Hello dear
Welcome to Kotobuki
Welcome to Kotobuki, a cherished gem nestled in Oakland's Montclair Village, where authentic Japanese cuisine meets heartfelt hospitality. This family-run establishment prides itself on delivering a delightful dining experience, featuring a range of offerings from flavorful vegan sushi rolls to savory chicken teriyaki. Guests rave about the fresh ingredients, with standout dishes including the Swamp roll and Toro nigiri. The warm and welcoming staff ensure that every visit feels personal. With a cozy ambiance, accessible amenities, and a casual dress code, Kotobuki invites everyone to savor the art of Japanese dining. Come for the food, stay for the community spirit.
Today's Suggestions
Explore the featured selections!
Edamame
Ebi Special Roll
Alaska Roll
Angel Roll
About
Kotobuki
Welcome to Kotobuki, your soon-to-be favorite destination for authentic Japanese cuisine nestled in the heart of Montclair Village, Oakland. At 6111 La Salle Ave, this humble eatery perfectly blends casual dining with exceptional flavors.
From the moment you step inside, you are greeted with a warm atmosphere and friendly service that sets the stage for an enjoyable dining experience. Kotobuki takes pride in its diverse offerings that cater to all palates, including a tempting selection of vegan and vegetarian options. Accessibility is a priority here, with features like wheelchair accessibility, gender-neutral restrooms, and ample parking ensuring everyone feels welcome.
- Reservations: Easily secure a table for your culinary adventure.
- Delivery and Takeout: Enjoy your favorites from the comfort of home.
- Online Payment Options: Use your preferred methods like Apple Pay, Venmo, or Zelle for convenience.
- Happy Hour Specials: Perfect for unwinding after a long day.
Diving into the menu, Kotobuki showcases a range of delectable choices—from Deep Fried Sushi Rolls such as the beloved Crunchy California Roll to scrumptious Grilled Dinners like Chicken Teriyaki. One standout is the Baked Alaska Roll featuring deep-fried real snow crab and salmon, lovingly complemented by a poke salad on top. The flavors burst from every bite, leaving you craving more.
Not to be missed are the user-friendly QR code menus and the inviting ambiance that encourages groups and families to enjoy their meals together. Special highlights from guest experiences include the complimentary miso soup that many patrons rave about, as well as customizable rolls tailored to your liking.
As you unwind with your food, it’s easy to appreciate the setting—decorated with screens showing sports events, creating a lively yet relaxed atmosphere. Whether you’re dining with kids or hosting a gathering, Kotobuki rise to the occasion, offering comfortable outdoor seating and catering services for special events.
In summary, Kotobuki is not just a restaurant, but an experience. With its mix of traditional and innovative Japanese dishes, friendly service, and commitment to a welcoming environment, it’s a place I wholeheartedly recommend. I look forward to my next visit to explore more dishes and perhaps indulge in another round of their delightful sushi rolls!
People talk
Our Guestbook
“ We stopped in on a friend's recommendation and were greeted with friendly service. Once we ordered we were treated to a complementary spoon size appetizer, of tangy tuna, which was delicious. I had the house hot sake and my daughter and boyfriend has Sapporo beers. Then came the best tasting miso soup and edamame before our main course. We ordered some Gyoza appetizers along with several rolls, including the Swamp roll and Spider roll, plus an order of Toro nigiri . Everything was delicious and fresh. The restaurant itself was clean and comfortable. The staff and servers were all polite and friendly. I look forward to going back and trying more items. ”
“ Excellent service. Great sushi. They customized my roll for me and even went an extra step further to ask if I wanted it cut into 6 or 8 pieces and if I wanted fish eggs on top. I love my rolls bite sized and no fish eggs so it was perfect. I also got chicken karaage with was good too. I am very happy that I found a perfect sushi place nearby. ”
“ I ordered takeout, chicken teriyaki donburi and oyako don for my wife. Portions were excellent. It was tasty. My only negative was their MENU prices linked here, from the restaurant website, are outdated. WARNING, the restaurant does not keep the pdf with menu and prices updated, so confirm if you are placing a takeout order. Maybe, they don't know how to update the pdf. It is a Mom and Pop operation and maybe they need help from their children? Anyway, I noticed the updated menu appears as photos in their gallery, but that is not where customers will go to look. ”
“ Phenomenal food and the service was absolutely incredible. I'd come back hear simply because the fatty tuna was incredible. I look forward to having more meals here. The ambiance is very melo and great place to relax. I ”
“ Kotobuki is humble and dishes up solid Japanese cuisine in the Montclair Village in Oakland. Staff is very friendly and accommodating. Two televisions show sports including college football and NBA basketball while we were there. Unfortunately the complimentary miso soup contains fish stock. A good way to order vegan if dining with someone is to do like we did share an order of edamame along with ordering a couple of veggie sushi rolls. We went with the avocado roll, cucumber roll, and marinated radish roll. Nice presentation. Enjoyed the ambiance here. Down to Earth. The vegan offerings here are extensive including a half dozen vegan sushi rolls on offer. Five specialty vegan rolls on offer. A whopping 10 vegan appetizers to choose from. We will return! ”
“ The food portion was great! The service is excellent and very friendly! The ambiance is casual. I'll be making a return. Very good experience for dinner. ”
“ This might be one of our new spots in Montclair Village! To preface, when we first moved to the east bay we ordered delivery from this restaurant our first night in our new house and were a bit disappointed, so we effectively left it off our list of places to go... this was our mistake! The restaurant is no frills, but there's seating for bigger parties and partitions between tables so it feels roomy. There's a huge TV broadcasting sports events too. We happened to go on "customer appreciation night" and were thoroughly surprised by the amount of complimentary dishes they brought to our table. I was already close to full with all this free dishes! I ordered the cold soba dish and that was really good. It even comes with a full order of tempura... we ordered some other small dishes for the kids as well. Overall, we were really impressed by the food and the service; our waitress was so friendly. We'll definitely be coming back here for meals! ”
“ Just came here for dinner with my mom and it was much better than I remembered. They gave us a free appetizer of ahi and avocado. I had the salmon maki and the Hawaiian roll. Mom got the cherry blossom roll, vegetarian gyoza, and seaweed salad. I tried all of those and thought they were really good. Service was friendly and the restaurant wasn't too crowded despite tonight being New Year's Eve. My guess is that I ordered wrong during my first visit of it was around when they first opened. Whatever issues might have been the case then apparently resolved. I don't live close enough to be a regular but I look forward to returning with my mom who does live nearby. ”
“ I ordered takeout here and tried the following: Yasai soba: It was alright, but I found it somewhat plain (partly due to the amount of vegetables, and maybe just needed more flavors overall) yet also very dense and heavy. Veggie rolls: I thought these were pretty good, salty and savory, so glad to see they have this as a good vegetarian option since I've had mixed experience with vegetarian rolls at various sushi places. Tempura: Also pretty good, and I don't consider myself to be someone who really likes tempura. ”
