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Categories: Chinese, Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Bernal Heights"Tao Cafe is an amazing place in every respect. The location is nice, the restaurant is very cozy and nice, the food is breathtaking and the…" read more »
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Love the fact that they have really good sushi/Japanese dishes AND really good Chinese dishes. Never been to the restaurant but have ordered delivery from them plenty. The sushi is always fresh and the portions generous. Delivery is usually ahead of schedule. Nice touch that if you order $25 or more worth of food they'll give you a free order of fried rice, a California roll or chow mein. I always opt for the chow mein because then my dinner delivery turns into dinner, lunch, and still enough left over for a late night snack.
Always friendly on the phone, delivery folks are great. For quick and tasty sushi and Chinese in SOMA, you can't get much better.
Only beef is that I've probably dropped $750 here by now and they still don't recognize my address or phone number when I call. Where's the love?! I figure after that much cabbage they'd at least have my info in their system.
So here's a Yelp effectiveness test: next time I place an order, I'm going to say the secret word so that, if they've read this review, they'll recognize me as the guy who's spent a ton of dough at their place AND given a good review. Then hopefully they'll remember me.
The secret word is "sasquatch."
Stay tuned to hear whether this ploy works.......
Hey - delivery from this place is pretty great! Fresh veggies and flavorful sauces. Good prices and portions. With a little extra veggies I easily made this into dinner for 2 nights.
We got food in about 45 mins which is pretty good and it was nice and hot. I also really like the containers - reusable plastic types that are great to use again and again.
Will order again when the mood for Chinese strikes.
This isn't five star dining, per se, but the food is delicious, it's quality, the wait staff is friendly, and the food is more than reasonably priced. In fact, I have no idea why this has two dollar signs. It should have one.
I used to order delivery from here all the time a few years back when I lived with a Vegan roommate. This place actually has a number of awesomely tasty dishes for animal-free eating; for instance, General Tso's Meatless Chicken is a dish full of spicy, sweet balls of goodness with nice stalks of broccoli all around. And the best part is the price: $6 per meatless entree. Amazing.
Most of the meat entrees are only a dollar more, and they're also great. I had the Mongolian Chow Mein Beef dish, and asked for it extra spicy. The noodle dish was sweet, savory, and definitely spicy, and I couldn't get enough of it.
Our bill came to $25 for three people with three entrees and drinks. They gave us complimentary tea and edamame to start. Shiso just may become a weekly dining place for me and my friends. Although, you might want to find someplace else to go if you have more than 5 people--the dining room is pretty small.
I live right down the street from Shiso and consider myself very lucky.
Normally, I don't venture into restaurants that serve Japanese and Chinese, I assume they aren't giving their all to either. Also, I'm a big sushi lover and not a fan of Chinese food. A friend said I should give them a chance, so I grabbed my vegan sister (lots of good vegan options) and tried it out. That was a couple years back. My family has been going regularly ever since.
We live on a small budget but love to eat out, so besides burritos, this is the place to go. The prices are beyond reasonable and the food is always delicious. Wait staff is very friendly and efficient. I have been bringing my now four year old son there since he was a baby, and we've always been welcomed, though they probably like us better now that we don't leave a giant mess of spilled tobiko everywhere.
Good for small groups too, because they do such a huge take out business, they often have enough room in the dining area to push tables together. We occasionally do extended family dinners there and they fit the 10 of us with no wait and plenty of room.
Just Plain Awesome.
This review is based on 2 delivery orders I placed with them maybe a month apart. I've never been inside so I can't say anything abt their in-dining service. I tend to be wary of Chinese owners serving Japanese food...espec if they do both at the same time but I give everyone a fair chance (except for Viet restaurants jacking up the price cus they got white table cloths...screw that).
First order was ok...my memory is a bit cloudy but I know it wasn't bad, nor was it anything spectacular. I was REALLY hungry at the time so my lil sis and I just went to town on the food. Tempura was good/acceptable & both our chicken teriyaki combo meals were ok.
This time I ordered the same tempura, chicki-teri dish and an order of the Chef's Special roll. Also got the same free california roll for orders over $25.
Right off the bat, I noticed the special roll's taste was incredibly bland. Cali rolls weren't the greatest...even for Cali rolls. But the next thing I noticed was unforgivable....they gave me regular Chinese/Viet style rice with my meal...WTF!!!!! Were they rushing and mixed up the rice? Where the hell was my sticky Japanese/Korean styled rice? The chiki-teri wasn't all that great either. Ugh.
Just bland all around I guess. I was only happy with the Tempura. Delivery time was stated at 45 min and arrived at abt 35 min.
Won't be ordering from them again......
This place is delicious. I'm happy that they deliver and the minimum for delivery is $10! Not $25... like other sushi places. I ordered their spicy tuna rolls and a bottle of Nigori sake. It came in the timeframe she had said and the sushi was really fresh and delicious. I knocked them down 1 star because they only have the HUGE bottles of Nigori and when I ordered the big one she failed to mention it was $30!!!!
I did end up getting a "free" California roll but that doesn't make up for the fact that I spent so much money on sake. (Sadly I had to tip less, oh well)
if i could give this place negative 5 stars i will. i have never experience such bad service EVER. i ordered takeout from here and not only was the food more than an hour late, the driver was extremely RUDE. i got the food eventually and signed the receipt that the driver presented to me. he looked at the receipt and said "tip" and i said that i am not going to give him a tip because it was way more than an hour late (and the restaurant wasn't even too far away from my place. it really shouldn't have took THAT long to drive from this restaurant to my apt) and the food was already cold. so he looked at me and said "i don't like you". he then proceeded to say that i had to write the total on the receipt or someone like him will charge a BIG tip to my credit card. first of all HOW RUDE CAN YOU BE?!?! second, IT IS A CRIME TO YOU TO DO THAT. and third, I DON'T NEED SOMEONE TO TELL ME HOW TO SIGN A CREDIT CARD RECEIPT. i have NEVER had trouble with signing receipts without having to write the total. (my friends NEVER had any trouble either) and even if someone does add an extra tip, all i would have to do is report this to the credit card company.
that being said, I WILL NEVER ORDER FROM THIS PLACE EVER AGAIN. HAVING THAT AWFUL SERVICE TOTALLY RUINED THE FOOD BECAUSE WHEN I PROCEEDED TO TRY THE SUSHI, IT TASTES LIKE CRAP.
(if you decide to try delivery from this place against my advice, watch out for an asian guy with longer hair, a thick accent who can't speak much english)
I just moved into the Mission and am still struggling with unpacking and not having anything in the fridge. But their take-out menu was in a drawer left by the previous tenants, with many circled items. I ordered a couple of sushi rolls, not expecting much, really.
Wow, I was happily surprised. He came within an hour, the sushi was fresh and quite tasty, and the container it came in really is versatile and perfect for sushi. I'm impressed on this first try with them. They were also friendly both on the phone and at the door.
Another comment was made by someone about the driving asking for a tip. Y'know, mine didn't, but I wouldn't care if he did. I'm a generous delivery tipper - after all, it beats me going to the place when I am just beat... and delivery isn't the easiest job in the world, either.
I love Shiso.
I should mention that I've never been to the actual restaurant, so this review really only reflects my experience with their delivery. But wow.
First, the novelty of having sushi delivered to my door still gets me. They are usually prompt (although having read other reviews this may be because I don't have an issue with tipping someone well).
The real reason for the 5 stars is the sushi. Delicious, fresh fish every time. They have a great selection of rolls, some of which I've never seen anywhere else. Their menu, although full of typos is extensive, and they have both Japanese and Chinese food- a plus for when ordering food with sushi-phobic friends.
They use recyclable containers that don't spill (no styrofoam!) and give you plenty of soy sauce in plastic cups instead of those packets.
Shiso is my new favorite delivery option in the city. Highly recommended for those evenings when sushi sounds delicious, but so does staying in bed.
The quality of the food delivered is directly connected to how long it takes to get to my door. Sometimes, right off the stove, and my house is the first stop. Excellent!
Sometimes, I'm on the tail end of stops, and my food has congealed. Bummer!
Well, I suppose I should order food that won't congeal in the car on its way to me. So (sigh) I will accept that I can control at least part of this equation. Usually, they're to my door within 30 minutes. Usually.
I work nearby and eat lunch here a couple times a month. I was a bit wary of the Chinese/Japanese menu at first, but I've had both their sushi & udon as well as their Chinese lunch specials and tasty Wor Won Ton soup. The sauces can be a bit thick on some of the Chinese dishes, but in general I've really enjoyed the food here and the guys who run the place are kind and pleasant without being at all overbearing. The place is not elegant, but they serve good food at a good price.
My review is delivery only. I've had both the Chinese and the Japanese and both totally rock, rock, rock. Their food is five-star, but their delivery takes a while, and I often end up spelling my address over, and over, and over, and it's not a difficult street name. Last night they were super-duper busy, so it took an hour. However, the dude called me and said he was packing my order and leaving "right now," and when the food got to my place it was too hot to eat right away. Yay!
Shiso offers some highly unique and original Chinese food. The Sauteed Fresh Mixed Family Mushroom is a dish I daydream about when I'm not eating it. Phoenix and Dragon is delicate shrimp and large pieces of chicken in a light white sauce with lots of bok-choy-esque vegetables. Their pork fried rice (free with $20 order) totally rocks.
I'm not a big fake-chicken eater, but they offer a full menu of vegetarian delights with either fake chicken or tofu. Their Chinese broccoli in garlic sauce, the spicy eggplant, and the asparagus in black bean sauce are all excellent.
STIR YOUR HOT AND SOUR SOUP. I had some last night and thought, dang, this isn't as hot as I like. But when I got closer to the bottom of the bowl, whoo-wee! Ow!
As for the sushi, I didn't know what to expect from delivery sushi, but it's really quite good. I ordered it on Christmas, and hooray for them for being open so I could. The prices are quite reaonable and everything was super fresh. I ordered two different kinds of tuna things and they were melt-in-your-mouth yummy.
Awesome! small but very nice inside. great service. great food. great prices and a free dessert after 5pm! I will definitely be back.
Because of the reviews, I had to try the general tso's meatless chicken - delicious! Really excellent flavor and texture in the meatless chicken, and the sauce as also very tasty. Next time I will order something with more veggies though....
I also got a hamachi-neki (yellowtail and scallion) maki roll because it's my standard test for sushi. It was fine, but the fish wasn't the freshest or most delectable thing I"ve ever had. Also, it could have been rolled a little bit better - it didn't fall apart, but it wasn't completely solid.
I will definitely have to try this place again and I hope to be able to bump it up to 4 stars after trying more food.
The food at Shiso is pretty good, however, sadly, I will never be ordering from them again. Yesterday I had spent almost the entire day at Six Flags and was sunburned, tired, and in need of food that was not bathed in grease. I had not gone shopping in the past week and so my pickings were rather slim on the home front, and what I did have required a lot more energy to cook than I could muster. Enter the magic of online food ordering. After a bit of deliberation I chose Shiso for their proximity to my house and my overwhelming desire for sushi.
My previous delivery experience with Shiso had been rather lukewarm, it took them over an hour to deliver my food on a weekday afternoon after a quoted deliver time of 30- 45 minutes. I was hoping that my last experience was a one off and thought to give them another shot before making my final determination as to whether Shiso would be included in my dinner delivery repertoire.
I ordered a sushi roll and mackerel plate and got ready to wait the anticipated hour for my meal. I was quite surprised when my door bell rang 35 minutes later and the Shiso delivery guy was standing on my porch with my food. Awesome right? Actually no. Before delivery guy even says hi to me he hands me my CC slip to sign and says "I came to your house first before going downtown". I thought that was a bit weird to say as it wouldn't make a ton of sense to go downtown and then come back to my hood, but hey whatever. I fill out my CC slip and hand it back to dude. Now get this, the mother effer has the audacity to look at the slip and say to me "Usually when people are happy with delivery, they give X dollars for a tip, do you want to change the amount?" WTF! This assh**le wanted a 20% tip on delivery that wasn't especially expedient, it was actually just right on time. I was completely taken aback by this behavior, and the lack of class this guy had to even suggest I change the amount on my tip. Well f*ck you Shiso and your manipulative tip tactics and normally slow delivery. There are too many good places that don't punk people for tips, never again.
Oh and I did not change my tip, although I wish I had taken the slip back and crossed out the tip amount entirely. The only response dude got from me was a closed door in his face.
Shiso is a great place for good, cheap sushi. I don't know much about the Chinese menu, since I never tried anything from it.
I love any place that gives LOTS of edamame when you order it. The vegetable tempura is awesome, and they have a nice selection of veggie sushi rolls. The agedashi tofu and the sauce it comes with is yum! (I hum "Killer Tofu" by the Beets whenever I order that -- You know... from Nickelodeon's "Doug"? Yeah, you know what I'm talking about...)
Plus, the staff here is super nice... and free delivery for my lazy ass! Hooray!
They make me love fake meat even more. The kung pao meatless chicken is so good it makes me want to slap someone. And, you get enough for at least 2 meals, so lunch & dinner are taken care of. They also have the best lunch deal in town where you can leave this gem of a spot completely stuffed for $6.
I went here awhile ago with someone from New York that had moved to Orange County and was craving real Chinese food. He ordered off the menu & just asked for some chicken with a brown sauce and veggies. He said that what they gave him was the best Chinese he'd had in years.
They deliver super fast, so make sure you're home when you call in, or else they will beat you to your door.
Shiso is decidedly solid. It's about the only local place I go to regularly when I have a jones-ing for "Asian" food [Ed.'s Note: The quotes are quite intentional]. It's not exactly good, but it isn't bad either.
I was thrown a bit by the fact it's a Japanese/Chinese combination place. Despite the fact we Asians all look alike, we are not all the same. So when a place claims to make greasy Chinese, Americanized Japanese, and take-out sushi, all in one kitchen, it usually means they do none of these things well. And this is true for Shiso; they do none of these things well, but all of them passably enough to win out over my lazy ass going somewhere further from the nest.
It's cheap, and it hits the spot when I'm not too picky about what I eat, and hey, all the dishes sound Asian enough, so I'm not going to argue this point anymore. I like the tofu and mixed vegetables when I'm doing my meat-free days. Avoid the hot and sour soup though.
Talk about a great concept...Japanese and Chinese all in one place. There were 4 of us with very different tastes and eating habits, but we each found something craveworthy. It's worth mentioning that Shiso delivered to us in the Lower Haight, so they probably have a pretty wide delivery radius.
My chirashi was on the small side, but the price was less than $12 so I'm not complaining. The fish was buttery soft and excellent quality. Even the sushi rice caught my attention...it must have some kind of secret ingredient because it was the most flavorful sushi rice I've ever had.
We shared a plate of salt & pepper calamari and a stuffed mushroom appetizer. Even though the calamari had cooled off a bit in transit, it was still a hit. The stuffed mushrooms were kind of crazy, but in a good way. They had been stuffed with crab, then battered and deep-fried tempura-style and drizzled with a delicious brown sauce. Decadent.
I hope they deliver to my neck of the woods, because I definitely want to explore more of their offerings.
So I've only ordered for pick up or delivery.
It's not fancy,
but fresh ingredients, good food, and great price!
Deliery minimum $8 for lunch...
Soup, rice, entree is a lot of food for lunch...
I usually have enough to eat the next day!
Good deal!
Very yummie Chinese food! They deliver in time, prepare and package food very well. Instead of packaging saucy platters in the the little traditional white box, they package in a black and clear gladware - so no spills. Also, their prices are most reasonable. if you order more than $15, they give you a free order of egg rolls or house chow mein. I usually order the Mongolian Beef, House Chow Mein with Shrimp, Wor Won Ton Soup, and a free order of Egg Rolls = $19 + Tip. It feeds about 4 people.
I haven't tried the Sushi, so come back and visit to find out about that.
We finally tasted the sushi! There was no fish smell or taste = fresh. That is so important! You can easily review their menu online with many delicious options to choose from.
First off, we ordered the crab puffs again only because they did not seem to have edamame. That seems to be the only missing item from their otherwise well-arrayed Japanese section. My husband thought that the puffs were too dry this time. I thought that were just fine. Needless to say, we did not rave about them like we did the first time around. Though I still think you get a good amount for your money here.
Four rolls - Lucky, Tiger, Rainbow, and Goldengate each under $10. That's pretty good pricing considering that we did not order the basic rolls such as spicy tuna or California for $5.95.
I was a fan of the Lucky (spicy salmon, very simple) and Goldengate with thick slices of avacado on top and a hint of spicy mayo sauce.
My husband was a fan of the Tiger with the shrimp tempura, which btw was lightly battered yet simultaneously crunchy. Well done!
The rainbow roll was your typical rainbow roll from anywhere yet was still appetizing and satisfying.
We will definitely order again if we opt not to go to We Be Sushi.
Finally! A Chinese restaurant I can depend on for continuous deliciousness!
Shrimp dim sum - it's…
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I'll start by saying, I've never actually been inside this place. but it is, hands-down, the BEST delivery option. period. I have a stack of menu's in the drawer, but every time, I end up choosing the Shiso menu. it's always fresh, delicious, and makes me feel 100 percent better. the Miso soup is my favorite hangover cure (or any kind of sickness for that matter)
It didn't get 5 stars, because I feel like they could have a little more variety of sushi rolls.... seems like almost all of them have avocado! I love avocado, not on everything
Cheap delicious sushi..
The delivery took almost a hour though..But it was worth it.
=]
Torn between two stars for trying to stick avocado in my veggie roll without listing it on the menu, or four stars because I caught the chef doing it, asked him to take it out, and he did with a smile on his face. And the veggie roll was good (wow I so love mango in my sushi), And on a very unrelated yet humorous final note, they also serve chinese and bring the check (though not mine) with a fortune cookie. Maybe you have to order chinese to get that?
Settling on 3, more like 3.25.
General's Mock Chicken! Yum, baby, Yum!
Great food, great prices, great service. It's been too long since we've been there, but it seems that no matter how much time has passed the owner still remembers us, and remembers what we like to drink--a tall, cool Tsing Tao offered up immediately.
As a vegetarian, I've tried a lot different "mock chicken" dishes from various places in SF, and Shiso is definitely the best, hands down!!
This is a bad review having never tasted their food. Why? because I ordered food for delivery and the food never came. I was so excited about it too, but the lady had told me 45 minute wait and I was okay with that. An hour and a half later, still nothing. I call and say, "what's up with my food?" and the lady on the phone says she will call the driver. I call back five minutes later and she says "oh, he so close. five minute."
"five minute? is this the same as your version of 45 minute?"
She offers me three dollars off of my meal. No way. I wanted a refund. After a bit of a fuss, I get them to cancel my order. So I can't say anything about their food, but I can say that if you are starving and want some food delivered you'd better make a night of it.
I absolutely agree with G Funk Er A.! Every time we order food delivered from them, we swear that it would be our last.
The sushi I ordered had bland tasting sushi rice... hey did you people take a sushi making course that tell you to add vinegar and sugar to the rice? Duh? No zing. It looked like sushi, but didn't deliver on the joy factor. Plus the seaweed tasted cheap. It had no snap.
My husband ordered the sesame beef, took a few bites, and ended up staring at it for a long time before deciding to eat some more. He said it "wasn't the best" that he had.
I think sushi is sacred; the sushi experience is sacred. I don't think I'm going to waste my money or "sushi anticipation" to get disappointed.
Bland, bland, bland, bland, bland
I've ordered sushi from here many times and it's always above average at the least, usually its great. The delivery is quick and the people answering the phone are expedient and speak very clearly.
All of their sushi is fresh...their menu for special rolls isn't as big as some of the other delivery places (such as Tao Yin), but the quality of the rolls they do have are excellent. My favorites so far are the Rainbow roll and the Dragon Roll. Their rolls are large and hearty and they don't skimp on the fish.
Their nigiri sushi is also very good as well and I think that it has a lot to do with the quality of rice. Not overcooked, but not undercooked either...just a hint of vinegar and salt. It is sticky enough to keep the rolls from falling apart, but not too sticky that it falls apart sticking to the chopsticks. I enjoy their nigiri very much.
While not fantastic or as good as some of the high end sushi restaraunts in San Francisco, its great quality for a quick delivery place (tonight was under 30 minutes). Their miso soup and edamame are also very good as well and their wasabi is very hot (the way I like it). Like most sushi places, it can be a bit pricey...two rolls, one order of maguro, miso soup, and edamame was around $30 with tip and delivery.
Not bad...could be a bit cheaper...but they threw in a free California rolls which was a whole lot of food.
This is what happens when a restaurant tries to do too much in one place. Its got Chinese food and Japanese food and I think it fails at doing both.
Quality was poor and the prices were a bit absurd for what you are getting. I love food and am generally pretty content as long as I have food in my stomach. However, at this place, I left feeling robbed and hungry. It ranks up there with the more disappointing meal I've ever had. Service was too forced too, and the dining experience was hampered even more so with the blaring of Chinese music when we were trying to eat. I had the lunch special along with some orders of sushi. I know this place isn't the best place to get fresh quality sushi, so my expectations weren't high. But shit, this place manages to undercut my already low expectations.
I don't enjoy giving out bad reviews to local businesses because I know its hard to make things work and the restaurant business is difficult to succeed in, but this place was just crappy. Try for yourself and support local businesses, but don't say I didn't warn you.
I like to order takeout sushi from this place when I feel lazy and don't want to go out. They do free delivery, the fish seems fresh, and the sushi rolls don't have too much rice padding them like in some other places. They've been consistently on time, and were very accommodating when I asked them for no mayo in the spicy rolls. It's not as cheap as Amberjack, but they give you freebies like additional rolls if you order a certain amount (~$15?).
So, it sounds like this place was pretty bad when it was Fortune Cookie, and now that it's Shiso (but still, puzzlingly, a Chinese restaurant) it's no better. In fact, they still use the Fortune Cookie menus... which have no Chinese on them, just English. In hindsight, this should have been our clue to leave...
The food seemed like it was transported from some sort of Asian version of Bennigan's or Applebee's. The sesame beef was all breading, no beef (I'm not exaggerating... we're talking 1/8-inch-wide strips of beef in a 3/4-inch wad of batter) coated in a sickly-sweet sauce. It was like donuts in spicy syrup. The kung-pao chicken was rubbery, completely unspicy, and full of all sorts of vegetables that didn't belong. The hot-and-sour soup was reasonably decent, but the chicken in it was gross: flabby, gristly stuff that had been brined to death. Even the rice was odd.
All in all, yuck.
So it sounds like this place has undergone some changes and it's almost not fair to keep the old reviews here. I've had their Chinese takeout and been unimpressed. But I decided to stop in for their sushi and was pleasantly surprised.
Compared to all the sushi joints in the Mission, this place was a great value. Of course I only had veggie stuff, but I've been to places like Minako and gotten a string bean on rice for $6, whereas for the same price here I got this delicious avocado, eggplant and tempura roll that was huge. I wouldn't go out of my way for it, but stop by if you're in the 'hood.
Every time we order for delivery from them, we swear it's the last. Why? Tofu that tastes like tofu. Flavorless soup. Really greasy (and breaded--WTF?) salt and pepper spareribs. The free eggrolls and edamame that come free with orders over $16? Pretty sweet. And they have brown rice. And their delivery is Superman-fast. And cheap.
Have to agree with the other Yelpers--if you can make it out for better Chinese, do. If you're feeling homebound, this'll do. You'll just have to Kikkoman the hell out of your dishes.
I am giving Shiso 3 stars because we've only tasted the sushi and they have almost always fogotten to give us the free california rolls which are supposed to be thrown in with an order over $25.
The sushi is delivered to our door fairly quickly and it is pretty good. We've never been disappointed with the sushi so we've ordered from there again and again. On average, we probably order from there about once every other month or so.
I'd recommend this place to anyone wanting fairly good sushi delivered to their doorstep. At first I was a little hesitant to order sushi for delivery. After all, I always watched as my sushi was made before my eyes and delivered to my plate straight from the sushi makers hands. We took a chance on this place and were pleasantly surprised. ;)
Review of the Chinese Menu:
I ordered from Shiso for the first time a few weeks ago and was pleased with what I got. Compared to all the takeout Chinese I had eaten so far in the mission it was by far the best. A few weeks later my boyfriend and I looked it up on Yelp to read the reviews before ordering dinner. I was really surprised to see what people were saying about the food. I was afraid to order from them so we ate something else that night. Last night I was really craving some cashew chicken so we bit the bullet and made the call to Shiso. Again I was impressed with the food.
I think the difference between myself and some of the other reviewers is that I don't expect a gourmet meal to be delivered to me in a box for 6.95 a dish. When I order take-out Chinese I expect to get takeout Chinese. If I want REALLY good food I make the effort and leave my house. Come on guys, be realistic and give Shiso another chance. I think with an open mind you may find what you like.
Also, just in case I lucked out and ordered the only good items on the menu, I would suggest the kung pao chicken, the Cashew chicken, and the garlic eggplant.
What I liked about Shiso:
1. They deliver to my neighborhood.
2. Food arrived hot and on time/early.
3. The menu had a large number of vegetarian options.
4. The fake chicken was pretty good, and the veggie dishes had a pleasant flavor.
5. Free chow mein.
What I didn't like about Shiso:
1. The pot stickers were very bread-ish and bland.
2. Food overall was quite greasy.
3. My dining partner and I had quite the case of gas after eating this food -- so much so that we refused to eat the leftovers!
Since I live a half block from this location, I've seen this place be many things: a pretty weak Vietnamese place, a horrible Fortune Cookie restaurant (note: my fortune cookie was *stale*, which I think says a lot!), and now it's Shiso.
So here's the local scoop: the rumor is that Shiso is owned by the same owners as Jasmine Tea House. I can't confirm this information, but that's the rumor. I adore Jasmine Tea House, so I gave this place a try. I probably made a mistake ordering my favorite JTH dish, Kung Pao Meatless Chicken, because the one at Shiso was no where near as good. But, to try something different, I also ordered the Shiso avocado egg roll. Yum! Yum! Yum!
Finally, this doomed location is looking a little better. While I think it hasn't quite hit its stride, the good price and a couple of good dishes make it worth trying. So don't believe most of the reviews above--especially the ones that talk about the restaurant as if it's still Fortune Cookie, which it's definitely not! Go ahead and try it.
Relatively inexpensive sushi...but delicious. I ordered three huge rolls for less than $30. My friends ordered the chinese food--one got the meatless sweet and sour pork and it was surprisingly good. It was just like a fried ball covered in sauce. Also, this place was empty on a Sunday afternoon--so no wait. I love it.
I also recommend their cucumber salad. It was perfect.
So, I've been on my quest to find decent, not ridiculously pricey sushi delivery/take-out since I moved to the city, and I decided to try out Shiso last night.
We ordered a couple of their House Specialty rolls (Dinosaur Roll & Kamikaza Roll) and then a couple of Maki Mono rolls (San Francisco Roll and Rainbow Roll). As part of the delivery, they threw in a free California Roll, which was nice (you can get a Rock N' Roll instead).
Delivery was fairly quick (30-45 min), though the delivery guy was generally a little bit confused. Prices were fairly high (we spent $43 for the 4 rolls), so we had some relatively high expectations.
In general, the sushi was solid. Nothing about any of the rolls seemed iffy, and they all had a good balance of flavors (no crazy salty roll or secret wasabi bomb roll like I've had at some other places). However, nothing was really all that great - nothing popped. For the price, I had really expected something a bit better.
Anyways, it seems our search for great sushi delivery continues, but if you are looking for pretty good sushi delivered quickly, then Shiso is a reasonable choice.
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Neighborhood: Nob Hill
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Neighborhood: Hayes Valley
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Bernal Heights
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Bernal Heights
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Mission
Category: Chinese
Neighborhood: Inner Sunset
Category: Chinese
Everyone knows about Millennium and Herbivore, but…
Some of my favorite dining destinations in the…
The worst of the worst: I'll never go back, not…
I cook about twice a month, at best...so I'm…
Well, I didn't like them. Try 'em at your own…
My local dry cleaner, watering hole, deli, cafe,…
I must have tried every single sushi restaurant…
