Izakaya Pacific Beach

Check out their different specials of the week :
Tues: $ 2 pork belly Tacos
Wed: ALL DAY happy hour
Thurs: $ 7 Ramen
Sunday (?): $ 1 oysters
Also includes drinks specials
Regular Dinner HH: 5−6pm
Food is decent, ramen is good, tempura brussel sprouts are bomb. Uni/​oyster shot, eh. Chicken wings, I heard wasn’t memorable either. I had the Vegetarian ramen which was pretty good. My friend ordered a pork based ramen broth was also a fan. They have an extensive specials menu also that include fresh catches.
Few Outdoor tables is nice during good weather, as restaurant’s close to the beach.
Pass the kitchen, and head to the back for bathroom access.
Our waitress, Kim was smiley and friendly the whole time. She was attentive. Everyone-​employees and customers– seemed to have a really chill PB vibe.
Very casual here.
I parked in the street but apparently there’s a free parking lot in the back.

First Unilocal ever !! This place deserves five star. Best chicken wings sauce, corn on the cob awesome. Ramen noodles was great. Service 5 stars … Waitress was very kind and very cute. Best food in San Diego !! Make sure you get some home made chili sauce

Delicious Modern Japanese Tapas!
I was searching for some noodle comfort on a chilly day and stumbled upon this small restaurant in PB. The dining area although small was beautifully decorated in a simple modern Japanese theme and very clean. The service was top notch and very attentive but not overbearing. My server was very knowledgeable about the menu and assisted with my dinner selection.
I started my meal off with scrumptious garlic yuzu wings (I couldn’t get enough of the sauce) and a Asahi Super Dry beer served in an ice cold mug. For my main course I had their #1 best seller Izakaya ramen. It was what I needed to warm me up. The soup contained custom small noodles, braised pork, perfectly tender bamboo shoots and lots of green onions. I never expected to linger over ramen the way I did with this steaming bowl of deliciousness.
Overall I was very satisfied after my meal. Proof? I was hit with an epic food coma immediately afterwards. The taste was on point and prices reasonable.
Hands down I would definitely come back again.

Excellent experience here-​very welcoming Proprietor, sweetest Server, nice ambiance, good music and pleasant overall vibe. Food was very very good especially the Ramen with pork belly, very flavorful marinated soft boiled egg (which reminded me of a preserved Chinese egg-that’s a GOOD thing) delicious broth etc.
We tried the wings (delicious), Okra with Yuzu or maybe it was ponzu brought out by the Chef (also delicious), puffed seasoned rice (delicious), Japanese Draft Beer (delicious), Poke (very good), Eel roll and Matcha. The only take away is the parking situation at UO. It’s a shared lot that is trolled by Security and Tow Truck Drivers and when we left several cars were on the hook. Nothing on this Restaurant since that is probably well out of their control but I’d sure be careful to not take unnecessary risk parking there.

Bad service worse food!
We have tried this place twice now and have had awful experience both times.
Not only is the food over priced it just isn’t good.
Try for yourself but warning that if you don’t like the food they won’t let you send it back.

Went here with high hopes based on Unilocal reviews and was pretty disappointed. The Izakaya ramen was very good, and if that was all we had ordered I would be giving a 5 star review. Unfortunately, however, we ordered other food that was not good.
If you want sushi, I would recommend literally any other restaurant, grocery store, or gas station in PB. We ordered the rainbow roll and the crunchy spicy tuna roll. I rarely ever leave sushi on the table, but these rolls just weren’t worth finishing. The fish just didn’t seem to be good quality, and I have had significantly better sushi at every other sushi restaurant in PB.
I was excited about the tempura brussel sprouts after seeing the reviews on Unilocal.It was basically a pile of tempura with a few brussel sprouts and sort of felt like a big pile of grease. It tasted fine but wasn’t quite what I was hoping for.
I was not a fan of the flavor of the udon bowl. It also had shrimp tempura in it. You can imagine that when you put battered shrimp into a bowl of hot soup, the batter gets soggy and slides off the shrimp and is just weird overall.
Overall, I would not come back unless I really had a craving for the Izakaya ramen.

Walked in and welcomed by a friendly greetings. Drinks came fast with a freezing frosted glass. Out came our food with beautiful color and an authentic Japanese aroma. If you want Japanese just like you were sitting in Japan, EAT HERE!

Quality food and friendly service. It’s a small and cozy place with good ambiance and lighting. A few seats available outside. The staff is friendly and accommodating.
To eat there are ramen noodles, sushi and additional Japanese cuisine. Asahi on draft and in a cold mug is a plus.

This place did not meet my expectations at all. The ramen I ordered was not flavorful and probably the worst I have ever purchased. My friends ordered the sushi and were not satisfied with the amount they received for the price. We also ordered a couple of items off the happy hour menu, but none of them were anything special in my opinion.
I would go to a different ramen/​sushi place next time and do not plan to eat here again as it was nothing special.

Despite the name, Izakaya Pacific Beach is not your typical izakaya. And it shouldn’t be.
People who are leaving reviews and saying its not what they «expected» or «it wasn’t similiar to this or that restaurant» are complaining… It makes me laugh =) The modern twist on Japanese food is the best part!
I’ve been coming here since they opened in May 2014! The way to do Izakaya PB right is to order a bunch of tapas to share, with an Asahi draft (super cold mugs). Or try the premium sakes on the specials board.
They have the freshest high quality sushi and food for really reasonable prices. These guys literally have decades of experience preparing the same quality fish at Nobu.
My fave dishes are mostly on specials board:
–Uni /​Oyster shooters
–Sashimi /​Nigiri — juicy cuts!!!
–Oysters (3 for 7.50)
–Homemade steamed Dumplings
–Spicy Miso Ramen (you can add more toppings if you want for 50 cents. I get extra egg, yummm)
–Chamayo (basically anything with pork belly here is bomb!)
–Spicy Bluefin Sashimi appetizer
–Ribeye Steak
–Dragon Roll
–Salmon Avocado roll
and many more. You just have to be open to try new things. Everything tastes amazing! Sooo glad I stumbled upon this place when it opened. Thanks Chef Ray and Jun!

Have been trying to try out ramen from this place in mission hills but I usually end up coming at a time they are closed. Was excited that they had opened up a location here in P.B.
Atmosphere:
Located right on the corner next to baked bear. This place has a patio seating. Inside nice modern Japanese décor with comfortable booth seating along the walls and a ramen bar table right down the middle.
Food:
Spicy Miso Ramen: nice presentation. decent portion. the spicy miso broth was kinda bland. it’s spicy but like a mild spicy. the noodles were good though. nice chewy aldente texture. the meat was nicely chard and a soft buttery melting taste.
Izakaya Ramen: much better broth. flavorful and goes great with the noodles.
Gyoza: about 6 fried pieces. great crunch and nicely stuffed with meat.
Octopus fritters: about 7 pieces. if you like octopus this is worth a try. fried fritters topped cream sauce.
Service:
moderate service. waters were always filled but wish they added more ice instead of serving room temperature water.
Overall:
A-​OK. wish the spicy miso ramen had the same great broth taste like the Izakaya ramen. next time will order the izakaya ramen and just add the spice. only 2 kinds of ramen to choose from and kinda pricey toppings to add. the small bowl is 6.50 but you get a «small bowl» might as well stick to regular. good place for the p.b. locals who don’t want to drive all the way to convoy for the good stuff.

Date of visit: 8÷27÷2015
Since it was Monica’s last day in SD for a while, I wanted to get a dinner together. This resulted in about 9 people going out to dinner, so I made a reservation. When we arrived, our table was ready and the staff was super friendly despite half our party being late because of parking issues.
As always the food is delicious — see my previous review if you want to read about the dumplings or ramen. I’ll just detail the new tastes.
Salmon Avocado Roll. I’m just getting into raw salmon right now, so I can’t really vouch for the quality, but all of the flavors melded extremely well together. Scotty and I split this dish, which came with six pieces. It’s a little pricey at $ 7, but definitely delicious.
Lychee Saketini. I swear I’m going on a diet today, but I just had to try the lychee saketini with Monica, and I’m so glad I did. I can’t believe I haven’t gotten this drink yet — it’s so delicious! I grew up eating the lychee jellies, so this was like an alcoholic version of my childhood snack. Yum!
To put the cherry on top, our server split our checks for us, which was absolutely amazing. He definitely went above and beyond expectations and made it super relaxing for everyone at the end of the meal instead of trying to figure out the fair split.

I tried to send this as an email to the owner/​Chef, but since his mailbox was full (why leave you card if you don’t check your email??), here it goes:
Hello,
As a PB resident and fan of all legit Japanese food, I have been looking forward to trying out your establishment for many months now. This evening I convinced my girlfriend to join me. After trying a few of your menu selections (not the ramen, unfortunately), I thought I would email you to explain why I won’t be returning. My intention is purely so you can be aware of some areas for improvement.
Cleanliness: everything stuck to the table. Menus, plates, credit cards, and my nice leather wallet.
Food: the garlic yuzu wings did not taste of garlic. In fact, it tasted like someone poured ponzu sauce on naked wings. I don’t use this word often, but it was awful.
The check: we received our credit card receipt without an itemized receipt. Bad form.
Your servers were friendly enough, but seemed more preoccupied socializing with each other than anything else. Granted we were the only patrons in the establishment, but it doesn’t send a good message.
I don’t expect a reply – I just hope you use this honest feedback to improve your service and product. It was the most disappointing experience I’ve had in a Japanese restaurant (run by actual Japanese).
Best of luck,
(Me)

I rarely venture out to PB nowadays since it’s a bit further out and my college drinking days are over. Okay okay, I’m the type who holds the same drink the whole night. Designated driver and proud!
Anyway, my friend Roger M. suggested we check out this place after checking our trusty Unilocal app, and despite the rave reviews (overall 4 stars), this place left plenty to be desired. We ordered the following:
— Grilled pork belly: had a more smokey flavor, but wasn’t as tender/​juicy as I’ve had at other izakaya restaurants. Worth ordering as it was tasty, nonetheless
— Japanese mac n cheese with shrimp: lost of mac and cheese, but not enough shrimp (6 small pieces), which you can tell from the picture since the shrimp is only on top. Standard mac n cheese, so nothing too special
— Takoyaki: pretty tasty and comes with 6 pieces, so enough to share and the serving is pretty big and came out piping hot. The skin itself was crispy enough but was too mushy inside, although I’d recommend asking for the kewpie mayo on the side as they do put quite a bit on top
— Grilled mackerel: served cold? I’m not sure what their grilling process is, but the fish had a more fishy (unclean) taste and didn’t seem like it was grilled much or if any at all. We requested it to be grilled again and it was served slightly more cooked, but I most likely would not order this again as it’s a bit too salty for my taste. Now if only they had Spanish mackerel…
— Grilled surume squid: definitely the star of the night! Served with green onion and lemon, this was grilled to perfection without being too mushy or overcooked (too hard). The lemon pairs really well with the green onion!
The staff were friendly, but I didn’t see anyone Japanese inside the restaurant, so I’m not sure if they’re going for a more Japanese-​fusion cuisine? It’s true that the waiter didn’t know what takowasa was, which is a standard at other izakaya places. Pricing isn’t too bad, but the quality is not up to par, the menu is limited, and it doesn’t have the ambiance of Japanese flare I’ve come to appreciate at other places. If you’re not in PB, I’d recommend the popular Izakaya Masa (Hillcrest), Izakaya Sakura (Kearny Mesa), and even Yokohama Yakitori Koubou (also Kearny Mesa).

Had high hopes for this place but the food here is just alright. I can’t speak for the Tapas but the noodle dishes here are nothing special to go out of your way for especially when their prices a little bit higher then average.
Was served some garlic sesame crackers with our Asahi Drafts which was excellent and a great start to the meal.
I ordered a Tuna Hand Roll and the Hiyashi Chuka (Japanese Cold Ramen). The hand roll was fine so no complaints there but the Hiyashi Chuka was a bit disappointing. It was served up lukewarm which made the dish more of a slog to get through instead of a refreshing dish on a hot day. The noodles and chicken were well cooked but the dish really could’ve used more toppings and served up a bit colder.
Friend’s Izakaya Ramen (Shoyu) didn’t really have much toppings in it and he said it was just alright. Elsewhere the Yakisoba looked great but underwhelmed again in terms of taste.
Temper your expectations and order off the Tapas menu!

After seeing some decent photos on Unilocal and some 4 – 5 star reviews, I was looking forward to having some good grub. I was a bit skeptical at first as this is PB and after dining here, I can tell you it’s definitely not a proper Izakaya!
Our waiter didn’t even know what Takowasa is (or yakatori). And a ton of other standard dishes you’d expect from a Izakaya were not in the menu (nor known by the staff).
They do have a daily special whiteboard in the back which has a much more extensive selection than what you’d see in the regular menu. Go back there and snap a picture so you won’t have to walk back and forth.
We started off with their grilled pork belly. The presentation looked nice but since it was super thinly sliced, the texture was a bit dry. It was much more palatable with the green onions and sauce though.
Second dish was their their grilled squid. It comes served with the entire body sliced up. It was garnished with some green onions and had a nice tangy flavor to it. We killed this dish pretty fast!
We opted for their takoyaki (octopus fritters) as well. It was super hot when it arrived but the texture was much more mushier than usual. The inside wasn’t too bad though it would be much tastier if it was a little crispier on the outside (it lacked aonori as well)!
It took a while for our grilled mackerel to come out. But when it did, it was half the fish but the problem was the fish wasn’t grilled long enough and was practically still raw underneath (tasted salty like mackerel sashimi). We did ask them to grill it a bit longer after taking a bite of it. They were happy to recook it a bit longer though it still wasn’t as crispy as we liked.
The last dish was their Japanese mac ‘n cheese. We went with shrimp (you can have chicken as well) and it was the right choice. It’s a decent portion enough for 3 people. Cheesy, generous amount of mac and shrimp and quite filling! This topped it off and made our bellies more than satisfied.
If you’re looking for a much more bigger menu and craving for all the standard small dishes you’d see at an Izakaya, I suggest going to Izakaya Masa or Sakura. Other than that, I would probably only come back to have a drink or a small snack if I’m around the area!

Back in 1984, Wendy’s had a commercial where this sweet old lady would get a competitor’s hamburger look at it and yell «Where’s the beef?» Well, where’s the pork? I’m disappointed. We both ordered the signature ramen adding fried garlic and spinach. While the broth tasted really good (I slurped every last drop) My wife and I were both looking for pork chunks. I counted three Itsy bitsy tiny pieces hiding beneath the noodles. We really needed a protein boost too having ran a marathon twice uphill both ways in the snow with zombie chinchillas chasing us, we were in desperate need of sustenance. Maybe it was a Munchkinland pig that was butchered? Sigh, no tummy filling ramen dinner this day. Instead we looked at each other thinking «dessert?»

Went with a group-​starving after walking the boardwalk and hanging out at the beach all day. Was so perfectly what we needed! Everyone loved what they got. We all left thrilled to have discovered an awesome Japanese noodle place nearby!
Second time we went, my husband didn’t care for his– the Miso Ramen. I got Hot Udon, which we both thought was fantastic!

A buddy and I were craving sushi after laying out at PB for 2 – 3 hours and this was the first place to come up.
I was hoping to order a bunch of rolls, but this place had that Tajima vibe wherein it’s best you order a bunch of appetizers.
We ordered the izakaya ramen and split that in half. It was pretty awesome that they served this to us at the perfect temperature! We didn’t have to wait 10 minutes for it to cool down, which was nice ’cause we were starving! The broth was good but I wish they were a little more generous with their pork belly and poached egg.
We also ordered the garlic yuzu wings, chicken katsu, and pork belly avocado roll (special, not on the menu). I enjoyed them in this order: 1-​pork belly avocado roll 2– chicken katsu 3– garlic yuzu wings.
Our waiter (who I’m now guessing is the owner?) was very polite and friendly. I wouldn’t come here for dinner, but I do consider this a decent lunch joint if you’re looking to fuel up. The Izakaya sign is nice out front but the interior design is pretty basic. The overall atmosphere here is casual.

On the rare rainy day, my boyfriend and were craving ramen so we decided to check out this place. As far as ramen goes, it was pretty good and it definitely served its purpose for comfort food! The noodles and broth was tasty without that greasy feel that some places provide. The only suggestion is that if you’re a pork belly lover, I recommend ordering more on the side since it doesn’t come with a lot.
Will be back to try their cold ramen noodle and sushi!
Heads up: closed on Mondays!