Kauboi Izakaya

Super fun experience! Being in midtown, parking was a bit limited so we parked across the way and walked over. Waited in line before they opened, wow did this line fill up fast. Once open, we were greeted and seated, faced with what to get. We had a small table close to the back and next to a booth, it was a bit awkward seating but enough room for the two of us. We ordered the okonomiyaki waffles, which is what I was looking forward to the most. Super flavorful and I loved the twist by using waffles instead of a pancake. Onigiri which may have been the least favored dish, we make onigiri often and appreciated the crisp on the outside … though rice was even a bit hard on the inside and lacked any spices for flavor. The giant squid which was a total highlight and one reason we’ll be coming back. Lamb gyoza, extremely flavorful and juicy! Ramen was also really good and served last as the meal. Noodles were a little stiff and stuck together but great broth. Drinks were great just a lil bitter.

As always, I let you know when they are playing Creed and let me tell you the Shrimp Gyoza is the thunder waiting to escape here! It’ll take you higher!! Everything I tried was excellent! If you are nice they might even use some of their yellow chartreuse to make a matcha cocktail, exceptional. Seriously thought everything here is wonderful and the staff couldn’t be more helpful! I was recommended this place by my Executive Team, and let’s just say it makes more sense why they are in charge after experiencing this amazing restaurant!!

I was very excited to try Kauboi, everyone in Reno had touted it as the best restaurant in town. I may have had an atypical experience, but my overall impression is that this is fine dining for someone who’s never experienced fine dining. This is a restaurant for people who think Hibachi is inherently fancy because they cook in front of you. The server told us that we should order several dishes, they would come out one by one. So, I picked two from the starter section, one from the robota, one from the yakitori, one from the tempura, and a couple of cocktails. The old fashioned was made with small ice cubes, which is criminal for $15 drink. Youre an upscale restaurant with a full bar, you can get big ice cubes. The drink that I got tasted almost identical, felt like a waste of a menu spot to have an old fashioned and then an old fashioned with slightly more bitters. We opted to switch to sake, which was terrific. Instead of the dishes coming out slowly, the shishitos came, then the hamachi, and before we could take a bite or pictures, the baby octopus and the yakitori meatballs were being dropped off and crowding our very small table. We’d had 3-4 minutes before the Japanese Fried Chicken came out, at which point the server asked if we wanted to order more food. To be honest, I have no idea. I haven’t had a chance to enjoy anything and now I have to rush through it before it gets cold. We were one of 4 tables in the restaurant, your chef should be able to time a dish. Or your server is incompetent and fired everything at once. The fried chicken was excellent but the bites were horribly sized. It was impossible to tell which part of a chicken it was and the multiple bites required for what should’ve been 2 Max was off putting. The baby octopus was essentially charred rubber. The cashew pesto was good but the octopus itself was inedible. To finish the meal, we ordered the wicked fried rice with duck cracklins and duck meat… not a single cracklin to be found. The duck meat was terrific but the rice was mediocre at best. For a $200+ meal, I was extremely disappointed. I can’t tell where the fault lies, but it reeks of someone who’s never actually eaten somewhere nice. There are 50 Japanese spots in vegas with better service, experience, and 1/3 of the cost. I recommend the Kauboi staff eat at one of them and take notes. Also, I forgot to add and came back to edit: turn your damn music down. It’s insane there are multiple reviews addressing this and you’re still blaring your Spotify wrapped at us. Why?!? We had to move tables to be able to hear each other, which the staff was incredibly kind and accommodating about. Then the second table, SAME PROBLEM. Come on.

This place lives up to the hype! Wonderful selection of dishes, so many unique flavors. Delicious food. Love the idea of ordering a bunch of small plates and trying everything. Cool atmosphere.

I had my birthday dinner here. The food was so good! Service excellent. I had vegetable tempura , wonderful. The wagyu steak, very tasty. Lamb dish excellent. The star, for me was the charred beet salad! Very reasonably priced. We will go back! So many dishes on the menu we want to try.

This is my favorite restaurant in town. A lot of the reviews are negative because of the atmosphere - dark, intimate, loud "weird" music. To be honest those are some of my favorite things about this place - to each their own I suppose. What keeps me coming back is the wicked duck fried rice. I dream about the next time I'll be able to eat it. Best fried rice I've ever had the pleasure to eat. Lots of other yummy stuff on the menu too like the shrimp gyoza and mushroom croquettes. I personally think the ramen is just fine, I go for everything else. It's a bit pricey but I will continue to pay it for the unique atmosphere and delicious food.

Holy cow did this place surprise me. We tried some shrimp dumplings, the wicked fried rice, the hamachi and the fried chicken. All of the dishes were amazing. I plan on going back soon to try even more! 2 people 2 drinks each with the food was 110.

Surprise pick and didn't disappoint! The sauce on the Tokyo fried chicken was absolutely delicious. And we had to try the Rice Tots which were good. Loved the crunch on them. The final dish we got was the miso cucumber salad which was nice and refreshing between the spicy dishes 😋. Be different, try something new.

Oh yum! The food is so darn good here. We got a bunch of bites to share, and there wasn't one clunker. Everything tasted so fresh and delicious. We loved how varied everything we ordered was. The service was spot on and friendly. The atmosphere was fun and vibrant. The whole restaurant was packed with guests. Looking forward to coming back and ordering completely different bites!

The food and drinks here are really tasty, flavorful, creative and unique. Really enjoyed everything we tried except the giant squid was the only dish that was a little more bland and dry. It would have been better with more flavor or some type of oil to cook it in. Otherwise everything else like the chicken thigh skewers, fried rice, hamachi, dumplings, peppers, cucumber salad, drinks were delicious. Customer service overall was good too. Our waitress was really knowledgeable and helpful with the menu so it helped us pick out the good dishes. The atmosphere has a nice vibe and the restaurant and table decor is cute and trendy. The only reason why I didn't give this place 5 stars is because they don't offer any kind of dessert like mochi ice cream and the fact it gets pricey just after ordering a few tapas plates. We left paying almost $200 for just one couple. So while I would go back here and definitely recommend this restaurant, it would be more of an occasional thing unless you don't order too much food.

This was a much anticipated visit! I had been hearing about the eclectic food choices and the cool vibes for a while. We decided to go for our anniversary. First of all it opens at 5pm. Be at there by 5-515. It fills up that quickly. It's not super big but we were lucky to be first in line (yes there is a line) about 5 min before it opened. After that time, the wait for a table will be 30 min to 2 hours. The place has really cool decorations and attention to detail. The wall has this cool velvet skull pattern. The music is veeeery loud and the lighting is on the darker side. We ordered drinks and were told at that time to order family style (share) because the food comes out in the order it comes out, they can't determine it. Grateful for the heads up so we ordered a handful of items to share. It took about 10-15 min to get our drink and then the first item we got about 5 min later. Rice tots. Yummy. This really set the tone for me. Next thing was the chicken heart with green onion yakitori. Also good. Wild shrimp gyoza was next and it was amazing. Then came the wing yakitori. A bit burnt and not much there but seasoning was good. We were really impressed by the pace the food was coming out. Then about 30 min went by and we waited and waited for the next two dishes. The giant squid finally showed and it was cold. This is a grilled item and everything thus far that had come out was piping hot. The flavor was great and the meat very tender but the fact it was cold meant it was sitting waiting to be served for a while. As we were discussing this the waitress came over and asked if we had gotten our shrimp gyoza already. We had and she said the chef had made extra and would like us to have it. Not sure if that was because of the wait and cold food or if he truly made extra but we weren't complaining since they were so good. The last item was the Wicked fried rice and unfortunately that was also cold. In conclusion (to this very long review), they get very busy so they may forget to serve your food but the food is delicious. We were there for about 2 hours in total because of the food wait. The serving sizes are on the smaller end for the price, so be ready to shell out $100+ if you order a handful of the items. They also had ramen which seemed like a fair portion.

While this truly is my favorite restaurant in Reno, it was a tough dine in experience this week. I don't think I ever have been here in the winter because holy moly the restaurant was FREEZING! The entire front half of the restaurant had their winter jackets on during dinner - literally not an exaggeration. Even my husband was cold with his coat on which is saying something. It was hard to enjoy the food when I was so cold the whole time. The ramen was great as usual, but it was so uncomfortable to dine in, I would have rather just not. Maybe winter is a great time for take out from here? Yikes.

This place was sooo flavorful and delicious!! It is a cute little spot in midtown. The service was beyond amazing at the bar, the bartender was very nice, decided it was a rainy night and ramen was the best choice! Will definitely be back to try more!

This place is a vibe. The staff are very attentive and active, the ambience of the shop is very personalable and lively, they cook and prepare a lot of the food up front at the counter and seeing whole squid being prepared is a treat. The food though? The food was amazing. Extremely flavorful and juicy. The rice balls extremely crispy with a perfect amount of salt and my partner had a curry dish with fries that was extremely tasty. They are in the pricier range but the food is absolutely worth it. Would recommend.

Fun, delicious, innovative, and still a very much on point Izakaya. I love dining here.

TIME for an update! I started my last review in a much too snarky manner. I used a word that I literally had to look up when I re read the review to see if it needed to be updated. Good word, but a little to too eccentric for a readable review. Bleh. Anyway enough about my old review and on to my new review. My wife and I had decided to try the new Restaurant that had just opened a few doors down. But for some reason they are only open three days during the middle of the week. So we decided now was a good time to try Kauboi. We walked the few doors down and were seated right away. The space is pretty small, and the vibe of the restaurant is higher energy than the last time I was year over 5 years ago. The menu is still super interesting and attractive to adventurous foodie types. I wouldn't go here if I was seeking comfort food but that is a positive in Reno where so many places do "riffs" the old standards. Much of the energy came from music being a little louder and a little more aggressive than I am used to....but still added to the experience. Kauboi is a small plate type of place, best shared with no more than 3 or 4 people. We ordered up the Cucumber Salad, Hamachi, Lamb Gyoza and Pork Ramen. Splitting each plate was easy but so hard to not eat all of it. Thankfully I love my wife and want to not sleep on the couch or I could have easily gobbled down everything in front of me. We also ordered up a cocktail for each of us. I ordered up the Tokyo Drift and she ordered up a Ube drink. The main drift to the Tokyo Drift was very negroni-esque. Very good. I really liked my wife's Ube drink and probably will get that the next time. Good balance. The service was "detached attentive", not cloying and not ever slow or less than top notch. They even apologized for not having desserts but I wasn't disappointed at all. The ability to get in and have a seat in the small space is a great benefit garnered from not adding the lingering dessert phase. We looked over the menu one more time before leaving and realized we have 10-15 more items we want to try, so without a doubt we will be back.

It was my first time here this weekend and I was impressed! We were sat immediately and ordered cocktails. The staff were polite and very efficient and the overall vibe and decor were upbeat! Ok so now about the food..soooo delicious and flavorful! We were upset we got full before being able to order more. Started with mushroom croquettes, which were to die for, and then ramen which was so flavorful and filling. We can't wait to come back as the entire menu looks spectacular!

Another stunning meal at Kauboi Izakaya for hubby big bday! The music is still loud, tho this time it was a 90's rap vibe and it works! Crowded still, yep. Food was perfection, 100%! Service was still pretty good but it was busier. This time around, we started with cocktails again, natch. The lovely green tea matcha drink & an ube old fashioned, I think? We enjoyed duck hearts, waygu, seasonal pickles and beef tongue. Altogether, smashing! If you're on the fence about this place, just go. Yes, it's boastfully in your face, but that's what makes it so rock-n-roll. Take earplugs.

We've dined here twice now. The service is usually great. The food is generally tasty but not too exciting, and some of the portions are fairly small for what are supposed to be shareable plates. It's easy to rack up the bill yet somehow still feel hungry. Having any sort of conversation is difficult with the music being so loud. Overall a good spot to at least check out, but I'm probably good on returning here for the time being...

I just realized I've never done a review for Kauboi, which is weird because it's our favorite place in Reno. It's not just one of the best places in Reno but would stand up in any of the major cities I've lived in (NYC, Chicago, SF). That said everyone else knows how great it is so there is often a wait - they don't take reservations. It's a cool vibe, rock and roll is playing and everyone is having a good time. Service is amazing. Cocktails are unique and delicious. Most of it is small plates except the Ramen. There are plenty of gluten free options (I have gluten free by choice). My favorite is the duck fried rice. My husband who is not GF loves the ten layer pork and all the gyoza.

My husband and I stopped in on Saturday. Usually this spot is packed with a wait but we were able to get seats right at the bar--where you can watch the food be cooked. The food is so so tasty. All the cocktails were great (minus the old fashioned which had too much ice and not much flavor). Servers were really friendly. The BBQ pork rib ramen was amazing! Only advice, don't sit at the bar if you're really tall or plus sized--the seats are bolted down so you'll be squeezed in/sitting at an angle (which I was). Definitely recommend stopping in!

Fantastic options to choose from- including the duck fried rice, which was so delightfully delicious. This is a MUST TRY!

Food: - Kurobuta Pork Gyoza + Apple - Ginger Sauce - I was a bit amused by the applesauce puree but the sweetness of that paired with the savory pork created a balanced, tasty flavor profile. Worth a try. - Lamb Gyoza + Carrot Puree + Quinoa Crunch - one of my favorite dishes out of everything I tried. The lamb flavoring was mouth-watering all on its own but paired with the purée and crunchy quinoa, this was both a flavorful and textural delight. - Edamame + Black Sesame Salt - standard edamame, the black sesame was nice but it was a little too heavily salted. - Seasonal Japanese Pickles - the pickled mushroom was my favorite part of this as it had the most interesting flavor of umami, a little bit of sweetness, and acidity. There was also pickled beans, pickled onion, pickled radish, pickled cucumbers, and pickled zucchini, prepared with the same vinegar taste. - Wicked Fried Rice + Duck Cracklin' + Duck Breast - delicious. The duck breast was cooked to perfection with a gentle crisp on the skin and tender center. The rice was again a bit on the salty side but I didn't mind it so much with this as the egg yolk balanced it out. Service: kind and attentive. Ambiance: it was fun to sit at the bar and watch dishes being artistically crafted at rapid speeds before our very eyes. If you have the chance, it's worth it for the experience!

Surprised to say after having this place on my radar for years and my husband planning a spontaneous date night I finally got to go! Some of the reasons we never went here before were, I had heard there was always a line and long wait to get inside (I hate to wait), it was always crowded (I don't like crowded places) and that the music was LOUD as in can't talk to your friends LOUD (nope, don't care for that either)...but the menu and pictures of the insanely beautiful food I had seen for years kept my interest and curiosity at a high level! Soooo we went early as soon as they opened and there was no line, no crowds, seated right away at a tiny table for 2 in a beautiful little restaurant with LOUD music (why so loud?). The placemat is the menu and has many unique Japanese influenced style dishes each of them intriguing in their own way. Many of the dishes are smaller shareable portions (think tapas) and others are more of a small but ample entree. Don't mistake this place for a sushi bar restaurant! This is high quality in preparation and presentation and you're in for a real treat. We had the spicy soba noodles and ten layer pork tonkatsu as appetizers that were both good choices and Pork Belly Ramen in a delicious broth and the Vegetarian Ramen broth was almost more of a robust spicy gravy. Cooked perfectly and the ramen noodles are so fresh and chewy, slightly thicker than usual ramen but thinner than udon. Topped off our meal with my favorite milky unfiltered sake to complement a great date night with my hubby. And for some odd reason as the tiny restaurant filled up with more people, the music didn't seem so loud:) We'll be back!

We came in around 7:20pm and they were packed! I have heard their food is really good so I had to try even though the wait time was 45 minutes. We were out on the waitlist by a staff member very soon after entering. The interior has dimmed lighting with a large bar seating on the left and about 7 tables on the right. The middle section has stairs I believe goes down to their kitchen. It was a lot smaller than I expected coming here. For parking, I parked across the street and there was a fair amount of street parking since it's a Thursday night. We waited next to the windows and were seated in just over an hour at 8:30pm. We were a group of 3 and there were 2 tables open, but 2 other groups were seated before us. Not too sure if the waitlist was checked. After we sat down, our waters came in about 5-10 minutes and we started ordering because they stop taking orders at 9pm. We ordered: - Giant Squid: soft, not too chewy, comes with yuzu mayo, 5/5 - Charred Broccoli: great flavorful, crunchy and not overcooked, 5/5, definitely recommend! - Wild Shrimp Gyoza: spicy, warm filling, the wrap is thicker than expected, 5/5 - Spicy Soba Noodles: not too spicy, refreshing noodles, comes with perilla leaves, avocado, tomatos, 5/5 - Okinomiyaki: crunchy noodles on bottom, bean sprouts, cabbage, savory pancake, and fried egg on top, 4/5 - Ten Layer Port Tonkatsu: mustard wasabi is very strong, black garlic sauce, moist meat, crunchy outside layer, 5/5, definitely recommend! - Yakitori (Meatball): warm tender meatballs, raw egg yolk as a sauce, 5/5, definitely recommend out of the Yakitoris - Yakitori (Thigh): soft, warm, meat is dryer, 3/5 - Battership Curry Fries: thin fries in a bed of warm curry, comes with very tender meat and cubes of mozzarella cheese, crispy fries, 5/5 Overall, the food was great! The music is very loud and it's hard to have a conversation, but I believe that's their theme. When the check came, it was $190 for 9 dishes, 4 beers and 1 old fashioned. We were not entirely full, but they were closing soon and it is quite pricey. Service and food was good. The only downside was the wait for a table. Each of the dishes came out fairly quickly and we always had something at the table. I think it would definitely help their business to expand to the businesses next door because I watched a lot of people leave after hearing the average wait time was 45 minutes.

When I heard that I needed to go to Kauboi Izakaya I was not expecting this experience! It was crowded on a Tuesday evening but we got lucky and were able to be seated right away. It does get a bit loud inside but it's definitely a cool atmosphere and a modern japanese vibe. We ordered a beer and a Shiso Quirky. The cocktail was beautiful and so tasty. Then we had the edamame, pork dumplings, wicked fried rice with duck, squid, the sweet potatoes. The only item i'd say you could skip is the sweet potatoes. The bacon tasted a bit burnt to me. But otherwise all the food was amazing! There is a kick to a majority of the items so if you can't handle spice very well just be forwarned. Overall my favorite was the dumplings and the giant squid. We will definitely be back to try some of the skewers and other items!

Service. It was quick and easy. Showed up about 530. Just before it got packed. The waitress was nice and went over the menu with us and that helped a lot. Ambiance Mellow lighting. Open kitchen was kool. Watching the chefs while sitting at the bar top. Music was a lil different than I was expecting. Still a jam!! Food. All I have to say is 10/10. Didn't miss on anything we ordered. They were short on few things that I really wanted. But hey only better reason for us to go back. Which we will. It's always nice trying something new. Good flavor on all things. Perfect for sharing.

The food is this restaurant is absolutely amazing. It's a great place to go to share different items on the menu. It can get a little loud inside when they are packed. It's worth the wait! So be sure to go.

Food- Excellent Service- Excellent Venue- severe disappointment Loud hard rock blaring over any possible conversation with my lady. In addition a cold place to inhabit if you're trying to come in out of the cold on a winter night. Had to keep my full length coat on during the meal, and my legs still froze.

Before arriving I called and asked if we needed an reservation, they were super nice about it and said nope. Upon arriving there were 2 open tables and a table of 2 leaving. They asked for my name and number and said give up about 30 minutes. At first I was a bit upset because right there are 2 open tables and one leaving. But working in the industry myself I had to remind myself thats what's best for a wonderful experience. After being seated we ordered waters all around a btl of Sake and couple of cocktails. For appetizers we ordered Shishito Peppers and Tokyo Fried Chicken. Both appetizers were perfect. For dinner we all ordered Ramen, 2 Pork Bone, a Charred Chicken and Vegetarian dish. All were excellent,

Grabbed dinner with a couple friends on a tuesday night and it was quite crowded but the wait was only about 10 minutes for a table. We ordered the following: Tokyo Fried Chicken: - very good, chicken was fried well and tender and the spicy had a savory-spicy kick. Wicked Fried Rice and Duck: Duck was tender and seasoned well - I loved all of the spices and garnishes (along with the fried egg on top). Wished the portion was a bit bigger though! NY Wagyu + Shitake + Beef Fat Sauce: Star of the dinner - mouthwateringly delicious and tender. The beef fat sauce was rich but light and paired with the mushrooms and the steak well. Pork Bone Ramen: Noodles were a bit too al dente for me and I though this was pork tonkotsu but it is really just pork bone broth - I enjoyed the broth though, very light and sweet The food did take a while to come out and it is quite pricey ($20 for ramen, $26 for wagyu, $19 for the fried rice, and $14 for the fried chicken). One thing to note is that the music is really loud. The place is pretty small, just like in the pictures. There was plenty of parking available across the street when I came for dinner!

Okay, I know I should've taken more pictures when I went here. But I was starving and enjoying the atmosphere of this location. It was also a weekend I believe and me and my friend had come running down from Plumb Ln to get our table. Once we got that call we RAN like it was a marathon. It was super busy, the music playing was different versus other Japanese locations I normally go to when I travel to new places. I believe it was like metal playing and rock. I was totally digging it, the one thing that caught my attention was the tiki cup when I asked for ginger beer which was a cute choice of tableware. The servers were working their hardest so kudos to them that day. Now to the food. I had ordered a veggie ramen I believe that was hella spicy. Well not spicy spicy for most people pallets, but I am a baby. But it was sooooooo good. I regret not taking pics but I was dying g but having fun. We also had veggie tempura which was deli as well. My friend had a pork ramen which they seemed to have enjoy as well. I am def coming back to take more pics in the future but for now, yeah I would def recommend coming here!

Wow!! Our neighbors took us here for our engagement and man was I impressed! We had to wait and hour, so while we waited, we went to a bar nearby and the time went by quick and before we knew it, we were seated. Staff was very friendly and the place was packed. Definitely not what I was expecting though. I expected a quiet romantic setting but it was dark and tables super close together and pretty chaotic but the food was so so amazing. We literally ordered everything so I couldn't even tell you the names but everything was delicious especially the chicken skin. We will definitely have to go again.

I consider this place a unique food spot in Reno - I don't think you can find Japanese fusion bar food anywhere else in the city. This would be one of the few spots that I would recommend others to try if they want something and are able to splurge on a meal. My bestie and I came on a Thursday evening and were greeted and seated right away. The waitress we had was very attentive, friendly, and answered any questions we had. Ambiance was darker lighting and it can get pretty loud in there. The menu was interesting/cool and I thought the diagram of the Chicken for the Yakitori was creative but It was a little difficult to read. I wish there was a little more description with some of the dishes on the menu but again you can always ask the waiter like we did; And also we relied heavily on Yelp for pictures of the dishes. NY Wagyu + Shittake + Beef Fat Sauce | 10/10, would get again; this was the star of the show, so delicious, FYI it is market price, it was $26.00 when I went Ten layer Pork Tonkatsu + Black Garlic | 9/10, would get again; be aware of that there is wasabi (I think) on it as well which makes it super spicy, it doesn't say it on the menu that its spicy so I advise you ask for no wasabi sauce on it when you order if you don't want spice Yakitori Skin | 8/10; FYI there are two sticks in one order, very good flavor Just for 3 tapas, we racked up the bill to $60 and we were still hungry but didn't want to splurge any further. I definitely would save this place for when you would want to splurge on a meal. All of the food was of great quality and everything came out fresh in a consistent and timely manner which demonstrates how each dish is made to order. Overall, I recommend coming here and hopefully I'll be back soon to try more dishes!

This place has some of the most unique, tasty and inventive cuisine in Reno. The Japanese influence is certainly there but the twists the Chef puts in play are awesome (cashew pesto on baby octopus and takoyaki waffles!?) Probably my favorite restaurant in Reno right now...

Really great food but unfortunately the ambiance was a little overwhelming. Super loud music, difficult to hear. FOH seemed all pretty young, but our server was very helpful!

I'm not sure what took us so long to eat here, but we won't wait long to return. We were the first to arrive when they opened, but the restaurant filled up within 25 minutes! Even still, the wait staff didn't miss a beat. Very attentive and friendly. We ate everything our gal recommended, and everything tasted excellent! Great cocktails and bonus points for the old Nugget Trader Dicks cups (so nostalgic!) Highly recommend this Lil Reno gem!

KAUBOI has always been a prime date spot for my partner and I. They never disappoint and the service is amazing. We typically sit at the bar since we enjoy watching the chefs cook in front of us as well as talking with Bailey, the bartender. If there is a wait we'll sit at a table or at the cowboy section. Our order consists of cucumber salad, spicy soba noodles, Tokyo fried chicken, shrimp fritter, pork gyoza, chicken thigh and every so often chicken soup gyoza. All of the plates are amazing and our go to. This place is tapas so it's great how we can order multiple items to have multiple flavors. Our entrees are the battleship curry for my partner which is their rendition of poutine with Japanese curry, pork shoulder and mozzarella. I order the duck fried rice and the name speaks for itself. We get a drink and any on their menu is a hit. They also change/edit/add to their menu at least once a year so there's always new dishes to try. We tried the Wagyu steak and cooked at a medium rare accompanied with shiitake mushrooms with a caramel sauce that was a pleasant addition. Price wise is in the higher end but with the food, serve and atmosphere it's always worth it.

Great food, great service in a fun atmosphere. Had the Tokyo Fried Chicken, Pork Dumplings & Pork Ramen. All were delicious, but the chicken was my favorite. Definitely will be back.

My fav restaurant in town! They just changed their menu to add a few new things. We got the lotus chips with a trout dip which was delicious and spectacular! I got the new vegetarian Ramen which is pretty spicy but it was very tasty with scrambled tofu on top. My husband got the pork belly ramen and he liked it but didn't love it. We took some of my spicy base from the veg soup and put it in his and that made it better for him. He wished it had more flavor. They have a changing cocktail menu. My fav drink right now is this delicious drink with some kind of root in it- taro looking... it has coconut milk in it and it is delicious!!! The service is always amazing! Jamie is always our server and she's fantastic but the other staff is always super friendly and sweet! It's not as loud in there as it used to be and it's def a spot that I recommend to everyone who visits reno!

Finally made it to Kauboi Izakaya. We tried a bunch of different things - sharing along the way and we cannot wait to go back! Some of our choices include the Mushroom Croquets, so good! The Beet Salad, Lamb Gyoza - with carrots, Giant Squid and the Pork Bone Ramen. Everything was delish - and you spend have the time looking at other's plates to see what you should get next. Service and drinks were excellent. This is a unique experience for people who are a little edgy with their food. Give it a try and enjoy the music! I would post photos but they were all of empty plates since we were too busy enjoying the food to take snaps.

Did someone say Japanese tapas??! I've had this place bookmarked and I finally had the chance to try it for date night! Reservations are not needed but it gets pretty busy. The restaurant is spacious and clean. We sat at a 2 top by the window so we had a nice view of midtown. Our server Lysha was great and the food came out fast! We ordered the cucumber salad - I like that they include miso, pork gyoza - apple and ginger paired nicely, yakitori of course - cooked perfectly, pork belly ramen - savory broth, and lastly the okinomomiyaki Hiroshima style - first time trying okinomomiyaki and I didn't know what to expect. For those who don't know what a okonomiyaki is, it is a Japanese pancake with cabbage, bean sprouts, noodles, meats or seafood. Kauboi okinomomiyaki's has a fishy taste to it that I didn't like, but my bf enjoyed it. These 5 dishes left us full and satisfied. $70 well spent. There are a lot more items on the menu that we didn't order but we plan to try different foods every time we go in!

My taste buds were super sad with this ramen. It's not *bad*, but I definitely would not order it again. The broth was fine, but seemed to be missing the depth I'm used to with pork bone based broths. The eggs were a great texture and were a little strong tasting, but good. The noodles were gross. Way undercooked and, as such, chewy and overly starchy and gross. $20 was wayyyy too much for the amount of food and quality. It was dark and noisy inside the restaurant, which was expected but also kind of annoying. Service was terrible despite how many people were working?? It looked overstaffed for the size of the restaurant, but it took awhile to get someone to wait on me, then took another nearly 20 minutes to get a can of beer. Giving 3 stars because I remember the lamb gyoza being AMAZING. But it's been a while and that's the only truly memorable dish I've ever had here. Sad this place no longer seems to live up to the hype.

WOWZA! I've had this place on my list for years now and for one reason or another I haven't gone. I finally decided to bite the bullet and treat myself. The check came out to be $80+tip for all this amazing food and a drink! It was more than enough for my partner and I to split even though at first we were a bit worried we wouldn't get filled up. The flavor on EVERY. SINGLE. DISH. was unique and the presentation was IMMACULATE. We opted to sit at the cowboy bar seats and it was a great decision. We got to watch everything being prepared and the vibes were amazing. The service was speedy and friendly and I'm so happy we came here for dinner. Their menu is so unique and makes me want to come back for more!

One of my favorite restaurants in Reno. If you're lucky enough to get a seat at the bar near the triple chef station, score! Food, music and service is outstanding.

The food and service is absolutely spectacular. My only real complaint is that the music is way too loud to really sit and enjoy dinner with others, but I can't even take away a star for that because you do get used to it after a while. The first time I came here, I had the ramen and it was delicious. The second time, I tried a bunch of other things and they were all so good and so well prepared. This is a great place for sharing multiple small dishes with a group. I saw God in the Mushroom Jar + Japanese Bread. Highly recommend. The mushroom croquettes are also a divine experience, and we ALWAYS get the Wagyu beef because it never ever disappoints.

Food was great, I shared the rice tots, mushroom croquettes, and had a bowl of the vegetarian ramen. Some of the best vegetarian ramen I've had. Also those crunchy rice tots are definitely going to be something I crave in a couple weeks and need to come back for. I also really dig the Japanese Punk Rock Cowboy kind of vibe going on, super unique. Definitely need to be prepared for a loud atmosphere with loud music playing unless you grab a table outside.

This was my second visit with about 6 years between. Went here for a dinner date. Great place to go, food is well presented and delicious. Small and intimate but too loud in my opinion. Pretty tough to have convo without speaking loudly sitting right across from one another. So every one will hear your conversation. We started with the shishito peppers and sake. We had a cold sweet sake and it paired well. Peppers were prepared perfectly. We ordered ramen, hamachi and pork bbq ribs. I am a fan of tapas but as always just know you're not attending to eat "hearty". Overall this a nice dinner or date place, food is great ambiance is nice, servers w were really attentive and friendly it's just loud.

What a fun evening. Took a group of friends last week and had a great experience of sharing tastes across the tables and I think we all tasted everything. We caught the Chef's attention who came over and explained a bit of the inspiration of Kauboi and shared an additional dish we had not ordered. It will remain a fun place to go to but if you're looking for a romantic evening, this is not your spot. The vote the table ... ramen alway meant to be shared and the ribs are amazing. Thanks for the playful attmosphere.

Kauboi is the mashup of a metal music mindset and the magnificent simplicity of mouthwatering Japanese bar food. It's a whole vibe and I love it, even if I don't get to enjoy it very often. In Japan izakaya range in atmosphere and offerings, from quiet and intimate to loud and raucous, and it's the owner (also often the chef) who decides which way to take it. Kauboi makes its own statement so check your sensibilities at the door and embrace it. The music is loud and it's completely on purpose. This is a hard rock/heavy metal concert, and diners are the audience. The kitchen is wide open and the "band" of chefs are on stage rocking out for everyone in the building. It's pretty damn cool to watch them work and see them moving with the rhythm, smiling and bobbing their heads as they push out dish after dish with precision and consistency. The food is rockstar too! You will not find these flavors or techniques anywhere else in the region, so buckle up and enjoy the ride. I personally love their robata grill items. Robata is a traditional hard Japanese charcoal that gets super hot and requires a lot of practice to cook over. Here you'll see the chef literally fanning the flames to keep the heat up in parts of the grill to get that beautifully smoky char, and moving coals to maintain cooler areas where the skewers can slowly roast and drip, creating smoke that imparts flavor to the meat. This time we had the chicken thigh (always a hit) and the bacon wrapped Japanese sweet potato, both f'n delicious. We also had the charred broccoli with sesame sauce that was freaking incredible! The broccoli was blanched to a perfect al dente, leaving a slight crunch, and then it's finished on the robata for some smoky flavor and light char, all of which was complimented by the nutty sesame sauce! Wifey wanted to try the rice tots (mentioned in so many reviews) so we did. We happened to be in front of the fryer and ramen chef and it was so rad watching him form them and plate them in front of us! We saw him preparing the shrimp and shiitake fritters too by combining handfuls of big shrimp and fresh veggies and I had to try them. The ponzu sauce alone was good enough to drink. The sleeper on the menu are the Japanese pickles. It's about 5 different types of pickles on a plate, and they are the perfect addition to any order. The only dish I'd pass on next time is the Mt. Lassen Trout. While tasty and well executed, I found the dish lacking a bit of flavor compare to the others. The miso yaki was only coming through on the skin of the fish leaving the fish itself tasting under seasoned and the rice and other elements bland. Our server was on point all night. She answered questions politely and with great info, visited us appropriately and made sure we had everything we needed while making sure our finished plates didn't stack up and our water stayed full (we drank before). Put Kauboi on your must try list. Bring your heavy metal mindset and settle in for a kick ass culinary concert!

Reno doesn't have many japanese restaurants except for like ayce sushi. The food is good there. I've never been disappointed. The place is small, so it can get pretty loud in there.

We are still in the restaurant. The music is so loud that we cannot talk. We request to have the music turn down, server said sorry cannot. How loud is the music, is like you are in a concern. Decibel is 85 to 95 at the level of lost hearing. We don't care how good are the foods this is torture.

We love coming here! I tried the spicy miso ramen and it was the perfect amount of spicy for me! I don't have much tolerance and it was great. The staff is always so friendly as well. The music they play inside is a mix of rock and metal which brings such a fun vibe! I love the bar seating to watch the chefs cooking too. Highly recommend it here!

It is not that good of what most of the reviews said, adding the red pepper fake on skewer is not the authentic way of the Japanese Izakaya will do. This place is not kid friendly. Who would think a fried rice will be spicy? Nothing on the menu that kid can eat unless your kid likes spicy food. Very disappointed and over price meal in Reno!

Top 3 restaurants in town. The vibe, music, open kitchen, bar, everything - 100% the best. Highly recommend the dragon tots, chicken soup gyoza, wagyu, chicken breast skewer, shishitos, beets. Those are our favorites. Amazing spot.

My dining companion and I arrived around 5:30 for an early dinner. Our timing was fortunate because every table and bar stool was taken shortly after we were seated. Our waitress was quick to the table to snag our appetizer and cocktail order. Additional staff is very attentive to filling water and removing unnecessary tableware. The restaurant aesthetic is "hip" but not "hipster" like the couple seated next to us. The decor is a mashup of old west and Japanese imagery which I think is pretty cool. The menu is pretty interesting and includes some unique items. The plates are served family style so order multiple items to share. We tried the shrimp gyoza, hamachi, and battleship curry which is Kauboi Izakaya's version of Poutine. All the dishes were really good but the curry was definitely the most satisfying. They have a cocktail menu with drinks that might spark your curiosity. I ordered a lychee martini which was fantastic! This place is small but popular so go early or call ahead.

The food is so insanely good. Never in a million years did I think I would try beef tongue, I could eat theirs everyday. Fast, good service in addition to great music and upbeat atmosphere.