Hachi Japanese Yakitori Izakaya

Food blogger Philip Tzeng is an unabashed fan of Hachi Japanese Yakitori Izakaya.

“Hachi is my favorite izakaya in town and it starts with the highest quality binchotan (Japanese charcoal) used by their master grillers to flavor the yakitori beautifully,” he said. “They also offer a lot of other great dishes from sushi to ramen and awesome daily specials.”

Hachi’s signature dishes include chicken karaage with house special negi sauce, takoyaki (a fried, fritter-like street food made with octopus), tsukune (chicken meatballs) with tamago, and the ever-popular honey toast, its textural contrasts heightened by the scoops of ice cream on top.

Hachi’s sashimi menu includes three types of bluefin tuna (otoro, chu toro and akami), salmon, hamachi, halibut and seared mackerel, and it’s become known for a variety of beef and seafood carpaccios. Plus there are rolls, handrolls, nigiri sushi, soups, salads, tempuras and more.

And Tzeng has a tip for night owls: “Put this on your short list of premiere late-night food, as they're open until 2:30 a.m. daily.”