Moku Yakitori-ya - San Francisco

In san francisco there is no better eating. it's safe, but not better. the smoke from the grill mixes with the ozean spray from the tw shows great waves surfing from the drake beats all mix to make the quintessential bite of veg meat fire a remarkable experience. add this link to its essential SF list.

Great yakitori spot! Came here on a Tuesday at 6 and there was no wait. It was a very cozy interior and the waitress was swift and attentive. It's easy to get carried away at a spot like this. The dishes are deceptively small with just two skewers, but they add up in dollars and you get very full. If I was driving, I would have indulged in a beer since I think yakitori is best enjoyed with a large Sapporo. We ordered skewers only of: beef tongue, chicken thigh, chicken heart, chicken gizzard, skirt steak, pork belly and duck breast. My favorites were the duck that was juicy and tender and the tongue. We also really liked the chicken heart that was dense and flavorful. I wish they had chicken liver but alas this was ample and great. I will definitely come back.

Our first time here was wonderful. All of our dishes came out quickly, the seats were right next to the specials menu, and all of our dishes were cooked just right. Unfortunately, our second visit was nothing like our first. First, we were seated at the bar area, right next to the door even though there were 3 tables open in the main restaurant area. Their door needs fixing as it always swings open and we had to bear the cold wind during our whole dining experience. The bar is also extremely narrow and so when our food started to arrive, we had to clamor to move our plates and even had to encroach on our neighbor's spaces after 5 of our skewers arrived. Maybe this is our fault for ordering everything at once? Secondly, the quality of the cooking was not the same as the last. One of the pork skewers that arrived was partially raw, and while some of the eggplant skewers were cooked, other pieces were undercooked and still crunchy. I also ordered the Japon Taco as it looked really interesting, and unfortunately, the seaweed was stale. Regardless, the taste of the food (when it was cooked properly) was great! I really enjoyed their mochi, grilled squid, and agedashi tofu both times around. We really enjoy the dishes they offer but our experience was less than ideal. To their credit, they took off the skewer that was undercooked from our bill. It's rare to see Yakitori places in SF, especially with an Izakaya-like menu, so it is with great disappointment I give them 2 stars.

About 3.5/5 overall. Had mostly the yakitori/kushiyaki and the flavors and quality weren't quite there and some were overly burnt or salty. Chicken skin 3/5 The skin was crispy but they served it soaking this really strong vinegar salty sauce Shishamo fried fish 4/5 It was fine, it also had the really vinegary sauce Scallop yakitori 4/5 also okay, it was served in a lot of juices, usually I feel like yakitori is not that saucy with watery juices Pork jowl yakitori 5/5 really good with the right amount of fat Bacon wrapped enoki mushrooms yakitori 4/5 pretty good but bacon wasn't as crispy as I would like Beef tongue yakitori 3/5 fine but nothing special Kakuni pork belly 3/5 really salty broth, not the soy sauce base type. If it was less salty the broth would probably be good. Pork belly wasn't really tender. Chicken thigh yakitori 3/5 overly burnt, again soaking in the vinegar sauce that wasn't that good. I prefer larger pieces of thigh as well Chicken wing yakitori 3/5 again overly burnt soaking in the really vinegary sauce which was super salty We were expecting to be hungry at the end as we usually are after eating yakitori but felt full/bloated from all the salt and from chugging water. The pork jowl and bacon enoki skewers were the best of the bunch. It's slightly more affordable than other places I've seen so maybe if you pick and choose the right dishes it could be worth it.

Smokey Squid. Okra (not at all slimy). Hearts. Tongue. Just right for cold EVening. Oh: the cedar sake. Fast service, stoke that grill!!