Enable JavaScript to run this app.
Skip to main content
OpenTable logo
  1. Home
  2. United States
  3. San Francisco Bay Area
  4. San Francisco
  5. Financial District / Embarcadero
Yokai, San Francisco, CA

Yokai

4.3
4.3
23 Reviews
$50 and over
American

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 14 times today
  • Great for creative cocktails
  • Great for happy hour
  • Good for special occasions
The Spirit of Japan and the Heart of San Francisco.

Yokai is a charcoal grill and vinyl bar created by Chef Marc Zimmerman and inspired by travel throughout Japan. The vibe is loungy and upscale casual. The focus of our kitchen is sourcing pristine Japanese and Californian ingredients and preparing them simply. We're located steps from Salesforce tower at 545 Mission Street in the heart of San Francisco. We offer lunch and dinner and the cocktail bar is open all day.

Additional information

  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    American, Japanese, Californian
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Tue–Sat 5:00 pm–8:30 pm Happy Hour Tue–Fri 5:00 pm–6:00 pm
  • Phone number
    (415) 658-7654
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Executive chef
    Marc Zimmerman
  • Neighborhood
    Financial District / Embarcadero
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Chef's Table, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine

What 23 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.3
4.3 based on recent ratings
  • 4.3Food
  • 4.1Service
  • 4.4Ambience
  • 3.5Value

NoiseModerate

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews
Yokai offers a "jazzy feel" with "refined and tasty" menu options, perfect for a romantic date. Guests rave about the "best tasteful innovative yakitori" and "awesome cocktails." The ambiance is enhanced by jazz music, but service speed can be improved. Portions are small and prices high, yet the quality of ingredients is commendable.

23 Reviews
  1. Vincent

    VIP

    San Francisco

    1 review

    2.0

    1 review

    Dined 5 days ago

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 3
    4. Ambience 4
    This was our second visit to Yokai, and we could not have been more disappointed. Our first time there was absolutely amazing, so we were pretty excited to return. They've done a pretty big overhaul of their menu, axing quite a few of our favorites, but that's ok - it's normal for menus to change. We started the meal with 1 tuna hand roll and one salmon hand roll. The cold seaweed wrapper was surprising and extremely impossible to bite through. With each attempt to bite through the wrapper, the filling would just squeeze out - it was like sucking tuna out of a balloon - a terrible start to the meal. The uni toast is always our favorite and we make sure to get it whenever we see it when we're out. They changed the Uni + Wagyu for Uni + Duck Confit. The dish was fine - a bit too salty with soggy bread. The rest of the dishes we had were just fine. Nothing really worth mentioning. If this is the new quality standard for the price, this was our last visit

    Is this helpful?

  2. Walter

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on January 23, 2025

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Very pleasantly surprised. Their burger was as close to perfect as possible!! Medium rare was warm pink. Wow. Lettuce, tomato and red onion. Sauce on the side. I am certainly going back for the burger!!

    Is this helpful?

  3. Mia

    Central Coast

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on December 29, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Incredible jazzy feel with a refined and tasty menu. 👌🏽 Very memorable.

    Is this helpful?

  4. Sanaz

    VIP

    Los Angeles

    4 reviews

    2.0

    4 reviews

    Dined on December 15, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 3
    All the food tasted bad. They were nice and took off the items we didn’t enjoy. But most the food was weird and inedible.

    Is this helpful?

  5. Pauline

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 15, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Every single is delicious honestly the best tasteful innovative yakitori

    Is this helpful?

  6. Flora

    San Francisco

    1 review

    3.0

    1 review

    Dined on December 6, 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 3
    3. Service 2
    4. Ambience 4
    Portion too small but too expensive. Waitress too pushy. A little annoying. Won’t go again.

    Is this helpful?

  7. Vanessa

    Denver

    6 reviews

    1.0

    6 reviews

    Dined on November 24, 2024

    1. Overall 1
    2. Food 1
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 2
    I wish I could say I had the chance to enjoy the food here, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case. Despite having a reservation, we weren’t allowed to order because the kitchen was closing in 5 minutes. To make matters worse, another table arrived after us at 9:30 PM and was served food without issue. This inconsistency was incredibly frustrating and made us feel dismissed. Reservations should ensure a proper dining experience, not a rushed or denied one.

    Is this helpful?

  8. Diba

    Denver

    122 reviews

    5.0

    122 reviews

    Dined on November 17, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Tasty food but small portions. It was the first time we did a Restaurant Week menu and weren’t full by the end of the meal, and had to order more.
    YokaiResponded on November 19, 2024
    Thanks for visiting us, Diba! We're thrilled to hear that you enjoyed our food and Restaurant Week menu. We appreciate your feedback about the portion sizes and will strive to improve. We look forward to serving you again at Yokai. Thank you for choosing us for your dining experience!

    Is this helpful?

  9. OpenTable Diner

    VIP

    Seattle

    7 reviews

    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on November 16, 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Very small portion for 2 for a $200 bill. The bass from the night club’s music right beside it is too loud for tables closer to the back exit door toward the restroom so it messes with the nice jazz music playing in the restaurant.
    YokaiResponded on November 19, 2024
    Thanks for the feedback! We're glad to hear that you enjoyed our food and service at Yokai. We apologize for the noise from the night club and appreciate your understanding. We're constantly working on improving our ambiance for all our guests. We hope to have the opportunity to serve you again soon.

    Is this helpful?

  10. Stephanie

    San Francisco

    3 reviews

    2.0

    3 reviews

    Dined on November 14, 2024

    1. Overall 2
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 1
    4. Ambience 3
    The food was nice but the service was pretty awful. The server was kind and pleasant but her skills left us wondering, what is happening? It was like no one really cared.
    YokaiResponded on November 19, 2024
    Hey Stephanie, Thank you for taking the time to share your experience at Yokai. We're glad to hear that you enjoyed our food, but we're sorry to hear that you felt our service didn't meet your expectations. We strive to provide exceptional service to all our guests and it seems we fell short during your visit. We appreciate your feedback and will certainly use it to improve our service. We hope you'll give us another chance to impress you with our service. Best regards, The Management Team

    Is this helpful?

FAQs

Yokai is rated 4.3 stars by 23 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people
7:00 PM
Booked 14 times today
Google Map for Yokai

545 Mission St, San Francisco, CA 94105

Additional information

  • Neighborhood
    Financial District / Embarcadero
  • Hours of operation
    Dinner Tue–Sat 5:00 pm–8:30 pm Happy Hour Tue–Fri 5:00 pm–6:00 pm
  • Price
    $50 and over
  • Cuisines
    American, Japanese, Californian
  • Dining style
    Casual Dining
  • Dress code
    Casual Dress
  • Parking details
    Street Parking
  • Payment options
    AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
  • Executive chef
    Marc Zimmerman
  • Additional
    Bar/Lounge, Beer, BYO Wine, Chef's Table, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Entertainment, Full Bar, Gluten-free Options, Happy Hour, Non-Smoking, Private Room, Wheelchair Access, Wine
OpenTable
  • About Us
  • Blog
  • Careers
  • Press
More
Businesses
  • Restaurant reservation software
  • Industry insights
  • Hospitality resources
  • Marketing resources
  • Operation resources
  • How to open a restaurant
  • For restaurants
  • For restaurant groups
Join us on
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Cookies and Interest-Based Ads
  • Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information
  • Cookie Preferences
Copyright © 2024 OpenTable, Inc. 1 Montgomery St Ste 500, San Francisco CA 94104 - All rights reserved.
OpenTable is part of Booking Holdings, the world leader in online travel and related services.
Booking Logo
Priceline Logo
KAYAK Logo
Agoda Logo
OpenTable Logo