Volcano Kitchen

Rich, flavorful and delicious Japanese curry; certainly among the best in the city. I loved the Chicken Katsu and will have to come back to try more menu options! Their Medium wasn’t too too spicy. My only complaint would be that their trash system, albeit sustainable, was fairly confusing. Was I supposed to scrape my remaining curry into the bin?

The universe gave me a gift today when a 38 bus driver heading towards Transit Center chose not to stop and pick me up today, making me wait 10 minutes for the next one and getting me to Bread n' Chu 7 minutes after their kitchen closed. I was so sad, but in the area wanting chicken katsu in some form and I spotted Volcano Curry nearby. I was VERY skeptical due to the name (I lived in Japan and am particular with my Japanese food), but saw a decent rating so I decided to give it a try - what a treat! I ordered the chicken katsu curry and was rewarded with the savory goodness of one of Japan's best comfort foods. The rice was fluffy and the right level of sticky. The chicken was crispy and seasoned to perfection, while juicy and flavorful on the inside. The potatoes and carrots were cut to the right chunkiness and cooked to the right level of soft. Now for the curry, which I ordered medium spicy - it was a Japanese medium spicy to my delight! The spicy tolerance level is lower there than in the US, so a Japanese medium is somewhere between an American mild and medium and they nailed it! And then the taste of the brown curry was super authentic. I highly recommend this place and hate to not give it 5 stars. The culprit of the ding? The plating. When you dine in, you are served just as if it was to go, in a plastic microwavable container with a flip lid. Such a tragedy! Even when I have take out or delivery at home I transfer it to a plate to fully enjoy the dish instead of scooping it out of the container like some sort of disaster victim in a makeshift shelter.

I'd love to give Volcano Curry five stars. The food is excellent. The pricing is very reasonable. The staff are friendly. The atmosphere is relaxed. So what's the issue? The issue is that dining in has So. Much. Plastic. There are no plates; the food is served in plastic take-out cartons. The utensils are all plastic. The cups are plastic, served from a plastic water dispenser. The restaurant smells less like delicious curry (and it is delicious) and more like cleaning solution. Quite a shame. So my suggestions: 1. Get some real plates and use them. 2. Get some real utensils and use them too. 3. Work on the decor a bit. Don't let everything smell like a chemical bath. Do this and I'll bump the rating.

One of my favorite Japanese curry restaurants in San Francisco. The other being Muraccis! I always use spiciness as a way to measure the quality of the curry. If I order Volcano, the spiciest level, I expect the curry to not only be spicy - but that you can still taste the depth of the flavor. Will always keep coming back here. And whenever I'm splurging, I go for the extra potato croquette!