On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese, Food
Neighborhood: Inner SunsetMon-Thu. 12:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Fri. 12:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sat. 5:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
Sun. 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
"The ramen here is ridiculous! The bowls are huge, and everything was tasty! There was a lot of meat, and they even included not one, but two…" read more »
Loading...
Went there last night due to a recommendation of a friend and I was not disappointed.
When I dine in a Sushi restaurant I always do two things....
-Sit at the Sushi bar
-Never use the menu
I always speak directly to the Sushi chef and simply tell him, "I would like a plate that you would be proud to feed your grandfather on his birthday"! Most of the time I receive a strange look from the chef. Some times, and this was one of those times, the chef will ask if you're hungry. The chef last night did and I also told him to experiment. I like everything they have to offer so I was prepared for suprise. The other factor when ordering my way is I found the chefs will usually give you some different things the other diners receive. Ordering this way unchains the chef from the norm he has maintained and allows the chef to showcase some hidden dish he created in his mind.
My plate was prepared and I did have a few things I never had before. Raw fish liver. Yummy but the texture is somewhat strange to get use to. I also had real Wasabi for the first time. We've all had the green powered and colored horseradish the majority of places call Wasabi. Wait until you taste the real deal. You'll never go back.
I had no problem with the service, but then again you never do when you sit at the Sushi bar.
Overall, a good place. Slightly pricey I thought but then again, this is San Francisco.
Eat at Jimi's, you won't be sorry.
If I had written this review 2 months ago, I probably would have given Jimisan at least 3 or 4 stars, because the sushi really is tasty, and at least slightly less expensive than the other choices in the neighborhood.
Unfortunately, however, an experience a few weeks ago has left a bad taste in my mouth, and rendered me unsure of whether I will ever go back.
Here's what happened: I stopped by around 9 pm on a Friday night to order take-out, and the place was insanely busy. Still, the host took my order and told me that it would be ready in 15 minutes. Because that seemed overly optimistic, I came back in about 30. The sushi was not ready, so the owner took my number and said she'd call when it was done. Well, after an hour passed with no call, I figured I'd better go back and check on it.
STILL, after an HOUR AND 10 MINUTES, my order was not ready. And when I complained (tactfully) about the wait, the owner simply said, "But you ordered the Jupiter Roll."
WHAT?!?! I can totally understand that sometimes a restaurant will get too busy, and that sometimes, orders fall through the cracks. It's annoying, for sure, but l probably wouldn't spend the time to yelp about it.
What got me hot under the collar was the way I was treated -- as if I should have known better than to order a certain roll and as if I had no right, in my very hungry state, to be upset by the wait.
By the time I got my sushi, it was pushing 10:30 and I was ravenous. Thankfully, the Jupiter roll was delicious. Too bad I'll probably never go back.
Jimisan has possibly the friendliest service on the planet, good atmosphere, and alright fish. They do some pretty bizarre things with the food on their menu. We ordered a roll and it was so bad that we didn't eat 3/4 of it. I'm not sure what any of those flavors were doing together on a plate, but the result was just gross. All the nigiri was solid, but not amazing.
This place reminded me how much I like Koo. (ouch)
Went to dinner for a friend's birthday dinner. We had a pretty large group of 13 people. We had reservations for 7:30pm on a Friday night, but a lot of people were a little late. The waitresses and manager were nice about it and just kept asking if we wanted water or tea.
I shared a few rolls with some of my friends...the lion king, shagrila and dragon roll. They were all pretty good even if they weren't the most imaginative rolls. (Note: they did have some unique rolls....one that had a raspberry sauce and another that had mango in it.) Also, for those expecting the lion king roll to come out on foil like other restaurants this one was different. The salmon was seared and placed over the top and it was arranged like all other rolls.
The servers kept refilling our tea and water and even gave us teapots and a water pitcher for the table. They also held our birthday cake in the back and lent us a lighter for the candles. It didn't seem like they disapproved of our large and somewhat loud group.
Overall, it was a long dinner, but I think that is expected with such a large group of people. The service was good until the end when it took a little while to get the bill and then there were a couple mixups with the credit cards.
I think 3/3.5 for food but 4 for service so I'll give them 4 =)
The photos of their food on their website are beautiful. The food, however, was sadly disappointing.
I would not recommend this place for lunch considering that there are a handful of other sushi options nearby. However, if you did dine here, my suggestion would be to ask the waiter what is FRESH. Just because you order it all the time everywhere else, and because it's on the menu here, doesn't mean it's going to have a beautiful aroma, and taste delectable and clean like the crisp deep blue ocean. Although, with a quality sushi restaurant you needn't worry.
That being said, our waitress did suggest one dish which we ordered and enjoyed. The other two dishes tasted of six day old fish - stomachable, but certainly not enjoyable as sushi should be.
Don't order the firecracker roll.
I was in need of Sushi, this was the closest place I could find.....$13.95 a roll, kinda pricey but they loved it! I asked for extra wasabi and a 2 go menu and never received it, the server sold be to just go on line and this place was completely empty!
Pretty good, pretty good indeed. Came here with my sister, brother-in law and my nephew. We were in the mood for sushi and this was their favorite spot.
We ordered the:
*Soft Shell Crab: deep-fried, served w/soy vinaigrette & aloli sauce.
*Seafood Salad: mixed green, wakame, sashimi & ika sansai
*Blizzard Roll: shrimp tempura roll topped w/ spicy crab, raspberry sauce & tobiko
*Spicy Crunch Roll: spicy tuna tempura roll topped w/ wakame & tobiko
* Chicken Teriyaki & Rice
It was a great feast, we share 2 bottles of sake that were great. They have a great selection, but should have a menu - because I like to check out what I'm getting before I get it.
Overall good food and a nice atmosphere.
I found Jimisan by mistake . This is by far the # 1 sushi restaurant in San Francisco . I tried more than 20 sushi restaurant in the city but none of them can compete with this little family bistro. Service can be improved , It is not a fancy place you can find in the marina or in the embarcadero but the food makes the difference . I went with family , colleagues and clients and with many distrusfull sushi fan , then result was always the same wow . More fish and less rice , I think this makes also the different . Try Ocean trout , Hirame , and Blizzard roll . . Rudy
Received excellent friendly service at the sushi bar. Everything was fresh and tasty, especially the ocean trout.
What really stood out, though, was the fresh wasabi, grated to order right at the bar! The usual green pasty stuff is forever ruined for me.
I've known Jimisan since he was a sushi chef at Fuji's on West Portal. He began his own restaurant in the avenues in 2004 and I've loved it ever since. The rolls are great, sashimi is fresh and recently, the presentation has really rocked. Hello, ice boats... I always sit at the sushi bar, get a sashimi platter, a large beer and one or two of their specials. They never disappoint.
In my new quest to make my "Rating Distrubution" chart resemble a hand flipping you off I will be continuously dining at 3 star establishments.
Davids Bottom Line- Thank you Jimisan for making my middle finger a little longer. P.S. Your Uni was definitely not as "delicious" as you told us it was. Blech.
The sushi is decent , so is the quality of the fish. However, the service just didn't do it for me.
I mean, i really liked how the uni was a nice huge serving, and the negihama was like the size of a freaking futomaki but CMON!
waiter forgot my friend's red wine, so he cancelled it. then he also forgot the order of ankimo. when my friend asked to cancel it, the waiter didn't even know we had ordered it. *sigh*
I wish I could write it off but it seems that it's pretty frequent with the service here.
I found a gem of a sushi restaurant! I took a new friend of mines out for dinner! She was great company and is a really sweet girl! It was really convenient for us to come here today because she lives only a few blocks away. The decor was nice and simple! The waiter was really nice and was very knowledgeable. I actually think he was probably was the owner of the place.
We ordered a hamachi kama to start things off. It was perfectly seasoned and cooked! Then we ordered an order of the freshest uni that I have ever had in my life! We also ordered some ikura, hamachi toro, sake, sea scallop, and a few other nigiri. He also recommended us to try the sea trout sashimi. It was out of sight!
I had great company along with some of the freshest sushi I ever had. I highly recommend giving this place a try!
Jimisan still has good, but not the best fish. The kitchen food is better than the sushi because of consistency and flavor. And the service has continued to decline.
On a slow night, we went in a large group and had to order as we were seated even though a few people straggled in late. 3 orders were wrong (not sure if it was the waitress or sushi man), and often got the upsell-how about the special? Miso soup was ordered early and came out late. The bill was incorrect due to the misorders and took a long time to correct. We would have just paid the bill and deducted the difference from the tip but the tip was already added. Wrong order, thank you, wrong charge, thank you, slow service, thank you. Sound familiar?
The sushi bar tends to be better. However, there is a snarky assistant (Me:do you have any of that fresh wasabi? Snarko:we only serve that to our regular customers). A Korean speaking (but not appearing) companion said the hostess will rip into customers in Korean (he's such a drunk and doesn't tip, thank you, I saw her drunk in the afternoon...). Jimisan is a nice guy so I hate to see the rest of the staff ruin it for him.
Will.A, the Chirashi here is tops. But I'll go just about anywhere else now. Edit-1 to 3 stars, you won't be disappointed unless you appreciate how good it was before.
Jimisan Is very knowledgeable about food and drink. Excellent sake selection from top Junmai… Read more »
I know what sex tastes like.
I was skeptical, and really playing "hard to get" when a very trusted friend who's been dining on Sushi in the Bay Area for 25+ years took Caveman and I here for dinner.
Live uni, daddy-O - deep plum colored spines still undulating in sacrificial surrender, roe scooped out reverently and placed on a sliced round of cucumber for the most intimate communion with my tastebuds.
A quartet of sea salts: smoked, truffled, pink and regular flaked appeared off to the side, but I hardly noticed on account of the threads of saffron laid lovingly across the sensual and creamy cores of straight-from-the source uni.
I closed my eyes and let my tongue explore and caress the pristine, well-defined ruffles of the roe. It was firm... defiant, almost - floral. No rice, no nori; just... a cucumber springboard for the pleasure of this delicacy to ... POP ... into my yielding mouth.
Call ahead; make your request for the LIVE UNI. I can't even tell you what it cost, because I never looked at the menu, and I don't have the first clue about what the tab was; but whatever it was, it was worth it.
Jimisan... do it again!
Ok.
Let's just get a few things straight, Japanese waitress whose English is a tad spotty.
If I tell you that my tuna/scallop surprise smells like a word that rhymes with shmagina, that's not a compliment.
Nor is it an open invitation to tell me that scallops are supposed to taste fishy, because they are from the ocean and that the lady who ordered the same thing before me liked it.
I have absolutley no interest in anything you want to tell me, but only that you remove the other half of the dirty, stinky, rhymes with wussy, roll off my table.
Brown scallops and slightly discolored ahi do not belong in anything, especially in a sushi restaurant.
We asked the waitress to taste it and she politely declined but charged us for the roll we sent back anyway.
I couldn't gather the strength to argue with someone who didn't speak English that well.
I doubt I'll be back, but if I am I will stick to things with less likelihood of smelling like unwashed genitalia.
You know what I mean.
A dirty vagina ruins everything.
I love Japanese, and i heart sashimi.
For most of the food i order, i give them a 5/5.
yes, thats right, why i gave 1/5 above?? because of the service.
Base on the food, i will return, based on the service, i have to re-think.
I. Food part, for dinner, we had:
Monkfish liver,
Hamachi kama,
black cod,
large sashimi combo,
Uni,
Toro,
rib eye ( i think it is just teriyaky beef) box with rock and roll
and caterpillar roll.
All of them are yummy and fresh.
Except for Toro, it was recommended by the waitress, it is still somewhat fresh, but $13 an order, that toro didn't wow me at all. I have at better one elsewhere.
II. service:
As i said earlier, i would give a 5/5 if i am just rating on the food. Now lets talk about service.
Serving time is SLOW. But for the quality of food i am getting, i won't complain.
Here is the little incident for me, and you tell me if you are the boss, would you resolve it otherwise?
before we ordered the monkfish tonight, i had a question about the menu, it was listed 3.99/7.99. I asked the lady boss what is the difference, she told me one is sushi, and the other is for sashimi style. and she recommend the sashimi style. We order the sashimi 7.99 style. When the bill came, she charged me $10. When i confronted her about the $2 difference. She told me their menu wasn't updated, then she said it is a special. Ok, here is the thing, just above monkfish on the menu, they cross out the old price for another dish and handwritten in the new increased price. But how come they don't do for the same for this one to update? And under the special menu section, i didn't see monk-fish listed. Beside, i specifically pointed to the menu and asked about this dish before i order, she never mentioned a thing about the price difference. If i am the boss, i would honor the menu price, come-on for $2, i won over a return customer, why not?? Besides, $2 compare to $150 we paid that night, it is really nothing. But her way of resolving this, didn't make me appreciate at all..
The sashimi was fresh, but super overpriced. $15 for 3 pieces of hamachi? The rice was hard too, you can't have a Japanese restaurant and make rice poorly. The service was poor, but it was b/c there was one server for the entire restaurant, and at least 10 tables were occupied, so I kinda felt bad for the guy. I'm not going back, I'd rather go to Sushi Kazu around the corner, better prices, fresher fish, and awesome rice.
So let me describe this place to you guys...
overly nice waitress
really slow sushi chef...
too much sauce on any roll known to man kind...
my pop tastes like fishy ice pop.. gross
and when I order sushi, I order everything from sushi, nigiri, and specials.. just because they usually are on top of it.. ( I went on a wednesday night too.. that's suppose to be fresh fish day.. and the fish tastes frozen )
I would never, ever recommend this place to any of my friends that want good sushi in san francisco.. seriously!!!!! there is no need to come here to spend the same amount of money on a place where you can spend and get good quality sushi!!!
I AM OVER THIS PLACE LIKE GIRLS WITH MUFFIN TOPS!!!
noted : if you have no taste in sushi, and like safeway sushi.. go here...
I almost never give any place 1 star (in fact, maybe I never have...? I should check), but we had the worst experience today.
We arrived at 12:30pm lunchtime and only 2 other tables were occupied. The whole time we were there, no one else came in, so 3 tables total. The last thing we were expecting was to wait THIRTY FREAKING MINUTES for our lunch. Here's everything that went wrong:
1. Our waitress was pleasant enough -- at first. Big smile, hearty welcome....but as soon as we were seated, the jig was up. We had to flag her down for simple things like water, and then it took another 10 minutes for it to come. Even though there were only 2 other tables of patrons. We asked for a straw, and she couldn't hide the look of annoyance on her face when she literally hissed, "Just a minute!" as she hurried past us. Because she was so, you know, BUSY with the TWO other tables of patrons. Same thing goes for asking for water re-fills...with just 3 tables to focus on, we still had to flag her down to get water re-fills. The whole time we were there, she was WAY more interested in hanging out by the sushi bar and chatting with the sushi chef and some friend of theirs who was there.
2. Then, me and 2 others in my party ordered lunch dishes that came with miso soup. She only brought two out instead of 3. I politely waited for mine to come out....but it never did. 20 minutes into our increasingly loooong wait, I finally flagged her down (for what seemed like the 5th time) and said, "Aren't I supposed to get miso soup?" She was apologetic and brought it right out. Except....I think I got the stuff at the bottom of the pot because it was SALTY as all get-out!!! I mean, I literally felt my lips pruning up and drying out. Couldn't choke down anything past that first sodium-ridden bite.
3. The food FINALLY came after 30, yes, THIRTY minutes. Keep in mind this was a restaurant of THREE occupied tables. It was pretty darn close to being empty. I noticed that the diners at the other 2 tables were waiting a super-long time, too.
4. I ordered the tekka (tuna) rice bowl. There was a lot of tuna in the bowl, but THE TUNA WAS BROWN. 'Nuff said. Also, the plain white rice was way too vinegary and sour. Japanese-style rice when served with raw fish is usually plain...once in awhile they might sprinkle a bit of vinegar into the rice, but what I had today was just nasty sour!
5. My friend ordered the spicy chicken rice bowl. She said it was dry, hard, with no flavor except for the red spicy sauce that tasted like it came from a bottle.
I'm surprised that we had such a bad experience because all the reviews here are so positive. I guess this was one of the few times where the Yelp rep of a restaurant was not in line with my own experience. We won't be going back.
3.5 stars. It was decent sushi but nothing to be remembered for. I always walk pass this place but I never thought I would eat here. The exterior of the restaurant looks fancy dancy - the same goes for the anterior. (I tend to go for the more low key, homey restaurants.) Luckily, my friend was throwing a surprise birthday dinner here for our friend so I got kind of excited to try this place out.
I wasn't all that hungry since I had something to eat prior to eating here so I just ordered a rock-n-roll sushi roll. It tasted the same just like any other rock-n-roll roll I've ordered else where... perhaps a little fresher, that's all. A lot of my friends opt for the bento box which comes with the usual side salad, a bowl of miso soup, a mound of rice, and their choice of one or two entrees. I got to try a piece of my friend's chicken teriyaki and california roll. Like I said, it's the same. Nothing new to expect.
Don't get me wrong though, the food was good. It just didn't blow my mind away. Plus, the staff here are friendly people. I felt bad cause some of my friends were being loud and obnoxious... but they didn't seem to mind. Maybe because we left a big tip or whatever. Oh well. This is on my Maybe Come Back list.
This place is really good. Not too expensive either. a lil gem in the sunset for sushi. I love the jupiter roll and the neptune roll. love the neptune because that thing explodes in your mouth...with good stuff =)
Amazingly gooood neighborhood sushi spot! Loved it! After searching Yelp for a great sushi place, Jimisan stood out more then others. All the good reviews and all the yummy looking photos just made me drool while still keeping my options open to others but this one just never left my mind!!!
My bf and I came here Saturday night and to my surprise, it was not packed at all. Parking was fairly easy, two blocks away without circling around looking for it. The waitresses were super friendly and the chefs were actually Japanese!
Their menu had so many different rolls.. The usually sushi rolls and the special innovative rolls. They also had donburi, udon, bento, rice/meat entrees, etc.
My bf actually took his napkin and wrote down everything he wanted.. That's how much we order.. too much to even remember! For the two of us, I thought we ordered way more then 4 people could even finish but we managed to finish everything! We're such pigs!!
We ordered the
Caterpillar ($9.99)-eel & cucumber roll topped w/ avocado
Lion King ($10.99)-Cal roll topped w/ seared salmon, spicy QP & tobiko
Neptune ($6.99)-spicy scallop wrapped w/ salmon (We ordered 2 orders!)
Rainbow ($11.99)-California roll topped w/ a colorful assortment of fish
Unagi Nigiri ($4.39)-Unagi over rice
Jupiter- I don't remember what was exactly in there, but it was on the first page of the specials. It was one of the yummiest and prettiest rolls I've ever tried. (Look at the pic)
Out of all the rolls, my fav has got to be the Jupiter. But all of the ingredients used were so fresh. Fish was definitely not the frozen kind, you can just taste the freshness. The Neptune came only in two so we ordered 2 orders of that. Very unique and I've never seen the way it was presented before.. It's like a canon ball! The unagi nigiri wasn't like others, too much rice and a small piece of unagi. It was different here, the rice was probably an inch length wise and the unagi was maybe 4 inches long! They do not skimp here!
Service was friendly and our tea cups were NEVER empty.. They always made sure everything was fine and always had a smile... Definitely gonna be my usually sushi spot to go to!
Interesting.. someone gives a review of this place at one store for online service, while saying they enjoy the sushi. Others are complaining about not having gotten a free roll.
I never really trusted yelp reviews. But now I am starting to not trust the rating system at all. I used to believe a star rating with lots of reviews would make a solid guess as to the quality of the space. I used to think the majority of the reviews would be conservative or fair.
I simply don't know anymore.
Anyhoo... I like Ebisu for my day to day sushi. This place is a little more expensive, and I think one of the best sushi joints in the entire bay area.
The shaking beef? I would silently attack people for.
Everything is "top shelf" ingredients, and their technology in store is wonderful. It really facilitates fast crazy ordering and changing after the fact.
I just love it. 2 blocks from my house? Even better.
I always want to give sushi restaurants 5 stars- we all do, right?
2.5 stars for Jimisan...
The +'s..
+I wrote a note asking for extra ginger and wasabi, and got it :) Thank you!
+The rolls were pretty good, as was the nigiri, (but not totally fantastic).
The cons:
You're supposed to get a free roll w/a $30 purchase, and this was noted on the online order, but this was not in our take-out containers.
-Online ordering- I placed an order was able to put in the time of pick-up, 6:45pm, 1hour later, (not a busy dinner hour) however, that didn't work since the order was not ready when we arrived to pick it up @ 6:45pm.
The Neptune, spicy scallop wrapped w/ salmon, came w/ only 2 pieces!
-and the salmon was cooked although the menu did not say this. Cooked salmon and 2 pieces, WTF?
The Caliente, albacore, jalapeno, shiso & wasabi tobiko: this was okay, although I didn't taste the jalapeno at all.
Finally, Firecracker, spicy hamachi spring roll:
Mostly rice... also I do not see the word "tempura" here, yet the roll was deep fried, another "cooked" fish that I did not anticipate. Tasted okay.
Well, that was the first time I have had Jimisan, and probably the last.
It was average- not too special or very exciting.
Great fish! Great staff! Great find! Jimisan's is the best.
It was good sushi, I am giving it 3 stars because we ordered online at 7 for an 8 pick up and when we got there it was not even put in. The lady said "oh maybe you should have called". I said "Why would I if my submitted order said to be there promptly at 8 to pick up" We waited for 20 minutes for them to make it. It was good though, pricy, but good.
Sushi does not get better than this. Not only is the food consistently exquisite, the service is also *fantastic* and the prices are reasonable. The chef makes rolls that he created, so you can only get them here. My husband and I have been coming here for years, and it's really the hidden gem of the inner sunset. When out of town visitors stay with us, this is the restaurant we wow them with.
Some of my favorite dishes: eternity roll, ahi tuna wrap, paradise roll.
My boyfriend and I came here because of all the great Yelp reviews it has, and since Kabuto was closing at 9:30, we decided to come here. When we got there, it was EMPTY except for another couple, and nobody else came in while we were there. If this place is really that great, why the slow business? Dammit Yelpers, I was disappointed.
We tried three rolls: Jupiter, Surf & Turf, and the Crunch roll. The waiter gave us the wrong price for the Jupiter. He said 12, it showed up as 14 on the bill. It was pretty good, the best roll out of the three, and it was a special House roll. It wasn't AMAZING but it was the best one we had. It was all downhill from there.
We got the Surf & Turf next. We ordered it because it was BEEF in sushi. We've never had that before. It was a nice idea.. but the beef was cooked too tough.. and it was hard to chew. The special House sauce that topped it was a little bland.
The Crunch roll was the WORST! I just looked up the Jimisan menu, and I forgot that it even was supposed to be spicy! It's actually called the SPICY Crunch roll. The spicy tempura inside was bad bad bad.. the seasoning didn't taste good... the texture was bad. And lastly, it was TOO FRIED. It was fried to the point where it was just HARD, and tough to eat, and the rice was too packed and mushy. It reminded me of the really bad sushi they have at Lucky.
I feel bad because the waiter/owner kept asking us how we liked it, and we basically told him that it was amazing. :( He's nice! So the two stars are for him. As for the food.. I was very disappointed. I wish we had stuck with Kabuto.
My friend took my here and I was BLOWN AWAY! Simply the best sushi I've had in years and the best service too.
I'm allergic to certain kinds of fish (including tuna), making ordering sushi a difficult experience, but the chefs were incredibly helpful and whipped me up a great array of phenomenal sushi. Everyone was friendly and cheerful, making for a great experience and the food was fresh, tasty and creative. I cannot wait to go back!
This place is all about the food and never disappoints. The fish is fresh and there's always a good variety of things to try. Tell Jimmy what you're in the mood for and he'll suggest some good options for you. The eternity roll made my New Years Eve, and the hamachi nigiri just melts in my mouth. I always get the Jimmy roll for good measure since it's slightly crunchy and sweet and caps the night off nicely. We always sit at the bar since Jimmy and his fellow sushi chef always go to town with their knife skills.
If you love good food and aren't into those new club music, light show sushi bars this is the place for you. Meals are nice and leisurely (don't come when you're in a rush), the atmosphere is relaxed and the food is fantastic. After you come here, you might not want to go anywhere else.
I'll sum it up like this...on the day that I got yelled at by my boss and had to run around running countless errands, only to get on the wrong (busting at the seams crowded) MUNI train where I was left stranded in the middle of nowhere, my boyfriend only had to say one thing to cheer me up; "Jimisan's?"
I thought it was time to liven up my taste buds since Mr.Sriracha was NOT ticklin' my taste buds with its usual yummy hotness. No offense dear Sriracha sauce, my taste buds are kapootz due to this stupid cold.
We decided to get a few super flavorful and spicy rolls to share.
Spicy Crunch ($10.99)
Firecracker ($6.99)
Citrus Salmon ($11.99)
And a bunch of nigiri ($3-6) to balance out the flavors.
I mix a big gob of wasabi into my soy sauce and dip the roll into my mostly wasabi mixture.
I stick the roll into my mouth and chew. MMmmm...
Then like a bat out of Hell, POW!
My eyes widen because my nose is burning with that tingling sensation. The burning sensation that's in my nose feels like its traveling to my frontal lobe. I inhale deeply through my nose as I feel my eyes start to gloss over.
My friends look over at me. "Are you okay?"
Me: "SWEET JESUS, I CAN BREATHE!!"
*Wasabi rocks*
Instant momentary cure for the common cold. I say momentary because I'm reaching for a Kleenex as I type up this review.
Overall: The rolls are good, the service is a little slow, nice casual environment, and according to the wall, Yelper's love them.
We've been going to this place since it opened five years ago, and it is still our go-to sushi joint in the neighborhood based on two things: the quality of the fish and the affordability. The sushi is always fresh and never fatty. The prices have stayed far below Ebisu and Koo (what I would consider the higher end of the sushi saturated Ninth and Irving area). The slow service from time to time does have to grow on you. Once the head server Kim knows your name, you just can't get angry when she brings your appetizer out last, you just have to laugh. They offer regulars free beers every now and then. Jimi will do Saki shots with you on a special occasions. They are always thankful when you bring friends in. These are the things that come to mind when I think of a great neighborhood place.
Yum. Eternity Roll......yum!
This place gets creative with their rolls....they always have something new to try. Eternity Roll is out of this world if you like truffles....truffle oil, caviar, green clover and endless yummi-ness.
But while I think this place is great, my bf only gives it a mediocre review. But then, he says he likes sushi that tastes like fish, not all of the other stuff they put with it, so it makes sense he's not so impressed by the creative lengths the chefs here go through to bring you a taste you've never encountered at a sushi bar before.
I brought my lunch date
(my 1 year old) to Jimisan last week, and we loved it
She had the miso-glazed black cod and ate the whole thing.....
She also ate some of my Jimisan roll, which was delicious, (it had some sort of plum sauce on it.. )
I had the roll a spider hand roll, and a few peices of nigiri. all of which were fresh and with good sized pieces of fish.
I also love that they are open for lunch, as my usual sushi spot is not...
excellent service too.....
First the bad - the drinks are expensive. We ordered sake once and the price wasn't posted - and the small sake ended up being about $15.
With that lesson learned (equating to look at the posted price before ordering) ... time for the good and great. I'm a fan of Jimisan for several reasons ...
The quality is always very high, but the wait is generally minimal - esp. compared to Hotei and Ibisu down the street. The staff is always friendly and quick to fill your tea.
They let me swap out fake for real crab meat in the California Roll and its only about $1.50 difference. After I growing up in Colorado with tons of the fake - I'm not letting one minute of California fresh fishy access go to waste!
I think what it really comes down to for me is, instead of just having my neighborhood pub, I have my neighborhood sushi joint that hasn't disappointed yet.
A nice, quiet place for dinner on a weekday. Their sushi rolls taste really good. The owners are japanese, i believe. I love the lion king roll. It's officially a favorite! Green tea ice cream is also really good. All the plates have great presentation.
A part of me doesn't want to write a review for Jimisan because it is 5 stars and I have been noticing that the majority of places I review I end up giving 5 stars. While that may mean to most that I have somewhat undefined standards for a 5 star review or maybe that I am just a very generous individual, I prefer to think I have 5 star taste and only dine in restaurants and visit establishments that would rate at 5 stars. After all, I am a living legend around these parts.
Up until late 2003, when I went out for sushi, I would go for the rolls and stick to em. And I am talking california roll (weak ass shit), tuna roll, cucumber roll, bbq eel roll, you know the standard white boy eating sushi fare that is tasty (kind of) but not adventurous nor is it anywhere near the awesome type of dining experience you can have at sushi. The one item that I stuck to that I have found almost nobody I dine with orders is Tobiko with Quail egg. and that's a good thing because when I go out and for some ungodly reason the restaurant is out of quail eggs, a little piece of me dies.
But this isn't about me.
Jimi is the man. He is friendly, informative, and Todd is the fucking man too. I don't even know how to express my enjoyment. I heard about Jimisan from a random wine club dude and had to check it out. I have been back once a week since (aside from last weekend when I was sick and didn't want to bother because all I can taste is my dry ass mouth from mouth breathing all night. sick.) On top of the chefs knowing what's up, the service is incredible. Always a seat open at the bar or table (I now only sit at the bar) and our waitress is the kindest woman ever (with the best smile too!).
The first time I went, all I ordered was Nigiri because Todd told me too. God damn right. I do what I am told by the chef.
Everything was awesome. Sea trout is the most incredible salmonesque fish I have ever had and I can't get enough. Of course, they also had three different kinds of Toro, which I went to town over. I love the way it just melts in your mouth (although I don't think fish should have the same slogan as M&Ms, but whatevs).
Before asking for the bill I was informed that I had to try Jimi's Tamago. I am tempted to leave this part out of the review for fear I wont be able to get a piece when I go back. I mean, I have only seen two people order tamago at a sushi restaurant ever, so I am not too worried, but if word does get out about this, I think I might be in trouble.
I had a few of their dishes and a super bomb roll that had truffle oil on it (get outta town!) but I don't remember their names because I drank a large bottle of sake and too much Asahi.
We passed on dessert, however they hooked it up with a super fresh sliced apple with a dabble of caramel on the side. Presentation gets a 10 and so does the boner I got for how fresh and delicious the apple was. damn...
Jimisan. Jimmy-san! Why is it that I can't say the name of this place with a straight face?
Their menu is extensive to say the least, from staple sushi platters to simpler items like donburi and noodle dishes. Their online ordering system seems really easy to use but haven't tried yet. Serving sizes are more than ample, and best of all, the food is overall pretty good! Quality in addition to quantity, I could get used to this.
Was rather pleased with my bento box--king salmon & spicy tuna. The salmon was just a tad overcooked, but the spicy tuna couldn't have been better! My friend devoured his teriyaki beef and the spicy hamachi roll, which incidentally is fried and well worth clogging your arteries with. The Oyakodon seemed better than average too, such a simple dish but hard to get right.
And the not-so-good? The surroundings have an affected authenticity to it---some of the wait staff answer to you with a brief "hai". The food could've been a little more reasonably price, and I never got a refill for my tea.
Creativity & presentation points for the caterpillar roll with antennae and the banana-topped sushi! Hey, I didn't order it but I did indulge by trying two pieces of the dessert(?) roll. If you're not a fan culinary treasures like Hawaiian pizza, you're advised to stay away from this one.
Don't stay away from Jimisan, though. Or, stay away if you want---less time I'll have to wait for a table.
Although Jimisan is quite expensive, their food is delicious! Their raw fish tastes very fresh. The waitress.. i believe she is Jimisan's wife is very nice and efficient. Always smiling and kind.
Recommended items:
Seafood Salad
Chirashi
Soft Shelled Crab
20% off (excludes grocery…
Neighborhood: Lakeside
10% off of 6 bottles of Wine
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Sushi Bars
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
The Inner Sunset is like the city in microcosm.…
These are the top sushi joints I have reviewed in…
A connoisseur of all foods Asian, I am moving to…
From the Bay Area to the North Bay to the East Bay…
Lived here from '98-2005, and now back again in…
Eateries worth a visit in and around the Inner…
