On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Hayes ValleyTue-Sat. 6:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sun. 6:00 p.m. - 11:00 p.m.
"I've been eating at this place for years and it's the best damn down home Japanese food around!! And the last time I checked, I went there…" read more »
Loading...
Sebo has a small but well chosen list of fish. I really appreciate that they take the time to make sure its sustainable. Which isn't easy to do if you look how often the list from the Monterey Bay Aquarium changes. They do an excellent job with having the omakase be a progression, it really becomes a narrative.
The only thing is to make sure everyone in your party wants sushi. Recently when we went they had run out of the kitchen entree for the night and only had fish heads available. Luckily my wife ended up really enjoying the omakase. Which is really saying something.
A different take on sushi, Sebo is strives to bring fresh fish in a different way. While the selection is really excellent, it's also priced that way. I definitely love good sashimi, but in terms of value, my simple palate can be satisfied for much less around the corner at Domo.
The large chef's selection of sashimi I ordered was certainly first quality. The texture and freshness were superb, however the price more than reflected this.
Our experience was also tarnished by our unresponsive waitress.
This place takes no reservation, & on a wed nite we had an hr n half wait for a party of 5. Not quite worth the anthony bourdain recc or the $95/person cost, for about 12 slices of individual sushi, a shared appetizer of 2 med/small pan-fried fresh fish, & a bottle of sake......service was fine, it just didn't jump out to any of us, & i'm talking about the sushi... :[
(3.25 stars)
Nightmare!!!
Lovely decor, good reputation, but really unprofessional manager. Lined up at 6pm for a party of 5 but discovered that a table of 9 came in before opening and reserved a table despite their no reservation policy. So they told us they would call us in an hour, but an hour and a half later we when were told that we'd have to wait another hour because half of that 9 person party only just showed up. They didn't apologize and the manager declined to speak to us because he was busy. While we were waiting other patrons in line also turned around and left. This level of service = death. This place is over.
People thought this was:
Los Angeles prices but not Los Angeles fish quality. The sushi was fine (we did omakase, probably about 8 or 12 different pieces of nigiri each, an uni handroll, one sashimi, nothing was very inspired or surprising, sadly, total before tip $310 for 3 people, no drinks beside tea), it just wasn't any better than any of the other midrange sushi places around the Bay Area, and not remotely close to the high end in LA, yet it's priced like a high end restaurant. My search for LA quality sushi in the Bay Area continues...up next, Sushi Ran. I hate LA, why can't there be superlative sushi up here? Sigh.
Edit: Oh, we went on a Thursday night, around 8:30pm, and there were a bunch of open tables, and no wait.
People thought this was:
I headed with my friend Hiro who highly recommended the joint. I'm always willing to pay more for a sushi meal with unfrozen fish. I have to be blunt I'm a sashimi purist, I don't like using Soy and Wasabi when eating. Anyway...we went for the chef's selection, then doubled up on what we like the most, which was the hirame and the hamachi.
I like the clean flavours, freshness of the fish, ambiance, and the waiting staff were very personable.
The price is stiff, but I will pay for good sushi. The wait time...bah.
Like many others, saw this place on No Reservations.
Decided to try this place after work one day. We must have gone on a slow day. 7pm and only 3 other people in the place. From other reviews I should have expected a line out the door.
Sat at the bar. Sashimi and nigiri quality was outstanding. Since it was slow, we received great service and attention.
I've been to many places for Sushi in the Bay Area and this place is definitely the most expensive. Sure the food was great, yet not so great that it justifies the price.
Two white guys making sushi? Call me a traditionalist, but where I come from sushi chefs must be Japanese, or vaguely Asian-looking Mexicans. So warily I ordered omakase sashimi, wondering how these inked-up gaijin could truly be "one with the fish".
My concerns were assuaged by an excellent plate accompanied with real wasabi and a bottle of sake that lived up to it's luridly-silly menu blurb (plump, luscious and something).
People thought this was:
I have had a lot of sushi in my life and I do love sushi! Sebo's sushi was tasty. The ginger and wasabi were tasty too. The ambiance was also nice.
The down sides were:
The hostess was just bad. Bad, bad, bad.
There were instructions given as to how you "should" eat your sushi. What?! Yes, I understand that people sometimes "Americanize" their sushi by adding all kinds of stuff that cover up the true flavors of the fish, but if that is what they want to do, why is it any of your business?
We left hungry and a bit put off. I guess our expectations were a little too high. As I stated earlier, we aren't virgins to the sushi world, so we were hoping for a delicious sushi experience and that was far from what we received.
It was pricey. Great, you have good fish. I'll tell you a little secret...it's not THAT great. I don't mind shelling out a small fortune for sushi...but I should at least walk out feeling like it was worth every dang penny. Everything combined...I wish I'd have spent my money elsewhere.
Your establishment has great potential. Perhaps an ego check , a little fine tuning and you might be worth a visit. Until then, for all of you who love sushi...go someplace where you are going to leave happy and satisfied.
People thought this was:
It ain't locavore, but the fish here, individually-caught-superblessed-and-flung-via-eld erly-fishermen-hand-to-hand-until-it-makes-it's-wa y-from-Japan-to-SF, does explode with flavor and texture in the mouth. My visiting friend from NY saw the Anthony Bordain thing and asked if we could go, so we went. Our minds open. Our mouths open. Our wallets open. And I gotta say, worth the (considerable) duckets. Aromatic bits of ocean, shiso leaves, citrus, oils and salts complimented the fish. We had a bottle of some sort of blossom saki and it was smooth and smelled great. I appreciated the distance between tables because I have a loud filthy mouth and so do all my friends. Although this meal humbled our filthy mouths because it is the kind of meal where all you do is take a bite and roll your eyes back and make gutteral "mmmmm's" of pleasure.
The menu is seasonal, but for now, I recommend the Maguro, the Sea Bream, and the Unagi which I guarantee will be unlike any Unagi you've had... not covered in a brown glaze, tastes like it was recently a living thing not something candied, is warm, and, well, I had a bunch of mouth orgasms here and I mostly blame the Unagi. There was nothing we had that wasn't light and bright (I learned those descriptors from Top Chef) and expensive. Sometimes you get what you pay for and I would give you $100 right now to bring me 2 unagi, a piece of tai, some seaweed salad, and a big-eye tuna roll from Sebo.
People thought this was:
First I wanted to say this is my 2nd time visiting Sebo. At my 1st visit, I didn't eat there because there has no kitchen food and limited sushi options on the menu. However, I heard my friend said they have omakaze (chef choice) and serve something off the menu, so I would like to give a try.
I give 2 star is because the atmosphere looks very nice to me...especially the sushi case... I love it, but they might need to keep the eyes on the temperature because all the sushi I ordered was warm. It made the sushi taste bad. I don't understand why the health department would let it pass.
Menu...I would skip...nothing to talk about... =_="
Service!?!??!? It's not extraordinary. That's the very basic service they should have...but the chef was serving really really slow...because I'm not a maki (sushi roll) fan, and they don't have much maki order anyway, so I ordered omakaze for 2, but we sat for an hour and only got 8 pieces of sashimi and 5 orders of nigini (everything is on the menu... what a omakaze). Also I was trying to be nice and asking the chef whether he would want to try some sake that I brought (not selling @ market yet), he was being skeptic and looked at me and checked...checked...checked... wondering what kind of sake was it. Anyway, I could tell he's kinda new, not talented (nigini made upside down), and very unprofessional (customers were waiting and he turned around talking to a helper while the nigini was on the cutting board at least 2mins), that was the reason why I waited an hour.
Anyway I couldn't wait for an extra 15mins to order so I asked for the bill...Guess what?!?! It cost me more then $90. I am not that kind of person who really cares about the price, but $90 is outrageous. With this price, I expected better quality of the fishes (because I know the wholesale price). I am the kind that would spend morn then $160 for good food just by myself @ good restaurants. I didn't care to pay $90 but I really felt I got ripped off. Think about it!! Do u want to get ripped off by eating the regular sushi that which is available throughout the Bay Area and pay double more?!
People thought this was:
The fish was pretty fresh, but we have several issues:
- They do not take reservation and that is fine. We went there on a Tuesday night at around 8:10pm, no table for 2 was available. The hostess said the wait would be about 30 minutes and she wrote down my cell number and she'll call me as soon as a table for 2 opens up. We walked around the neighborhood for about 20 minutes and decided to check back at the restaurant. We saw a table for 2 in front is all set, but the hostess hasn't called us and she was nowhere to be found for several minutes. Right after we walked in, another couple walked in right after us. Who knows what would have happened if we didn't check back early.
- Slowest service in the world. We got a complimentary small dish of edamame soon after we sat down; our drinks came a few minutes later. Another 30 minutes later our waitress walked by and asked whether we got our salad yet. The answer was "NO", and she looked surprised. Around 9:25pm, we finally got our first plate of sushi. Now we understand why the edamame was complimentary; we could have starved to death. We finally finish dinner a little after 11:00pm. This a very small restaurant with two sushi chefs. Why so slow? This is not the definition of Slow Food.
- No wines at all; very small sake and beer list. They can serve nontraditional sushi with a twist, but they can't serve wine???
- Very limited choices of seafood.
- Very expensive. The two of us had nigiri (not sashimi), 3 small glasses of sake, and 1 green tea, and the total bill was over $200 excluding tip.
I would have given one more star if it wasn't so expensive. I can almost see the owners laughing all the way to the bank. We have sushi all around US and Asia and have had plenty of better sushi; some are less expensive and some are more. For the prices that they charge, you would expect much better service and more variety of fish. We won't go back again.
People thought this was:
Thumbs down Sebo!
Their menu was very sparse. Not only did they not have a lot of choices, but 3 things on their menu were crossed out. We ordered sashimi and I don't think the cuts could have been smaller. Plus, it was way over priced.
Good news: free edamame, reasonably quick seating, nice environment
Bad news: overpriced, bare menu items, tiny portions
Sebo, you have failed me.
People thought this was:
... ... ... well... ... ... lets just say Sunday isn't the day to go.
Maybe the sushi is better... I can only hope.
Limited Sake selection, limited everything!
Saw the chef action... good ingredients do not make up for the lack of excellence behind the counter.
I miss Japan...
:(
People thought this was:
I will never ever eat here again. Ever.
People thought this was:
Food tastes better when served by good people. So, premium fish served by top people = divine.
People thought this was:
Ever since seeing this place on No Reservations, it's been on my mind. A few weeks ago, we came by for dinner and wish we hadn't. We got great parking mojo and got to Sebo about 10 minutes before it opened. There were already 4 people before us. When it finally opened, I was happy with where we're in line since there are 6 seats at the sushi bar and we're #5 & #6. As the hostess got to us, she asked if a table would be ok. We told her we prefer the bar, but she said one of the two empty seats was taken. WTF? I thought this place didn't take reservations. Whatever, we took a table. Came to find out that they saved it for a friend. First strike in my book.
Anyway, I let it go and hope the food would redeem this place. I asked the server what the chef's selection sashimi was for tonight. I told her that I like to know so I don't order the same things when selecting sushi. She said that's up to the chef and would not go find out. So I just ordered the 9 piece sashimi without other items. Hubby got the tekka don. Food arrived and I could not believe the portion. The tekka don at $18 was outrageous. It's in a small miso soup bowl, half way filled with rice with 5 tiny pieces of tuna. Yeah, I think the tuna was fresh but come on! It's just maguro, not toro or otoro! My sashimi plate was not much better. I still have no idea what all the different fishes were as the server didn't bother to tell me. A few pieces of them were fishy. I really liked the sweetness of the raw baby shrimps but their antennae were not trim and it got really stringy after a few bites. If it was a $10 sashimi plate, it would have been passable. That was so not worth $26.
After the 2 tiny orders, we decided to get the check and go eat elsewhere. First, it would have taken quite a few orders of food to make us full at those portions. Second, there is no way I would pay premium prices for fishy fish. Whatever great fish that other folks have had there, they didn't show up on my plate that night.
People thought this was:
My friend told me Sebo was the best japanese restaurant in SFO. It's not. I can understand the bad reviews when it comes to "unfriendly hostess", "standard ambience" and "it took FOREVER to get a table and then between the plates". It's all true. But it's also true that the fish is fresh, wine list is short but good and the mackerel was outstanding for an US quality. I only wished the free edamame was hot and served during our 1h15 minutes on the waiting bench.
People thought this was:
If you're a chef -- say like a Chris Constantino or a Tony Bourdain -- and you get to sit at the bar while the chefs bend over backwards to amaze and excite you, then this is the place for you.
If you are a regular lowling like myself, in the neighborhood, looking for a the kind of sushi place you could return to again and again -- then you're out of luck.
We ordered the omakase expecting, well, omakase. Something different. Something creative. Something innovative and surprising with a slight 'wow' factor.
We got cucumber salad with seaweed in a vinegar sauce.
The way they do 'omakase' here is they select items off the menu and present them to you in an order that see fit. When you want to stop, you let them know. The price is whatever the price is listed on the menu. This makes absolutely no sense. How is this different then us just ordering straight from the menu. At least that way, I could have saved $8 spent on the lackluster cucumber salad, and bought another piece of nigiri.
On top of this, we waited FOREVER between plates, which blows my mind. What they serve up is straight up fish on rice. I have no idea what takes them so long to assemble the sushi, especially when it wasn't even busy. When I looked around the dining room to see if others were experiencing the same service, I noticed diners staring off into space, playing with chopsticks, ordering more beer (is this a trick?) and eating plenty of pickled ginger, hoping to stave off hunger.
The icing on the cake: portions were tiny, and it was really expensive.
I can see the appeal of this place -- the fish is really good, really fresh, really flavorful, and I understand that it's the price you pay for quality. If you're a celeb chef and get the hookup, I'm sure its an amazing meal.
But $160 for 2 people for sushi in hayes valley? You gotta be kidding me.
People thought this was:
Tony Bourdain, you SLUT! I thought this place was going to WOW me! I thought the fish would be so fresh, the flavor would send me into cardiac arrest! You lying crap bag!
(im kidding, I'm a big Bourdain fan.)
On a more serious note, the food did NOT impress me. And perhaps this is due to my lack of Sushi expertise, but the flavors were not strong. I wanted a strong taste. Instead, I got neatly cut slices of bland fish.
Additionally, I often got a little too much wasabi put into my Nigiri, which made my eyes squint with pain. NO MAS! NO MAS! The toppings that the chef put on the fish (green onion, wasabi) often over powered the fish.
The flavors (of the fish) were very very subtle, and not in your face. But is that a mark of quality fish? I'm not sure. However, the most enjoyable piece was the Uni, which DID taste like Ocean water! Eric Ripert, I finally know what you mean! =D
Overall, the flavors were either too bland, or too subtle for my palate. Either way, I wasn't impressed. The decor was amazing and I love the low light in a sushi bar, but the food was so damn expensive! For 10 pieces of fish, I payed $50.
** RESTAURANT TIP **
When you're looking for the restaurant, keep in mind that the sign on top is missing. There isn't a giant sign that says "Sebo". It's just a big wooden plank.
And because I ate alone *cries* I was seated immediately, while other diners waited for 1-2 hours. So if you can, eat here by yourself, deliberate, and then decide if you want to take your date here.
I give Sebo a 3.5 out of 5.
People thought this was:
I can definitely understand what some folks feel is a pretentious, intimidating, too cool vibe, and this spot is certainly pricey and not meant for large groups, but I've gotta give this 5 stars and a special place in my heart for everything else it has to offer.
We just happened to arrive before the place opened, so we were first in line for prime sushi bar seats, and of course we're not ordering anything but the omakase. Sushi chef Mike put together a thoughtful parade of flavors and textures, and contrary to popular belief, he was very friendly and patiently answered all of our questions.
This is an overall awesome experience, if you come with a date (preferably a generous one who wants to throw down for the hefty check at the end of the meal), and can arrive early enough to avoid the line for the sushi bar.
and I WILL be back. (Maybe when I get a raise?)
My friend and I dined at Sebo on Sunday night- the menu focused on small plates, rather than sashimi.
We shared nearly everything on the menu, as the portions were quite small. There was plenty to excite my taste buds though: Grilled Skewered Shrimps, sweet Spare Ribs, Sauteed Bitter Melon, Miso Soup, and the most divine of all- crab and potato wonders. The crab and potato were creamy and had to have been pureed with tons of butter and cream, with a fried, browned golden crust of bread crumbs (I think). They melted in our mouths and we had to get an extra order. I also thought the Bitter Melon was tasty and the bitter taste was def. not too overpowering. Best Miso Soup I've ever had....delicious tofu. Add two beers into the mix and it was a great Sunday night dinner.
A new restaurant to add to my list in Hayes Valley. Loves it.
Albeit the sushi is yummy, the service is horrible. The staff killed the experience. Arrived way before dinner rush-hour and waited over 30 mins to get our food. Funny how our waitress blatantly lied to us that the chef was busy taking orders when a.) there were many open tables (i.e. more staff than customers) and b.) the chef was chatting/flirting with the women at the sushi bar. Maybe it was one of those days, but don't think I'll give this sushi place a try again or recommend it.
Very good sushi.
This place puts a unique twist to sushi. Too bad that they don't always have all the fish. But perhaps, this is a good thing which means they only get the good stuff.
Will definitely come back.
SEBO SUCKS! Probably one of the worst and most pretentious sushi restaurants I've ever been to. Don't get me started on the drama it was to decide which table we were supposed to get. So I'll keep it simple the food and service. The service....SLOW - two sushi chefs behind the bar and only 4 tables filled (3 2tops and 1 3top) After we ordered it took 40 minutes to get us our first part of the order......they even combined all of our orders. 90 minutes after we order we were still waiting for 1 more nigiri.......the two waitresses, two chefs and the hostess just hung out at the bar and were chatting.
Now for the food.......Be warned they only serve Nigiri!!!!!!!!! Yes the have 3 sashimi dishes and 3 rolls (all vegetable) but the rest is all Nigiri.....I ordered 2 nigiri and the chef sashimi....make sure you note that's it's NINE PIECES, not nine different kinds of fish. All of our nigiri and sashimi was pretty bland......the butter taste was so not there.....Then there is the cost of the food.......Seriously look at the prices, your paying between $9-$11 for TWO pieces of Nigiri......that's unheard of......and the largest Sashimi plate is $26 for 9 pieces of fish!!!!!!!! Yes we ate the food and yes we paid for the food but boy were we kicking ourselves in the ARSE the whole night.......So tempted to stop at the pizza place and eat something more substantial.
People thought this was:
First time here, should have read the reviews. My friend saw the Anthony Bourdain show which I apparently missed.
Positives
1. Kurodai sushi was to best fish here. They use a flame torch to heat the fish and make the skin less tough. Put some special seasoning like white pepper and it tastes smokey. Quite tasty.
2. Sushi chef was quite nice, but as another yelper mentioned, not used to seeing non-Asian folks making the sushi, no offense.
3. Nice vibe.
Negatives
1. Apparently there was a holiday in Japan so the menu was limited.
2. It's expensive and pieces are small.
Advice
1. Get there early, place opens at 6pm.
2. Order the Kurodai
Saw this place on the Anthony Bourdain travel show, thought I should try it... me and the lady spent 150 dollars including tip walked out, and had a pizza next door (great pizza!).
Service people are very nice, sushi quality is pretty good, but not very creative...food takes FOREVER!
Too much fluff and not enough substance... people want to actually eat when they go out!
(Funny how Anthony Bordain's portions looked so much bigger :)
Can you really give this place less than four stars since they get 95% of their fish flown in from Japan?
Didn't think so.
They get the fifth star because they have Orion :)
People thought this was:
Pricey but oh-so worth it!
We just had the chef send out sushi until we told the waitress to stop. This can be dangerous for the credit card, but we got to try almost everything. Yummy! The giant clam, fatty tuna, and eel stood out. The Sanma was by far my favorite - I ordered seconds. The only thing I didn't eat was the uni b/c it's not my thing, but my husband happily ate it for me.
This is my second favorite spot for sushi - the little sushi restaurants just outside Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo takes the crown for my most favorite - but hey, how can you compete?
This is definitely not the place to go if you want terriyaki chicken or California rolls.
I read a few reviews that the service was bad, but our experience was just fine. The decor is simple and modern. The location is perfect, with shops and Citizen Cake around the corner for dessert.
People thought this was:
A restaurant that makes the ordinary food extraordinary. With fresh, wild fish flown in from Japan daily, Sebo raises the bar for quality and variety. A modern stylish choice for discerning sushi purists.
People thought this was:
I'm a sushi snob from NY, and as far as I'm concerned, this is about as good as it gets. Any top tier restaurant is literally sourcing from the same places, so you're not going to find higher quality fish elsewhere. What you will find here with Danny, Michael and Fukashi is immense creativity and a singular passion for their craft. Do whatever you can to get a seat at the bar to witness this firsthand. I couldn't ask for a better meal with better company.
And oh yeah, if what you actually want is California rolls, giant portions and rock-bottom prices, you might be disappointed here.
People thought this was:
THE ONLY REASON IT GETS 3 STARS is that the fish here is a live example of the word fresh.
I was hoping the food would suck so I could give it 1 star because everything else was stupid. Check it: 26 seats, all full, barely anyone eating, 3 minutes of food for 1 hour of waiting. A story: one of the sushi chefs took 5 minutes to talk to and weasel a seat for a couple he knew while I waited for my fish... not a lot of fish, a little bit of fish. I would have been gone in less time he would have kept working. Even better, it took another 20 minutes to bring 5 pieces of sashimi.
For the owner: small bottles of pellegrino are like those mini cans of soda. They are stupid unless you are a 9 year old and you pack them in your lunch bag for school. You need to fix that, speed your shit up and offer a better menu. None of it made sense. Until you fix these things you can try and ride it out on your ambiance, but dude, it is San Francisco. There is no ambiance. Especially when your clientele is in flip flops most of the time, that is if they have shoes on. What is up with that nasty hostess?
People thought this was:
It was my first time dining at Sebo. I got there when it opened and sat at the bar. I didn't order anything except sake and asked the chef to make me whatever he wanted. No, I didn't care how much it was going to cost.
Here are some thoughts;
Sit at the bar, don't order and have an open mind. Let the chef(s) dictate what you should eat. Omakase as it's known.
If you are asked not to use soy sauce, don't. It's ok to actually taste the fish, rice, vinegar, lemon, miso or whatever the chef adds to the bite.
You go to Sebo for the experience, not for "sushi-abortions" (rolls lathered in mayonnaise-based sauce). I know, sometimes they are good but that's "American sushi".
If you are tired of the over-prepared rolls you get at far to many establishments, then you are ready for Sebo.
My other choices for great sushi:
Angel Fish in Alameda. Tekka and some places in Japantown in San Francisco. Nozawa, Ahi, Katsu-Ya, Iroha in Studio City. K-Zo in Culver City. Echigo and Mori in Santa Monica.
finally an *authentic* sushi place in a neighborhood i'm in often. most people will complain about the size of the sushi but these are people with mouths made for eating big macs in a single bite and regularly eat plates that serve a family of six in other countries. the sushi sizes here are what they're really supposed to be: bite-sized. so it doesnt fall apart. for people with normal sized mouths, sushi in most places requires 2-3 bites and raw fish without extra sharp canines are a challenge and you end up with shiso and rice and bits of raw fish exploding all over the place.
the fish is really fresh and slightly below room temperature so you really taste the fish itself instead of wasabi and soy sauce. most people are used to eating bland ice cold sushi. i don't remember now what fish it was but amazing how raw fish can taste smoky like bbq'd fish. the lagavulin of sushi.
there's also a variety of fish here that you won't see in other sushi places so it's a good educational experience as far as tasting new fish. the spare menu is a no-frills, straight up focus on the fish type deal.
the sake is excellent. try the bamboo tears!
it is expensive so this is not the place to go if you're hungry and are looking for a japanese restaurant with americanized sushi rolls for the heavy duty XXL trashbag-sized-mouth. they also use fresh-grated wasabi here. another rare thing to find in the city. if you think you'll be hungry, add the tuna maki to your order. its got avocado, lemon, sesame oil, and sea salt.
People thought this was:
A buddy of mine took me here for dinner on a recent return visit to SF. Really enjoyed a great meal but enjoyed chatting to the guys behind the sushi bar. They old us about where the produce had come from and made some great suggestions when we asked what we should have next.
People thought this was:
i've had sebo on my radar for over a year now and glad to have finally gone. my buddy and i got there right after they opened and the bar seats had already been taken up so we decided to wait the hour plus for those. we walked around the area for a bit before returning a few minutes before being seated. we waited in their holding area and were given water. now that may not seem like much as many places ask if people want a drink while they wait but it's usually because they want to get your bill rolling. our hostess had no problem bringing us water and keeping our glasses full as we waited.
once seated, we were greeted by chef michael black and we taken off to very nicely put together omakase menu:
dish 1 - sashimi plate: baby shrimp, big eye tuna w/ seaweed dust, baby yellowtail and mackerel. each piece was very fresh and had clean flavors to them. the standout was the baby shrimp which brought sweetness and texture to the party.
dish 2 - clam over seaweed and cucumber salad. once again clean flavors prevailed. the clam was very good and the black sesame seeds that were added worked well w/ it and the salad.
dish 3 - maki plate: mature hamachi and coho salmon roe. chef michael wanted us to taste the difference between mature and baby hamachi and it showed. the baby is cleaner and lighter while the mature has a richness to it. the roe maki was nice and briney.
dish 4 - nigiri plate: scallop, striped jack and spanish mackerel. the scallop and spanish mackerel were downright crazy. this is what nigiri is all about w/ the perfect balance of great fish, wasabi and rice. the jack was nice but was out of its league on the plate.
dish 5 - temaki plate: uni. i know understand the "ocean in your mouth" quote. the texture and flavor were amazing.
dish 6 - collar of yellowtail. this wasn't just some meat from the collar area, this was the collarbone of the fish w/ all of the meat seared and cooked to perfection. we finished this very quickly.
dish 7 - seared mature hamachi nigiri. he said it was one of his favorite cuts he had available and he gave it a quick sear. the sear gave the fish a nice texture contrast and enhanced the richness.
i don't get the comments regarding the chef and staff being pretentious and snooty towards us common folk. from what i saw, every member of the crew was very respectful and warm towards everyone at the restaurant while i was there. i'm assuming the bad reviews have to deal with people's own perception on what they think sushi is meant to be. don't wanna start a flame war but that was my observation.
chef michael was truly fun to hang with and that's what it felt like. he's got a great sense of humor and is willing to teach you more about sushi. he was patient and explained how each dish was made and why they are supposed to work. this is truly a gem here in SF and i hope it remains an institution for many years.
People thought this was:
Best sushi out there. This is one of those places where less is more. It is expensive, but that's because 95% of the fish is imported from Japan. It also satisfies those who want to experiment with some lesser known seafood. This is as authentic as it gets. It felt like I went to Japan and back.
Went here on Thursday because my sister in law watched the Tony Bourdain episode and wanted to try it. This place is so pretentious it's beyond ridiculous. The hostess needs to be taught some necessary people skills so maybe she will do her job better in the future. The customer is the most important part of your job. If four people (who have been to a multitude of sushi restaurants) ask to be seated at the sushi bar are breaking your oh so precious rules, try explaining why we cannot be seated at the bar in an empty restaurant. The response you gave was more like someone farted in an elevator. That was pretty pathetic considering that you are just a hostess at a restaurant.
So we are seated at a table because I'm guessing that they are expecting the place to be rushed by hordes of "party of twos" and "party of ones" that are going to demand that they sit at the super special sushi bar. The waitress comes over to take our order and begins to explain how we should eat their sushi. Really? I didn't realize that we looked like people who didn't know how to properly feed themselves. I didn't have crumbs from a previous meal or mustard on my shirt, very odd. Oh wait I get it!! Your sushi is sooooo special that it has to be consumed in the fashion that the owner expects it to be consumed.
Well I really enjoyed the over priced unspectacular slivers of fish that were served to me (rolling the eyes), but the Maki Maguro was pretty good I guess. I guess when you have some over pretentious white dude serving up the most basic of sushi dishes that he disguises as traditional to hide his lack of creativity and talent, you get Sebo. I went to a Sushi restaurant in the North Bay last night. A Japanese guy served us sushi the way it's supposed to be served.
People thought this was:
If you think Sebo is only for small parties, you are wrong. Here's the trick - even for a party of twelve. Arrive early; say, 10 minutes before 6 p.m. You don't even have to bring everyone with you. Put your name down when the restaurant opens at 6 p.m. The hostess will seat you and hold the tables (as you know, they don't have a table big enough for 12; it'll take the two tables for six to sit twelve) for you until your guests show up. She will hold them for AS LONG AS IT TAKES!! You can sit there; have a cup of green tea and read a book. No other patrons could contest. They will just have to wait an hour, or two, or three; until your entire party has arrived, and finished dinner. Tough luck!
People thought this was:
While I will probably never forgive Sebo for the holier-than-thou b*llshit I've experienced here, I have to move them to 5 stars just to counteract all the jackasses that know NOTHING about a real sushi experience and are dinging these guys for pricing, menu selection and portions...
Again another case (like A16, Incanto, etc.) where the average Yelper does not have the breadth of experience to have a legitimate opinion...
there is a reason why a lot of bay area chefs hang out here...
People thought this was:
sebo is amazing fish...and I'm used to 'my way or the highway' sushi chefs (hell I actually prefer… Read more »
They fly this stuff in fresh every day? My green conscience would've been put aside if the fish WOWed me - but I was quite underwhelmed. Service was VERY slow - I now know why there aren't more tables in this small establishment! I went with 3 other folks, and ordered...
1) one order of every nigiri on the menu, so that we can try a bit of everything
2) one tekkadon
3) one order of sashimi
4) that roll with the salt & sesame oil
5) some extra nigiri for the table
6) orion beer (they get 1 star for having real japanese beer)
We would've ordered the ankimo, but they apparently didn't have any that night (and it was something I was looking forward to as well). I'll have to try Ino next time for that.
The portions were underwhelming. The tekkadon was served in a small rice bowl - not the usual size that one would get at any other sushi place that i've been to. The sashimi was gorgeously presented, and the fish on that plate tasted great... but still had that same "delicate" appearance in size, if you know what I mean.
The nigiri came out in shifts (otherwise, we would probably still be there). The only notables were the uni, which was buttery sweet, and the ... you know what? I think I forgot the rest. I remember eating some itty bitty shrimp, which was interesting... and some variations of clam (nice, but a bit fishier than expected since I thought this was supposed to be the "fresh" stuff), but none of it really left a wonderful impression to persuade me to order more.
I was glad to try the huge variety, but my conscience tells me that I can't go back to a place that would fly in sushi every day from Japan. Nor can I go back to a place that serves underwhelming sushi for such a high price.
Anthony Bourdain - you let me down man! It sucks to be a normal patron sometimes - we don't get that same grand experience that we all crave when we watch your show! No more sushi at Sebo for me, sorry guys. I am off to find some other place to WOW my taste buds.
People thought this was:
Free ROCK App! - Solid as a…
Neighborhood: Civic…
Happy Hour Draft Beer $1.70!
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Pacific Heights
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
Category: Sushi Bars
San Francisco, CA
Category: Japanese
One thing I know quite well when I talk about…
I don't really believe there is really "The Best"…
Overpriced. Overrated. Bad Service. Even worse…
For the sashimi and nigiri-holic in all of us…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
I love sushi, but sushi doesn't always love me. To…
I always had it in me but Max brought it out of…
Irrasshaimase! Watashiwa nihongowo amari umaku…
