Shiki

6/13/2014

I wanted something light and small for lunch. I asked for a seaweed salad and miso soup. The miso soup was normal. However, the seaweed salad was too mushy and tart. Like it was sitting in vinegar for too long. This was weird, and I am a big fan of vinegar.

The service was fantastic, and the restaurant is clean!

I'm sorry. I can't try the fish if the vegetarian food tastes gross. I may get a miso soup again, but no more seaweed, and no fish at all!

5/23/2015

Erm...really not worth the money. I was curious about this place once, but I should've taken the hint when I came in right around closing time just to grab a to-go menu when I was yelled at from the door.

My coworkers wanted to try this place since it's a little closer than Tokyo Express. Hint: Just go to Tokyo Express. Hell, even the sushi at a grocery story is better than this.

The rice doesn't even taste like sushi rice, the seaweed is rubbery, the fish is tasteless. It's really not worth the money and I'm pretty upset that I kept eating, simply because I was hungry. The service was lukewarm at best (much like their sushi temperature) and I was happy to just get the heck out of there once I finished.

There's loads of better places to spend your money if you want sushi. If you want cheap sushi that's still good and you're relatively close to Tokyo Express, just go there.

7/31/2015

Worst, meanest man in the city works here.  I have been coming here almost once a week for about 3 months and decided today I will NEVER be back.  He is so mean for no reason to me and acts like he doesn't want me here.  Is it discrimination?  Possibly, possibly he is just an unhappy, unhappy man.  

OH and they're sushi is nothing spectacular.

Seems like this is the place where happiness goes to die?

8/24/2015

Seriously really bad. I ordered my Tuna sashimi salad, sat down and then looked at yelp. I won't recommend this place at all.

3/18/2015

Seriously, if you take care of yourself stay AWAY from this "restaurant".
It does not even have a kitchen and the chicken.. well not even sure it is really chicken.
Wish I checked Yelp before coming in!

7/30/2015

Aggressively bad food. Literally bad food: my salmon had spoiled probably the day before. I had expected maybe the quality one might expect from a grocery store that has a sushi counter, but this was a new low. My friend got the chicken teriyaki bento box, and they microwaved the chicken right in front of us, which I suppose is honest, at the very least. But they couldn't very well go into the back and do it secretly, as there is no back. Indeed, there is no kitchen.

6/12/2014

Why rate so low, bro?  

I walked in here at 12:30 pm on a Thursday, and it gave me the impression of a working man's sushi bar.  They had takeout ready to go.  The chef was ready to make me anything.  The space was clean and airy.  The service was attentive.  What, it's a hole in the wall in a garage building?  This is SOMA.  Get with it.  

The big sign on the outside says Shiki Sushi.  The little signs and the takeout menus say Sushi Club.com.  They cater big time.

I asked, "What dish makes you famous?"  Of the 3 choices I was suggested, I selected the Dragon Roll.  Mmmm.... a 7" roll of eel on rice with eel sauce.  Attractively arranged on a traditional (plastic) sushi plate. Avocado hiding in there, maybe to satisfy the tourists.  Eel has a rich, smooth flavor just on the near side of mackerel, and a texture like ice cream.  I almost ignored the rice.  

The Dragon Roll and a diet Coke cost about $11.50.  There are so many traditional sushi choices here, I took a menu back to the desk to study.  

David approved.

4/19/2015

I would give it a zero if I could. When I entered the restaurant my glasses fogged up. That should have told me that their fish was going to be gross! But, I had promised my family that I would bring home sushi. I am a large woman, and I think they were judging me on my size. I ordered for my entire family and they only gave me one napkin/chopstick bundle so I think they thought I was going to eat the entire thing? Maybe that is why they gave me horribly small portions of everything. I paid about $70 for 1 bag of food. The portions were horribly small and my son refused to eat the chicken, he said it was too scary. I ate the sashimi and got sick for the next 2 days. I will never go back here again. Stay away. Also, they were extremely rude and dismissive to me and I was the *only* customer in there and there were 4 employees, it was like I was in their way by ordering food???

2/17/2014

I should have checked Yelp before ordering from this place. I was in a hurry and craving some noodles so I decided to just grab an udon. Well that was a terrible mistake.

First of all the place is own by Cantonese people, so expect everything to be made Cantonese style- not japanese style. I had the chicken udon that looks really really "Cantonized". The udon is served in miso broth. What the heck? That's not udon! And the chicken meat is cheap chicken thigh, not even white meat. The taste is... Terribly mixed up with something else I can't even describe. I can only say it definitely can't be possibly called "Udon". Normally in Udon you would find seaweed, imitation crab meat, rice cake, tofu, tempura shrimp or something of the like. Here they throw in some cheap cut iceberg lettuce and a bit of seaweed... That's about it.

Now the price, it was a total rip off. $10+ tax for a bowl. Service was not good at all.  I would never recommend this place to anyone. Period.

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  The grossly looking chicken Udon. Stay away!!!

  The grossly looking chicken Udon. Stay away!!!

3/10/2015

I really wish I'd checked Yelp before dropping in here.  I was out for a walk and decided to give them a try.  Next time I'll check first.

I got the chicken teriyaki box ($10 + tax), and now I'm wondering if I'll be able to make the entire hour BART ride home tonight without getting off to use the bathroom facilities.  The chicken (hot out of the MICROWAVE) didn't look quite right and didn't taste right either.

The salad and miso soup weren't bad, but didn't stand out in ANY way.

The California Roll (4pcs) was little better than what you'd expect out of a cellophane wrapped box in a corner market.  Not terrible, but not really good either.

The rice seemed fine.  Steamed rice out of a rice cooker.  Kudos.  Oh wait, that's not special.

On the plus side, the place was clean.  Another plus, I was able to get a seat.  

Actually, there was plenty of seating.  It's as if other people read the reviews before stopping by.  Maybe I don't need to check Yelp next time... just look for lot's of empty seats at lunch time in SF.

6/12/2013

Even the Teriyaki here is terrible. Comes with rubbery, tasteless veggies too!
 
Don't risk the sushi unless you are looking for some alone time in the handicap bathroom stall.  

I went here twice.  The first time was a year ago. I could not believe how bad the food was.  
The second time I noticed something - no real kitchen.  No wonder the food is so off.  You are getting microwaved/reheated "hot" food.

You want to talk about it being cheap as an possible reason to go here?  Try
Teriyaki Express which is in the Landmark building at 1 Market street.  Same price point, food is 100x better.

3/29/2013

Where is the zero star option?  I will not get into the details of the lunch I had here because I would then have to think about it.

I will say that to anyone thinking of going here, I will pay you not too.

11/14/2013

Seriously... I usually only write reviews for really really good, or really really bad, and this place needs to have even less stars.. negative stars.

I didn't even GET to my food.  I ordered online, and got a confirmation email saying if I didn't get a call in 15 mins to call the restaurant.  So I called the restaurant (I had to hunt for the #, it's not on their website.  

The guy who answered the phone just said "HEY".  I mean.... I had NO idea who I was talking to... at all.  I asked if this was the sushi place and just got "YA".  Uhhhhh.....  I explained my situation and my order, and he said they didn't do online ordering so I should order over the phone.  Hmm.  Even though I put my CC in and everything.  Going to have to watch my statement now too.

Ok... I'll order over the phone, no problem...I'm looking at their menu, so I order Beef Teriyaki , and he tells me "we can't do that here" you'll have to go to 5th street.  What?   "We don't have a kitchen here," he says, "what else can I get you?"

Nope. Nothing.  I would rather not order any form of food from such a place.  
I JUST NEED TO REITERATE:  THEY HAVE NO KITCHEN.  No kitchen.  Restaurant. No Kitchen.  

let that sink in..

6/14/2012

At this time there are 16 reviews to how bad the teriyaki sauce was. Luckily(?) for me and my friend we tried both the Salmon Teriyaki and Chicken Teriyaki. They came with Miso soup, rice, and a portion of salad. I added a cold tea and my friend a hot tea.

Miso Soup- Usually miso soup has a rich filling flavor. This soup was plain and the only thing I could find in it was limp seaweed squares. It was microwaved, but I doubt it was all that spectacular when it was fresh.

Chicken Teriyaki- Chicken was rubbery and flavorless on its own. I am not sure, but this may have been microwaved as well because it tasted like it had been boiled in water. The sauce was watery, overly sweet, and now that I think about it tasted like the chicken was cooked or reheated in the sauce.

Salmon Teriyaki- My friend let me taste this. Seemed like it may have been re-heated as it didn't taste fresh, and the sauce definitely didn't assist in the flavor. Regardless, it was overcooked and chewy.

Rice- It had been cooked too far in advance. It was rubbery and over-sticky. Just because the rice cooker can keep rice warm all day does not mean you should.
Salad- The cucumbers and shredded lettuce and an interesting sauce were unnecessary.

Teas- My friend thought his hot tea was fine, but that it was strange that the waitress served refills with a paper cup though. My cold tea tasted a bit like the paper cup, of which I had to get it out from the fridge.

Service- The people working there seemed nice and I had no complaints with them or the service.

Ambiance- I had no complaints. Plastic plates and paper cups are a bit of a downer.

Cost- $17.36 no tip. Sorry, I don't tip when I order and pay before seeing any service or food. Price is more than reasonable for the quantity if the quality of the food was better. I could only eat less than half.

Summary- This place is designed like many of the other high volume tourist trap food venues. They are set up to get a lot of food out quick with quality taking a backseat. They had 5 people ready and waiting, problem is there were only 6 people in the place on a Wednesday at 12:15 PM.  I am further convinced this is the case due to the obviously pre-prepared food, plastic dishware, and paper cups. You can't do high volume if you're worried about dishes and cooking. Moscone Center must have a fair amount of visitors that are willing to give this place a try because I doubt they have many regulars.

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  Chicken teriyaki on plastic plate.

  Chicken teriyaki on plastic plate.

2/25/2013

Pricey but the BEST salmon teriyaki I've ever had!

12/7/2011

The reviews are pretty harsh here, but most of the complaints are about the chicken teriyaki or things like that. I can't speak to those, because I only come in here for one thing -- the sushi!

For a relatively low-cost place, the sushi is actually really fresh and tasty. Not only that, the portions are pretty generous. At most sushi places, the maki rolls are an excuse for the restaurant to charge you for stuffing rice full of avocado and cucumbers with a thin veneer of fish on top -- not the case here. The Sakura Roll has a ridiculously thick layer of red tuna all around it; it's incredibly satisfying. The other roll I had here, the very aptly-named Mother-and-Son roll (basically salmon + roe) had the biggest, roundest, juiciest roe I've seen. Not the little microscopic eggs, the big quarter-inch ones that pop in your mouth!

Maybe the chicken teriyaki here is bad or something, but it's got sushi right in the name. Go for that, and you won't be disappointed!

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  The cleverly-named Mother-and-Son roll.

  The cleverly-named Mother-and-Son roll.
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  (Most of) a Cherry Blossom roll. Look at how thick that tuna is! :)

  (Most of) a Cherry Blossom roll. Look at how thick that tuna is! :)
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  The $12 nigiri combo.

  The $12 nigiri combo.

11/18/2013

My coworkers and I went here for a "good" lunch, or so we thought. My two coworkers ordered the chicken terriyaki box, the chicken was rubbery and tasted like old tires. I ordered the sushi maki box and the crabmeat was less than fake crab meat, the spicy tuna tasted like crushed up seaweed, or something...i dont even know. This place is not worth the price or time....spend your money and lunch time elsewhere...for real!

1/16/2013

Not sure why everyone is bad mouthing this place. Seems to be exactly what you'd expect for the price...

16 pieces of sushi with miso soup for ten bucks? Yes please. Don't really care that the quality isn't great, i'm not expecting it to be for that price. Service was quick and I was out the door with everything I wanted within a couple minutes. Great spot for a quick sushi fix at lunch. Wouldn't really go there for any other reason though.

11/24/2013

When I walked in at the height of lunch hour and was the only person in the restaurant, I should have known to head somewhere else.  I ordered some simple veggie rolls (an avocado roll and a cucumber roll) and somehow they managed to make them gross.  How do you mess up a cucumber roll?   I powered through because I was starving, but I'll never go back.  The two stars are for the miso soup which was okay.

5/11/2009 Updated review

Man, you know you're in trouble when the best thing on the menu at a sushi restaurant is the rice.  

First sign of disaster was taking a seat a the sushi bar, then having to get up and place the order at the cashier. I'm ok with that I guess, but then they charged us for green tea (tea bags, not a even a pot), which just seems wrong.

It would have been redeeming except the sushi we received had a slick, almost soapy taste to it. I can think of about three times in my life that I haven't fiNished my sushi order, and this was one of them.

Next, I'll just stick with Sanraku in the Metreon, which oddly enough might actually be less expensive than this fresh fish farce.