Anzu Restaurant

Just to be clear, the huge bento box everyone’s raving about in earlier reviews is the lunch special. Got the one they offer for dinner with mackerel and it wasn’t worth it, taste or portion-​wise.

Oh my gawwd the bento box! Go for it! It’s worth it, plenty of food for the price. I was absolutely stuffed. Chicken teriyaki bento box was on point. The sushi that came with it match its price. Definitely worth it. You won’t go wrong!

I have lived in this neighborhood for more than two years. Sometimes I had to work from home and need a quick lunch or dinner nearby. After trying out different restaurant, this small little Japanese restaurant became my first choice. I also hang out with my friends here several times.
I always went with spicy tonkotsu ramen, as it has a pretty satisfactory size and spicy. I would not say the taste is amazing but rather a very good quick lunch/​dinner choice especially during winter time. They have several pretty good sushi choices as well. Compared to the other Japanese place at Channing and Shattuck, this place won upon its price.

I was worried when I saw the avg review is only slightly above 3 star. But it turns out very good. We tried the tonkatsu ramen, katsudon, salmon sashimi and those are really good compared to most Japanese restaurants in US. I just traveled to Japan a few months ago and I would say it’s definitly 4 star restaurant. Considering the price, I’m giving 5 star!

My go-​to spot for sushi in Berkeley. At it’s price point it is some of the best. It’s quick, people are friendly, the sushi is great, the place is quiet and they have a big selection.
Try the Dragonball, deep fried avocado is delicious.

I went here with high hopes. It looks like such a cool little hole-​in-​the-​wall Japanese place! And I guess if you’re on their list of people who get to sit in the wood-​walled booth’s in the rear of the place than it may feel more that way. But, when I asked if we could sit there I was quickly rebuffed– although it was completely dead inside. SO now we’re sitting in their vestibule-​like front window area. Which was just OK. We went with an order of Edamame which was very good– although it’s hard to mess up steamed soybeans– and an order of gyoza. They were a little too crispy, not very big and not very impressive.
I was trying to find my new favorite Japanese spot n Berkeley and in the first 5 minutes they had already struck out.
I went with a bowl of Beef Udon– I asked for beef Ramen but was told that I could not have that made, even though they had pork and chicken Ramen…(not sure why they couldn’t just throw some beef in to a chicken ramen but whatever.) When the beef udon came out, the beef was way overcooked, way too well done, and the broth wasn’t that tasty. Noodles were obviously not handmade.
Anyway this review is getting long already, their sushi is not the best, the menu isn’t flexible, the décor is cool if you can get a seat in the back, the location is great but all in all this place has serious competition in Berkeley.

Had a bento box. It came with 3 items. Very inexpensive for what I got. The California rolls, teriyaki and tempura were excellent. I really enjoyed them.
The décor leaves a little to be desired, but the prices are reasonable. Customer service was so-​so. They rushed me out a bit because they were trying to close the restaurant for the day.
Still good food. Will probably go back for a quick bite when I’m jonzing for sushi.

Pretty good sushi rolls and japanese ramen. Mammoth roll is like ive never tried such thing before its soooo good. Good service and nice place for dinner

The place is quite. I love the quite atmosphere. However, the food is just okay. They have no special menu that is outstanding.
The servers are great.
Outside is little shady, because it’s on Shattuck, but the inside is great. Remind me of Japanese restaurants that are owned by Japanese.(The owner is Korean)
Okay place, but not the best.

Okay food and nice staff, love the interior design. The rainbow roll has poor quality though.

I was craving Japanese food at half the price it’s usually at so I checked out Anzu after seeing pretty decent reviews on Unilocal.I went with a group of 5 and we were seated immediately. It was a really hot day, even around dinner time so we were sweating and there wasn’t any air conditioning or fans around us — needless to say I looked a bit gross.
I ordered the dinner bento box since I figured I’d get more out of my meal than a roll (I was a hungry person!!). I got it with Chicken katsu, Vegetable tempura, and Salmon roll. The bento box was mediocre to say the least. The rice it came with was a bit too sticky for my taste in Japanese food — I felt like I could’ve made this in my own rice cooker. The katsu was crunchy and pretty good, although a bit skimpy on the sauce. The salmon roll had more rice than salmon and it was pretty tiny so it was so-​so. Vegetable tempura got a bit soggy after a while and was meh.
Basically, the whole meal was meh. Maybe I’d come here for the lunch bento box specials since it’s cheaper than $ 10 but definitely not for dinner. I prefer CU Sushi and Manpuku over this place, if that says anything.
Sorry to my friends whom I dragged out to Shattuck for a mediocre meal. Please don’t hate me. Lol.

not bad but the sushi taste fishy and oceany like more fishy than it needs to be or maybe thats just the mammoth roll which btw is all sushi and no actual elephant but its still pretty good not bad ok

This place is small quaint and the folks are friendly. The fish is fresh and the sushi is sushi. I haven’t been extremely adventurous, but I really liked everything I tried. The fire ball which is fried tuna advocado and crab in a ball is fantastic!

Four stars for good prices, having ramen for dinner, and being super friendly. The food was just fine (for the price, very happy). Not the best ramen I’ve ever had, but they made good on the promise that it would be spicy.
We had the spicy pork ramen and the chicken teriyaki. I liked the ramen more than the teriyaki (kind of sweet), but not a deal breaker, and nothing some soy sauce couldn’t fix.
They let us sit and languish, too, which I really appreciated.
Definitely coming back, but if you’re a ramen connoisseur, don’t get your hopes up.
The good: om noms. All the green onions in my ramen!
The bad: kind of breezy by the door.

The ramen was okay — noodles were kind of soggy and the soup wasn’t really flavorful. Minimal toppings for an expensive dish. Not worth the money, but I haven’t tried the sushi or anything else the restaurant offers.

Got the Tonkatsu ramen (spicy). It was delicious, but nothing screams OMG. Enjoyed the meal and the owner was nice enough to take us our group photo.
The meal was overall enjoyable. Enjoyed the broth, which was a good balance of savory. Glad it wasn’t salty. You can also add in their special red pepper. Maybe more pork and egg would be make the meal a bit more filling!

I’ve passed by this place many times, but every time, I didn’t quite crave Ramen.
This place impressed me when I decided to go in the first time
The place is family owned and run and you really get that feel that it is family run. The ramen really caught me by surprise. I am both a fan of flavor and spice and the spicy pork broth ramen delivered that. A lot of so-​called «spicy» food can never really tickle my tongue, and this thing actually hit me. I didn’t expect the flavor and spice and was greatly impressed.
When I’m not feeling like Phở I seek ramen and this is my go-​to ramen place in berkeley for now

This little mom and pop restaurant on Shattuck and Channing has definitely become one of our go –to’s when we have no idea what to eat. It looks a bit shabby from the outside, but the inside is well decorated (typical of any small japanese restaurant) and the service is polite, though a little quiet.
Having been here a few times, I’ve tried the lunch bento for 8.95, the miso ramen for 8.95 and the dinner bento (which I don’t remember the price of). For lunch, this place is a great option as for about $ 10 with tax and tip, you can get a really filling meal.
The ramen is thankfully not instant, but also not as flavorful as I’d wished. It was really rather average and you get two slices of meat, seaweed, green onion, and some preserved bamboo and bean sprouts in it. Not bad for the price, but I just wish the noodles had a bit more flavor. The bento allows you to pick two items, one from group A and one from group B, which equates to being one entrée (tonkatsu, chicken katsu, terriyaki, etc.) with one side type of dish (sashimi, california roll, gyoza, etc.) For lunch, the price is great but come dinner time, I’m not sure I would pay for the quality of the cooking.
To sum up, the lunch bento is probably the best deal here, but if you’re in the area and want to try something new, it’s not too bad a place to check out as well!

Anzu is a homey sushi restaurant on Shattuck with a very authentic Japanese feel. The small, intimate place settings were perfect for my friend and I to catch up about life and the latest. Service is friendly and without pressure to order, finish your meal, or leave quickly — which made my friend and I feel comfortable enough to stay a while :) This restaurant uses better-​than-​your-​average quality sashimi and fish, which accounts for their better-​than-​your-​average tasting sushi!
I ordered the orange blossom (~$ 9.95), which is a salmon sashimi-​based roll with fish that just melts in your mouth. I was expecting a blossom shape like what was shown in the menu, but instead my «orange blossom» sushi was disappointingly arranged in two small rows, as you would normally see sushi. All sushi rolls come with complimentary miso soup and edamame. Overall, a satisfying meal with high quality fish and excellent service. My only qualm (besides the sushi not being arranged in a blossom pattern) is that I wish my sushi came in a larger portion for the price I paid. The value for your dollar is not quite there at Anzu. Next time I’ll have to come with more money to get the Mammoth Roll ($ 14) to satisfy my big appetite, haha!

Anzu is a great mom-​and-​pop restaurant tucked in the nooks on Shattuck Avenue. Admittedly, the storefront isn’t much to look at, so it’s really easy to miss. However, I would definitely recommend making the effort to come here if you ever crave decent sushi at a decent price. The waitresses are always walking over to make sure that you’re absolutely comfortable, and they offer complimentary miso soup and edamame (can’t go wrong with free!) while you wait for your orders to arrive.
I don’t have any complaints about their food (ordered sushi both times), and the dishes come out at a reasonable speed. The sushi rolls aren’t overly expensive at around $ 9 each (unless of course, you order the mammoth roll at $ 14), and I’ve been pretty happy with the taste and quality. If all of the sushi rolls sound appealing to you, I recommend getting the mammoth roll only because it has everything either on or in it. The outside includes tuna, salmon, snapper, seaweed salad, tobiko, and a sweet, spicy sauce; the inside includes cucumber, tempura shrimp, imitation crab meat, avocado and more. It looks like an utter mess when it’s served to you, but let me tell you — it is one delicious mess.
The waitresses here are definitely accustomed to serving students, as they had already split the bill for us without us asking. Each individual’s total already included tax, and it was very easy for my friends and me to get everything sorted financially. Props to you, Anzu! I’ll be back.