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Categories: Japanese, Sushi Bars [Edit]
Neighborhood: Parkside
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great sushi- i love the volcano rolls. Always prompt service although sometimes the order can take awhile to appear.
the only issue is kinda not knowing the price of each item on the sushi list....
Yet another crap faux Japanese restaurant in SF.
Oh, and excuse the awful pun, but I've started to call this joint the "Terrible" Okazu Ya Restaurant. Terrible, Taraval, haha, get it? Well, if you don't, whatever.
Catering to fools that won't know good Japanese food if it smacked them across the head with a flash-frozen slab of maguro.
The moment I walked in to the place, I knew I was in trouble. Basically, it had all the hallmarks of a busy Chinese restaurant with mostly Chinese clientele, except the food was masquerading as Japanese food.
As I am usually suspicious of any non-Japanese owned Japanese restaurants serving up sushi (it's a matter of food safety- you never know if the itamae have apprenticed for years at a real sushi restaurant), I elected not to order anything that had raw fish in it.
The dead giveaway was the wonky attempt at Japanese writing on a whiteboard listing the available fish, which was otherwise in English anyway. The writing turned out to be nonsensical Japanese. Sure, the kanji was there, but it was Chinese kanji, not Japanese.
Don't get me wrong, I sometimes let my guard down and eat at one of these establishments. I recently sat through an entire meal at Kitaro and tolerated it. I've even enjoyed Korean sushi.
At any rate, I figured that I'd go get some goma-ae (blanched spinach with sesame dressing) and udon noodles (nabeyaki udon to be exact), which tend to be mostly harmless as far as Japanese restaurant food goes.
But alas, they f'd both of those simple dishes up. The goma-ae was a mad jumble of spinach that was stacked haphazardly. A proper presentation of the dish would have the spinach in nice, neat bundles. To add insult to injury, they used bottled commercial sesame dressing.
The proper way of prepping the sesame dressing would be to actually grind sesame in a Japanese style mortar and pestle called gomasuri. Recipes vary, but typically mirin and soy sauce are added to the ground sesame and then combined with the spinach.
The nabeyaki udon was a righteous disaster. The udon came in the customary steel serving "pot" on top of a wood serving trivet. First of all, I could tell by the acrid smell that the wood of the trivet had burned (it's not supposed to). As I tasted some of the udon noodles and broth, I could tell instantly that something wasn't right. It had an acrid, bitter burnt taste and the noodles were overcooked and mushy.
Look, gentle reader, I'm usually a trouper, and I try to eat the food I'm served at a restaurant. But this was too much to take.
So I complain to the waitress that this udon tasted bad and she asks me if I knew what nabeyaki udon tasted like. That was insulting, as I'm pretty familiar with Japanese cuisine.
But then again, even if I didn't know a thing about Japanese food, it would still have been insulting. I challenged two of the waitstaff to eat the botched udon, but neither would bite.
That kind of tells you something about the establishment.
You see, I've sent food back at places like Zuni Cafe, and do you know what they do? The cooks in the back actually inspect and eat the food that get sent back by the customers.
Okay, Okazuya ain't Zuni, but at the same time, I was pissed that the waitstaff questioned my complaint and didn't bother to taste the crap that came out of their kitchen.
I cut my losses at that point, and paid for a bottle of beer that I drank and even the crap goma-ae and left. Pissed, and still hungry, I wound up walking down to Shin Toe Bul Yi and eating udon there. And gentle reader, it was a kick ass udon, thank goodness.
In summary, Okazuya @ Taraval = teh FAIL
Yes, the owners are not Japanese. Whatever. It is still good.
Sea Bass Sizzling Platter was excellent with sauteed bean sprouts, onions, and peas... Not sure if I love the fish more or those veggies...
As for sushi, everything we had was good, but I especially loved the eel and spicy tuna roll... Yum!
My hair and clothes smelled from this restaurant, but it was worth it.
I've been catering to this place for years! I used to come here every month during high school when I had braces since my ortho office was only down the block. Always grabbed lunch here with my friends, its good and cheap during the lunch specials! Now that I'm older I come here as frequently, but when I do it's still a pleasurable experience. They're pretty friendly here about letting you substitute the stuff in the set menus if you don't like it which is great! Surprisingly its great for kids, they understand that it may be cold, so they always try to seat my family when we have kids around inside since its warmer and it's less chaotic to have kids in the front screaming and running around. Sashimi here is pretty good and fresh, haven't had a bad experience yet. Overall I like the food here and will continue coming here.
this place ain't bad! I went on a cold rainy day but it was still a full house here, good sign. the sushi rolls were pretty good, we had the catepillar roll and one of the unagi roll (forgot name).. i'm not a fan of nigri but my friend said its pretty good and fresh here. the agedashi tofu and seaweed salad is also pretty bomb.
price is typically of sushi joints, the owner is friendly (though our suspicion says he's not japanese. *ahem, upon being asked, "where are you from in japan?" -- his reply was, "tokyo." hahaha okay c'mon, you can get more creative than that right?! :P) my friend thought one of the waitresses was cute too, ha.
The sushi is okay, but I can't stand how crowded it gets here. I say wing over to the Noriega Okazu Ya and then you won't have to wait in line or sweat out the heat when the place is packed.
Yay! I'm a fan.
haha. yeah it was good. had the combo with chicken teriyaki and shrimp tempura. tempura was nicely breaded, not too much, not too little.
caterpillar roll - YUM. ate each sushi in one bite. just to get the full impact of flavor. want to get dragon roll sometime, too expensive. tear.
california roll - nice with lots of real crab meat. they stuff it. get what you pay for...
mango ice cream - mangoey.
Wow I can't believe this place got 4 out of 5 stars. The sushi here is average, seems like something was missing in every roll. The texture of the rice was a bit hard and does not have much taste in it like sushi rice is supposed to taste. Their monkfish liver was inedible!!! NOT FRESH and gross. I've had way better sushi than this. The only roll that was worth mentioning was the hamachi over eel.... that's about it. Uni was not good either.
Came here last night for dinner and left feeling full and satisfied. There's always a full house here and I've waited a little bit before, but when we came here last night we were able to get a table right away. Prices here are def. a lot better than most Japanese restaurants. They have a pretty decent and fresh selection of fish here. My favorite is the sizzling fish plate they have. You can't miss it. Its a pretty popular dish here, and someones always eating it!
We ordered the butter fish ($12.95) that comes with two big pieces of fish on a sizzling platter with mixed veggies of onions, bean sprouts, peas and carrots. We also ordered Ikura Nigiri ($2.95), Saba Nigiri ($2.50), Snake Roll ($8.95) - which consists of spicy tuna with avocado, cilantro, topped with salmon and avocado, and cold soba with tempura ($7.95). Everything was delicious! Esp the snake roll! It had the right amount of spiciness to it!
This is def. a great neighborhood restaurant. It's nothing fancy at all - just a typical casual dining. It's always packed and people keep coming in. Service here is alright...seems like everyone is always rushing around, but at least we've gotten everything we asked it. Parking isn't bad because there is a lot of street parking and residential neighborhood parking. They have a decent selection of sake here as well! But I always go for the hot sake. Overall, a great place to come here when you have a craving for Japanese food.
The other reviewers weren't kidding. Every staff member working here spoke cantonese. Doesn't really bother me though, I like being able to secretly understand everything they say.
The prices are very reasonable, although I found it quite annoying that they don't list the prices of the nigiri/rolls on the checklist you order from. I was hungry and felt like loading up on the cheap stuff. So I got the combo A and the pumpkin sushi. The portions were pretty large. The fish used in the pumpkin sushi was pretty fresh. The tempura was ok. Everything I had was pretty average, nothing spectacular. But at least the prices reflect that.
I am NOT a fan of sizzling platter dishes. Even with the door wide open, the smoke from just one order filled up the entire room. I don't want to know how it would be like if there were several more orders coming out at the same time, with the door closed, with all tables fully occupied.
I really wanted to like this place, mainly because I live a few blocks away and it would have been nice to have a great japanese place to eat without having to drive, find parking, make reservations, etc etc. I will probably try out more of their sushi offerings on future visits. I have a feeling this place will eventually win me over.
Overall it's an ok place. I would never recommend anyone go out of their way to eat here, but if you live around here anyways and don't feel like driving elsewhere, there are worse places.
Came on a Friday night so there was a wait, but it was totally worth it! The service was great, people were very nice. We ordered a lot of rolls and nigiris and the fish was really fresh and tasty!
Definitely going back again!
i honestly love this place.. been going here since i was a kid! i usually get the California rolls, raw oysters, raw salmon roll, dragon rolls, butter fish with rice, and the unagi! its all really good! the place is pretty small.. but the food is good!
I came here ever since i was a
little kid. Its Awesome!! The service
is fast and the sushi is pretty decent.
It keeps on getting better, the service is always consistent and super fast, and there is never really a long wait.
Oh and the food is great!
I love this place, it is a casual neighborhood establishment with tons or regulars, good service (a… Read more »
I don't know if it's because my girlfriend and I venture out and try other restaurants more than usual now, or if it's just that this place has gone downhill.
The fish is not even fresh anymore, or at least compared to other places and everything else seems to be laced with MSG. I get the MSG heebie jeebies after and I feel like I have to go out and fight someone or two. The heart starts to race and the jitter comes like I just had a huge adrenaline rush. But the irony is, the food is nothing to get excited about.
Don't get me wrong, the food is bang for the buck, but I'd rather have a little 'pop' for my buck if the taste is so much better.
It's no Ebisu but this place rocks. I've been frequenting this place for the longest time and I… Read more »
This place is great.
Cheap, fresh fish, the waiters remember me.
The lunch combos fill you up totally for a great price.
Chef Michael is a comedian too.
I LOVE this damn place.
This little restaurant packs a punch. I'm not a big fan of the bento boxes, but the rolls are delish!
Favorites:
- Snake roll - The cilantro gives it a punch
- Volcano roll - Baked, tangy and spicy
- Sea Bass - $15 for the sea bass dinner, comes with 2 good-sized pieces of bass and sauteed sprouts. Very good.
- Salmon and lemon roll - This roll is so simple, but it's one of my favorites. The lemon gives it a fresh kick
All of their rolls are decently priced and I have yet to try something I don't like. I'd recommend making reservations, even on the day of. It gets busy early on, especially on weekend.
I have been coming here for a long time. This is where the owner taught me the art of drinking SakeBombs!!! This is as good as it gets with Japanese food in San Francisco - I kid you not!
Sit at the bar - it's the funnest place. You'll be at the mercy of the sushi chefs: you take shot --- they take 2!
Their hamachi kama is TO DIE FOR! Order it as soon as you get there because they only have, probably 4 order for the day.
The oyster shots are a must! Their special rolls are what keeps this place alive AND the people - well, what more can I say ---- they're incredibly delightful too!
Once you come here, you'll want to keep coming back....TRUST ME!
I don't think I could have asked for a better 23rd birthday. Why? I lost my sashimi virginity tonight.
After 3 days of studying and being too stressed to eat, I finished my midterm around 730. I called Chris eager to see him, eager for dinner since I finally had my appetite back. We debated eating here or at Barracuda @ Serramonte. He kept asking where I wanted to go since I was the birthday girl. I said the night was in his hands, so he drove us over to Taraval.
Upon entering, I noticed the Yelp stickers on the door - good sign. Since it was about 8pm, it wasn't too busy inside. We were seating quickly at a table by the window. Our waitress brought us a pitcher of tea and our menus right away. Chris already knew what he wanted to order for us. I wanted to do a once over with the menu, but he seemed pretty excited about dinner so I left the fate of our meal in his hands. He ordered us the Matsu combo plate, substituting the California roll for the Dragon roll (extra charge).
When our sushi platter came my eyes literally popped out. The plate consisted of...
- 4 hamachi
- 4 salmon
- 4 tuna
- 4 unagi
- spider roll : soft shell crab w/ cucumber & avocado
- caterpillar roll : unagi inside w/ avocado
- dragon roll : shrimp tempura w/ unagai & avocado
Now, this meal was a challenge for me. I really don't care for avocado. Usually I poke the avocado out of my rolls or order without it. Also, I have a short gag reflex so I couldn't eat raw fish for the longest time...well...with the exception of spicy tuna. I didn't want to seem like a picky ass brat so I ate all my avocado with a smile on my face. The rolls were all really generous portions. I think the spider roll was my fav of the 3, caterpillar being my least fav due to avocado overload.
The sashimi was REALLY fresh and cut perfectly. Though I'd never eaten it before, I've seen my family & friends order and end up with either FAT pieces or stingy ones. First I tackled the salmon, then the hamachi, then the tuna. I was really really afraid I was going to gag horribly, which would've been beyond embarrassing..but turns out, I really liked it. Of the 3, hamachi was my favorite.
I don't know how long it took, but we killed the entire plate of sushi - not to mention we drank the entire pitcher of tea (I swear it was bottomless..we never seemed to run out!). The plate is supposed to be $39.95, I'm not sure how much the substitution was, but when the bill arrived the total was $48.77 (before tip). Not bad! Chris pointed out the owner to me, I could hear him chatting with all of the customers, whom I'm guessing are regulars. Lovely neighborhood joint to have around. We left with full stomachs and smiles on our faces.
Yum! The sushi pleases me well. I'm craving for it right now! Had the snake roll and the creamy roll. I love their wasabi sauce. The tuna that's in the sushi is heaven. =) Also, shared the bento box. They don't give enough rice.
What still bugs me a bit is their list of sushi is not alphabetical and the prices are not listed.
Happy Hour Draft Beer $1.75!
Neighborhood: Nob Hill
99 cents beer & hot sake
Neighborhood: Excelsior
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Parkside
Category: Sushi Bars
Neighborhood: Outer Sunset
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: SOMA
Category: Japanese
Neighborhood: Parkside
Category: Japanese
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