We plan to continue to offer an expanded scope of this section that will include not only reviews of neighborhood food businesses throughout Berkeley, but also news about food products or services that our reviewers find interesting. From time to time, we might also include a recipe or two. This section will continue to appear in each Berkeley Neighborhoods Council eNEWS edition along with comments written by an always anonymous reviewer. The posting for this issue is a restaurant in the Telegraph Avenue Campus area. Drum roll please…
Joshu-Ya Brasserie
2441 Dwight Way
Berkeley, CA 94701
510-848-5260
Hours: | |
Lunch: | 11:30 am to 4:00 pm |
Dinner: | 4:00 pm to 10:30 pm |
Here is an old favorite that’s come back. Joshu-Ya restaurant has been in business in the campus area for many years and is well known to scores of Berkeleyans. It now has a new young chef , Jason Kwon from New York City, who launched it into a modern Japanese restaurant in 2011. It’s located in a house with a large enclosed patio on Dwight Way just west of Telegraph Avenue. The interior is old with low ceilings and the patio eating area is light and airy.
The food here is some of the best Japanese cooking this reviewer has ever tried. Do call for a reservation. The restaurant is small and extremely busy especially before concerts and sports events on the campus. The menu is quite large and the service was excellent so the food came out fairly quickly and staff is very friendly and helpful.
For starters, we ordered fried calamari which was fresh and nicely done with a crunchy batter coating. We then had seared scallop risotto with a wonderful lavender-colored sauce made from purple cauliflower. That was followed with a Lion King sushi roll with fresh salmon and an excellent parmesan sauce and Kobe beef sliders that we really enjoyed. The only thing that we did not care for was the dessert called Brownie Tempura. This is green tea ice cream with a chocolate coating and fried which this reviewer felt was a strange combination. However, on balance the dessert really didn’t matter because it had been proceeded by such excellent food.
The scallops and fish items are very high quality and we will go back again to try more of the seafood. The bill for two came to $58.50 which is very reasonable for a night out to enjoy high quality, innovative dishes.
Their website, www.joshu-ya.com, lists their menu items. They have a Zagat rating of 25 for the food, a top rating, and voted by Zagat as serving one of the top 10 burgers in the Bay Area. They also have an OpenTable, Diner’s Choice 2014 Award. In addition to the good food, you get an extra good feeling from eating there. Please see the following message posted on their website:
Joshuya Brasserie is in business to make a difference. As a business with the vision of providing support to orphanages and safe houses throughout Cambodia, India and in regions where children are abandoned due to disabilities or their families’ lack of resources. In alignment with our vision, Joshuya Brasserie has partnered with Build Hope International. Every meal you eat, 10% of all profits are directed to supporting one more orphan in need.
Try it, BNS thinks you will enjoy it, and think about how good you will feel about helping children in need.
BNC welcomes your nominations of restaurants, food products, recipes, and all manner of food related matters for this section. Send us the information and our reviewer will check it out and report back. Trust us, you will greatly enjoy being a part of The Neighborhood Food Prowl, and don’t be shy — you can participate multiple times — and it helps our local businesses build their patronage. Nominations should be sent to newsletter@berkeleyneighborhoodscouncil.com.