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Kazu Sushi
Categories: Restaurants Japanese Restaurants Sushi Bars Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
841 Irving St(between 10th Ave & 9th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94122
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
(415) 681-5539
- Hours:
Mon-Sat 5 pm - 10 pm
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Paul C. said: "Big fan. Maybe this place is a touch too expensive, and Chris W is right that their service can be hit or miss--but it's really solid. First there are their wraps. Love the veggie and salmon tandori wrap. Stay away from the regular…" read more »
231 reviews for Kazu Sushi
Review Highlights
"Other rolls like the King Kong roll, Yamakake."
(in 14 reviews)
"Haven't had super fresh fish in a while."
(in 16 reviews)
"We tried the Beef roll and the Double Double."
(in 11 reviews)
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231 reviews in English
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Review from Cherylynn N.
San Francisco, CA
1/31/2012 12 photos
OMAKASE? HAIIIIII! (YESSSSSS!)
Having gone to Kazu Sushi four years ago and not having much of a memorable experience (probably because I went with my scrub-a-dud ex), I didn't have high expectations the second time around. However, when my friend and I went this past Friday, I was AMAZED with their Omakase (similar to a chef's tasting menu).
First things first, Kazu Sushi is small (~28 people) so make a reservation and sit at the sushi bar. Also, parking is a biatchhhhhh so allow an extra 15 minutes for parking.
F O O D
Aside from both Traditional and Americanized Sushi, Kazu has Izakaya (Japanese Tapas) and Tataki (Seared/Grilled) items on the menu. There's no Bento Boxes on the menu.
*OMAKASE (8 piece - $27.50) - 4.5 STARS
The beauty of the Omakase at Kazu is that you can customize one to your own budget.
As we wanted to try other rolls and sushi on the menu, we opted for the 8-piece Omakase which was a bargain considering the specialty selection of fish we were given.
1. Hotate (Raw Scallops): http://www.yelp.com/bi...
2. Abura Ahi (Hawaiian Big Eye Tuna) http://www.yelp.com/bi...
3. Wild Sake (Wild Salmon): http://www.yelp.com/bi...
4. Tai (Red Snapper): http://www.yelp.com/bi...
5. Sake Toro (Salmon Belly): http://www.yelp.com/bi...
6. Maguro Toro (Tuna Belly): http://www.yelp.com/bi...
7. Hamachi (Yellow Tail): http://www.yelp.com/bi...
8. Unagi (Freshwater Eel): http://www.yelp.com/bi...
With each flip and turn, my eyes glistened with anticipation as I waited for Kazu-San (Chef/Owner) to present us with the beautifully molded nigiri. The shari (rice component) was nicely seasoned with just the right sticky consistency while the neta (fish) was artistically cut and laid on top. Like silk, each amazingly fresh neta melted on my tongue like a triple cream butter. Clean and unadulterated, the omakase nigiri was a SUSHGASMIC experience!
*ANKIMO - Monkfish Liver ($8.95) - 4 STARS
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Like foie gras of the sea, the ankimo was decadently rich with a kiss from the fresh ocean sea. The ponzu brightened up the ankimo with a subtle salty citrusy punch.
*UNI NIGIRI w/ Quail Egg ($7 + $1) - 4 STARS
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
My test for all sushi restaurants, Kazu passed with flying colors. The uni was divine with a custardy texture and an intense hit of fresh brine which followed with a buttery sweetness on my palate.
*DOUBLE DOUBLE SPICY SALMON ROLL: Spicy Salmon & Avocado Wrapped w/Fresh Salmon Topped w/ Mango & Spicy Sesame Chili Sauce ($13) - 4 STARS
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Not being a fan of most Americanized rolls (you know the ones suffocating in the gawd awful orange glop masking the borderline rancid fish), I thoroughly enjoyed this roll. The unique combination of ingredients worked surprisingly well with one another. The buttery salmon and ripen avocado paired along with the mango slices and the spicy sesame sauce was a fiery umami sensation in my mouth.
S E R V I C E
Keeping with the traditional Japanese hospitality fashion, Kazu-San and staff were very welcoming and pleasant.
Sitting at the corner of the sushi bar did compromise service a bit as we had to flag down our waitress for things such as green tea refills. We were also charged with a roll we never received but it was quickly resolved after bringing it to their attention. Had the service been a tad more attentive, Kazu would have easily earned an extra star.
A M B I A N C E / D E C O R
Simple, clean, and casual, Kazu Sushi is where you come for the food and food only. With seating for less than 30 people, opt for the sushi bar (seats 8 very tightly) for a front view of Kazu-San in action.
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
P A R K I N G
#$%^& #7@^*&%$*! It almost drove me to a bottle of sake so please allow yourself an additional 15 minutes to look for parking or remember to take your valium beforehand. No joke.
The highlight of the night? Being too consumed with stuffing my face, my friend brought up the fact that Kazu-San looked like a Japanese Richard Gere (Circa Pretty Women). Boy, DID he. *Drools* Hmmm, I wonder if he has a son...HOLLAAAA! ( ^_~ )
^^^Prime example of WHY I'm single.^^^Listed in: Give it to me RAW!
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Review from Andrew M.
1/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
My girlfriend and I decided to stop at Kazu one cold December night. We were immediately seated (just beat a rush of people) and a heating fan was directed toward our table. Their menu was a little on the short side in terms of rolls they do but they have a nice list of specials. The fish was really good and fresh and the service was great.
The down side of this place is the size, very small making you feel crammed in there. Also as a said before so more rolls would be awesome! -
Review from Owen M.
Pacifica, CA
* 3.5 Stars *
I've never started a review with PARKING before, but this time it's unavoidable.
15 minutes in, I'm like, "oh, brother."
5 minutes later, Mrs. M. says, "um, who picked this place anyway?" For those keeping score at home, that would be me. She was joking. I think.
10 minutes after that, my neck is kinked up from looking side-to-side for vacant curb space while swerving to avoid creaming oblivious pedestrians, and I mumble, "I can't take this sh*t anymore."
At the 35 minute mark, with Mrs. M. threatening to bolt from the vehicle at the next red light to eat without me (she muttered something about cruel & inhuman punishment), we score a tight spot by Pasquale's Pizza. I shoehorn the damn car - which is now a quarter of a tank lighter - into the spot and we sprint to Kazu, where thankfully an empty table is waiting.
Kazu's a Japanese-run place catering to lovers of both traditional & untraditional raw fish preparations. Be sure to check the white board (the servers carry it around - it's not posted), especially if you're in the former group and/or want some apps.
As for the food, none of the fish was "off" and some of it was really quite good, but there were ... issues.
Amaebi (with deep-fried heads) $7 http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Aji $7.95
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Saba $4.75 or $14.75, which would you rather pay? Read on.
Hotate $7.95
Mirugai $8.95
Kohada $8.95
Hamachi Toro $7.95
Salmon Belly $6
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
Dragon Roll $12 http://www.yelp.com/bi...
POSITIVES:
* Good, not too sweet, sushi RICE. If you're a fan of larger pats of rice, this'll be in your wheelhouse. Good-sized neta, too.
* The AMAEBI were obviously very fresh. I didn't eat the shrimp themselves, but Mrs. M. was feeling generous even after the parking fiasco & gave me a deep-fried HEAD. http://www.yelp.com/bi... All the unmentionable innards contained within that chitinous exoskeleton tasted impeccably fresh & shrimp-y to me. Yum!
* The HAMACHI toro was delicious. It was short just enough meltingly tender belly richness to be really memorable, but still. The SALMON belly proved to be a bit richer.
* The AJI was in sparkling good condition (but see an unfortunate negative, below).
NEGATIVES:
* My biggest issue was with the AJI. They had "the chews;" membranes normally removed in higher end places were left in for greater yield (or just missed). Note, though, that my wife loved hers.
* The KOHADA had started to dry out. I don't usually draw direct comparisons between two places like this, but you can see the difference by looking at the silvery skin on Kazu's kohada (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) and the more pristine version served recently at another popular Inner Sunset sushi haunt. (http://www.yelp.com/bi...).
* Same deal for the HOTATE. It was sweet, but not at its peak.
* The SABA was generous, but overly salted for my tastes.
* My wife wasn't feeling it with the DRAGON ROLL. She said it was "fine," but lackluster & a little skimpy.
PRICES: Good sushi costs money and so I usually just list prices and let folks determine for themselves whether the chow is worth the coin. Here, though, I have to note that the place down the street with the blindingly shiny kohada sells as good or better fish and is a better value.
SERVICE: After hearing about Kazu, I was worried that service would be slow and/or scattered. We didn't get the slow end, but I can see where people are coming from on that. If Kazu had been jammed, I think the meal would have dragged.
We did see the scattered part. The servers aren't unfriendly; nor are they inattentive. But they look very rushed. You can feel it baking off of them. They look like they're in the weeds. As a result (I think), we were charged $14.95 for an order of saba nigiri instead of the menu price of $4.95. I share responsibility for the mistake, of course, b/c I didn't catch it at the time. Mrs. M. snapped a pic of the check for review reference purposes and I noticed the problem when I started writing.
Looks like there was a partial pen down-stroke in front of the "4" on the handwritten check and that's where the extra ten bucks came from. With long nigiri orders, I scan the check to see that we got everything we're paying for, but I don't usually check prices. Oh well. $10 down the tubes.
I'm a little torn about Kazu. Parking aside, on a quiet evening, I can envision getting a 4* meal at the counter where I can see the goods and show the chefs I'm serious, but I can't go that high after this visit.Listed in: Did U Say Japanese Food?!
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Review from dilly m.
San Francisco, CA
1/14/2012
Great little spot with a huge selection of food, all decently priced and delicious to boot.
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Review from Bo Y.
San Francisco, CA
1/26/2012 1 Check-in Here
Simple and nothing out of the ordinary, but this spot has really fresh ingredients as well as the fish. I cant stand going to the 101 other sushi spots in the city that serve low grade fish. Would recommend this for the not so crowded sushi spots on weekdays of course!
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Review from Satie F.
Madison, WI
12/28/2011
I love Japanese food, especially after I move this country more than that (I'm Japanese).
I went to many Japanese restaurant some is super expensive some is not, and truly say food quality is totally doesn't matter as price. This place is No.1 Japanese food quality restaurant which I saw in my US life (SF, NY, Madison WI). Owner Kazu he knows what is Japanese food and he doesn't compromise for quality, he is always fighting for quality.
I strongly recommend this place for who truly know about Japanese food, especially Japanese. It's miracle to exist this extremely hight quality Japanese food with affordable price in US. -
Review from Betty and Mike C.
San Francisco, CA
9/26/2011
We were on our way to the inner sunset to get some pho and driving down Irving Street when we noticed the Kazu Sushi sign. Intrigued, we decided to forgo our original plans and try a new place (after all, sushi is our favorite go to meal!)
Hubs dropped me off as parking can be tricky around this neighborhood and lucky that he did because I nabbed one of the open tables. 5 minutes later, all the open tables were taken and there was a slight wait.
While waiting for hubs started reading some of the reviews which indicated service was slow (yes, this is true) so opted to order a spicy scallop roll and the king kong roll first.
Ambiance: no frills decor, in fact there's only one daily special board that the waitresses have to move around (it's kinda cute and funny seeing them carry the white board to each customer)
Authenticity: Chef and staff were Japanese!
Food:
I have never written a review on sushi rice before but wow was this some delicious rice! When a sushi chef trains, it's a 7 year process and the first year alone is spent on perfecting rice. I can say without a doubt the chef mastered this. Absolutely delicious, well worth the carbs!
Rolls: both the specialty rolls and the regular rolls were good. I really enjoyed the spicy scallop roll.
Sashimi: very fresh, good generous cuts
Vegetarian: saw lots of veggie sushi options for anyone who's vegetarian but loves sushi
The tempura also looked really good, will order that next time we are here.
Overall, enjoyed this authentic Japanese dining experience.
Arigato Kazu Sushi!Listed in: We love sushi!
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Review from Amy C.
10/19/2011
Great friendly service, great food, try it out!
I would get there early because it's only street parking and the place is rather small. I would try and sit by the bar, the chef (Kazu) makes a great person to have a conversation with. -
Review from Ken K.
9/2/2011 1 photo
Special fish board read like this:
fish
fish
fish
fish
shellfish
fish
fish
shellfish
fish
BEEF TONGUE
fish
fish
fish
Whoa...since when was BEEF TONGUE a fish?
Who carez, it's absolutely delicious! You can forget about otoro, seared Ko-Bay (or Ko-Bee depending on how you want to pronounce it) style beef, or foie gras nigiri sushi. Get it if it is on the white board.
It's grilled to order, has a little fat on it, and appears to be miso marinated. I love dis chit ta bits.
Other than that:
- this place is really really good. Already outperforms many places in the Peninsula. The only problem is the inconsistency of the shari (rice pad), some molded too hard or too soft, resulting in collapsing or breaking apart into at least two pieces when picked up by chopsticks, and perhaps rice a tad bit on the moist side.
- very high quality fish overall. Konoshiro (adult kohada) was out of this world, uni, shimesaba (splendid marination receipe, with great salt and vinegar balance), aji, hirame, suzuki, mirugai. The good stuff. Prices aren't too far off from Ino, but you do get what you pay for. Going crazy on the white board a la carte ordering will co$t you, which is why some of you prefer to do the "let the chef sock it to me baby" style ordering to sample, maybe fill up by getting a burger outside afterwards and save a few more buckeroo$.
- the jive ass rolls here look extremely erotic (but I didn't partake). So tempting that I felt like cheating on the nigiri I had, but would feel very guilty inside. -
Review from Steven B.
San Francisco, CA
10/16/2011 1 Check-in Here
Interestingly Kazu Sushi was opened during the Inner Sunset Street Festival and they were selling various street food. Sausage on a stick, Yakitori, Takoyaki, and drinks. Prices were alright and the takoyaki looked pretty good so I brought one. The takoyaki tastes fresh like it's freshly made.
I'll definitely head back here to try the other stuff. -
Review from Sofia R.
8/25/2011 9 photos
My friend and I went here for a small dinner today. We were both craving sushi and we heard this place was pretty good.
The place itself is pretty small but quaint. The decor is a mix between modern and traditional Japanese style. My friend and I sat by the window.
When our waitress gave us our menus, she asked us what we would like to drink. We just went for water. I thought it was strange that they didn't provide complementary tea like most places do, but I shrugged it off.
Looking through the menu, I saw a little notation on the bottom that said to check out their daily specials on their white board. I kept looking around for it and asked my friend if she saw it (she didn't). I guess I talk too loud because our waitress came back to put the white board next to us. The peculiar thing about the special menu was that....the prices were the same as what was in the menu. Hmm...
What I liked about their menu was that there was a lot of variety (and they have cute names for some of their items). They had items on their menu that I don't typically see in other sushi shops.
We ended up ordering one ikayaki (grilled squid), a yamakake roll, and a double double roll. The grilled squid was delicious, the double double roll was delicious, and the yamakake roll was okay. It was plain in taste but it was the prettiest in presentation. Each item was priced around $10.
What I liked about everything was that it was all very fresh tasting and well made. My friend wasn't as satisfied as I was, but I think it's because she didn't like her yamakake roll.
Our waitress was a bit slow and didn't check up on us that often even though we were one of the only groups (out of two) that were in the shop. She took forever getting our check to us too, but I guess it wasn't that big of a deal. We just had to get her attention.
I would go here again just because this has been the best sushi place that I've been to ever. -
Review from John H.
San Francisco, CA
12/4/2011
I remember eating here a while ago. I'm catching up right now with writing reviews and this place didn't stick out too much, but I probably should give it a second chance since everyone is giving it an average of 4 stars. I remember the service was ok and the food was just ok.
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Review from Huntting B.
Washington, DC
8/9/2011 1 Check-in Here
Hey...you know...maybe it doesn't have the most creative of menus...but the stuff it has is super tasty. The sashimi was VERY fresh and really tasty.
I must have walked by this place several hundred times and never thought to walk into it. I mean, the sign...it really isn't inviting. There's only one place that shyed me away more (It sounds like UC Sushi...makes me think they should have called that place "I see dead fish").
The staff here is really friendly and welcoming. Their specials menu can sometimes, it seems, be out of date and have things they might be out of, but that's OK it is a specials menu.
Yum Yum -
Review from J L.
Marin County, CA
Updated - 12/17/2011
One of the best sushi restaurants in town. We've been going there for years and it never fails to deliver.
I think a restaurant is infinitely better if it's run by a husband/wife team. I believe the owner is the sushi chef and wife takes care of the tables.
Service is adequate, have to be patient when they are busy. The food quality is excellent, fresh fish, sushi rice is done just right, I hate the cold and hard sushi rice or sometimes too much vinegar, but Kazu always makes the best rolls.
Cooked food is great too, tempura not too oily, potato croquette is one of our favorites. Most hot food comes with ample salad so no need to order salads separately.
Most of the time we were there, there were always Japanese people eating there, that's always a good sign right?1 Previous Review: Show all »
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11/20/2009
Sushi and sashimi are great, very fresh. Cooked foods are ok, nothing to write home about. Hand… Read more »
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Review from Kat M.
San Francisco, CA
9/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
We started off at another sushi place that was packed and reeked of, "you ain't get'n laid tonight smelling like that" cologne, so we ended up here. We had been here once before, but forgot how much we liked it. (Hey when you eat out a lot, you forget things like to go grocery shopping and which restaurants you've eaten at before.)
The service was very friendly, the fish was really fresh and the spicy tuna roll was super yummy too!
The place is on the smaller side, but that means less noise. We will be back here for sure. -
Review from Danny O.
San Francisco, CA
10/7/2011
Didn't have a very good experience at Kazu Sushi last night with 3 of my friends. We saw the good reviews and wanted to get some delicious sushi before hitting up the Nightlife at the Academy of Sciences.
My friend ordered a modified roll, with salmon instead of tuna. She ordered very clearly, mentioning she wanted the salmon instead of the tuna twice. The roll came with tuna.
Two of my friends were done eating for a good 10-15 minutes before me and my friend ever got our food, which for a busy place is potentially excusable, but there were only 4 or 5 other people in the restaurant at the time. By the time the food came, I was too hungry and frustrated to really enjoy my rainbow roll, but I think it was pretty good.
After finishing, we just wanted to leave. We got the bill, figured out how much each person owed, and wrote down our names and how much we owed for each of our respective credit cards. We told the waitress that we did this, and she verbally confirmed our request to split the bill this way.
She split it evenly between the four of us.
Three strikes and you're out. Sorry, Kazu. It took an hour and a half for us to get in and out of here on a non-crowded Thursday night. If you don't mind the wait, this place would be worth it - the food was good, but it left me with more frustration than it was worth. -
Review from donnie b.
Foster City, CA
9/28/2011
I chose a seat at the bar and immediately ordered: Asashi beer, tai, sanma(pacific mackerel ), saba, negihama, ankimo.
1: tai was from New Zealand ..not good.Good tai can be eaten w/ skin on but not at Katsu.
2: Saba was mushy , marinated in salt and vinegar . This piece was sitting for awhile maybe 3 days to turn mushy and frozen from norway not Japan. Fresh Saba should be a little firm and slight pink. ---neither good.
3:Sanma: this fish had good color but missing the oily taste.
4:Negihama was okay.
5:Ankimo was overly salted before steaming . Didn't like this one at all.
Katsuyochi was not so friendly that day .
His sushi rice preparation was good so 2 stars and fish quality 0 star . -
Review from Kelly N.
San Mateo, CA
11/7/2011
A restaurant with a 4-star on Yelp should be good enough to give it a try right? Maybe not. We went to Kazu Sushi in a group of 6 with empty stomachs on a Monday night. We left 2 hours later with our stomachs only half full and feeling very disappointed.
When we arrived at the restaurant, it was still empty (with only two tables occupied) so the waitress was able to arrange a large table for us quickly. As we sat down and started looking at the menu, I asked the waitress for recommendations since we had a relatively large group. However, it became clear that the waitress didn't know the menu very well. She said "I will try" but was clearly struggling to come up with something interesting for us. Eventually, we ordered hamachi toro nigiri, beef tongue nigiri, grilled miso cod, tempura, some fancy version of agedashi tofu with crab meat (I forget the name), pork belly and some rolls.
Hamachi and beef tongue came first. The hamachi was very fresh and tasty, but it was so thinly sliced and laid over such a large clump of rice, that the taste of the rice overpowered the fish. I wished we had ordered sashimi instead so that I could fully enjoy the fish.
My friends were expecting some raw beef tongue, but what we got instead was some slow-cooked beef tongue over rice. The beef tongue tasted okay, but it was a bit dry on the edges, which was mostly because it had been pre-cut and left to sit uncovered for some time.
The pork belly was a huge disappointment. Not only was there just ONE small piece, but also the meat was very dry. Yes, we were served some dry fatty pork belly!
The agedashi tofu sauce was too thick and had too much ginger, and this is despite the fact that I love ginger. I was also disappointed that they did not use silken tofu.
The cod was cooked just right, but too salty.
The tempura was awful! Instead of getting the usual fluffy and crispy tempura, what we had was the exact opposite. The shrimp was small and overcooked, and the batter was soft. I would have returned the dish if my friends hadn't eaten them so quickly.
The rolls were okay, nothing very special and were a little bland. Maybe they would have tasted a little better if they hadn't come at an interval of 20 minutes each.
The food was mediocre at best and the service was ridiculous slow! It's true that the restaurant is small, with 7 tables plus a sushi bar, but it's not so small that it only needs one waitress. The restaurant filled up quickly after we sat down. The waitress was so busy taking care of other tables that she paid little attention to us. Our tea and hot water were only refilled once for the whole night. After numerous attempts to ask her to refill our cups, I finally asked her to give us a pot of tea and hot water so we could serve ourselves. It took her 10 minutes to bring us half a pot of hot water. The tea never came.
While we were "patiently" waiting for our food to arrive, we overheard the couple next to us complaining about the freshness of their sashimi. They wanted to cancel their order, but the restaurant refused to do so. The couple ended up paying the full bill. After they left, I saw that their food (one sashimi platter and a couple rolls) was pretty much untouched.
Fed up with waiting 20 minutes between dishes, we left before we were full.
In a nutshell, Kazu Sushi is over-rated, over-priced, and under-staffed.
The best thing about the restaurant? The orchids displayed in the restroom. They were so stunningly beautiful that for a while I mistakenly thought they were fake. -
Review from Alexander H.
San Francisco, CA
8/1/2011 1 Check-in Here
Indeed, one of the finer Japanese establishment in SF.
The Uni was memorable. Enough said for a sushi purist. -
Review from Jessica t.
San Francisco, CA
4/10/2011
The vegetarian rolls here are fantastic.
They flavors are so pronounced and though their rolls are a little pricey, they're also substantial and made with obvious care.
If you're looking for a mellow intimate spot to take a friend or date with high quality sushi - Kazu is your spot.
The place is never too busy, and their staff are extremely sweet. They even give you a warmed hand towel before you start your meal.
I'm looking forward to returning, to try more of their sushi menu as well as their ramen.
Trust. -
Review from Katy A.
5/26/2011 1 Check-in Here
One of my go-to sushi locations for the following reasons...
** I really love riding my bike here - specifically. The Inner Sunset has some great shops, there are minimal hills to this location and I feel accomplished riding there...even tho it's not that far from my house in the Mid-Richmond.
** The sushi rolls are a good mix of modern and traditional. Pricing also reasonable.
** The flavor profiles mix spicy and sweet well. Love the mango in my sushi. Thanks for that, Kazu.
** Lastly, the small restaurant seats people comfortably at the bar, or at a table with minimal wait time. This makes it a great place for a date, since you're not swallowed up by a large crowd of people or a blanket of noise.
My favorite is still Sushi Bistro...but this is a close second having so many of it's own qualities that really make it a stand out restaurant. -
Review from thomas c.
10/13/2011
Yelped it and went here with the dad. Fresh nigiri. Slow service (one waiter for the entire restaurant). This place doesn't have udon and stuff. Ordered a few rolls - they were all four piece rolls.
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Review from Jessica W.
San Francisco, CA
5/26/2011
Came here on Monday night around 7:45 pm. I wanted to try other places in the area, but most Japanese restuarants are closed on Monday. We ordered nigiri, a couple different rolls, and tempura. The food itself was not that bad. The main problem was the pace at which the food arrived.
There was one waitress for the whole restaurant, which was full -- that's 1 person serving 26 people. Took us 15 min. to order. Another 15 min. for our first round of sushi to come out. 20 more min. for more food to come out... Also, I didn't realize that the specialty rolls would only be 5-6 pieces, cause I feel like most of the time, more complex rolls have 9 pieces. You might want to order more sushi than you think you can eat, cause the pieces are quite small.
Around 9 pm, the tempura still not arrived, so we asked our waitress to cancel our order (which was fine with her cause they still had not started making it). Then we went to San Tung down the street, where our orders were taken promptly and we were served our food within 5-8 min.
I guess this place is not bad if you're in the mood for talking and a slow dinner, but I was in the mood to EAT. -
Review from Momo C.
San Jose, CA
4/6/2011
Came to Kazu Sushi with my dad, who is a sushi chef, and said that we should go eat here together.
This restaurant has a great selection of fish, so if you're into nigiri or sashimi, you're in for a treat. I didn't eat any of the rolls, mostly because I'm more of the traditional sushi eater, but they looked very appetizing. I tried the kuronama Asahi beer and it was really good. Goes well with sushi. The oyster was so fresh and I really enjoyed the ponzu and garnish.
At the end, we had squid ink ramen. Whoa, that was surprisingly delicious! Ramen usually uses pork broth, but since this was fish/squid ink based, it was so crisp. Loved it!
I'd give it a 4.5 stars because there were many times that we wanted service, but it was difficult to get the waitress' attention. Cannot blame her though, she was working by herself and had to divide her attention between all the other customers.
Overall, really nice restaurant. Might be a little small, but the food is superb. -
Review from sonya d.
7/27/2011
My one true (food) love in life is sushi. I could honestly eat sushi everyday and continue to love every bite. Now eating sushi AND drinking sake w/ an ice cold Japanese beer in a chilled glass? Even better. On top of that, getting to clean my hands with a hot towel before consuming my meal? Could it get any better? Maybe. But on a chilly Monday, no.
Every time I've walked past Kazu, I noticed from the corner of my eye that it was packed. I automatically figured it must be good. Well, I was right. But once going inside it's not surprising why it's always packed. The place itself only has about 5+ tables and sushi bar seating. But that's part of it's charm- I've always been a fan of super small sushi bars, because there's something intimate about consuming my favorite food with a limited amount of people with prompt friendly service!
I didn't order sashimi this time, but I got the King Kong roll, which was delish. As well as my go to appetizer- a seaweed salad. In some ways Kazu is pricier than other sushi places in the area, but the food is tasty and fresh, and I like the ambience. So no complaining here! Being that it's right up the street makes me think that it should turn into a Monday tradition. -
Review from ambika s.
San Francisco, CA
12/15/2010
I'm a vegetarian, so bear that in mind when reading this review...
Anyway, as a vegetarian, sushi is always hit or miss. Most of the time I get stuck eating a little cucumber, avocado, ume, and rice. Some tempura too, if I'm lucky. Not so at Kazu! They have a whole vegetarian menu, and it's the most complex vegetarian sushi menu I've ever experienced. I got the spicy veggie tempura roll (I like everything spicy, and this delivered pretty well) and the veggie dragon roll. The dragon roll had eggplant instead of the typical eel and was omg sooooo good. Why can't more veggie rolls incorporate eggplant, I must now know. It was garnished with cilantro too, which I love. The spicy veggie tempura roll had dollops of a spicy mayo sauce which, even despite my volatile hate for mayo, I still liked a lot. But I'm a sucker for spice, what can I say.
So I think Kazu might be my favorite place for veggie sushi at the moment. I can't wait to try more off the vegetarian menu. Why four stars? Like a previous review said, the service is a little slow and the place is kinda cold. Luckily I brought a sweater thanks to that informative review, but my poor boyfriend did not. They seemed to know this, they had a couple space heaters running.
There are a ton of sushi joints in the neighborhood, but be sure to give Kazu a shot! -
Review from Pascal P.
San Francisco, CA
9/15/2011
I know 3 stars is a little hard for this place but let me explain.
The food is a 4.5 stars, the rolls are good, the fish is fresh, it's a good sushi place as they know what they are doing behind the counters.
The thing that needs to change there are the waitresses... have you seen chicken without heads running? This is what it looks like.... there is no organization at all, they run in every direction, don't talk to each other and make opposite decisions (therefore can annoy customers...).
If you call to make a reservation, make sure they take your name, or they will make you wait (even if you call to see if they have space... I saw it for a couple, and they were not happy)
So, someone needs to go there, train them a little, organize something.
Waitresses, sorry about that, but I give you a big fat 1 star.
Other than that, the place is nice, wait seems long (I always order for pick up and I still end up waiting an extra 20 mins....) and I think I will keep ordering to go so I don't have to deal with these waitresses. -
Review from DAVID N.
Brisbane, CA
Updated - 11/9/2010 1 Check-in Here
Omakase, please!
The quality of the nigiri improved drastically since our first visit many moon ago.
First rate neta, NICE! No hot Shari, VERY NICE!!!! Also, bonus point for the toasted Nori.
Love the super dry Asahi!
Service was a bit slow between the nigiri but given that it was Saturday night with a full house that is to be expected. Room for improvement, here!
Out of special Ramen. =(...Maybe next time.
=)1 Previous Review: Show all »
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9/27/2009
We came in on a late Saturday night and tried most of the available nigiri on the special board.… Read more »
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Review from Sean T.
Buffalo, NY
8/15/2011
-The Place was full of flies
-It took an hour to receive the first of 4 rolls
-Our first roll was obviously not prepared properly (it was a giant piece of white mush)
-We never received the rest of our sushi (we ordered 4 rolls)
-We demanded a check after waiting 1.5 hours and were charged for everything (even though we never received it)
-We got one quick "sorry" and that was it
Totally ruined our night out. Easily the worst sushi experience I've had. -
Review from Siao W.
San Francisco, CA
1/15/2011
The good thing about this place is the freshness of the fish. The tuna, salmon, himachi, were all flavorful and had great texture. Absolutely no stringiness whatsoever. The rolls were all standard (spider, rock n roll, dragon, etc.) and made good use of the fresh product. The quality of fish is extremely important in a sushi restaurant, but thats where Kazu stops being amazing.
I like eating my sashimi with sushi rice, but they refused to give me a bowl of sushi rice. The sushi chefs looked bored and were completely silent. The service was pretty much non existent. The prices should be represented by 3-4 dollar signs and not two. You probably won't be full unless you spend at least 30 per person. A sashimi combo meal is 25 dollars.
On the plus side, they did give me a frosty glass for my sapporo. Too bad its not enough to make me come back every week. -
Review from Ren L.
2/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
We were looking for a Japanese restaurant around the district and found this place from the reviews, so we checked it out.
The sushi rolls were okay, I did enjoy the Ultimate Crispy Spicy Tuna roll, although there wasn't anything "Ultimate" about it except for the bits of Tempura batter all over the roll.
Other than that, everything else was just fine. Nothing really stood out, but it wasn't bad either. -
Review from Josh K.
2/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place is pretty good and it was a big surprise because we picked this place on a whim not expecting anything. In fact the front page picture for this place is a Jive Ass Roll so I wasn't expecting much. Turns out the itamae does not make many of them - he leaves them to his apprentice (his son, maybe? He looked half-Japanese.) The itamae makes all the real stuff.
First thing I noticed was the price. If you are looking to get a la carte nigiri, be prepared to rack up a large bill. Price for 2 nigiri bottoms out at like $4.50 for tamago and only goes up from there. I decided to try shinko which was on the main menu at $7.xx but apparently the price of the day was almost $10! Of course, they told me about it, so that was fine.
Sushi rice was great. Fish were very fresh and nigiris were packed just right, maybe even erring a little on the dense side, but definitely very good. My only complaint about the nigiri was that the itamae was a little heavy-handed on the wasabi that is integrated into each piece. In some cases I wasn't able to really taste the fish for all the horseradish invading my senses. I'll give it another try, it may just have been an off day.
Also, their service varies, they have only 1 dedicated waitress (or at least that was the case when I went there.) She was very overtaxed and we had to wait a while to get tea, get the bill, etc. I would suggest coming on a quiet weekday night to get the most out of the service and the itamae.
That said, currently Okina Sushi is still at the top in my opinion. Just a better, more intimate experience overall. Read my review... -
Review from Nelson S.
San Francisco, CA
3/10/2011
It may not be on the menu, but order the Spicy Salmon Tempura Roll. It will blow your freakin mind!
I wish the portions were bigger, but I cant complain because it was so damn good.
Oh and the Tamago Nigiri=amazing -
Review from goolie g.
San Francisco, CA
11/11/2010 1 Check-in Here
Best first: the Uni was oh-my-god amazing. It was literally glittering on my plate when they brought it out, a real trophy showcase example of the delicacy, and it tasted as good as it looked. Quite possibly the best Uni I've ever had, and I'm a huge Uni slut at this point and quite jaded on them bitches so they gotta be REAL classy to impress me. Impressed. So they got +2 stars right there.
Worst next: the sushi rice. Look I know this is remedial stuff people (and you know i'm looking exasperated right now) but it's got to stick together . The rice this evening was sticking together about as good as the senate democrats. I'd pick up my nigiri out of the lil' soy sauce dish (what *do* they call that thing) and half the finger of rice would fall off. C'mon. Minus 1.5 stars, almost minus 2 but I'm a happy drunk.
More good stuff: Big carafe of hot saki, $6.50, can't beat that with a tatami mat. In fact I am still good and tipsy if you couldn't tell. Special fish selection was great too, I had a type of toro I hadn't had before which was really excellent, and an unusual silky-firm texture that I wasn't sure about at first but ended up quite liking.
Service was totally fine, I don't know what all the fuss is about. Everyone was friendly, one of the sushi chefs even asked me how the uni was (unheard of with surly sushi chefs, but I think he knew he had an exceptional specimen on his hands and saw my little mouth orgasm expression).
If they get their rice shit together, haha, an easy 5 star update. -
Review from Erika C.
8/16/2011
It is good but they do charge a pretty penny for medium deliciousness. I'd rather eat at Koo.
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Review from Janelle V.
San Francisco, CA
9/3/2011
Followed yelpers' advice and ordered the special rolls. Delicious. It seems short-staffed with so many tables and only one waitress, but it worked. The food came out in a reasonable amount of time. I would've liked a little more service- but it's fine.
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Review from Jennifer R.
San Francisco, CA
2/14/2011
Awesome Sushi, great prices, I can tell you this place has food on par with the Ebisu around the corner.
unagi & uni are great here, as is the Sake selection. -
Review from Michael B.
San Francisco, CA
8/25/2011 1 Check-in Here
Good servingness. Hamachi toro melts in my mouth not in my hands. Good pricingness too.
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Review from Saban I.
CA
8/16/2011
Sushi here is good. Really good! Staff is nice and it seems like a nice intimate place to go eat. Only thing that took a star off was the timing of the food. There seemed to be no flow to it. We either had 3 things in front of us all at once or nothing at all. Also the prices could be a tad lower.
If this doesn't bother you then you'll love this place. They were also kind enough to take us in when they were near closing which was very sweet of them since we were very hungry.
We will definitely be back, but we'll make sure not to be starving next time. -
Review from Suze W.
Menlo Park, CA
9/4/2011
The atmosphere is simple, clean, modern.
The sushi was really, really good and fresh. Very well made. I like how their sushi sampler doesn't come with a roll that makes you feel gross afterward because you just ate too much. Yes, it's my fault, but come on, it's hard not to eat.
The service was slow because there's only one server.
She was nice enough but so busy, she was constantly running around. You have to actively get her attention if you need something.
In fact there is only one sushi chef and probably only one cook in the back, so things are slow. But in my experience, decent sushi restaurants are always slow no matter how many chefs are there.
So if you are in hurry, this is not the place. But if you want a decent place for date or guests or even casual meal out that is low key and not tacky, this is the place.
