Midnight Bites

While exploring San Francisco and it’s cultural offerings time passed quickly. Since many restaurants close pretty early in the night compared to other regions (e.g. the Mediterranean), options rapidly decrease at late hours. Still, some restaurants are in for a surprise. Way after midnight on a weekday we entered the small underground sushi restaurant for some quick bites on the go. The cocktail bar was very good (we had vodka with cucumber and mint served in a classical martini glass) and also the music selection was excellent with a resident DJ.

As a group we shared some tobiko (flying fish roe) gunkan and a selection of avocado uramaki (inside out roll) with hamachi (yellowtail), ebi (shrimp), ika (squid), aji (mackerel), sake (salmon), maguro (tuna back) and tai (sea bream) topping. The texture and taste of the fish was excellent way beyond anything we expected at such a late hour. As a last call for the kitchen we had some nice maguro (tuna back) futo maki (big roll) and some sake (salmon) uramaki (inside out roll).

Sushi Guide Verdict

Ryoko’s Japanese Restaurant is an authentic and particular sushi restaurant in the heart of San Francisco. It is a tiny place that tries to convey the vibe of a Tokyo sushi bar and is frequented by many Japanese customers as well. The menu options are quite good and the food quality is excellent. The drink menu is average and the service was friendly and forthcoming. Especially on a midnight stroll, this restaurant is a very good option for some sushi snacks.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: June 8, 2019

The post Ryoko’s Japanese Restaurant – Quick Sushi Bites appeared first on Sushi Guide.

Amazing sushi dinner

The dinner started out with an awesome moriawase sashimi plate with umi masu (ocean trout), hamachi (yellowtail), maguro (big eye tuna) and fresh wasabi. The hamachi was absolutely amazing and among the best I have ever had. The umi masu was also delicious and melted in my mouth. Only the maguro was rather average. With this impressive start, I decided to try more specialties from the menu.

The nigiri plate I ordered was absolutely amazing. It came with tai (sea bream), hotategai (scallop), kamasu (barracuda), inada (baby yellowtail), hotaru-ika (firefly squid) and bincho toro (albacore tuna belly). It is difficult to say, what was most amazing. The hotategai was very creamy and an absolute delight, the inada was even better then the previous hamachi sashimi. The hotaru-ika was delicious and the bincho toro just melted in my mouth with an amazing texture and mild bus very distinct taste. It was amazing.

Sushi Guide Verdict

ICHI Sushi is an amazing restaurant in San Francisco’s Bernal Heights with a very classy and chic interior design. It’s a very small place and when its full, it also is extremely loud, the only downside to the otherwise very authentic restaurant. The menu options are exclusive but not very extensive and a advertised as sustainably sourced. The quality and taste of the fish is outstanding and among the best in the area. The drink menu is good and features many options for a nice night out. The service was friendly and welcoming but we I had to wait for my dishes for a long time. Apart from this restaurant just being too busy, it is an awesome choice and I highly recommend it.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

 

Review date: June 8, 2018

The post ICHI Sushi – Amazing sushi on Mission Street in San Francisco, California appeared first on Sushi Guide.

Omakase Dinner

We started our dinner with an omakase sashimi plate that blew us away right from the start. It came with ji-kinmedai (cold smoked golden eye snapper), unimasu (ocean trout), isaki (grunt fish), hotategai (scallop), mirugai (giant clam), suna zuri (yellowtail belly cut) and mebachi maguro (big-eye tuna). It this would have been all we had, it would habe been an amazing dinner. Still, we stayed for more, omakase style of course.

Next we got some chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna) filled with uni (sea urchin) and must admit, I have never eaten anything quite like this. The textures of the fatty tuna and the soft sea urchin were just an awesome combination. Afterwards we had shima aji (stripped jack) sashimi, kamasu (barracuda) nigiri and ayu (river trout) nigiri. Finally we finished the meal with wagyu A5 grade miyazaki strip loin nigri, which was also truly amazing.

Sushi Guide Verdict

As always, dining at Akiko’s restaurant was a truly amazing experience. The atmosphere was just as always and the menu variety is just great, as is the food’s quality and taste. The drink menu still lacks any items that would amaze me, but I wouldn’t do there for the drinks anyway. The service was outstanding as usual and once again I can attest that this is one of the very few world class sushi restaurant on this planet.

Review date: October 7, 2015

The post Akiko’s Restaurant – Truly Remarkable Japanese Cuisine appeared first on Sushi Guide.

“The exceptional quality of our sushi is attributed to a one-of-a-kind combination of fresh ingredients, coupled with 30 years of experience and modern preparation techniques. Never satisfied with the mundane, we are constantly experimenting with innovative culinary methods to refine our menu. Since we’ve begun our culinary adventure, we have only pursued the most sustainable and freshest products available.

Akiko’s offers traditional-contemporary sushi along with a variety of eclectic seafood items. We pride ourselves on using the finest quality of local and seasonal fresh fish, which arrive daily from local purveyors and Japan’s Tsukiji Fish Market. Maintaining a sensitivity to environmental demands, it is our practice to source out overfished stock in favor of rare and sustainable marine products. We are committed to using as much sustainable, organic and local products as possible to ensure an ecologically-minded component to your eating experience at Akiko’s.”

Source: Akiko’s Sushi Restaurant

Omakase Menu

Although the a la cart menu is filled with many amazing choices of fish, the omakase style menu seems to be best option when one is seated at the sushi bar. It is offered as either sashimi or nigiri and the sushi chef at the bar will gladly incorporate some of your preferences if you want him to.

I started out with an awesome sashimi platter composed of sake (king salmon), maguro tuna (big eye tuna), suzuki (sea bass) and hirame (halibut). Afterwards I was presented with another 7 piece platter, totally blowing me away. It entailed hamachi (yellow tail) and ika (baby squid), ayu (sweet fish), hotategai (scallop), umi masu (ocean trout), sustainable chu toro (bluefin medium fatty tuna) and ankimo (monkfish liver pate). For the grand finale I had two more pieces of unagi (freshwater eel) nigiri. Luckily I took some picture.

Some information about my visit to Akiko’s Restaurant can be found at moritzrecke.com

Sushi Guide Verdict

Akiko’s Restaurant provides a very modern atmosphere with open brick walls and an open bar at the core of the restaurant. The fish was absolutely delicious and of supreme quality. All dished were served in a traditional manner and the menu offers a wide selection from all seas and some select specialties. The drink menu is falling behind the great food options. While there is a decent beer selection, wine and sake options are limited. The service was outstanding with absolute nothing left to be desired. As with many other high class sushi restaurants, it might be worth mentioning that Akiko’s Restaurant is also rather pricy. But considering the menu variety and food quality, it is absolutely worth it. Since some of the personal also worked at Sushi Ran before, there is a somewhat familiar touch to dining at Akiko’s Restaurant.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: June 6, 2014

The post Akiko’s Restaurant – Traditional-Contemporary Sushi appeared first on Sushi Guide.

“Welcome to KUSAKABE, it is always my pleasure to serve our guests. At KUSAKABE, we serve a multi-course sushi dinner that is based on the principle of Japanese “Kaiseki” cuisine. When I create my Omakase menu, it is my challenge to include a variety of seafood presented with creativity and offering a harmony of fresh flavors with every bite. Please join me and our capable staff at KUSAKABE for what we hope is an unforgettable dining experience.”

Source: Mitsunori Kusakabe – Owner/Chef, World Sushi Technical Skill Champion

Omakase menu

Kusakabe only offers omakase style set menus starting at $98 and allows additional orders a la carte only after the omakase menu has been served. The 7 piece menu tends to include a soup, sushi, sashimi and selected special plates with oysters or caviar. If that’s not enough, one can always go for the 10 piece set menu for $168. The a la cart menu offers some amazing highlights as well such as Toro (Low temperature aging Bluefin fatty tuna belly), Zuke Chutoro (Soy sauce cured bluefin medium fatty tuna), Negitoro (Fatty tuna with micro onion & roasted “Nori” temaki), Wagyu (A5 grade Miyazaki Wagyu strip loin), Aori Ika (Low temperature aging big fin reef squid) and many others. All of those might or might not have been part of the set menu of the day. Paring wine is offered at $125 or one can choose from the limited beer but decent wine or commendable sake selection.

During the dinner I was served an amazing zuke chu toro (sustainable bluefin medium fatty tuna) sashimi as a starter, followed by a soup and some salmon sushi rolls. It got more interesting after that with some delicious nigiri dishes.  I was served hirame (halibut), ebi (prawn), uni (sea urchin) and some wagyu (A5 grad moyazaki wagyu strip loin) as the finale of the 7 course set menu. I ordered additional dishes from the a la cart menu. I tried aji (wild-caught horse mackerel) nigiri which I enjoyed very much. After that I was blown away but a chu toro (sustainable medium fatty bluefin tuna cured in soy sauce) nigiri and an even more amazing toro (sustainable bluefin fatty tuna belly) nigiri. Luckily, I took some pictures.

Some information about my Kusakabe visit can be found at moritzrecke.com

Sushi Guide Verdict

The setting of the restaurant is a rather modern mix of raw brick walls and lots of bamboo elements and might seem a little cold or steril at times. Although the omakase style set menu offers a good variety of choices, it might not be perfect for sushi aficionados who really know what they want. It is not allowed to alter any menu items which leads to a rather low rating for the menu, although technically the a la carte menu offers a great selection of fish. The food quality it self is amazing and definitely one of the best around. Every fish had an intense and differentiating taste and everything was served very traditionally without any fancy mayonnaise sauces that are so common in California. The drink menu was very well composed, although one might consider the pairing wine option to be a little on the pricy side compared to the regular menu. Considering the overall cost for a dinner at Kusakabe however, this might be a neglectable notion. The service was outstanding with nothing to complain about. Some of the personal also worked at Sushi Ran before, giving the visit at Kusakabe a somewhat familiar touch.

Atmosphere
Menu Options
Food Quality
Drink Variety
Service
Average

Review date: June 3, 2014

The post Kusakabe – Kaiseki Style Sushi appeared first on Sushi Guide.