rest of the tables were reservation only. Luckily, some of the reservations were for 7pm so the server let us sit as long as we promised to finish before 7pm. We quickly decided on some dishes and ordered the chicken cartilage karaage, ochazuke, beef tongue, and agedashi tofu. I absolutely loved all of them! The ochazuke is a very simple dish, white rice and tea with different toppings on top, and Ive never seen it sold in the USA before. The beef tongue was a bit chewy, yet I still managed to eat it relatively quickly. Full of flavor and Id highly recommend it. The chicken cartilage karaage was super unique. If you love cartilage, then you definitely have to order this. The agedashi tofu came in 4 pieces with well flavored sauce and a nice thin layer of skin that stayed stuck to the tofu! I felt a little rushed since I wanted to be done before 7pm, but next time Ill make sure to make a reservation.
KR
Kristin C.
One of my favorite izakaya places in the bay area. I probably eat here a couple times a month for dinner and/or lunch- they have some good lunch specials. If you come here on a weeknight make a reservation since it gets pretty busy now. Favorite Dishes: I love their new salad on the special list. I forget the name but it has tako, nagaimo (japanese mountain yam), and tomatoes. The pork clam and kimchee hotpot ... not traditional Japanese food but still amazing Fried eggplant, mochi, okra, and natto seared salmon carpaccio or seared tuna carpaccio grilled whole squid with sauce The clam ramen used to be better when it was Tanto... not sure what changed but its a bit too salty for me now. The sushi and other rolls are okay... I usually skip these and focus on the small plates here. Service is mediocre usually and quickly deteriorates when they are busy. Ive found that we usually get significantly better service when I go here with my boyfriend who speaks Japanese (same deal at Sushi Kuni in Cupertino :).
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Annie Lin
I love coming to Dan! I like how its a homey feel and how theres a tatami towards the back of the restaurant. I came here before it was Dan and loved it as well. Dan has become more popular in the years so reservations are recommended. However, they do understand if you dont have a reservation and try to fit you in within a tight schedule. The food is always served lightning fast so your stomach doesnt need to wait to be satisfied! One thing about being served lightning fast is that they always seem to rush you out of the restaurant.. maybe its because I havent made a reservation in awhile so theyre trying to get me out before the next reservation comes in? I dunno, but I dont mind. I love the food here. And the clam ramen is one of the best Ive ever tasted.. not too much of that seafood, sea, clammy taste, cooked perfectly. I always know Im in for a treat if we are going to Dan!
AN
Annette Lee
I went here on a Friday night with a party of 6. Be prepared to wait at least 30 minutes without reservations (definitely recommend making reservations). I will say that their food is very good. I recommend the uni meshi with ikura (uni clay pot with salmon eggs), the intestines (if youre not normally an intestine fan, I still recommend trying it b/c it doesnt have a strong smell - its seasoned very well!), and their yaki onigiri (fried rice balls). One star off because: In terms of customer service, I was given a time limit of 1.5 hours to eat so just beware if youre going to make reservations here. Their customer service is spotty - the waitress I got was very rude- even telling me to hurry up and sign the check.. but the other about five times Ive been there have been okay service - sometimes slow.
TA
Tammy Liu
Saw the good reviews and after tonights dinner, I am wondering what I am missing. 5 of us ordered quite a lot of different dishes. Surprisingly, I was not impressed with any dish. Not even try to compare with Japan (have been there many times and lived there for 3 months). Did not like the heavy sauce on the roll, the chicken on skewer was very dry and tasteless, the seaweed salad had so little seaweed, the unagi over rice was not flavorful (could only taste the teriyaki sauce), the spicy roll had such salty flavor, it didnt even taste spicy. The CP was not there at all! Really an average restaurant with high prices! Disappointed!
AS
Aston Lau
The servers are nice, the ambiance is lively, and the food is excellent. The scallop/asparagus/mushroom dish was a wee bit salty, and the sashimi was only above average, but nothing to dock stars for, considering the price (we are a family of 3 and the bill was only $60). The salad and the soba were amazing. Two knocks on this place: 1) its all reserved seating -- theres no way you can get a table until after 9pm unless you make a reservation. 2) Not great for kids as they dont have high chairs, just booster seats -- so make sure you bring your own if you need one. Wed go back more often if getting a table wasnt so difficult.
