Lori N.
Yelp
I've walked by this place on numerous weekend evenings, and the place has always been packed, with folks milling around outside waiting for a table to open. From the outside, it seemed like a fun, hip and trendy spot. Seeing this, I assumed this must've been a stellar place, for sure. I should've taken into account that there are no other sushi restaurants close to them. Simply put, it's simply mediocre.
I tried the salmon sashimi, an agedashi tofu appetizer, and one of their rolls...
I was quite pleased with the generous cuts of the salmon sashimi, and it was appealing plated. The other two items, not so much.
The rolls, although nicely presented, were extremely small. Most importantly, the rice was mushy! That's a no-no! I want to taste the grains of rice, not eat a bunch of mush. Now I'm wondering if the rice was even fresh, or maybe just overcooked? Sadly, that was a real turn-off.
The agedashi had so much liquid on the bottom, that it completely softened the tofu to the extent that I couldn't even tell anymore that it was ever deep fried. Only one tofu on top wasn't drenched in the soy. I know there's supposed to be some liquid on the bottom, but it covered about 75% of the tofu.
As for the atmosphere, there's nothing appealing or unappealing about it. It certainly wasn't hip and modern. It's a little worn, in fact. It also wasn't classically traditional Japanese, which is my favorite kind of ambiance in a Japanese restaurant.
Service was attentive, as I had come for an early dinner and the restaurant was only about 20% filled to capacity. I will add though, that during one of the busy, peak weekends when I attempted to get in, one of the older waitresses was pretty curt and told me to just wait outside with the crowd, not even asking how many I had in my party.
All that said, I definitely applaud them for their excellent SF health score of 98 out of 100. There's a lot to be said for that!
Having finally tried it now, my curiosity is satisfied...and I'm not in any real rush to return.