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Godzila Sushi
Category: Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights1800 Divisadero Street
(between Bush St & Pine St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
(415) 931-1773
- Hours:
Mon-Sat. 5:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m.
Sun. 5:30 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
- Attire:
- Casual
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good for:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
Osaka
- 197 reviews
- Neighborhood:
- Pacific Heights
"I've been coming here for more than a decade and there are many reasons why. The food is always fresh, prices are reasonable and service is…" read more »
263 reviews for Godzila Sushi
Review Highlights
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Boyfriend picked me up from a facial tonight and we went to pick up sushi-I looked so fucking nasty that everyone inside Godzila probably thought he was a saint for dating me. That or I had an AMAZING personality. ANYWAY.
Been meaning to come here for a while as many people recommend it as a cheap sushi place that's not nasty, and fairly close to my house. And I was pleasantly surprised tonight!
Had 2 orders of miso, seaweed salad, 3 orders of nigiri, a yellowtail / scallion roll and the Tinky Winky roll-we were both satisfied for $32-which I was happy with.
We took the food to go, so cant really comment on the service. The food was very good though. As others have said, the tinky winky roll is while horribly named, frickin delicious-salmon, scallops and crab! The spicy scallop nigiri was excellent as well.
Definitely will go back, probably again to take out, because the ambiance was not my favorite-but good sushi for a good price.
This is my favorite little corner sushi house in the neighborhood. It's like the comfortable bar you walk in, say hey to Joe the barkeep and Frank the grad student bar-back... and have a whiskey, then another, and a high life for the road.
Godzilla's "Tinky Winky" has a bad name for a roll, but it's very good... the staple-type-rolls are solid, and the nigiri is fresh. Good specials sometimes, too. All in all, the rolls are, while not the most cutting edge, just, tasty, consistently.
It's our 'I'm hungry, it's late, let's go get a bit of sushi round-the-corner' place. Nothing flashy. Like a sushi diner.
By far my favorite sushi place in the city. Everything about this place is super rad.
The servers are quick and very friendly. The sushi chefs are great and love to drink with the patrons.
The food is outstanding. I recommend the Tinky Winky Roll. All of the fish is very fresh and very reasonably priced. Side note: I'm not a huge fan of spicy tuna but I like it here.
Anytime a friend comes in to visit I always take them here. 1 hour and numerous saki bombs/sushi rolls at Godzilla is heaven.
Just had my daughters B-Day dinner here. One of our friends was late, due to traffic coming from the East Bay. The girl said, "you are done, right?" I said, "No". That he wante dto order something. She didn't want to serve him, because she said 3 other people were ahead of him. I said that he is with us. He was sitting at our table. She insisted that others were before him. HOW FUCKING RUDE AND WHAT A BUNCH OF BULLSHIT. No one I know will ever go there again. I hope no one else will. I have never in my life been told such CRAP. We spent $125.00 already and you FUCKING can't make some food for our guest on my daughters B-Day. FUCK YOU.
I'm a huge sushi fan so I'm fine with having nothing but sushi on the menu, but be warned for bringing friends who want tempora, etc. i finally made it in and really became addicted, affordable for the most part depending on what you order and good selections. my favorite roll is the asparagus and salmon roll, that with 2 pieces of maguro sashimi is my craving regularly.
Really like this place; a friend of mine said she's been going there since 1989! Well, that's quite enough for me...plus the Godzilla drawings (on napkins, no less) are very cool. Good for a quick sushi fix.
A friend and I ventured to this little sweet spot the other day to satisfy a sushi craving. While few place can compete with my local sushi joint, I must admit that Godzilla hit the spot.
A mediocre, whole in the wall joint that serves basic rolls. They have the low-sodium soy sauce on all the tables so that's kinda nice. Food is pretty inexpensive but it definitely adds up. The rolls are smaller in comparison to most joints but then again you get what you pay for.
Apparently the spicy mussels are delish and a must try if you eat that sorta thing. =)
This is one of my favorite haunts in my old neighborhood. It seems like we used to go here every other weekend.
All of the fish is extremely fresh. Try the specialty rolls...Godzilla, Rainbow, Tinky Winky all are great in the mouth.
Also they often have different types of fresh fish, toro tuna, and other goodies to enjoy.
I highly recommend this place.
I only didn't give it five stars because the place is small so during dinner it can take some time to get a table. The service can be a bit slow at times, but it is well worth the wait.
Stumbled upon this place randomly this week.
What a great find.
I really enjoyed the atmosphere and no, not the Monday Night Football on TV (although I did sneak a peak, over my fiance's shoulder a couple of times). The fish was fresh and the rolls quite tasty.
I wish this place was closer to my residence. Their reasonable prices and friendly atmosphere would be plenty to earn my regular business.
I might be overly impressed with this place because it was the first sushi joint I went to after moving to San Francisco, but I think the sushi here is pretty good. I'm not a "sushi snob" by any means and I'm pretty much game for trying anything.
I really like the atmosphere here. There's nothing pretentious about it and the Godzilla posters/T-shirts that are hanging everywhere gives this place a cheesy/fun ambiance. The Led Zeppelin & Pink Floyd music that is playing in the background is a plus as well. It's small (there's a bar that seats about 15 people and about five or six tables) but people move in and out pretty quickly. I don't think I've ever had to wait more than about 10 minutes for a place to sit.
Like I said, the sushi is decent. My favorite roll is the saki-asparagus roll. This place doesn't have a real extensive menu, but to be honest I'm not a huge fan of sushi places that have a ton of different kinds of rolls with just a minor difference here and there from one roll to the next. One thing that I have to say disappoints me about Godzilla is there spicy tuna roll, which is generally one of my favorites. Here though they chop up the tuna and mix it with some sort of mayonnaise base and roll it. I prefer my tuna rolls with whole tuna and spicy - no funny business.
The service isn't the greatest either, but since the place is so small, it's hard for a waitress to avoid you completely.
Since I live close by and since it's cheap I always like to take out of town guests here (who mostly visit from AZ) just to say "See, we're eating sushi in San Francisco so it must be good." However, I've been informed by several people who live in SF that the sushi here probably is no better than a decent place in AZ. Oh well, I still like it :)
Fun place to start a night. Sometimes it can get loud with groups doing sake bombs (that might be me)... reasonable price
They have WALU on special 90% of the time which is great, and the tinki winky roll is great.
The wait is hit or iss, either 45+ mins or walk right in, if you need to wait just go across the street to tortilla heights and grab a drink.
I usually judge the price point on a sushi place by what they charge for a CA roll, here it is $4.50 i believe, so pretty cheap.
For a place that is so cheap the quality is high.... by far it is not the highest quality sushi out there, but you aint paying 8-9 bucks for a CA roll, or 16 for any roll for that matter
Stumbled upon Godzila because the wait at Tataki was too long. Maybe if I had been more patient, I would have been rewarded with better sushi.
I'm not saying that the food was horrible, but it wasn't so fabulous either. But, I can't get overly excited about any sushi place that uses imitation crab instead of the real thing . . .
We sat at the sushi bar, and the chef was quick, efficient and super nice, so he saved Godzila from getting 2 stars because that's as high of a rating as I'll give for imitation crab . . .
Worst sushi place I've been to in the city. Rolls are, at best, sub-par. The Hamachi yellowtail, hard to mess that up as long as its fresh and you could tell it wasnt the freshest.
After being told to go to Godzilla by a few friends, finally tried it and it was definitely not worth the hype. So many other places in the city with better more creative rolls, fresh hamachi/sashimi, and way better atmospheres.
I'm quite surprised. I was coming in thinking it's a standard sushi place with fancy schmanz rolls. They have some what fancy schmanz, but it definitely isn't standard and it's no frills and a lot of focus on the fresh fish. The sushi was super refreshing and cool - they took time to make the rolls and the minute I popped it in my mouth - it melted like buttah.
We had the Tinky Winky, Godzila, Spicy California and some other roll I can't remember. But I just remember everything that popped in my mouth was cold, fresh and delightful. Decently priced, that all the rolls came out to $30...
Small space with like 4-5 tables maybe and a sushi bar set up. I will definitely try this again.
I love the value of this place and the sushi is pretty fresh. The problem I have is that some of the food is a bit inconsistent. The spicy muscles are my favorite thing on the menu, but everything else seemed pretty average. For the price, this place is really hard to beat.
Low-key, reasonably priced, fresh fish: Godzila is perfect for when you're craving sushi but can't afford the splurge. Worth it to swallow your pride and order the Tinky Winky. Certainly not high-end sushi, but well worth what you pay and ideal for a relaxed weekday meal out.
**Full Disclosure: I absolutely have a secret crush on the bad-ass sushi chef with the ponytail.
Went back last night because the "Lady K" wanted something healthy and we had just a great meal last time.
This time we sat at the bar which is great because you get to see EVERYTHING being made and then can say, "what's that and oh yeah I want some!"
1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
3/18/2009
First thing first my fellow Yelpers.... I am a picky sushi eater! I went to Japan a few years ago… Read more »
Godzilla sushi is a comfortable sushi "dive" bar with friendly sushi chefs and mostly high quality fish. In addition to good fish and some interesting options for rolls, the sushi chef has impeccable taste in music. Every time I walk in he's playing Hendrix, Stevie Ray, the Stones, or something you can just groove to. Sushi chefs are friendly, sometimes we trade stories on recent concerts. I love going here hungry because each order comes out in less than 10 minutes and they never make me wait for the check. For convenience, good sushi, great music and friendly low key atmosphere... Godzilla is smokin.
I went to Godzila on a whim and was rewarded with a massive case of food poisoning. Whether it was the Pink Dragon special roll or the yellowtail roll I can't be sure, but the results were spectacular. A painful lesson I will not soon forget. Thanks, Godzila.
Statistically significant other and I dropped in on a whim last night to Godzila Sushi. He swore by it and I, not really giving a crap because I'm easy (not in that way! pervs) said okie dokie.
Loved the eel, avocado, cucumber, eggplant roll. Umm, eggplant in sushi? I've never seen that before but it was DAMN good. It may even replace my Rock 'n Roll staple!
Apparently this place is a neighborhood hot spot which means it's always packed! So come early, come hungry and with a few dollars in your pocket - you're sure to leave satisfied.
Hadnt been here for quite a few years, so I was concerned that things may have changed for the worse. I neednt have worried. Godzila is still an excellent choice for reasonably-priced sushi in a casual & fun environment.
We arrived at around 8:45 on a Friday evening, so there was a bit of a wait -- not to worry, we added our name to the list and hung out with a beer at the doorway to the little restaurant. The place is small, with just a few tables and about 8 or 10 spots at the bar. Finally, we got svery tasttyeated in a prime spot (under the TV adorned with the little Godzila figurines...!) We ordered some miso soup and Gom Ae salad (a bit heavy on the sesame, but very tasty. We followed with an assortment of sushi -- unagi hand-rolls, spicy tuna, tempura rolls, spider rolls. Fairly conventional selection, but all VERY good. (And some more Sapporo beer, of course...)
I was so impressed that I actually bought a beer for the sushi chef (an unusually generous gesture for me!) All-in-all, a fun place, reasonably priced and very tasty sushi & friendly staff.
The service here was surprisingly very good! There is a chef that is really friendly and smiles a lot. He's very interactive, which is kind of nice. The waitresses and chefs all seem to be very close with each other as well, which made for a very comfortable atmosphere.
In terms of the sushi, it was very good! The fish was fresh; not the best I've had, but definitely up there. I got the sashimi half-and-half... Half salmon, half yellowtail. As a BIG fan of salmon (like the rest of the world), I was generally satisfied. We had four slices (not too thick or thin) of each fish. The spicy tuna roll was good- I liked that it had a lot of flavor in it. There are only four pieces in the roll, but each piece is cut really thick. And last, I also the salmon nigiri.
Just minus one star for the rice, because it wasn't soft and fluffy! It was kind of stale. I would recommend that you ask for lemon wedges with your sashimi. My friend and I tried that, and it was really good. Overall, great price and good food!
Okay, review # 1,999,999,999:
This place needs no review, even from Yelp. The place speaks for itself from locals and sushi-holics across CA and beyond.
The prices can't be beat, especially in terms of quality. Not the best sushi I've ever had, not the most well crafted, but always better than the last sushi joint I've visited.
As you can read for yourself or hear on street corners, Godzilla is sushi done right in a city where prices are typically never described as budget friendly.
This is by far one of my favorite places in San Francisco. They're open about 5 hours a day and always packed. "Why are they packed?" you might ask....and I swear you'll know as soon as you step in through the door. It gets 5 stars, hands down!
Their rolls are awesome and the spicy tuna is just how I like it....SPICY! The service is friendly and really quick. They always have a great selection of classic rock playing in the background. The huge mural of Godzilla painted on the wall makes you feel like you've been transported to the 80's with chopsticks. The Saki is well priced and we always leave satisfied.
2 people -
Sapporo
Seaweed salad
Tinkie Winkie roll
Dragon roll
Spicy California roll
Spicy Tuna roll
All under $40...amazing stuff!
Try it, you'll like it.
This is the perfect 'hole in the wall' cheap sushi joint. As long as you don't expect more than that, you wont be disappointed.
Believe me, I love to treat myself to 5 star sushi restaurants every now and then. But sometimes I want a really scrumptious spicy tuna roll, or anything with salmon, and it doesn't have to be gourmet, exotic, or a sizable chunk of change.
Godzilla was that place I have been looking for. For $25 each, my best friend and I shared 5 rolls, two large Ashai's, and tipped 35%.
The menu was pretty limited, but everything we tried was great and the fish was fresh. The Tinkey Winkey was my favorite aside from the spicy tuna roll which was done perfectly. Whatever sauce they use was like a creamy spicy amazing goodness.
I will be back for sure! ;-)
This restaurant should be listed as a $ not a $$
Cheap sushi in Pac Heights?!
That's right. We always order tons of food and still haven't managed to rack up a pricey bill.
I'm definitely not a sushi snob, nor am I big seafood fan--BUT I like Godzila and you should too. Especially, if you're on a tight budget.
Although, if you are in a rush on a Friday/Saturday night expect a wait, or come early to put your name in.
I met a few of my old coworkers here a few weeks ago for post-work dinner. We met around 6 pm, pretty early still, so we got seated promptly. It wasn't crowded at all. The waitress took our order and served our food at lightning speed. We all got sushi rolls. I ordered the Chirashi and the Tinky Winky roll. The Chirashi was a lot smaller of a portion than I was used to but also a lot cheaper. The rolls were decent and I was impressed that they were decently priced. I wasn't wowed by their food nor their ambiance but I wasn't turned off by anything either. Overall, just a decent place.
I went back here the other night because it was convenient to where I wanted to be geographically in the city, not because I had fond memories of this restaurant. I have to say, though, that I had a MUCH better experience here than I have in the past!
The food was reasonably priced for what it was, and while the quality was still nothing special, it didn't taste fishy or old the way it had the last time I'd come here. The rolls were generally on the smaller side with less rice on the outside, which I actually prefer, because I don't like to get stuffed on rice: I'm here for the fish! The salmon nigiri was cut a little thin for my taste - I prefer a thicker slab. The unagi nigiri was fine.
Two grouses about this visit? The music was on the loud side, which made talking with my friends harder than it had to be; Considering how small the restaurant is, it's unnecessary to have music that loud!
And we were informed that one table is supposed to sit 6 people...ummm, I don't know what planet the owners of this place are on, but those square tables fit four people comfortably. Sure, 6 people could crowd around one, but it would be an uncomfortable dining experience for all. Surely they must realize that this is a drawback to parties larger than four coming to their restaurant?
All in all, this experience with Godzila was better than in the past, so I felt the need to re-review and give more stars. It's still just an okay place, nothing special, but if you need an inexpensive sushi fix in a neighborhood that doesn't have as many Japanese options on a fixed budget, this is not a bad pick by any means!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/1/2007
This is another one of those great let-downs in SF: you know, the kind of place that's hyped up the… Read more »
This place is great for a number of reasons.
1) It is close. As in, I can strap on some shoes, saunter over 3 blocks in some sweats and not mind the crowd across the street at Tortilla Heights.
2) It is reasonable in price so I can get pleasantly full without breaking the bank.
3) They are quick and they do take out.
So for being a sort of fast food" sushi place, Godzila is great!
It is always packed which is a good sign, and every time I have had dinner with friends its been a fun place to head to.
So... They had an awesome idea! Godzila Sushi seriously sounded like it was amazing. And for months while I was working at the Starbucks down the street, I wanted to try it.
So I did. BUT...
Their spicy tuna was bland. Why? I don't know, since spicy tuna is supposed to be full of flavor, and it usually is, even at Xiao's, which isn't the best sushi place ever.
Two stars for the prices though. If you live in the neighborhood and you're on a budget, this place will satisfy you. And also, since I did only try the spicy tuna, I might still give this place another try to taste some of their other options. Who knows, maybe it was just the spicy tuna that had no taste?
The food is damn good. The service is a lil slack but then again we were towards the end of the shift and relaxed ourself. Once the order was in the the food got there quick. The prices are really reasonable($4-$10) but they do not have a crazy long list of options just the main ones and a few house specialties. I like that they are open on the later side. A great stop specially if you have to visit anyone at Kaiser or UCSF.
Left Bestbuy and was craving for sushi so we decided to stop by Godzilla since it was close by. The restaurant has about 5 4-seater tables and an entire row of seating along the bar. I've been to a lot of sushi places and this has got to be one of the brightest- the lights really shine brightly!
The menu was very simple and featured sushi that were pretty cheap in price; however the special rolls were priced pretty comparable to other places. We ordered the philly roll, rainbow roll, dragon roll, and tinky winky. The tinky winky and philly were pretty good, but the rainbow and dragon were very small compared to a lot of other places i've been to- paying $9+ per roll I would of expected the sushi to be a little bigger at least.
Service here was good- we got greeted by the waitress and the sushi chef once we entered and got served tea right away. Would I come back? My bf says probably not.
Great neighborhood sushi joint, cheap quick and the chefs are pretty cool. My signature is a the California salad, yellow tail and green onion roll and the godzilla roll.
Get the Godzilla, it's absolutely the best for their "special rolls."
There's definitely a steady crowd there, Tuesday/Friday night... both pretty packed but not an unbearable wait.
I'm an optimist, because i really think this place deserves 3.5 but unfortunately that's not an option. WHY am I against Godzilla? The fuckin new credit card policy of $20 or more. I was with a party of 4 and we wanted to divide the check... $18 per card and she wouldn't do it! Seriously??? And wouldn't budge... I felt like i was being tauted by my little niece, sorry Charlie.
cheap, good, fresh. what's not to love? well, arriving at the WRONG time on a friday night. that sucks. we came in right after a rush and waited for sooo long for a table for four. my recommendation? come with just a date and say you're willing to sit at the bar. you'll get seated much faster and your server will most likely not forget your miso soup.
in the end, it was still good. they are friendly and i appreciate their $4.50 rolls.
Well wonders never cease. Thanks to desperate sushi cravings and extreme laziness, I broke down last night and decided to give Godzila a try.
The staff. . . .was nice!
The sushi. . . .was not warm, tasted fine, and was ready in like half an hour!
I'm pretty sure I should buy a lottery ticket while my lucky streak lasts.
Do I think they've turned a new leaf and this regular service will continue? No sir, I do not, but I sure had a good time being pleasantly surprised!
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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3/20/2006
Oh don't bother. The service alone is enough to make you run for the door before you're forced to… Read more »
Last time I was here I drew Godzilla on my napkin and they told me it was excellent and promised to hang it up. Even if they don't, I appreciate their enthusiasm. I was happy ;)
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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5/26/2009
This is my fave neighborhood sushi place. The sushi chefs are great and the girls that run the floor… Read more »
I came here with a friend a while ago. I was pretty drunk so I don't remember how the food tasted. So I guess I really don't have an opinion for this review...
I just remember that they had some Squid Sashimi that made me nauseous for the rest of the night. I kept burping and tasting it. After a while my stomach started to hurt and it ruined my evening.
Moral of the Story: Don't eat squid. It's a game killer.
Reasons to go here:
1. You like to listen to Led Zeppelin or Pink Floyd to get the full effect of your Rock 'n Roll Roll
2. Places with new age music and modern furniture creeps you out. I mean, how serious can they be about their food when they spent all their startup capital on furniture and ambiance?
3. You like good, no frills sushi.
4. You finally scored a date with that cute hipster guy/girl and you want to show them that you are so not mainstream.
Reasons to not go here:
1. You are trying to impress a date who shops at Barney's
2. Highly recommend not going here if you sanitize your hands before and after you shake hands with strangers.
3. It's not the type of place to wake up early enough to snag the top fish at the markets at 4:00 am. Instead, they'll get there at 5 am so they don't get stuck with the worst, but the best has been long gone.
4. This is your first time eating Sushi - go to the place with the cheesy ambiance, then you'll appreciate Godzilla's charm.
Overall, good place. Not the best sushi, but the best in the neighborhood (which is kinda saying a lot considering how close Japantown is and all...)
Two friends of mine were getting married back in '05 and wanted for me to be involved in the wedding. Either the bride or the groom could've claimed me for their side. I didn't really have a preference and they rejected my suggestion of officiating the wedding. Apparently, they had tossed the idea around a bit, but finally realized that it'd be a problem.
"A problem?" I wondered.
"You mumble. People won't hear you."
Tonight, my girl and I went to Godzilla Sushi. She wanted me to pick a place. I wanted sushi. Her good friend loves the place. I wanted somewhere we could walk to. So here we were.
So how do these stories relate? Well, she had to ask me more than a dozen times to repeat myself. I swear it was because the music at Godzilla was so loud that my normal speaking voice was drowned out.
The food was OK. The service was OK. There was nothing special here at all. I'm not sure how anyone could love the place, but that's OK. Some people wake up everyday and look in the mirror and remark how much they love themselves. If I can be OK with that, I guess I can be OK with this.
(Note: I think people do this with mirrors. I'm not sure. I've never known anyone besides the sweater freak on SNL back in the early 90s. But that's mmm-OK."
We started with edamame which had no flavor. Followed this with a simple green salad with a sesame-miso dressing that turned the bowl of crunch lettuce into a soupy messy by the end.
We opted for rolls. Nothing to crazy: spicy California, spicy tuna, a spider roll, and a U-Nasu roll (BBQ eel, eggplant, cucumber).
I washed it down with a 7-Up until the waitress re-filled my glass with water. She noticed her mistake and got me a new can. And, that was really nice of her since I was essentially done with it already.
I wasn't expect much coming here. I don't expect I'll ever come back. It's just OK in a city that has much better sushi. We just have to find it!
Can Yelpers Help Me? Please! I need good fish.
The sushi is ok, but I guess thats what you get for the price.


