Sakana Sushi & Grill

Well, it started out nice. We were seated immediately in a crowded room. Very good in terms of quick service.
When it comes to the food, however, it’s a little hit and miss. More on that in a sec. We ordered:
–Nameko Miso Soup
–Ika Fry
–Scallop R.B. (Wrapped in Bacon)
–Aji (Jack Mackerel)
–Anago (BBQ Sea Eel)
–Kinme Dai
–Awabi (Abalone)
–Toro (Fatty Tuna)
–Ama Ebi (Sweet Shrimp)
–Roe Sushi
–Hakutaka (Carafe)
Looks like a lot, and it is – we couldn’t finish! But, that wasn’t our issue. Our real issue was starting with the «wrong» item (subjective): the abalone. We had confidence that if the abalone was well-​prepared, everything else would be fantastic, too. I found it to be so chewy, I was not capable of biting through most of it. Wasn’t malleable enough… Most of that was left back on my plate.
Now, many other items were decent, especially the Aji and the Anago. Liked the bacon wrapped scallops, too. It’s just the first attempts at eating anything sort of tainted the rest.
We were wiped out late that evening, having just seen Tarantino’s «The Hateful Eight,» for better or worse…
I think by ignoring the abalone, Sakana can earn three stars. Restroom was clean, and service is everything.

The food is amazing! I wound have given this place 5 stars if I were to only compare it to the food alone, but service is also a factor. The waiter was curt… No he was flat out rude. The food made him tolerable!

We wanted sushi and searched Unilocal for recos, of course! Our first choice had too long of a line, so we opted for Sakana Sushi. We had a short wait, about 5 mins., then were seated at a nice table by the window. The gentleman serving us was not the friendliest server, but he was efficient. Because of his demeanor, however, I felt asking him questions would put him out, so didn’t. We began with edamame and a tempura app. How a restaurant prepares tempura is often a tell-​tale sign of their quality of Japanese food. It was good but not amazing. Not greasy, but have had better– think the batter was a bit heavy. We sampled a variety of nigiri sushi, a roll, and sashimi. The overall quality of the fish was good, but for the Bay Area, it was solid. Would go back.

This place was decent, but didn’t stand out in anyway. The food, service, and décor were all just «okay.»
I had the chicken teriyaki plate, which I chose because it was healthy (grilled chicken served with miso soup, a generously sized salad, and steamed rice). It was okay, but nothing special. I also tried the rolls our group ordered — tuna bomb, spider roll, and hamachi negi — they were good.
The service was also okay. One friend’s food took longer than the rest of ours to come out. In general, the service was polite and the food came out quickly. The staff was not exactly warm and friendly, but they were competent, and did a good job accommodating our group of 7.
The place is cozy and takes reservations, which was important to us, since we were going to see a 8pm play after dinner.
Overall, good, but simply not great.

We wouldn’t recommend anyone to come here. Very rude server. First, one of the server gave us menu, then went to the kitchen. Didnt come back for 10 mins. We tried to raise our hand to ask the other waiter to come, he saw it, but he didnt give us any reaction. We alomst wanted to leave. He had no smile at all. When we tried to point on the sushi that we wanted to order because we don’t know how to pronounce, he said «you just have to read it out, I won’t see it». Very mean. He also had a really bad breath, so it’s really ruin our meal. I think he is Japanese with the tattoo on the arm. The other American guy seems more friendly, but he just left the menu and never come back.
The scallop carpaccio is a joke. 2 and a half scallop cut into 5 thin piece and charged over $ 10-​$ 12 i believe. Only sea salt and olive oil with no plating as an appetizer. Stay away from it. The rest of the sushi are ok, not really fresh or surprised.
We were so regret that we just spent about $ 100 here with this quality of food and the awful service. I think he really had a bad day. If you don’t like to be serving customer, you should just work inside the kitchen. We don’t deserve your bad attitude.
Would never go back to this restaurant. Hope you won’t serve by this terrible Asian or Japanese tattoo waiter.
Also other customers mentioned that the chef touched his phone while he was making sushi, there was a picture to proof too. We didnt see it until we read the Unilocal reviews. Your hands should be clean while you are making the sushi. Phone is really dirty. You shouldn’t touch your phone while you are making sushi. So disgusting!

Really, really, really great food. Seriously.
I had gotten in late traveling and was staying at a nearby hotel. I found this place on Unilocal and decided to order a few dishes to go. I love sushi, but I was in the mood for something cooked and hearty. I opted for tonkatsu, miso soup, and just a few nigiri.
Fish-​to-​rice ratio was perfect. Rice was seasoned so well. Every piece was fresh and delicious.
Tonkatsu was also delightful. Perfectly crunchy on the outside, great katsu sauce on the side. Next time I’m in town, I’ll go full-​blown crazy with their daily specials!

Delicious food all around! Sushi is very authentic, has a consistent quality, and they have generous portions. A lot of detail goes into the food and the best part is it’s inexpensive compared to the other Japanese restaurants in the area. My favorites were the spider roll, natto roll, ikura rolls, and the hamachi kama. The sale is also on point!
Restaurant is small with a sushi bar. If you’re looking for a low key relaxing dinner, this is your spot.

The food was pretty good, but the service was sooooooo bad. The host/​waiters were really brusque and rude and kinda sketchy too. We went there on a Saturdat night, and we felt like we weren’t welcome and we were being rushed out of there. It’s a small to medium sized place, pretty loud inside. They didn’t bring us water until the second time I asked for it. The prices were pretty low, $ 15 minimum to use card. Honestly, idk if it’s worth going there again, because the food is good, but you have to factor in if you want to be ignored and disrespected or not.

My friend and I were looking for a sushi place on our first night out. We were going to go to the one around the corner but the wait was too long and we were so tired we just didn’t want to deal with it. So we stopped here instead.
The prices were very fair for the quality and service.
For two people we came to a bill of around $ 80 which I thought was fine, then again I live in Vegas right now and we’re pretty big on the AYCE, so for a la carte I think this is fair.
The fish wasn’t super fresh but definitely still decent enough.
We got a lot of different things:
Sashimi plate was alright the pieces were pretty thick for what I was expecting. I also had a couple different nigiri which included the chu toro which was amazing. I love good chu toro! You end up paying market price which is totally worth it for me. It just melts in your mouth! I also love ama ebi (sweet shrimp) and this one was pretty small compared to what I’m used to but definitely still good. I enjoyed them both but next time o might just get more chu toro and skip the ama ebi.
Miso soup is pretty generic and the karaage was actually decent. I like to judge a place based off of their fried chicken and two kinds of nigiri sushi which determines if a place is good or not for me.
They’re definitely spot on with service and quality. So definitely will stop by again next time I’m in town!

Ginger is dry ⁰⁄₁₀
Rice to fish ratio ⁷⁄₁₀
Fish cut ⁶⁄₁₀
«Wasabi» to fish ratio ³⁄₁₀
Squid is dope! ⁷⁄₁₀
Mackerel wasn’t flavorful ⁵⁄₁₀
Tako ⁸⁄₁₀
Squid is slimy ⁵⁄₁₀
Gave plates of squid and tako with no wasabi.
Rock ‘n’ roll ⁶⁄₁₀
Philly roll ⁴⁄₁₀
Spicy scallop roll ⁴⁄₁₀
Dragon roll ⁴⁄₁₀
Their «special rolls» are standard. Dragon, rainbow, 49, caterpillar, etc. Garbage.
Roll selection is awful. Just asked for a legitimate special roll and they said «it’s only what’s on the menu.»
They messed up my order and gave me 8 octopus when I ordered 4 octopus and 4 squid and they took 4 of the octopus from me instead I of comping them.
By the end of the night I ordered 11 things and only got 8.
Service ³⁄₁₀
Food ⁴⁄₁₀
Environment ³⁄₁₀

Yes!
Great start to learning about sushi spots in the Bay!
So Sakana is a pretty cool Sushi spot.
Call ahead if you want to sit at a table (otherwise you’re at the bar)
If there’s a wait at the bar you might just end up waiting outside– But we refused and waited inside until a couple left the bar! (Hey it’s cold outside)
I really love the chefs and the Waiters will drop some sushi knowledge on you after a bit of persistence.
All in all you can get Sake, A Roll, Rice & Edamame fun under $ 15 which is the minimum for paying with a card!
Stay Amazing,
P. S.- If y’all have any suggestions

Basic, good old standby sushi. Good quality, relaxed, not trendy place. I love how they roasted there jalapeño in the tuna bomb roll. Crab in California roll needed a little salt or flavor of some kind.

Sushi was excellent. We ordered 5 different rolls and they were all excellent. We ordered the Dragon Roll, Tuna Roll and sadly I can’t remember the other three but they were all good. Service was friendly and prompt.
Not a fancy place but I think the price reflects that. Our bill was right around $ 40 which is cheap for this area.

Somewhat disappointed.
Its mediocre sushi. I think the pre-​packed sushi in my supermarket taste the same.
The prices are probably normal for SFO, but to me, it seems kinda high for the less than stellar sushi provided. Portions are tiny. I would say, half of the normal cuts on a nigiri. Anyway, this is SFO. more expensive than NYC.

Okay so first of all, parking is really hectic in this area, so I would prefer catching a cab from the hotel or simply walking it if you live just a few blocks away.
Now with the good. I felt like a hungry caveman the minute we landed in SF, and this was the only sushi place we found that didn’t have lines all the way across the back. There was a waiting list though and I believe we waited for a good 15 – 20 min, our waitress was really friendly and greeted us and seated us once it was our turn.
I ordered the Cali roll, spicy tuna roll, chicken teriyaki, and my all time favorite fried oysters! Now I’m a big oyster fan either raw or steamed but this one knocked it out of the park. I would come back and order like 3 rounds of this stuff.
It’s great but you can’t have more than 4 ppl for each party its kind of a small place but great to take someone out for a first date.

I came here for a quick bite, not expecting much. Turns out, the service was terrible and my rolls were a little sloppy. My server was inattentive and impossible to get a hold of. He wouldn’t let me finish my sentence whenever I had the chance to talk to him. He didn’t even ask us what we wanted to drink and I ended up asking for water after receiving my food. Also, I didn’t find out that my menu had the wrong prices until I received my check. The waiter didn’t apologize and simply said «you didn’t have an updated menu.»
Other than that, I think this place is reasonably priced for average sushi. Just need major improvements on the service.

The food here is pretty incredible. We got a bunch of nigiri like Amber jack, bonito, tuna, hamachi. We also got a couple of rolls with salmon and soft shell crab. The California rolls here don’t have imitation crab — it’s the perfect place to get a well made roll of sushi.
The price is really reasonable for how good the food is. The neighborhood isn’t great but then that’s the tenderloin/​union square area for you. The ambience is simple and the focus is definitely on the food. Service is great even though there’s a handful of people working there.
We were a party of 2 and it’s a place where you probably don’t want to go with more than 4 people. We could tell from the food that the chefs knew what they were doing. The flavor really came out in the dishes they prepared.

My bf and I ended up at Sakana because it is blocks from the Marrakech Theatre where we had a show to watch, but it was an inadvertent discovery of a gem! They serve some of the best sushi my bf and I had ever tasted despite the casual atmosphere and interiors.
Service is friendly and attentive here. We let the chef choose our sashimi plate which seems to always work out well for us in most sushi joints. He picked out various fishes some of which were from Japan such as Amberjack, Sea Bream, and Bonito. The plate was a simple, beautiful conglomeration of colourful, shiny fish. Each one tasted as fresh and buttery as it looked too! We enjoyed some of our favorites such as ankimo (monkfish liver), mackerel and uni. The Tako Su salad (octopus, seaweed and cucumber) was made with real seaweed. They serve sake in carafes here which was different, but it didn’t matter. The fill level seemed to rise with each new carafe. –much appreciated Sakana!
All this for extremely reasonable prices. I don’t think we went past $ 150. For the top notch quality food here, the prices were excellent. It’s not a matter of IF we’ll return. It’s WHEN!

We chose this place because it was near the Hilton where we are staying and it got decent reviews. This place was supposed to be open until 1 o’clock am on a Saturday but end up closing at midnight because they ran out of rice. How does a sushi place run out of rice?!
The bill was about $ 100 but we got 2 large hot sakes and a large Sapporo light. We also got to special rolls (including a rainbow roll), two orders of salmon (sake), and an appetizer of seared albacore which was a little overcooked. there supposedly known for their barbecue eel with sounded really gross but it was actually quite tasty. I saw a guy eating here by himself you look like a regular which really shows that this place is legit.

Sakana is surprisingly good given its close proximity to Union Square. Its also open till midnight, even on a Sunday night, and does a respectable job of takeout. It’s a small restaurant, its not fancy, and is located just on the edge of the Tenderloin.
The Good:
Tsukune — skewer of ground chicken balls with shiso leaves — Very Good, Like the leaves
Chicken Yakitori — 2 skewers of grilled chicken — Pretty Good
Salmon Skin Salad — Grilled and chopped salmon skin over baby greens with ponzu — Very Good
Spinach Ohitash –Boiled spinach with light soy with bonito flakesi — Very Good
Tamago — Egg omelet — good
Nasub — Japanese eggplanti — Very Good
Maguro — Tuna — Very Good
Sake — Fresh salmon — Very Good
The Bad:
Maguro Goma Tataki — Seared ahi tuna with spicy sauce — Chewy, Not Good