San Franciscans adore sushi! Visit any part of the city, from swank downtown and trendy South of Market to quiet little neighborhoods, and you'll find sushi to sample. There are full-scale Japanese restaurants replete with every kind of roll and sashimi, plus tempura and yakatori, and tiny, hole-in-the-wall, no-frills sushi bars. But one thing is almost always certain; being located on the edge of the Pacific Rim has its advantages. San Francisco's sushi is nothing if not delectably fresh.
ACE WASABI'S ROCK-N-ROLL SUSHI 3339 Steiner Street, San Francisco, CA 94123 (415)576-4903 Hours: (Mon-Thu) 5:30-10:30 pm; (Fri-Sat) 5:30 pm - 11 pm; (Sun) 5:00 pm-10 pm In Japan, an Izakaya is a drinking place and a food house. Ace Wasabi's in San Francisco's lively Marina District strives to be a fun place to socialize while enjoying outstanding Asian food and drinks, and many locals would agree it's succeeded (watch out, it gets crowded!). The sushi here is both fresh and creative. In addition to traditional nigiri (raw fish on rice), you can get one of the restaurant's several fanciful rolls, such as spicy tuna and asparagus and tempura shrimp, eel and cucumber. During the week, regulars participate in noisy games of bingo before 6:30 pm with the prize being $20 worth of fresh sushi.
Estimated Cost Per Person - $25 -$28
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Closed, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Closed
EBISU 1283 Ninth Avenue, San Francisco, CA 94122 (415) 566-1770 Hours: (Mon-Fri) 11:30 am - 2 pm; (Mon-Wed) 5:00 pm -10 pm; (Thu-Fri) 5:00 pm - 12 pm; (Sat) 11:30 pm -12 am; (Sun) 11:30 am - 10 pm Although it's been open for almost 20 years, city folk still crowd to this small, spare restaurant in the foggy Sunset District because the sushi bar remains one of the best in town. Try nigiri with flying fish roe (tobiko), or anything with scallops, eel or toro-fatty white tuna with a lush texture and delicate flavor. Vegetarians can even find something here in the form of pickled plums, soybeans or squash. Sit in the sushi bar and chat with the chef to catch up on the day's specialties.
Estimated Cost Per Person - $25 - $35
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Open, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open
GRANDEHO'S KAMEKYO 943 Cole Street, San Francisco, CA 94117 (415) 759-8428 2721 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 673-6828 Hours: (Mon-Wed) 11:00 am - 10:30 pm; (Thu-Fri) 11:00 am - 11 pm; (Sat) Noon - 11 pm If you're in the mood for the freshest possible fish, friendly service and a homey atmosphere, come to one of these two charming family owned sushi spots. At Grandeho's Kamekyo you can get yellowtail, salmon and tuna nigiri-style or wrapped up in a roll. For those who like sushi but not raw fish there are plenty of cooked options. The restaurant serves several creative rolls including a shrimp tempura rainbow roll, a dragon roll with unagi (cooked eel) or a dynamite roll with tuna, unagi and asparagus, deep fried.
Estimated Cost Per Person: $30 - $40
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Open, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open
KABUTO SUSHI 5116 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94118 (415) 752-5652 Hours: (Tue-Sat) 5:30 pm - 11 pm; (Sun) 5:30 pm - 10 pm (Kabuto is closed the fist Tuesday and the last Sunday of each month.) This modest neighborhood restaurant has an authentic Japanese feel with rice-paper blinds and a black-lacquered sushi bar. Talented sushi chef-owner, Schio Kojima, is legendary for his culinary talent. Ask for his recommendations, and you won't be disappointed. All of the sushi and sashimi is impeccably fresh, and there are other specials including barbequed eel and conch cooked in sake broth. Kabuto also serves teriyaki, tempura, grilled shellfish and other Japanese entrees.
Estimated Cost Per Person - $30 - $40
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Open, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas-Open, New Year's Eve-Open
KITARO 5723 Geary Boulevard, San Francisco, CA 94121 (415) 386-2777 Hours: (Mon-Fri) 11:30 am - 3 pm; (Fri-Sat) 5:00 pm - 10:30 pm; (Sat) 11:30 am - 4 pm; (Sun-Thu) 5:00 pm - 10 pm Kitaro has a reputation for being one of the Richmond District's best values. Here you can find all kinds of sushi, from maki and combination rolls to nigiri, crab salad, and tobiko, and plenty of cooked selections for non-raw-fish lovers such as the teriyaki chicken rolls and cross-cultural rolls like the Mexican roll with salmon skin and spicy guacamole. Vegetarians take note: veggie items including inari or fried tofu stuffed with rice, tofu with sesame sauce and a wide variety of vegetable specials including broccoli, sweet potato, pumpkin and seaweed salad are also available. There are usually swarms of people waiting outside the restaurant but the turnover is quick; this is not a spot to linger. Kitaro does a brisk take-out business as well.
Estimated Cost per Person - $22 - $30
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Open, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas-Open, New Year's Eve-Open
KYO-YA 2 New Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94105 San Francisco, CA 94122 (415) 512-1111 Hours: (Tue-Fri) 11:30 am - 2 pm; (Tue-Sat) 6:00 pm - 10 pm Tucked away in San Francisco's majestic Sheraton Palace Hotel, Kyo-Ya is a truly elegant Japanese restaurant. Its understated, sleek atmosphere is the perfect setting in which to enjoy a traditional Japanese meal, starting with sushi, including tuna, shrimp, and scallops. One of Kyo-Ya's specialties is namembo, a one-pot dish that is cooked at the table. You can also order complete tempura and teriyaki dinners. While this is certainly one of the more expensive sushi spots in the city, the service and the ambience are top-notch, and you'll come away feeling completely pampered.
Estimated Cost per Person - $30 - $60
Holiday Schedule: Open on all holidays except those that fall on a Sunday or Monday.
SUSHI GROOVE 1916 Hyde Street, San Francisco, CA 94109 (415) 440-1905 Upscale and sophisticated, that's both the atmosphere and the crowd at this happening Russian Hill sushi bar. Sushi Groove draws crowds of mostly young professionals who delight in its fresh and beautifully presented nigiri, maki rolls and sashimi and its fusion-type specials such as tuna tartar with wasabi vinegrette and quail egg, ahi salad or grilled octopus. It makes sense to make reservations because the wait for walk-ins can be over an hour. Hours: (Fri-Sat) 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm; (Sun-Thu) 5:30 pm - 10 pm
Estimated Cost per Person $25 - $35
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Closed, Easter-Closed, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Closed, Christmas Day-Closed, New Year's Eve-Closed
TAKARA RESTAURANT 22 Peace Plaza, Suite 208, San Francisco, CA 94115 (415) 921-2000 Hours: (Mon-Sun) 11:30 - 2:30 pm; 5:30 - 10:30 pm If you're visiting San Francisco for the first time, you should definitely pay a visit to Japantown, an urban Mecca of authentic neighborhood-style Japanese restaurants and shops. There are plenty of eateries to choose from, but Takara, which opened in 2000, stands out for its sensational rice dishes along with its sashimi, sushi and tempura. It does a particularly good job with fresh crab and prawns. At Takara, you'll really feel like you're dining in Japan, but you'll still stick to your budget.
Estimated Cost Per Person for Dinner - $20 - $25
Holiday Schedule: New Year's Day-Open, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Open, Christmas Eve-Open, Christmas Day-Open, New Year's Eve-Open
TOKYO GO GO 3147 16th Street, San Francisco, CA 94103 (415) 864-2288 Hours: (Tue-Thu) 5:30 pm - 10:30 pm; (Fri-Sat) 5:30 pm - 11 pm; (Sun) 5:00 pm - 10 pm From the same crew that opened Ace Wasabi's, Tokyo Go Go is a hip and funky sushi hangout in the Mission District with standard and tasty sushi fare like toro and unagai plus extras such as miso-marinated sea bass, salads and satays and a prawn-potato cake served with corn salsa and shrimp chips that crosses Eastern culture with the Mission's Latin influence. The décor is a mix of classic Japanese simple style and '60s retro, making Tokyo Go Go a very cool place; expect a line that snakes out the door most nights and a crowd that's ready for some fun.
Estimated Cost Per Person for Dinner - $30 - $38
Holiday Schedule: New Years Day-Closed, Easter-Open, Thanksgiving-Closed, Christmas Eve-Closed, Christmas-Closed, New Year's Eve-Open
YUM YUM FISH 2181 Irving Street, San Francisco, CA 94122 (415) 566-6433 Hours (Tue-Sun) 10:30 am - 7:30 pm If you're looking for a classy setting to enjoy sushi, Yum Yum Fish is the wrong place to go, but if you want fresh, inexpensive classic sushi treats come on down to this Sunset District fish market and belly up to the tiny sushi bar. Yum Yum Market is actually where some of the other sushi bars in the city order their fish, and since it really is a fish market, it smells like one. But if you can handle the fishy aroma, you can get top-notch shrimp, California rolls, tofu and veggie rolls, all for under $20.
Estimated Cost Per Person for Dinner - $12 - $20
Holiday Schedule: Open on all holidays except those that fall on Mondays.
The Top List of Sushi Restaurants - San Francisco, CA