Zakkushi Charcoal Grill

Very yummy skewers. I always wanted to go in but everytime I am near by this place is super busy. We ordered a bunch of skewers. I mean skewers is basically the main special feature. I got the zakkushi skewer set which is a better compared to ordering a la carte. My favorite is the fish cake & cheese wrapped with sliced pork. Its so flavorful. For $ 3.20 per skewer its not too bad. As well we ordered the salmon sashimi and its very fresh (portion is a bit small). As well, we ordered the beef tataki. Now that beef tataki is very different. Its sweet but its refreshingly yummy. We also got the gomae and every restaurant makes it differently. This one is refreshing and the spinach is fresh. It doesn’t have a strong peanut or sesame taste to it.
For dessert, we got the mochi ice cream. I had in mind a something different. The rice cakes are on the side but its warm which means freshly made.
The décor is not bad. Its bigger than I thought looking at it from the outside. Staff are friendly. I did find the food taking awhile to arrive. The place is not loud and which means you can having a big group or a small one and still be able to carry on a good conversation. I like the food here!

This place is a hidden gem. They are tucked into a little corner and not easily noticed from the street. I got to dine here because I was invited by a friend. I’m glad I accepted!
The menu can be a little bit intimidating because of all the choices. Their skewers are delicious! They are priced per piece, so be careful because you can easily rack up your tab by the end of the dinner. Dinner for two without alcohol came to $ 98.
There selection for sushi is a small in comparison to their choices of BBQ’d foods, but I’m not complaining!
They take reservations VERY seriously so do not be late!!!

Outstanding service, delicious food, and I loved the peach beer. Sat at a 2-​person booth. Great atmosphere, can actually hear what my date was saying. Unique dessert options. Beer selection was slightly limited, but there is a much larger selection of cocktails, and Japanese spirits. In summary, good food, good drinks, good service. What more could you ask for?

My friend brought me out for dinner.
Zakkushi has always been on my list but I’ve never tried it because I’m not really a meat/​bbq kind of person. Welp hella glad I went because it was delicious!
I actually really like how you order single piece at a time, gives way for more variety (they have a looottt of variety). I don’t really know what we had but everything was really good. The P-​toro don was sugoi.
The atmosphere was really nice as well. Cozy and intimate and comfy. Perfect for chill nights with friends.
The drinks are SO cheap! $ 5 and so good. Lychee liquor and grapefruit juice what more could you ask for~

Loved the izakaya and all the different grilled meats! Took the Bf here for an early Valentine’s Day dinner and he enjoyed it. We ordered 2 premium sets, p toro, a couple chicken thighs and grilled rice balls. Definitely make a reservation as they are popular and busy. There is a 2 hour dining limit too. We will definitely be back next time we’re in town.

I love Zakkushi and I use to come here like all the time especially when it was in Denman. When they opened up their latest one in Main street, it was exactly the same as the Denman one with great Japanese service and great food. However, within the past year, it has gone downhill in this location. Here are some of my complaints
1. The food is getting smaller and smaller you can tell that the freshness is not there anymore (Perhaps its the food inflation and etc)
2. We reserved for 4 and told them that my wife is pregnant. They tried to squish us in the corner seating and there was no way my wife was going to fit in there. We asked them to switch to a different spot but they said no so we walked out.
That was the last straw and won’t be coming to this Zakkushi establishment anymore. I was such a big fan of Zakkushi and now I’m so disappointed.

The food is good, you can tell they are high quality. The Japanese vibe is absolutely there. The restaurant’s atmosphere won’t disappoint you. A good place to eat in if you want to enjoy Japanese BBQ. My only gripe is the price really, the place is not what you call cheap. If you want to fill yourself up, go to a different restaurant. If you just want to enjoy good meat, get ready your wallet because 4 kebabs here is around 9 dollars…

The menu has a lot of items so it can be difficult to decide on what you want. We ended up getting a bunch of skewers and just sharing them so that we could try lots. Also, note that the prices on the menu are for 1 skewer only… so they are very pricy! The skewers range from around $ 2-​$ 5.
Uzura Maki ($ 2.60) are quail eggs wrapped with pork. There were 3 of them topped with Japanese mayo and nori. It was my first time having quail egg and it wasn’t bad. They were very cute mini eggies XD but I couldn’t really taste the difference between that and a regular egg.
We also ordered the Zakkushi Set ($ 9.80) which includes Momo (chicken thigh), Umeshiso Yaki, P-​toro, Me Maki, and Oropon Beef. The Momo was good, except for the charred bits. It was teriyaki flavour and tasted like good old BBQ chicken. The Umeshiso Yaki is also chicken thigh but with sour plum sauce and Japanese basil. I liked the sauce and basil complement but the meat itself was kind of dry, unfortunately. The P-​toro was just so-​so, surprisingly. It was kind of dry as well. Me Maki is garlic stubs wrapped with pork and that one was pretty good. The last skewer of this set was the Oropon Beef. It had grated daikon radish on top with ponzu flavour. It wasn’t very good, tbh. It was definitely overcooked, making it a dry piece of meat.
We got one order of the Hamachi Teriyaki ($ 3.20) as well as 3 tsukunes ($ 2.30 ea) — the Norimayo, Oropon, and Umeshiso. Nothing special about the hamachi teriyaki. We thought it looked a bit underwhelming and the picture on the menu was much more appetizing but it tasted fine. Tsukunes are basically ground meat packed together, kind of like a meatball but served on a skewer. DC had the Norimayo Tsukune with seaweed and mayo and she said it was juicy. I tried the Umeshiso Tsukune with sour plum sauce and Japanese basil and it was a bit too salty. The meat was dry as well but the sauce was good. We both thought the Oropon Tsukune was the best out of the 3. It was very juicy and the radish was a nice complement.
Being adventurous, I tried the Premium Beef Tongue ($ 5.20) as well. It was my first time having beef tongue so I was a bit anxious about how it would taste but it was actually fine. I wouldn’t say I loved it though since it wasn’t very juicy. However, it did have good flavour. I probably won’t be ordering this again for the price but it was worth a try.
We also ordered a Prime Rib skewer ($ 4.90). This was BY FAR the best one of the night. It’s Canadian AAA beef prime rib with yuzu citrus chilli served on the side and that was quite spicy! The beef was sooo juicy and yummy though I would definitely get this again.
Our last 2 skewers were Tomato ($ 1.80) and Okra ($ 1.70). Both were yummy but the tomato was amazing. It was like a hot juicy explosion XD
The Proscuitto Pinchos ($ 6) are on their special menu, exclusive to this location. We were impressed by how pretty it looked and it tasted quite good as well. It was basically pickled carrot, radish, and cream cheese all wrapped up in one bite. Yum!
To somewhat balance out our meat-​heavy meal, we also got a small order of the Crispy Salad ($ 4.50). It had fresh greens with crispy wonton skin, cherry tomatoes. It was dressed with a sesame shoyu dressing which was very nice. It was tart and had a good balance of acidity and sweetness.
Lastly, we ordered a Seafood Doria ($ 11) since we needed something to fill us up… The skewers are way too expensive if you’re trying to get full and you definitely need to order one of these dishes to finish off the meal. They actually have a separate section in the menu for this called «Finishing Touch» which I thought was very fitting. XD Anyways, our dish was baked rice with prawns, scallops, some asparagus, tomatoes, and corn with a creamy white sauce and melted cheese. This took a while to arrive, probably because they needed to bake it. Anyways, it was worth the wait and it definitely hit the spot. It was delicious and surprisingly not too heavy and creamy, making it a nice way to end our meal without feeling too full.
Just for the 2 of us, we already spent a little over $ 60 and we didn’t even order drinks! Very pricy place but it was a fun experience and I’m glad we were able to try it out. It’ll probably be a while until I come back again but at least I know what to get for next time. :)
Highlights: prime rib (must get), oropon tsukune, tomato skewer, proscuitto pinchos, and seafood doria.
Not so great: umeshiso yaki and tsukune, P-​toro, oropon beef
Tips: make a reservation and don’t come on an empty stomach and expect to be satisfied with just the skewers (unless you’re rich and don’t mind spending more money)
Food — 7.8÷10
Service — 8.5÷10
Ambience — ⁸⁄₁₀
Value — ⁶⁄₁₀

Great place for snack food and drinks. Tuesday is their girls night but don’t be too excited its just some drinks that’s cheaper for ladies night. Nothing too special I thought. But their skewers are definitely their highlight for this restaurant. Love their cheese chicken skewer and their gizzard skewer. Their ebimayo was pretty good too especially their sauce. Overall the food is consistent and delicious but warning its not cheap. You may come out not that full but still spent a lot of money.

Great place to gather for small nibbles and really, mostly alcohol. A vast majority of it comes on skewers and you can really sample a lot each visit, so no dinner is necessarily the same old, same old. Also, never fear, I feel like you’ll also rarely get leftovers to take home at a place like this.
The grilled mochi and the kinako mochi ice cream plate are the two things I never forget to order when I am there! OM NOM NOMMMM.

Came here last Thursday and came here again last night. Out of town guests deserve to be pampered so here was one of the many destinations.
This place can be packed during regular dining hours. Luckily we made a reservation and our table was ready when we arrived (sometimes even with a reservation you have to wait). Also, during rush hour food times, they will tell you that you have X time to order and vacate. Don’t be offended because that’s them being courteous and letting you know in advance versus wrapping you up unexpectedly and offending you then.
The service these two times were outstanding. In fact it was so different from when I came last year that I was shocked at how attentive and friendly they were.
I’ve added a few new items to my «must have» list and gotten rid of others. My faves in no particular order:
— oropon beef
— thick cut cubed beef tongue (skip the other type because this one AMAZING! My friend’s dad who kept saying he was so full ended up ordering one last skewer of it hehe)
— crunchy and juicy pork (the description was 100% accurate)
— pork wrapped garlic stubs (aka garlic scapes)
— okra (I absolutely hate okra but it was so good here. My girlfriend thought I had been lying about my hatred of okra because I ended up ordering 3 of them)
— chicken gizzard
I love this place because we’re talking individual skewers. It means you can try a bit of everything without being stuffed. Everything I’ve had is always cooked perfectly and is really well seasoned.

Dear Zakkushi,
I used to love you. I think our honeymoon period is over though.
I thought after a long time no see, absence would make the heart grow fonder, but I think you became content with our relationship. Like it was on the down low or the ending phase like just before a break up.
You used to make me yakitori and tsukune that were bigger, plumper and juicier.
What happened? These came dry, warm (not hot) and just like you don’t care anymore.
I must say though your kimchee buta salada gave me hope for a renewal and spark of a new torrid affair.
But the skewers made for an unhappy ending. I must admit the lack of your beer might have made the evening less than stellar. Alcohol always makes for a better evening…
Note to self, next time come when I am not off beer for a month…
we’ll see where this goes…
g

Zakkushi is a yakitori style restaurant. Most of the menu consists of yakitori of various types of meats/​veggies/​seafood along with some izakaya dishes/​sashimi and BEER! Yakitori & beer just goes together so well. The premium set is solid, comes with 5 skewers — prime rib, kobe, unagi, beef tongue and duck breast. Other good ones are garlic stubs wrapped with pork, P-​toro (crunch juicy pork), okra with bonito flakes, and surprisingly the onigri (rice balls). All of the skewers were flavourful, cooked well and just fun to eat!
The various types of udon/​rice bowls were also delicious (if you need those extra carbs) and also the sashimi was pretty fresh.
In all, this is a fun place to eat. Tight seating, loud and crowded place just like in Japan. And a side note, the whole menu comes with pictures so you don’t have to do that much guessing…

For those of us who are native Japanese, it’s painfully obvious when we walk into a Chinese/​Korean knockoff pretending to be Japanese Izakaya/​sushi/​ramen, whatever.
No such worries at this place…100% authentic Japanese Izakaya.
I do not believe that there was a single non-​Japanese person in serving or kitchen staff. The menu is very authentic izakaya style, and the price is very reasonable.
I wish there was an authentic place like this in Portland.

Zakkushi has go the best daikon radish in town. It comes in a miso broth that is bursting in flavour. I usually get 2 for myself and this time was no different. It’s got a salty soup taste and the texture is very soft. I also ordered the skewers. Crest were the chicken heart, liver and thighs. All of them were delicious and I can’t wait to eat them again. The teriyaki topping is by far the best. Finished it off with the rice ball with shoyu butter (soy butter). Who knew grilled rice could taste so good!

My girlfriend and I have been wanting to try this place ever since it opened up but we always saw it as an extremely sketchy/​Drug front looking place so we put it off for a longggg time. Once we got over our fear of being attack by the Yakuza we tried it out and it’s actually a really cool and somewhat different little spot.
First — MAKE A RESERVATION! This location always seems to be busy and with limited seating you might be waiting a while before getting a spot without a reservation no matter what day of the week it is.
Second — Try the Ebi-​mayo, out of everything we ate that was hands down the best dish.
The menu is plentiful and pretty much «Guu» style with a high fascination for skewers (yakitori to be exact) and they do it pretty well. The prices are quite high but typical for this type of food around town. The Zakkushi set is your best bet to try a few different sewers for the best value so I’d suggest that.
This restaurant is quite loud and seating is also pretty tight… not much leg room or even table room no matter where you sit but it’s a nice experience for something a little different so we both enjoyed it. I can’t stress enough to make a reservation and even make sure you get a booth… because the bar is TINY. Also their drinks don’t seem to have much alcohol at all… just a heads up!
Solid 3.5 stars :)

I love their skewers. Nothing like delicious skewers with beer!
It’s always crowded when I drop by. I had to split a table the last time I went, and ended up sitting next to the most awkward couple. I would advise making reservations and NOT sharing a table under any circumstances! And make sure you know what you’re doing because my friend and I went crazy on ordering and dropped two bills here for the night. They charge per item so keep that in mind if you’re eating to get full instead of having a casual time.

I haven’t return to Zakkushi over few years, may be noisy dining room, terrible parking, slow service or whatever.
We went there after my exercise class, we got seated in individual booth after 10 mins wait. Parking was busy and terrible.
I ordered only few things and all so disappointed.
Salmon sashimi was freezing cold and tasteless.
Prime rib was well-​marinated and couldn’t taste beef favour.
Kobe beef skewer was fatty and chewy! Absolutely not the grade of kobe beef! Ripe off for $ 10 skewer!
Japanese squash was ok.
Chicken was undercooked.
We had to ask keep asking the waitress for tea/​water. I don’t think we will return to this place for pay this price for food and service.

Tues are Lady’s night! $ 2 drinks! We came across that by accident and woo was that a great surprise.
We tried everything and everything was fresh and delicious. This is definitely a place for treating yourself though as it is a bit pricey. You order per skewer so watch yourself as you might end up spending $ 30 – 40 in a blink of an eye.

Right by my work so eat here often for lunch and sometimes for small gatherings. Good service, better with small groups not so good for larger groups. I usually ordered the combos which came with grated egg and rice, few skewers of meat, and a few side veggies. Definitely try their black bean ice cream you wont regret it. Parking is limited its in a small plaza and the restaurant itself is wedged in the corner beside RBC. Its not a big restaurant so if you come as a group and they’re busy then you will most likely get squished into a booth if the tables are full. I think they limit you to a 2 hour sitting as well.