Kamakura

I wish there are good, reasonably priced Japanese restaurants in the FiDi. I recently started working closer to the Embarcadero and was introduced to this place by a coworker. I was pretty excited since I’m a huge fan of Japanese food. The first time I came here, I got the salmon teriyaki. It came with a side of salad and was about $ 12. The salmon was overcooked, the teriyaki sauce lacked flavor, and the rice was dry. I wasn’t very content with my meal. My friend asked me to lunch here again and the second time I went, I got the chicken teriyaki. I thought it’d be better but the chicken was dry, cut into microscopic pieces and the teriyaki sauce lacked flavor once again. To be honest, I’ll probably be back and eat here again because there’s nowhere else to go and the location is convenient. But I wish they would step it up and improve their food.

This is not the same great tasting Kamakura that used to be on Battery Street years ago. Such disappointment. I moved job location within SF and was looking forward to the same taste. I knew I should have read the more current reviews and that when I walked into the place at 1pm on a friday, it was practically empty! I had a bento salmon teriyaki, which was dry and hard, the california rolls that come with it tasted a day old and miso soup was way too salty.

Just got a job in the area and I am new to it. I was searching for some sushi. I found this one to be right across the street!
I ordered the chicken bento box– everything was bland and/​or prepackaged… The California rolls taste like they were bought from Safeway, sauce was not homemade, rice tasted like it was «Uncle Ben’s 1 minute rice» and Miso soup was very prepackaged… for the price of almost $ 10, I expected a little more.
Unless my life absolutely depended on it, I will not be back here.

I guess good location n good for lunch. Limited choice of foods to order. Very fast food!
Cali rolls r made already.
Just choice of soup n bentos.

I didn’t feel like going far for lunch so I stayed nearby the office.
I peered up at the menu at the register and being that they have very limited selections I decided to get 5 piece California sloppily made rolls, miso soup and a salad.
The salad is a not worth the price. A small bowl of iceberg lettuce, a couple slices of oranges and watery thousand island sauce was $ 3.95. This is the same that I paid for my rolls with each of the slices in varying sizes — odd. The soup was lukewarm.
Paid $ 10 and some change for the three items above. Not expensive (especially for the FiDi) but just annoyed that I could have had a proper meal elsewhere for just a little more. In fact, I would have preferred fast food over this. Lesson learned. I’m never coming back.

Had the chicken bento box. There was multiple pieces of bone in there, the sauce is bland, the salad is bland and the Cali roll barely tastes like anything. They’re somewhat fast since there’s not a lot of people in there rightfully so. I don’t think it’ll be long until they’re closed. Only positive maybe is the location. Wouldn’t eat there again.

I work in the same building as this restaurant. From a convenience standpoint, I should go often for a quick lunch. BUT, over 2 years ago I stopped going because the salmon terriyaki was so dry. Today I decided to attempt liking them again. I ordered the salmon terriyaki with light sauce. The salmon was worse today than 2 years ago. I think the fish was old, reheated. It was super dry and had tons of bones. I won’t go back… ever.

Had a quick lunch and it hit the spot! Enjoyed the Spicy Pork bento and everything was delicious! Well done and & only $ 10!

I would give this place 3.5 stars but stuck with a 3 instead because nothing really jumped out at me.
Came here for lunch to meet with my cousin. I was surprised that it wasn’t packed for it being lunch hour and in the financial district. I ordered the chicken teriyaki and it came with miso soup and a small side salad. My cousin ordered the salmon teriyaki. When I looked at her plate, the salmon size was very small and I’m sure I would still be hungry afterwards. The chicken on the other hand, there was a huge amount of chicken and I couldn’t finish my plate.
We got our food about 5 minutes after ordering. The miso soup was rather bland and I didn’t get much tofu chunks, it actually kind of tasted like the miso packets that you can purchase at the store. The side salad was pretty good, but nothing memorable either. The chicken was alright, the only plus was that they gave a big serving.
While my cousin was eating her salmon she also noticed that it was not cooked all the way through, she still ate it because she didn’t mind, but I would think that they hadn’t meant to not cook it all the way through.
Would I come here again, probably not. This place is super cheap though.

It is near the Japanese embassy. Both the service and food were excellent. Also, the owner of this restaurant is truly a nice person. He is very friendly. I have never had such a pleasant experience in San Francisco.
Recommended dishes are Kumakura Maki, Chicken curry and yellow tail nigiri.
Awesome, you cannot miss this authentic Japanese restaurant!

Yikes. This is literally the worst Japanese restaurant that I have ever had the misfortune of visiting. A friend and I were walking around the area looking for a place to eat, and stumbled into this dive.
Miso was lukewarm and very pedestrian.
Sashimi was comically prepared. It looked as though the sushi chef was sick that day, and Jimmy the dishwasher had to fill in… The hamachi was literally grey, and all the pieces were different sizes and shapes. The sake (salmon) was cut so poorly I couldn’t believe it.
Then I got the Rainbow roll… Good. God… I should have taken a picture of this thing. I actually had to look around for the hidden camera, because I thought we might be on Kitchen Nightmares or something. I’m not exaggerating here… It looked like someone had a 6 year old put my roll together.
The existence of this place literally offends me. It was so bad, I almost think it was on purpose. I am just pumped that I survived.
Stay away at all costs.

I only come here for their Donburi, and on that front you couldn’t ask for anything better. The rice is perfect, the meat is well seasoned and they provide a generous amount of vegetables as well as a side serving of miso soup. I would particularly recommend their spicy pork, which has a lovely fire to it that’s persistent without being overwhelming. The service is pleasant, and your food is ready to order in one or two minutes.
I’d pass on their bento: unless you want a little bit of everything, it’s a bit much for the price. Everything else is quite reasonable, though. Giving them 5 Stars to give them a bit of a boost, because all of the hot food I’ve had here is delicious and they don’t deserve languishing in the two star ghetto. Why not give them a try so you can see for yourself?

They open early and was super convenient to my work. Quick place to pick up food and run. Their udon noodles are not as good as the other Kamakura.

When the fish ‘aint fresh, toss it.
Sorry, Kamakura, but my little package of sushi to go contained some suspect flavors that made me regret having spent my money here. Cheaper, fresher, pre-​prepared sushi can be had nearby (at Julie’s Kitchen).
The miso soup was a nice touch, but not nice enough to make me want to go back, spend more money here, or ever try this place again. It’s a shame, too, as the restaurant’s eat-​in ambience always looked serenly inviting.

Sadly, the food isn’t worth mentioning. There’s something about their dishes that lacks flavor. Why I come back here every now and then? Because it’s literally next door from where I work.
Kamakura is a small hole in the wall restaurant. It’s dark and gloomy. I would be depressed eating inside. I do take outs.
I usually order the veggie udon for $ 7-​$ 8. You can’t go wrong with oriental soup that consists of broth, noodles and pieces of vegetables. The serving is plentiful. But their chicken bento box — I didn’t bother to finish it. Salad dressing was watery, chicken was tasteless and not even hot. It was shredded dark meat with teriyaki sauce over it. And the fruit wasn’t sweet.
I must point out that their take out trays/​containers are of good quality! Totally reusable. 1 star.
I think the owners Korean? WEIRD… Koreans serving Japanese food? They offer BiBimBap. =| I guess that deserves a 2^nd star.

Bear with me because here’s a funny story ahead:
I got out of a job interview.
Needed to use the bathroom.
Did not check Unilocal,but found Kamakura.
Japanese food + bathroom, okay! Ordered.
Got the key card. Bathroom is 1 floor up.
Ran into a closing elevator… that took me to the 14^th floor. Fail.
Made it to the bathroom — hurrah! Stairs to get back? Sure!
The stairs did not lead back to the restaurant — DEAD END.
Went back to the door I came through. IT WAS LOCKED from the inside.
I WAS TRAPPED IN THE STAIRWELL.
It was an emergency so I figured I’d try the emergency exit. Thankfully, the alarm didn’t go off and I found myself back on Beale street. Wow, never doing that again.
Moral of the story: Do not take the stairs.
Great service, but the food here was not that great (which I would have known if I checked Unilocal). I ordered the spicy pork donburi and received a large bowl of rice, really crunchy vegetables, and not-​at-​all spicy, quite rubbery pork. No thanks. The meal was well intentioned, with a bowl of miso and soup to accompany it and all the proper décor to make this a nice lunch eatery, but it kinda missed.

It pains me to say anything that negative about this nondescript lunch spot in the FiDi. The young couple who run it look so conscientious as they were feeding their young toddler daughter. It made me glassy-​eyed. I never even noticed Kamakura before until I was eating a chicken leg across the street on the second floor of Portico. The place was nearly empty at close to noon, so I’m not sure anyone else outside the adjacent office building has noticed Kamakura either. And gosh, I love that town in Japan where the big Buddha is and where Yasujiro Ozu set several of his classic movies.
But I digress because the menu is standard Japanese for American tastes and the execution is sadly quite mediocre. I ordered the $ 8 Chicken Teriyaki Bento Box which came with four pieces of California roll, salad, rice, and miso soup (see photo). It’s not that it was inedible, but there was nothing remotely memorable about anything in that lacquered tray. This one is for the worker bees in a hurry who eat to live and don’t care much about satisfying their palates. Hopefully they will be the ones who will keep this place afloat because watching that young family made me think of one of Ozu’s films. I think I’m gonna cry…
FOOD — 2 stars… I couldn’t finish it… which is bad since I’m always starving at lunch
AMBIANCE — 3 stars… clean and generically mall-​like in décor
SERVICE — 3 stars… quietly efficient and conscientious
TOTAL — 2 stars… sorry, I just have to leave it at 2 stars because of the food

Too bad this doesn’t have a better overall star rating… it should. For a FiDi lunch spot that has both to-​go and eat-​in (and friendly service), I’m pretty happy I found this place.
I can’t vouch for the seafood (but it’s lunchtime, let’s be real here), however I can say very good things about the ten zaru soba (cold soba noodles with dipping sauce and a side of tempura) and wakame (seaweed salad). Portions are generous for the price and FINALLY, I can get soba for lunch. Done deal.

Ten bucks will get you a Spicy Pork Donburi, a small miso soup and a soda to go. The Dr. Pepper was very good, thank you very much. The Miso soup was A-​OK. The Spicy Pork Donburi was served in a to-​go box and the portion was certainly generous with a respectable amount of pork, some onions, carrots, broccoli and peppers. All that served on a bed of rice. The taste? Meeeh… it’s decent but it’s a very far cry from the Katsu-​Don I had at Muracci’s over on Kearny.
I may come back simply because my current gig is in the same building so it’s ultra convenient. Still, the food’s just so-​so.

(See pic)
Small place that serves only teriyaki and some noodle soup.
For $ 8.49 I got the beef teriyaki on rice that also came with a side salad and a miso soup. Not the usual thicker style soup but the clear kind. The beef was not sliced but cubed, kinda unusual. Rice was good.
It’s not cheap for that amount of food and you could probably get something similar across Market and Front at Oishii.
And yes, the address is confusing! It’s on Beale and not on Market.