RAKITORI Japanese Pub & Grill

This was my last meal in San Diego after spending the whole afternoon at the zoo. I came in starving and really looking forward to it, but it ended up being very disappointing. Happy hour crispy tofu was $4 (originally $9 for two skewers), but they only gave one skewer with about three pieces. So it’s basically only about 50 cents cheaper. It tasted fine. Yakitori was one of the biggest letdown. The sauce was good, but the meat was extremely dry. Not juicy at all! A lot of pieces were straight up burnt rather than nicely charred. There were black parts that tasted bitter. Even the skewers were charred. Spicy ramen (ordered mild) was way spicier than expected. Both my boyfriend and I can handle spice pretty well (I am very sure of that), but this was just harsh and overwhelming, not flavorful at all. It completely covered up the broth, and there was also a strange seaweed taste in the broth(I don’t know whether it is called seaweed or not). I actually very like seaweed, but this one just make the broth taste weird. Or maybe the spiciness also made the broth taste weird? The pork was nice, but overall this was just okay. Maybe the original broth would have been better, I don’t know. The Bulgogi was also very disappointing. Overcooked, dry, and some pieces weren’t even separated properly. Texture felt off. You can definitely tell that from the photos I took! Very bland unless you added sauce. Honestly felt like something worse than a Costco pre-made meal. Really disappointing, especially for my last meal in SD.

When I entered the store, there was only one customer inside. I thought the waiting time wouldn't be long, but it turned out that I had to wait for over 40 minutes. The dish I ordered was just an ordinary ramen, and the food that was served turned out to be something like instant noodles with a bad taste... This store is half a bar, so it's not recommended for those who want to have real ramen. You will definitely be disappointed! And it's extremely difficult to find a parking space here!

After a full day running around the San Diego Zoo with the family, we ended up at Rakitori for dinner and it was just what we needed. The food was delicious, the restaurant was very kids friendly, so cute and cozy with fall/halloween decorations. FOOD Tonkotsu Ramen were sooo good! These are must have!!!! The broth was flavorful but not too heavy or too salty like some places. The meat had this awesome smoky flavor, and the noodles were cooked just right. Kids love the ramen! For adults we ordered some ramen with some mild spicy to it and it was the nice kick! Gyoza was really yummy! came with either spicy (not crazy spicy) and not spicy sauce. Gyoza were perfectly crispy with just enough in each serving for us. Kids loved the gyoza!! Filet Mignon Skewers were juicy, and nicely cooked at medium rare how we wanted. These came with fresh wasabi-chilli sauce (nice kick to the filet mignon) Kurobuta Bao’s were a surprise hit! We had none spicy for the kids and the spicy ones for adults. The spicy ones had kimchi. These were our favorites! Sushi was fresh, nicely sliced, and just the right amount. You could tell it was good quality. California Rolls were tasty too! The kids went wild for these. DRINKS - kids tried Ramune and kept asking for more! We had local draft beer offered at the restaurant and at the waitress recommendation we also tried these new Japanese beer made from sweet potatoes. It’s got an earthy aroma and very unique taste. They are different than other beers but really really good! Very worth a try! I might have found a new beer to add to my favorite beer. DESSERT - The kids were obsessed with cute little ice cream cups! Ube and matcha were our top picks, but mango and coffee were good too. The service was quick and our waitress was so friendly and helpful recommending the dishes suitable for kids and adults. Rakitori is a winner, and we’re definitely bringing the kids back after our next trip to San Diego. Highly recommend!

Cute bar with unique atmosphere, but the food wasn't worth the price. Everything was just okay. The ramen meat was nice and thick and had good flavor. However, the rice on the sushi was mushy and the broth wasn't very thick or memorable. Probably good for happy hour drinks but if you are looking for food as you can find better and cheaper options.

Overall, I had quite an enjoyable time. The flavors were great, though my noodles were a like undercooked. To me, it looked like they were from a block of ramen that had been put in the hot water not long enough. That being said, the pork was cooked all the way through, so I would go here again.