Sushi Raw - San Francisco

Rated: ♣♣♣♣

I don’t eat sushi much because it’s hard for me to find real quality fish in the Bay Area. I know that sounds ridiculous because I live in a major city and by the ocean, but snobby as it sounds, nothing seems to compare to the fresh tuna I experienced at the Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo, Japan (read about my trip here). I was skeptical when I came with my family to Sushi Raw. For one, the location of this restaurant seemed to be forever cursed. I’ve seen 5 or 6 restaurants come and go at this location on the corner of 19th and Taraval. But after dining here, I have a good feeling this one will make it.

Like any other quality sushi joint, prices aren’t that cheap. Be prepared to spend about $20 per person if you’re planning to munch on some rolls. Also, I believe this place is a Chinese-owned Japanese restaurant. That aside, the food is still good.

We started off with the Agedashi Tofu. Perfectly crispy on the outside and silky smooth on the inside. The best part is that the portion is huge!

For sushi, I ordered the Rock n’ Roll, Rainbow Roll, Spicy Tuna Roll and a Hamachi Belly Nigiri. All were amazingly good. The Hamachi Belly was a special for the day as it was just caught and flown into town that very day. You only get two little pieces with each order, but it was worth it. The Spicy Tuna Roll was also a favorite of mine. The roll was packed with little cubes of fresh tuna and hot spicy mayo. Yum!

Sushi Raw has 3 locations in San Francisco in the Mission, on Haight and on Taraval.

Sushi Raw
901 Taraval St
(between 19th Ave & 20th Ave)
San Francisco, CA 94116
Neighborhood: Parkside

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Hamano Sushi - San Francisco

Rated: ♣

Blegh! I will never use Urban Spoon again because it recommended this restaurant. Food wasn’t fresh, service was bad, and dishes were dirty! Is it really that bad? Well, I found some food particles in my cup of water and I asked the waitress to get me a new cup (nicely). Instead of doing so right away, the waitress picked up the cup and inspected the glass of water! It was as if she didn’t believe me!

Well, nothing really stood out on the menu, so K and I got the sushi combos. It came with a salad which was probably the worst Japanese salad I’ve ever had. All other Japanese salads are light and refreshing with a sweet miso dressing. This one left a powder residue in my mouth like it was an old, just-add-water type of dressing.

I had the spicy tuna and the California roll. I can’t eat wasabi, so I checked with the waitress to see if they used wasabi in their spicy tuna. She said “no,” but when I took my first bite, all I could taste was wasabi! I couldn’t eat it after that, so I made K eat it for me while I ate his eel roll.

The empty restaurant should’ve been a sign, but I stepped in anyway. I recommend Sushi Sam in San Mateo or Sushi Zone in the Castro if you want some fresh sushi.

Hamano Sushi
1332 Castro St
(between 24th St & Jersey St)
San Francisco, CA 94114
Neighborhood: Noe Valley

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