Muracci’s Japanese Curry & Grill

This one is a tough one. If I could, I would give this place a three and a half stars. Better than a three star but not quite a four lolol The curry here is as good as everyone says in their reviews; no doubt about that. The spicy option though was not quite spicy, disappointing but still the food was good enough without it being spicy. The quantity here. Sucked… I was not satisfied by the amount of food they gave. But of course this differs for everyone.
I came here during lunch time and the place was packed! I mean the line went out the door. Well, not really out the door but it got close. If you are claustrophobic, I do not recommend this place. Not only is the line long but the spacing here is terrible. I bumped into multiple people just trying to find the exit.
My advice here. Get your food and get out as fast as possible before it gets even more crowded. Oh and make sure to buy the beef curry pan. That was delicious and since they don’t give you much in quantity, you will want it to fill your stomach!

The curry here is pretty good for the area, not the best I’ve had, but definitely good. In hindsight, spicy was not spicy, but you actually need to 5x or more the spicy for it to be considered hot. Ordering during lunch hour was a breeze, in and out in 10 minutes. The guy taking your order in line expedites this so much better than you’d think.
If I were to go back, cough. I mean when I go back, I’d order the tori katsu, with white rice (people, do you know that there is better nutrition in white rice than brown? ugh), extra sauce, and 5x spicy. If there are croquettes, you know I’ll be ordering them.
The croquette was great, btw. You should get one if they have them.

Whoa. Can’t believe I’ve been coming here for years for lunch and I haven’t written a review.
Solid lunch experience and they are definitely one of the Kearney favorites.
I have only tried one thing. Chicken Katsu Spicy with Brown Rice. Have it a few times per month so that’s saying something.
I highly recommend ordering online or calling ahead with order. The lines can get pretty gnarly and it’s a narrow joint.

I COULD make my grandmother’s curry recipe at home… but muracci’s is so delicious (and convenient, if you order ahead)…so why bother?
I keep hearing about other dishes, but I pretty much only order katsu curry. I’m also obsessed with the pickled cabbage that they include. I could eat that by the bucket and I’m usually too lazy to make it at home.
Not the cheapest lunch in the land, but very satisfying and if you have self control this could be two portions.

Having had Muracci’s on my radar for so long, I’m glad I finally got the chance to try it the other day! I always figured that this place was a little overrated but I’m happy to say that the food wasn’t bad at all. :)
The lunch crowd seems daunting but they do a pretty good job keeping the line moving and the ordering process organized. I had the curry pan and spicy katsu curry, and was impressed by how the pan and katsu stayed crispy after a 5 – 10 minute walk back to the office! The portion sizes seemed small but I was full and enjoyed everything.
So why only 3 stars if I enjoyed everything? Even for Japanese curry, I thought that Muracci’s rendition leaned a little too much on the sweeter side and lacked depth compared to my fave places in the Bay Area, so I have to rank it lower.

«Hurry up wit da CURRY» is what always goes thru my mind when I’m sitting waiting for that plate of spicy steaming yumminess. Japanese curry is one of my loves n I first fell in love eating it in its point of origin, Japan. my favorite specialty curry shop in the Bay Area was in Los Gatos. surprise! it was Muracci’s Japanese Curry & Grill. yep, it was their second shop. it was such a sad sad day when I found out they were closing that shop down.: /​a great Japanese restaurant that only does curries isn’t easy to find.
I’ve never come to this SF location before so I was overly enthusiastic n brimming to the top with high hopes for eating a plate of Muracci’s curry again. we turned down Kearny so we were expecting to c a sign on the wall soon, but we had walked almost to the end of the block n still no Muracci’s! so we doubled back n walked slowly making sure we didn’t miss it again. (now that I think about it, we should’ve used Google Maps. duh!) so the shop is located 3 stores down from the hair salon. the name of the shop is way above the door n hidden behind a protruding shelf so it’s easy to miss. this tiny shop is literally a hole in the wall.
the shop is so tiny there’s no tables; only some stools by the windows which makes it really cramped for ppl going to the restroom. (yep, there is a bathroom in this teeny tiny space.) u order at the cash register, pay, then u wait for your order to b called. it’s a buy n leave kinda place. if u want to sit n eat there, u better get there early to grab one of the seats at the windows which is good for ppl watching also. thank god we got there early. there was a long line forming out the door after we finished n left.
my wait for their curry seemed forever, but lo n behold, there it was steaming hot in front of me n I was in heaven! omg, it was so DE-​LICIOUS. it reminded me of the Katsu n Chicken Curry dishes I had at the Los Gatos location. the chicken was crispy from the panko on the surface n juicy on the inside. they give u a container with the curry separately so u have to empty it onto the meat n rice yourself. I ordered mine medium spicy so that was perfect for me. mild is always good too, but I like it with a bit of spice. :)
it’s too bad their only shop exists only in SF now. I hope they have plans for other shops in the future! I can only wish n pray.

I wanted to love this place, but it fell short.
First of all, this isn’t your eat and dine type of place. It’s your get your food, go eat somewhere else type of place. It’s very small, and you’re looking at bar seating with people waiting in line watching you eat if you want to stay.
Second, I would suggest anyone who wants to try the curry here to get at least medium. Having an extensive two days of drinking, I didn’t think spice would work well with my stomach so I went with mild. While safe, the curry lacked flavor and just felt watered down.
Third, the Katsu Don needs to be more sweet. The broth was just salty and there was no dimension of sweet & savory which to me is what makes the dish. The more I ate it, the more I cried that I wasted my money.

Muracci’s has been on my bucket list for years, ever since I heard it described as «the kind of curry your mom would make». A ringing endorsement, if I ever heard one! Unfortunately, my mom doesn’t make curry (she makes a mean egg salad, though) and my S&B curry leaves something to be desired. So, finding myself in San Francisco one afternoon, I made my way down Kearney, in search of Muracci’s mythical homestyle curry.
In a city booming and busting with food trends, it seems that Muracci’s popularity has in no way declined since opening. Locating this hole-​in-​the-​wall was easy; I scanned Kearney for a line of hungry lunchers spilling out onto the sidewalk, and made my way in toward the counter. Ordering was also easy– as everyone was ordering the chicken katsu curry, I saw no reason to buck the trend.
10 minutes later, I was sitting in front of a bento packed with warm, fluffy rice, chicken katsu, and bright, pickled veggies. The katsu –thick, tender slices of chicken breast beneath a crisp, golden crust– was particularly well-​prepared, and stayed crisp even after a 10 minute walk to my next destination. The curry sauce lent a warming shichimi kick to the entire dish, and paired well with the spicy, tangy cabbage and daikon radish slices, which (alongside the katsu) were the bright stars of the dish. I was surprised to find that I wasn’t floored by the curry itself, but grant that it did its job in pulling the bento together.
What’s really amazing (but also infuriating to me, as an out-​of-​towner) is how accessible and easy it is to enjoy an inexpensive, good –and I mean good– lunch in downtown SF. If you have 20 minutes to spare, you too, can have hot and fresh Japanese comfort food.
FiDi’ers have got it good…

FYI: Come here earlier in the day rather than later otherwise they run out of the good ‘n’ famous stuff like Curry Pan and pork Katsu Curry.
Got here at 7 PM and basically nothing was left. The consistently call out which dishes are unavailable so you can make an informed order. Only ‘katsu’ option left was for the salmon which I ordered with extra veggies. The fried cutlet was quite standard but the curry was piping hot, spicy, and comforting. Glad the curry stayed hot even though I ate it ~20−25 minutes after leaving. I definitely understand the hype.
The place is super small and narrow, so you’re probably going to opt for take-​out. The uncle in charge is super nice and efficient. I almost felt stressed as I gave my order because there was so much hustle and bustle around me and in the kitchen (you can tell they are trying to work and deliver supremely fast).
Definitely coming back to try the pork katsu curry and also because I have an odd affinity for these kinds of chaotic Asian Mom and Pop shops ^.^

When you talk about the best curry in town, Muracci’s name is guaranteed to come up. In recent years, however, coffee shops have been debating whether Muracci still deserves the lone recognition of being the best.
«Of course it does,» offers one curry connoisseur. «Legitimate Japanese folks cook that flavorful curry every morning, fresh as can be!»
«Be that as it may,» a naysayer retorts. «Muracci’s curry is not as thick as traditional Japanese curry. I prefer mine to be a little more heavy.»
Just as the discussion begins to escalate, the barista calls the debaters for their coffee.
«William? William with a light roast?»
«Oh gosh, it’s just Will,» complains Will the curry connoisseur. «I absolutely detest it when they call out your full name. How do they know I’m not Willheim, or Willbur or something?»
«Don’t mind it too much, buddy,» says the naysayer. «Judging by your choice of coffee, I can see why you may prefer the lighter side of curry. But don’t you just crave that thick texture when it’s mixed in with the fluffy Nishiki rice?»
«Actually, I don’t,» counters Will. «The ridiculously crispy layer of that katsu pork is more than enough to satisfy my cravings for texture. Besides, I feel that a more fluid curry can seep through the rice better. Should we walk over to Murraci’s and confirm this?»
The naysayer nods and the two debaters soon find themselves in line for the famous curry.
«You can just smell why Muracci’s is so good!» exclaims Will. «And look, the little Beef Curry Pan is perfect for a bite-​sized snack.»
«I must say that their curry noodle soup also look very hearty and delicious,» the naysayer admits while he browses around the store with his bright green eyes.
Will’s eyes light up and exclaims, «So Murraci’s is the best curry in to – «
“Pork Katsu Curry for Stephanie!» interrupts the server. «Is there a Stephanie here!?»
The naysayer approaches the server with a smile and notes, «Thank you, but it’s just Steph.»
Steph bites into a spoonful of the rice topped with a slice crispy pork katsu, all drowned in curry.
«This is good, this is damn good,» admits Steph the naysayer, to Will the curry connoisseur’s delight.
«But…» adds Steph while wiping his mouth with a perfectly rolled up tissue ball.
As Will eagerly waits for the verdict, Steph shoots the tissue ball 26 feet across the store. The tissue rainbows into the bottom of the rubbish bin, touching only enough of the trash bag to make a slight sound. A sound that can only be described to be a… ‘splash’. Will’s jaws drops to the floor as Steph breaks a smile.
«I am the best Curry in town.» Steph Curry proclaims.

Place gets packed with people, it’s really awkward but totally worth it for the curry.

Decent food but definitely over hyped IMO and not too cheap depending on what you get. I ordered the veggie curry udon, which came with plenty of tofu, broccoli, carrots, and bell peppers. It was tasty, but nothing special.
My bf ordered the salmon curry. Please don’t order this — it was no good and not worth it. It was a tiny piece of salmon and super fishy tasting. Worse of all, it cost the same as the katsu curry where you get WAY more meat. It cost more than my udon as well, I think $ 13 + tax.
My sister and I also shared the fried curry bread. It was disappointing for me. The curry was lukewarm and most of it was fried breaded crust, so nothing spectacular.
Overall, I probably wouldn’t go out of my way to come back. If you want a quick lunch, then maybe stop by. Otherwise I think there are much better places to eat at in the area.

Worth. It.
AMBIANCE– Tiny little space where customers are packed like sardines. Hard to distinguish the people eating vs. people paying vs. people waiting.
FOOD– But so good! I got #5 Ebi Fry Curry ($ 11.25), which is fried prawns served with curry sauce. Love that the fried prawns came with a huge lemon wedge. I ordered my curry hot and my rice brown — both good choices. Also loved the plentiful special house pickles (seemed like fukujinzuke and gari). I also got the Inari Sushi (5 pieces for $ 3.95). Such a solid choice because it comes with so much rice and it is so filling! Also comes with gari (pickled ginger). More than enough food for me but I ate it all! And, to vouch for its goodness, both these dishes were still delicious after a 10+ minute trek home in the rain!

3.5÷5 solid stars
IMHO, this place is a bit pricey, but given its location, I will let it slide.
The food is good, fresh, and made to order. However, good place for a small party – very difficult to accommodate large parties. There is not much sitting room. Counter tables with about 6 or less seats in the restaurant. I noticed a lot of folks ordered take out.
Ordered:
1) Spicy Beef Curry Udon Soup: ⁴⁄₅ this was my favorite; great portion and good size. My soup came out piping hot.
2) Beef Curry over brown rice: ³⁄₅ eh, this was OK. It would’ve been nice if there was more beef in this dish.

For $ 10, it was a shamefully meagre amount of food.
Chicken Curry: 2.5 stars
Just rice and curry with a little meat and pickles. Mild was slightly spicy for me.
Better flavour than the average Japanese curry in America, but still nothing to write home about.
I might try the Katsu curry at some point, but was not impressed this time.

I love their curry. I like how good it smells when I come into the restaurant. It seems that whenever I go, it’s always really crowded and busy. I’m beginning to wonder if they even have a eat-​in option with a plate, instead of a to-​go box. They do have a couple seats at the place but it’s probably difficult with everyone waiting for their food. Recently we’ve been ordering for our office, which eat during the typical noon time when everyone else eats, so when we went to pick up our food, we had to squeeze through the sea of people waiting for their food.
I’ve tried their tender beef curry, which had like three pieces of beef, so if you eat a lot of meat (like me), I would get the extra meat… I also freaked out when I got my order because I expected the meat to be in the rice box but of course, the tender beef is marinating in the curry container.
I have also had their chicken katsu curry, which was delicious. Kinda craving some right now.

**Disclaimer**
I’m NOT a Japanese Curry connoisseur
I ordered the chicken curry with ramen noodles, medium spicy. This meal was perfect, given the brisk fall weather we’ve been experiencing lately. I like how they give you a to-​go bowl and not some tupperware thing like what you’ll receive from Vietnamese establishments for phở.
I dig spicy food, and I’d say their medium spicy was accurately labeled. Had quite a bit of kick, but not enough to say it was «spicy.»
The bummer was that the prices had gone up from whenever the prices on their page were posted. Some more noodles would’ve been nice, or ingredients as a whole. Tend to like my veggies a little softer too when they’re in a soup.
All in all, it’s good, but a little pricey for the amount received. But that’s to be expected when dining out in the Financial District. Perfect for cold weather though!

It was a cold and rainy day — a perfect recipe for some Japanese curry lovin’ to soothe the soul. They ran out of chicken katsu and karaage, so I settled for the katsu (pork cutlet) over brown rice, with medium spicy curry. The breeding on the pork strips was excellent, not too heavy! Small joint but great grub and friendly people behind the counter. Come hungry!

Food:
–Chicken and Vegetable Hot Curry Soup: I really enjoyed this dish. I ordered it with ramen and got it with medium heat. To give you a gauge, I’m the type to enjoy some sriracha in my phở (a squirt or two), but not much more than that. The medium heat was great. My nose was running (sorry if tmi), but I was able to finish the bowl.
–Chicken Teriyaki Lunch Set: A good deal and it was healthy. I probably wouldn’t order it again though, just because I want to try the other curry options. The chicken was cooked nicely and had a light teriyaki sauce on it. It came with miso soup, salad (really just a few leaves of lettuce pieces with a wedge of tomato), and the «appetizer» was a mashed potato with corn and broccoli.
Atmosphere: It is SMALL in here. Be prepared to take it to-​go unless you’re eating alone. That being said, they package it to-​go really nicely. They left the curry separate from the noodles and the miso was in a large container so that it wouldn’t spill.
Service: The only bummer was that they were out of beef and didn’t indicate it on the menu. Given that they are so busy, when you get to the front, you feel a lot of pressure to order quickly and I was suddenly informed I needed to make another choice. Have a backup in mind.

Pork Katsu with cheese and beef — ⁵⁄₅
Overall, Japanese curry is «as good as it gets» and muraccis is the best around.

Es wirkt wie ein unattraktiver Imbiss — doch hier bekommt man leckeres Essen zum kleinen Preis. Ich hatte zuvor noch kein Japanisches Curry und gerade das panierte Hähnchen mit Curry Sauce fand ich super.
Besonders herausragend empfand ich den Service hier — trotz meinem Fehler in der Bestellung wurde mir geholfen und ich bekam genau was ich wollte. Vielen Dank!
Lieder kann man hier nicht schön sitzen und das Essen geniessen, da der Laden sehr klein ist und auch keine schöné Atmosphäre hat. Am besten ist man nimmt das Essen einfach mit!
Gerade so die 5 Sterne geschafft.
–Essen (65%)
Geschmack ***** (5)
Aussehen **** (4)
Frische/​Reife ***** (5)
Preis ***** (5)
–Location (20%)
Sauberkeit *** (3)
Ambiente *** (3)
Atmosphäre ** (2)
–Service (15%)
Freundlichkeit ***** (5)
Flexibilität ***** (5)
Aufmerksamkeit **** (4)
Total: ***** (4.5)

Para una novata como yo en la ciudad de San Francisco la aplicación móvil de Unilocal se convirtió en las primeras semanas en un aliado incondicional con el que solucionar el recurrente «¿Dónde comemos hoy?». Aquel día estábamos en pleno distrito financiero y entre las alternativas que nos ofrecíà la app, el japonés Muracci’s especializado en curry nos pareció la mejor opción. En su página web sostenían que empleaban nada más y nada menos que veinte horas en la elaboración de la salsa que tanta popularidad les había otorgado. Veinte. A eso se le llama dedicación. El dato fue concluyente para no vacilar ni un solo segundo en entrar por la puerta.
A simple vista a ninguno de los tres nos entusiasmó el local, opresivo dada la ridícula dimensión de la zona de comedor y la ingente cuantía de homo sapiens en la misma. No obstante nos dispusimos (por alguna extraña razón) a quedarnos allí a comer en vez de elegir la opción «take-​away». La comida, a la altura de las expectativas y los comentarios de la red. Un curry picante, cremoso y delicioso que tomé con pollo y arroz, una sopa de miso de ración y bebida me salieron por poco menos de doce dólares. Mis compañeros optaron por un sushi que no tenía un aspecto muy casero, curry de ternera y unos fideos con huevo de los que no puedo revelar el nombre técnico, más por alzhéimer prematuro que por otra cosa.
Valoración: La comida merece la pena, el sitio no (la experiencia me avala). La mejor elección para futuros casos será hacer el pedido para llevar y comerlo en algún parque cercano aprovechando la siempre agradable temperatura de la bahía.