On a mobile device? Try our mobile site, optimized for faster browsing.
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhoods: Nob Hill, Union SquareMention Yelp and receive 1 complimentary Hot Sake with your purchase of Hot Sake!
Loading...
I was excited to see a new sushi spot in the 'hood, replacing Sushi Man (which wasn't bad, but was overpriced with slow service). I first came here a few weeks ago with my boy Cris B. and was very pleased.
The prices are competitive, the fish is fresh and the service is pretty good. They remember people who come back and are always very friendly. Toni, the main sushi chef, is very friendly and it's obvious that he really cares about people leaving his restaurant happy.
Also, they highly value their status here on Yelp. There is now a sign hanging directly below the main sign of the business showing the love they've been getting on Yelp. This sign is just as big as the main business sign, I'll upload a picture when I get a chance.
Great sushi spot, I'm fortunate to live right around the corner.
Great neighborhood spot! I've been here twice since moving to the area and will certainly return. Toni and his wife Lucy are fantastic and very friendly. I recommend just about any of the rolls...what I haven't had yet I've seen being made, and everything looks great. For a super casual place, the food is always presented artfully. I appreciate that. Also a plus...if you like The Beatles, it's likely you'll hear an album or two here. And, they just bought a large flat screen TV if you prefer to watch your sports over Japanese food and sake. ;-)
Looking for something a bit fancier with a more extensive menu? Try Sanraku at Sutter & Taylor nearby.
I really wanted to like Sushi Toni, but I was left unsatisfied after my dinner there. I order the unagi donburi and spicy yellowtail roll; both were disappointing.
The rice was soggy and my roll was so loose it fell apart when I picked it up. It seems pretty elementary to me that if you're a sushi chef you should be able to make a nice roll, but I must've gotten the chef in training.
The best thing about Sushi Toni was the friendly waitress. She was attentive and quick. Too bad the food isn't better.
I'd probably give this place another star if it wasn't for the misleading sign outside of the resaturant. "Yelp Users Love Us. *****" That's 5 stars. Actually they have several lines of 5 stars. Currently on Yelp they have 4 stars and the earliest reviews weren't that high so I can't believe that they were ever rated 5 stars.
That being said, the place really isn't that bad or that expensive. The food was average-plus. Like a B-. I got what I needed: a post-happy hour sushi fix. The service was fast and friendly. In addition to the sushi, I ordered a plum wine. Standard price but not a standard size. It was miniature, so boo on that. My husband also said that his Sapporo was overpriced. Another negative.
One positive though - They were playing Bob Marley's greatest hits. Bob is good anytime, especially when you're in a mediocre sushi place and buzzed from the $2 margaritas from the bar down the street (more on that in another Yelp review).
So will I go back again? Probably but I won't expect very much.
We went to Sushi Toni for dinner last night out of curiosity as I pass by this place often walking around my neighborhood. The food was really good, but I have to say that it is not very Japanese-y as I tasted lots of flavors in our tempura udon (w/ salad) and chicken donburi (w/ salad & miso soup) that tasted more Korean than Japanese (the giveaway was the prevalent sesame seasoning). Don't get me wrong, I still liked our dishes a lot (and I love Korean food!), but really, this place is a fusion of Japanese and Korean food and flavors.
Good tempura batter (not too thick) and the miso soup was right on.
The decor is definitely Korean-influenced, tea cups would normally be much thicker so you don't burn your hands on the hot green tea contents, and soup spoons are not normally given with miso soup.
Service was really nice and friendly, and it's an upbeat place with lively music (I hear there is live music now and then - very cool!). I might come back to try the sushi.
Tempura udon+chicken donburi+2 hot teas = $25
Lastly, my sincere condolences to the family of the owner of the previous restaurant located here called Sushi Man.
It's Friday night, and there's 6 of us. We arrive at 7pm and find an empty restaurant. We're seated, and quickly order the following:
2 orders of Tadashi tofu - good
hamachi sashimi - so meaty
49er roll - the lemon top is refreshing
romeo and juliet - wintery presentation with the onion top
lion king - flavorful w/ the cream cheese top
swamp something - good
smash boom - interesting medley of seafood
We're a fatty group, so we ordered another round of hamachi sashimi and 49er roll! After receiving the bill, the bill came to about $25 each. Not bad after downing all that food!
Bob Marley + Friendly Staff + Good Food = First Review in 4 months. (Wow really!?!)
Came here the other night with a friend visiting from out of town (LA)... not yet knowing where the best japanese places are in the City, I ended up here through the friendly reviewers on Yelp.
Staff was super friendly... Marley played on the speakers definitely created a nice vibe (for me at least).
Food was pretty good I must say. Between the two us, we order two rolls, two orders of sashimi, and orders of toro and uni nigiri.
Soup + salad = 1 star
Good uni and toro = 1 star
Pretty fresh sashimi = 1 star
The rolls were okay... but I was fine with okay.
One of the sushi chefs came over to our table and was surprised that we ate all our food... eh, I'm a big boy.
Anyway, I was satisfied with my meal, and would come back if I was in the neighborhood and in the mood for some Marley.
This used to be where the venerable Sushi-Man restaurant, the very first sushi restaurant in all of San Francisco, used to be. I recalled hearing about the surreal death of the owner of Sushi-Man and then noticed they were building a new restaurant in the space a few months back. I decided to give the space another chance under new management - the old place was AWFUL and I already reviewed it with one star a long time ago.
Sushi Toni is LIGHT YEARS away from the old place. Wonderful atmosphere, fresh food, and Toni the owner is funny and engaging. They are still working the bugs out but my experience at Sushi Toni was so awesome that it is replacing Sushi Rika as my neighborhood sushi bar - sorry guys!
Before I begin, I must concede that the only sushi I had was the spicy tuna. It was good, but not great. The other thing I ordered was a teriyaki salmon. The sauce was thick, cornsyrupy, nothing special. Likewise, the salmon wasn't all that fresh or special.
Nothing tasted all that fresh or amazing on this particular night. But the service was fast (albeit the restaurant was mostly empty), and the waitress was sweet.
The fish quality here is good I will give them that. The staff was friendly. The decor was cool. It had anime pictures all over, pretty cute.
My boyfriend and I strolled in here really late one evening (11pm on Wed.) because we saw a huge sign at the door that said "people on yelp love us". LoL I'm such a sucker. Anyway so we found out he's been only opened for 2 months and the place is korean owned.
However I'm rating 3 stars because the rolls were mediocre, they were rather stingy with the fish, and I thought it was over priced. We ordered a 7 piece sashimi, which was $15 and the pieces were maybe 1in X 1in X 1/4in. and it was "top grade" tuna (NOT TORO, just regular tuna).
Owner plays bob marley all day long. Got annoying after hearing the same song for the 10th time in one sitting. I like the idea that he like reggae tho, cool dude.
I liked the romeo and juliet roll, and the california roll, but I think everything is really "standard" or mediocre, nothing that was spectacular. I wouldn't eat here again if I had other options. I think I can definitely find better sushi somewhere in this town.
almost a 5 star but not there yet.
went here w/ my buddy for lunch on my b-day and found out that sushi toni's had only been open for a month or two. we sat down at the bar and decided to go omakase. what came next were a plethora of items. live scallop nigiri, soup w/ shrimps head, tempura of said shrimp's body, a fair amount of very good nigiri, collarbone of hamachi and black sesame ice cream. what's holding me back from going the full 5 stars is that i've had better fish in the city, namely sebo. not to say there's anything bad going on here. in fact, it's pretty damn good.
toni was working the bar and we had a great time just talking and hanging with him. not sure of the attention time we'd get w/ him at peak time but it was just right especially on my b-day.
Excellent sushi restaurant, great friendly service and delicious fresh fish.
I only had a combo plate as I wanted a quick bite to eat after arriving in town but the fish and the presentation was excellent, as was the Yebisu.
Bob Marley was the music of the night.
Date & Time: Monday August 31, 2009 @ 7pm
Stars: 3.5
Company: Michael
Crowd: Guys Dining Solo @ Sushi Bar & Couples
Vibe: Chill
Music: Beyonce
Service: Friendly & Jovial Sushi Chef Toni & Sweet Waitress
Decor: Whimsical. Framed Animae on The Walls. Colorful Striped Table-Cloths w/ Matching Seat Cushions for Tables of Deux & Quatre
Imbibe: Sapporo
Devour: Miso Soup, Seaweed Salad, Fresh Scallop, Uni, Unagi, Hamachi, Albacore, Taco, Maguro, Sake Nigiri. Mirugai, Aji, Toro Not Available Tonight.
Total: $88.85
Staff is super friendly and there's live music here from 8:30 pm-11pm I think.
For the Rainbow Roll, Unakyu Maki roll, Tuna Sashimi, and philadelphia roll plus 2 orders of mochi's it came out to about $45, so prices aren't too high.
I'll eat Sushi to Beyonce and Bob Marley anyday
Pretty much everything I wanted in a sushi bar. Cool beer, good green tea, fresh fish, clean flavors, competent waitstaff, and friendly atmosphere.
Saba (mackerel) was nice and tender, not dried out, and strongly flavored without being excessively oily. Ikura (salmon roe) was fresh, nicely cured, with plump little spheres that obviously hadn't been drying out and getting funky all day.
Crispy roll and spider roll were both quite good, with tasty combinations of flavors. We finished up with a chef's choice hand roll, and were presented with raw oyster, shiso, ikura, and uni in a crispy nori cone. I thought it would be way over the top, but all of the briny and rich flavors melded well.
Really good experience here. Hope they do well, and are still around the next time I'm in town. For really tasty sushi, they're very reasonably priced, too. Our sinful hand-rolls were pretty dear price-wise, but with a couple of beers, veggie tempura, and a filling selection of make and nigirizushi, the bill would have been around $75. The hand rolls pushed it over $100, but they were worth it.
Great portions, quality fish, FAST service (not one of those bars where the chef is overworked and you can only order one piece every 10 minutes), and a very warm inviting atmosphere. May not be the best sushi I've had... but still very good and I will definitely be visiting Toni again. He's friendly, funny, and knows how to show his customers a good time. A great first visit.
Me: "Spicy scallop please!"
Toni: "Eh no no. I have fresh scallop today. Even better."
As we finished our miso soup a lovely open shell arrived.. half filled with scallop nigiri.. half filled with dipping sauce.. Then they took the left over scallop trimmings, sliced it with some veggies and turned it into tempura.
Toni: "Good?"
Me: Good.
The scallops were fresh, although sliced a little too thin for my taste, and I personally do not like lemon slices with my fish but can't deny good craftmanship and quality.
A few more minutes.. down came a platter of salmon sashimi. I prefer the fatty buttery melt-in-your mouth pieces. Toni gives you the cleaner slices that have a nice bite to them. Personal preference.
White tuna appetizer platter next. Very nice presentation of colors. My favorite plate of the evening, when I generally don't even care for tuna. Great texture with the fish ever so lighty brushed with a blow torch. Flavor was fab.
Toni: "Good?"
Me: "MMHMMM!"
Lion king and dragon roll followed. The sashimi portions were so large that my date and I were struggling already. Dragon roll was standard but lion king had a nice twist using mozeralla cheese instead of just the mayo-based sauce.
Catching on to my loyalty to rich fatty goodness.. Toni treated us to some black sesame ice cream which was one of the best I've had.
Toni :"OOH. I don't need to ask. She likes this one"
Date: "Yea.. it's gone and I've only had one bite."
Me: "nom nom nom."
A shot of saki and $75 bucks later (pre-tip).. we were in a good place.. stuffed and waiting for our tummies to settle so we could devour our leftovers.
New restaurant in the neighborhood . . . so it's a must try.
Damn it's good! Bright, colorful, friendly atmosphere, good service.
The owner Sushi Toni is a jovial guy, takes great pride in his restaurant;
food and service.
My husband is a devout sushi eater, loves his sushi and the sushi here is fresh, original and tasty . . .YUM!
I am not a devout sushi eater but I thoroughly enjoyed the Spider roll.
We'll be back for more . . .
Good sushi joint. The owner/chef is upfront with what's the best and seems to be genuinely interested in making sure you get the best fish he's got. I ordered a fair amount to start and wound up stuffed, so I feel that I got a good value for the money and would certainly eat there again if I had the opportunity and was in that part of town. Go and give it a try.
Sushi Toni is located at what was formerly Sushi Man. The current owner also previously owned Tempura House around the corner, which is now replaced by Mari Sushi. Sit by the sushi bar, and he will make sure you feel right at home. I don't know if that's his personal style, but that's the thing with newly opened businesses: the service is usually extraordinary. He's an avid green tea drinker, so you can strike a conversation with him on that!
I order the saba nigiri, albacore nigiri, Hanakah roll (salmon skin, smoked salmon, Ikura), and Swamp roll (wakame salad and spicy tuna). Everything was excellent. The chef/owner also wanted us to try his special miso soup. They just got their liquor license a few days ago, and sake and soju are on their way. I can't wait to try their cocktail concoctions!
I've enjoyed Tony's sushi for years. From the days at Maru sushi, to Sushi Boom and am very happy (read VERY EXCEITED!!!) that he's opened his new place. I've enjoyed great times with family and friends and it is always the best. The food is fresh, creative, and the food and environment are even better here on Bush St. My best meals are when I got in and let Toni decide what's the best for that evening.
A sample of what we enjoyed last night included:
maguro - sushi, sashimi
hamachi - sushi, sashimi
sake - sushi, sashimi, kama
makeral - sashimi
scapllops - sushi
spicy tuna - roll (swamp roll, yummy!), sashimi
oysters - deep fried (yummy!!!)
I've been several times since the grand opening a few weeks ago and am already planning to get back there this Fiday evening for the live music. Stop by if you're in the area, heck, stop by even if you're not. The friendly atmosphere and food are definitely worth your time.
Soggy tempura, watery miso soup, scary looking lumpy hamachi sashimi slices and a moment of "how can red snapper be this affordable?... oh, that's why..."
I'm sorry to leave a negative review but this is the only time in years that I've had to stop eating sushi while still hungry.
I should add, judging by the other reviews my experience may have been an isolated one- and I really hope that's the case, but there's nothing worse than a $50 meal you can't eat.
All in all, I won't be eating there again, but I guess you can try it for yourself.
What a place! I live just right in the corner and went in there just out of curiosity. It became my favorite sushi place and I go there every weekend (if i can).
Toni (the sushi maker) is nice and jovial. The waitress is nice and really patient. The ambiance there is just great and the sushis excellent.
The price is totally affordable.
I would recommend this place to anyone who loves sushi. This place is awesome!
It was a bit of a hike from Union Square-up hill all the way... but the place is clean and the people are very nice and attentive! We sat at a table, but may try sitting at the bar, so we can watch them making the dishes!
The sushi was fresh and yummy! Try the Swamp Roll and be sure to ask if there are any special rolls!
The owner was there and very personable. He is going to have music some Fridays that he is excited about.
I had my raw oyster cherry popped here -- and it was unforgettable!
Chef Toni makes everything super fresh, goes out of his way to keep you entertained, and will provide the 411 on the detailed prep process behind the makings of his amazing fresh raw oysters or other yummy eats.
Can't go wrong with the romeo and juliet roll made with soybean paper, lion king roll, hamachi kama or fresh scallops when they're available. Black sesame ice cream is a solid finisher too.
Cute and clean ambiance, good value, super sweet waitresses and just half a hop away from Union Square shopping or a night out on the town. I'm in withdrawal if I don't get my Sushi Toni fix at least once a week!
as a sushi lover, I'm all smiles with sushi Toni. the only problem was our waitress, she just seemed clueless. I had the lion king roll, which was so strange but really really amazing. the flavors went together so well. the other roll I had I was the catapillar roll, yet again amazing, the unigi was so fresh tasting. mmm. this place is a must go for sushi goers. you won't be dissapointed.
Its ok. I mean although Maru Sushi was overpriced, it was still pretty solid food. Sushi Toni doesn't have the greatest food, but the service is good. Everyone is really friendly. Prices are kind of standard for a Japanese restaurant in the area. (read: highish.)
right off the cable car line near union square. never mind the all male nude revue next door
hey but cool place, very bright and cheerful decor with the cool anime stuff. very clean too i might add. a rarity in SF. workers were very friendly. the sushi chef was chattin it up with me. the waitress was always at attention, doing whatever she can to help
food was great. colorful and pretty, taste great and fresh. price wasn't too bad considering how nice the food was.
kinda hidden from the hustle and bustle of union square, but if you're in the area, its right there.
Very lovely place! We came here on the recommendation of other Yelpers and had a very sweet experience here. We came on 8/23 during our visit to SF, and Sushi Toni had the best tasting, best prepared hamachi kama we've ever had. It was fresh, tender, and perfectly grilled. The one waitress working seemed just a tad flustered but service was excellent.
we dined here on our last night in the "old neighborhood" before moving to our new condo... this was a much more pleasant experience than my last encounter at this same site (back when it was still sushi man). the restaurant has a rather unusual theme (or non-theme) to it, including anime cells on the walls and reggae playing on the stereo, but it doesn't detract from the solid japanese food and sushi rolls. under par compared to katana-ya or sakana but way better than sushi rock!
Sushi Toni is a nice sushi place in the city with a really friendly staff. The sushi was well prepared. The place isn't huge but we had no issues getting seating. The dinner combinations are a pretty good deal, and I thought the salmon and tuna sashimi I got was very tasty. We also ordered a few rolls including a rainbow roll which was quite good. The chef came out at the end and even shared a few stories with us, which were quite funny and amusing. Overall, it wasn't unreasonable - probably you will spend about $20 or so per person.
