Sebo

This is a really really late review... I know. There's some hope in me left that one day they will return (maybe from this review?).

Honestly it was the best sushi place in SF. I'm talking better than Omakase and Kusakabe and the newer players that have been coming to town. They had some great techniques, their nigiri size was perfect, they made their own soy sauce in which I still miss to this day, and if you got to know the chefs at all they'd sometimes make you a special dish based on traditional dishes they knew. It was the most uniquely Japanse sushi restaurant that I've been to outside of Japan, and their skillful chefs are missed. Come back, please!

Could Sebo be the best sushi bar in the U.S. without a Japanese chef? Sure, I have not been to every sushi restaurant in the country, but at least an argument could be made. (I still need to try Okoze (http://www.yelp.com/biz/FkmficKyZxewFcG5H2FcNg)). While most good non-Japanese sushi chef places focus on fusion rolls, guys at Sebo are very serious about serving authentic Edomae-style sushi using air shipped neta (fish) delivered from Japan.

SEATS: 6 Counter seats. 5-8 tables with lots of flexibility. Nice spacing between the tables. As you might imagine, counter seats are the most popular.

DECOR: Very nice. Stylish without being over the top. To stereotype a bit, many Japanese owners have a very poor sense in creating a nice decor. Of course, there are exceptions like Hime and Bushi-Tei, but most are like Minami and Sushi Zone.

SUSHI RICE: Unfortunately, on my two visits to Sebo, I have not sat at their sushi counter, so I could not study their sushi skills. I agree with Dan V. (http://danv.yelp.com/) that Sebo's sushi rice didn't stick together well, so if you are not careful, nigiri might fall apart. While some people feel you must eat sushi traditional style with hands, I've heard from experts that there is nothing wrong with using chopsticks to eat sushi. With Sebo's nigiri, eating with chopsticks may be challenging, trying to keep it in one piece. UNLESS, you go American style, and dip the rice portion into the soy sauce, avoiding the need to flip the nigiri. Anyhow, the benefit of not-so-sticky rice is that you get to enjoy the nice bold texture of the rice, so I enjoyed their Chirashi Sushi (bowl of sushi rice with 5 pieces of fish).

FISH: Very good quality. I liked their tuna (hon-maguro) and buri (not just a typical fake yellowtail). I have to warn the American style sushi fans that sushi at Sebo is not very big. Note to nobu k. (http://nobu.yelp.com/): I am not sure you'll like this place. You might feel this place serves gourmet shxt.

OTHER THAN SUSHI: We found only two non-sushi items; Simmered halibut cheeks (very good) and sunomono. I am surprised that they don't offer more, because I know they are skilled to make all kinds of really good authentic cooked Japanese dishes. I've had some excellent buta-no-kakuni (stewed pork) and other various small dishes during a True Sake event at Sebo.

SAKE: A very nice selection of sake selected by Beau Timken of True Sake.

PRICE: You'll need to spend a fair amount of money, but I wouldn't call their sushi expensive. Considering the quality of the fish they get, it's actually a pretty good deal.

Sample dinner for one:
$9 honmaguro (blue fin tuna)
$7 buri (mature yellowtail)
$8 yari ika (arrow squid)
$4 umekyu (roll)
$8 simmered halibut cheeks
$14 chirashi
$10 Kubota Senju (glass of sake)
$17 Tip and taxes
--------------------------
$77 per person.

High-end sushi is such a dicey proposition. Advance word on Sebo was so exalted that it's hard to imagine it living up to the expectations set forth by the likes of Anthony Bourdain and Alice Waters. It doesn't... but maybe it's just me. Maybe I don't have the refined palate I should have as a sansei food snob to regale in the delicacy of flavors presented here. Or maybe, just maybe, I don't like paying $25 for just five pieces. Like I said, high-end sushi is what Michael Black and Daniel Dunham serve, and the sushi connoisseurs gobble it up like Jelly Bellies.

It's a spare space, minimalist with modern Asian ambiance, ironically next door to the boisterous Paxti's Pizza. The sushi side of the menu appears very select as it reflects mostly fish flown in from Japan. There are no dragon or rainbow rolls where they toss their leftover fish parts into their own all-you-can-eat maki. But before I get into that, Jamie W. and I decided to try a couple of their small plates to give us a running start toward the sushi beyond the complimentary edamame (see photo). First up was the $6 Mekabbetsu, which were flash-fried brussel sprout leaves served with a spoonful of soy butter sprinkled with black sesame seeds (see photo).

It was tasty and quite similar to the brussel sprout chips offered at Marlowe. Next was something that reflected my personal taste, the $11 Chawan Mushi, a steamed egg custard molded into a cup with a shrimp, a scallop and a sea urchin thrown in like fruit cocktail in Jell-o (see photo). It was blistering hot from the boiling water and ultimately too bland to enjoy with much gusto. And finally the sushi. We both ordered the $25 Chef's Selection (Nigiri), which consisted of five pieces very simply presented. That evening, they were madai (sea bream) from Mie, kurodai (daurade) from Kanagawa, saba (mackeral) from Kyoto, hirame (fluke) also from Kanagawa, and anago (salt water eel) from Kagoshima (see photos).

Fresh? Oh yes. Unique? I'm sure. Tasty? No complaints. Worth the price? Ehhhh... just don't have that level of appreciation, I guess. Jamie and I both tried to eat the nigiri very slowly but to no avail. They were gone in less than five minutes. I wish I could tell you how transformative those five minutes were, but honestly, I don't remember them much now. I don't think Jamie was too thrilled since he wanted to make a beeline to Hayes & Kebab for a gyros wrap right afterward. Me? I was thinking I needed to go to a Buddhist monastery and contemplate the meaning of life and maybe stop at Costco for the sushi party platter along the way.

FOOD - 3 stars...fresh fish but oh my, ka-ching
AMBIANCE - 3.5 stars...very sparse space with just six spots at the sushi bar and the tables spread out
SERVICE - 3.5 stars...good enough...the wait wasn't bad for a Friday evening
TOTAL - 3 stars...victim of its own hype?... guess it depends how much you love your sushi

We had a $60 for 4-course Omakase + glass of sake deal from Blackboard Eats. I thought it was a deal on the regular Omakase which is 6-course and $80 so this was more of a smaller omakase option vs. savings I initially thought it was.

Anyway, small simple space with 6 two-tops and 2 four-tops + small sushi bar. At 6:30 on Sunday the sushi bar was full (5-6 seats) and one other table of two seated. As the night progressed the restaurant filled up with a wait list when we left.

Amuse Bouche: Simmered shiitake, octopus, and kelp served on a shiso leaf (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/VkaWWpI6IvHTov5-_cJlag?select=bQSgpULZm24CzYPPDoOc7A) A little salty. The octopus was really tender with a texture similar to braised beef.

Course 1: 4 piece roll of Pickled Gobo (burdock root) and avocado wrapped in hirame and cucumber + Seared Hokkaido scallop on lemon. (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/VkaWWpI6IvHTov5-_cJlag?select=3eAjy4DHXSisAyhIQRTReg) The gobo and avocado combined for a creamy and crunchy bite. A light sauce complemented the roll's flavors. The scallop was nicely seared, but I thought the brush of sauce on it didn't enhance the sweet scallop meat

Course 2a: Five piece nigiri plate of shimaaji (stripe jack), saba (makerel), iwashi (sardine), hirame (fluke), and tako (octopus) (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/VkaWWpI6IvHTov5-_cJlag?select=_1glKFy9K8wEeCAIDeKkrA). Single bite portions, smaller than the typical fish cuts you see at the average sushi joint. Nobu K would approve.

The shari had a light nutty flavor. All the fish were very good. The saba was nicely marinated and I really liked the iwashi which I've only had a couple of times previously. The tako was also extremely tender.

Course 2b: After our nigiri plates were cleared a plate of Kappamaki was delivered (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/VkaWWpI6IvHTov5-_cJlag?select=eDfaGBA-EfzqYJkl-Jilsw). A simple cucumber palate cleanser. I guess traditional and nothing special.

Course 3: Soba noodles, chilled broth, Uni, Ikura, mountain yam, and finely sliced nori in a glass (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/VkaWWpI6IvHTov5-_cJlag?select=fZCPG87H1dtH6hzhXBrnVw). I've had my share of so-so uni so seldom order it. This was fresh and firm with a clean flavor. Combined with the briney ikura and crunch of the mountain yam, this was a fun dish to mix up and eat.

Course 4: Salt Grilled Aji (horse makerel). Half per person (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/VkaWWpI6IvHTov5-_cJlag?select=IAaRSuRm4874vCJHY5pBJQ) Nicely cooked with moist flakey flesh. Some bones left in the fillet that you have to work around. They brought out some plain white rice to eat with the fish. It highlighted the subtleties of the delicious sushi rice we had in the nigiri course.

It was about 20 minutes between dishes and our meal was about 2 hours total. We had a good time and enjoyed the variety and quality of the food, but it's a bit of a splurge to be a your regular sushi spot.

I saw a few reviews saying you could bring your own bottles of sake for no corkage. If they still allow it, it's probably the way to go if you know you're going to be drinking sake. The Shogen we enjoyed was $14 per (not so big) glass here and $35 for a 720ml bottle at True Sake across the street.

Service was friendly, but the two waitresses seemed to be stretched once the place filled up.

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?!

Yelp often misleads me in that I find a place with some crazy good reviews, go there and find myself disappointed that it did not live up to my standards whether it's because the service was awful, or the food was simply not on point.

However, this time, Yelp is misleading for others in that this place is truly, amazing and the food is simply sensational, and yet someone who looks at the 3.5 stars might be put off because it didn't get several hundred reviews of 4 stars or above.

I only found this place because of Anthony Bourdain's no reservations. Clearly, the place was not busy enough that you really didn't need reservations ... but that's besides the point. We arrived around 8:30pm on a Saturday night, usually prime time, but there were spots at the bar open so we promptly seated ourselves. I wish we had time for the omakase, I think that's going to be a next time ordeal because the two girls next to us were having omakase and everything looked absolutely delightful. In fact, the chef kept catching me staring at offered to make us a dish I was drooling over even though we were not getting the omakase.

I got the 7 piece nigiri and complimented it with their homemade tamagoyaki and the food was simply divine. Every piece was artfully crafted with just the right touch of wasabi (real of course!), shoyu and proportions of fish and rice. Every piece was fresh, delicious, not frozen and just the right temperature as well as the right flavors. They even had blue shrimp!

The chef is friendly, and grandpa like. I enjoyed my experience very much and will most definitely be back in this small little sushi place that is really a hidden gem. Perhaps it's good that it's got such an average review on Yelp so that it can continue to stay that way.

If I could, I would give it a solid 3.5 stars, but I will round up only because my favorite TV show host Anthony Bourdain has been here!

We came here last night for dinner at 6PM and got a table right away - that was nice. I looked at the menu. It was simply laid out and everything is served sort of ala carte - if you want rice and miso soup, you order these separately as opposed to having it all included like I'm used to. Hmmm...ok.

I ordered the miso soup which was quite good - a red miso soup that was rich, silky and healthy with tofu and seaweed (wakame), liked it, liked it. Then, I had the 9-piece chef-picked sashimi -- the waitress told us what kind of fish they were, but my brain was already fogged by the yummy Okinawan Orion beer (large bottles, enough to share). I dug into the sashimi, and it was super fresh and very good. Ok, I was impressed. The serving wasn't huge and I couldn't help wanting more, but really, us Americans eat way too much and our servings are way too big, so after a minute, I decided I was satisfied and my friend and I chatted away and enjoyed our beers (ok, we ordered 2 bottles and shared them so really, I drank one of those big bottles by myself - good times!!).

The service was ok. I liked the atmosphere, very zen, very feng shui. If someone said, "Let's go to Sebo," I would say OK! I'd be back.

9 piece sashimi+miso soup+beer+tax+tip = $45

Don't mess this place up. Don't mess with its neighborhood feel, because that's the way Mike and Danny, the owners and chefs, want it. Don't turn it into a scene, because they're not scenesters, although you'd be fooled. And finally, don't mess with my chances of eating at the bar, sharing their sake, their stories and their good will. In fact, I wouldn't be writing this review, but since 7x7 is going to bust out a big, fat review for them, I guess it doesn't matter. If you guys are into Dragon, Caterpillar, 49er, White Guy Rolls or whatever, don't go here because they don't got 'em. Mike and Danny said they're happy with how things are going and don't want to get suddenly overwhelmed and look bad trying to make everyone happy, which was what they want -- a problem that many people who just opened a restaurant a few weeks ago would be happy to have.

Mike has toiled at many sushi incarnations over the years, and it's been an honor knowing him. Freshness is his obsession and calling, and his saba is by far the most plump, steak-like, dense and juicy around -- not that white, vinegary, coagulated, canned stuff you get at most places. In my world, fish needs nothing to improve the flavor -- unless it's bad fish -- but I have to say Michael knows how to add citrus or creme fraiche in a way that's subtle without taking out the long flavors. He and Danny also have beautiful eye for presentation, and you can tell they enjoy that. Hopefully my photos did some justice. How about that flower next to the hamachi? You want to know how exacting Michael is? When he saw me taking pics, he offered to push the hamachi back upright on the endive.

Now that's cooking. Now go and be a good neighbor.

Word on the street is there was a falling out with the partners here? Im not sure if they'll be around much longer. Came in one late night after a show and it was pretty mellow. Went for the 9 piece omakase and had a pretty good selection of different seafood. The tsubugai and medai may have been the favorites of the night. The sake selection from True Sake is an added bonus for you lovers of drink with your edo style sushi.

Out of no where pops a sleek sushi joint in my favorite SF neighborhood.

The decor is pretty minimalist, it works and it doesn't. The use of fluorescent light and some poorly chosen fixtures violates the otherwise decent feng shui.

The menu has both sushi and small plate selections. The sushi was top notch, seriously some of the finest fish flesh I've sampled in recent memory. However, the two small plates I had were really disappointing.

A nice touch was the sake menu, assembled and annotated by the owner of True Sake (another Hayes establishment).

Prices are on the high side, putting them on par with Ozumo. A ballsy move, but they don't have the sexy bar and see-and-be scene to match.