Chome — Restaurant in San Francisco

We stumbled upon Chome while just walking past in San Francisco’s Mission district, and decided to check it out for dinner. We walked in no reservations or wait and were seated right away. This quirky Japanese izakaya feels like a hidden gem in the neighborhood, and it was the perfect spot for a casual, flavorful meal.

ATMOSPHERE: This cozy spot channels a quirky, offbeat vibe in the Mission think intimate seating with about 20-30 spots in its expanded location on 26th Street, simple wooden tables, dim lighting, and an open kitchen where you can watch the chefs grill over binchotan charcoal. The decor is minimalist and charming, with that neighborhood izakaya feel lively during dinner but never too crowded, drawing a mix of locals and foodies. Perfect for a relaxed evening out in SF.

MENU: The menu is eclectic and fun, focusing on robatayaki (charcoal-grilled skewers of meats, veggies, and seafood), creative nigiri and handrolls, ramen options like fiery lobster or vegan varieties, and small plates including karaage, edamame, and desserts. They’ve got sake, beer, and cocktails to pair, with prices around $8-15 for skewers and $20-30 for larger dishes no strict omakase, but plenty of quirky twists on Japanese pub fare.

FOOD: Assorted Robatayaki Skewers These were the highlight, with a mix of grilled items like tender beef, chicken with spicy mayo, bacon-wrapped dates or enoki, brussels sprouts in creamy sauce, pork belly with lemon, and shiitake mushrooms all charred perfectly over binchotan for that smoky depth. Each skewer had unique toppings and sauces juicy, flavorful, and creative without being overcomplicated. A great shareable platter that showcases their grilling skills; we’d order this again for the variety and balance.

Nigiri Selection We got a plate of fresh nigiri bites, including tuna with microgreens and yuzu, salmon topped with tobiko and pineapple, fatty toro with avocado, and a tartare-style ahi all on perfectly seasoned rice wrapped in nori. The fish was high-quality and melt-in-your-mouth, with fun, unexpected flavor combos that elevated the classics. Fresh, vibrant, and portioned just right for sharing amazing for sushi lovers seeking something quirky.

Matcha Pavlova Dessert To end, this light and refreshing treat featured a fluffy meringue topped with matcha powder, set in a green matcha sauce, and surrounded by fresh fruits like strawberries, blueberries, and dragonfruit, garnished with mint. It was creamy yet airy, with a nice tart-sweet contrast from the fruits and subtle bitterness from the matcha not too heavy after a savory meal, and a creative twist on a classic dessert.

SERVICE: No reservations needed for small groups, and we were helped right away on a weekday. The staff were super friendly, efficient, and knowledgeable about the menu, offering great recs on skewer pairings and pacing the meal well.

TIPS: Reservations for parties of 4 or more via text a day ahead, as it can get busy. They’re closed Mondays and open for happy hour early evenings check for specials like discounted skewers. Parking in the Mission is street-only and tricky, so use public transit or rideshare. Customize your order with extra sauces, and pair with sake for the full izakaya experience.

OVERALL: Was it worth the visit? Absolutely. Chome delivers eccentric Japanese bites with standout skewers and a cozy Mission vibe that’s pure SF charm. We’ll be back for more robatayaki next time...

I decided to go to Chome the other night with a friend as I had seen some great reviews for this restaurant. I arrived at 7pm, which I know can be a pretty prime time for dinner.

Considering this is a “walk-in” only restaurant and seemed like a small establishment, I was prepared to wait. However, both the inaccurate wait time of 20 minutes given by the hostess or owner and yesterday’s freezing weather, really tested my patience.

When I first stepped into Chome to write down my name and party size, I realized the list had a number of names of individuals who left both their names and a return time. Smart, as I certainly would NOT have waited an hour outside of this restaurant had I known it was going to take this long for me and my friend to be seated. Again, it did not help that I was right when predicting that this restaurant was small. The entrance is narrow and only allows for a max 4 people to squeeze in if they need to separately sign their names on a waitlist.

After an hour of waiting, we were finally seated and served some potato salad as a complimentary dish. We browsed the menu and the first thing I noticed was that most of the dishes are experimental versus traditional Japanese food. Considering this is an izakaya restaurant (which is somewhat the equivalent of a Japanese pub), I assumed the portion sizes were going to be small to moderate. Again, I was not too far off.

My friend wanted to try the Chu-Toro Sizzler, Chicken Thigh Skewer (2 pieces), and Fishermen’s Sashimi Platter which charges an additional $15 for a small portion of uni topped with ikura.

Our dishes came out one by one. The Chu-Toro Sizzler was decent but sadly feels like a bit of a waste of a good cut of fish. To cook part of fatty tuna with high heat in a skillet seems a bit gimmicky. My friend described it as “interesting…” which I typically don’t find to be a huge compliment. However, I guess I should not have been too surprised considering the “Recommended Dishes on Yelp” includes a Big Mac nigiri. 😂

The Chicken Thigh Skewer was pretty decent as well but a tad under seasoned. Just a sprinkle of salt would have made it infinitely better.

Finally, the Fishermen’s Sashimi Platter was somewhere between good and could have been a bit better, considering what they are charging. Perhaps in quality or portion sizing. Do not get me wrong though, they were most generous with serving raw Hokkaido scallop (if you enjoy scallops).

The dinner was concluded with a complimentary palate cleanser, which consisted of two skewers of grapes and cantaloupe. We were then asked by the hostess if we could leave the restaurant as there was still a long line of customers waiting outside.

I wanted to note that my experience with this restaurant would have been better had there been a more organized waitlist system. The restaurant is located in a bit of a rougher part of the Mission District and is not typically the place I want to be waiting outside for an extended time, if I had a choice.

To be honest, I believe this experience could have been better had Chome invested in either a reservation system or waitlist system on Yelp.

Would I come to Chome again? Probably not...

Reviews and the menu looked great when we walked by it one night it happened to be closed so we were resolved to come back and try it to see if it could temper our cravings for the deliciousness of Japan we were missing after our umpteenth trip there earlier in the year. It has a nice vibe to be sure and an extensive drink menu. I'd say some things were hit and miss. Too pricey for the number of misses. As with any Japanese spot, even an izakaya, you expect a large menu like this to have some, but it's hard for me to forgive some of the kushiyaki skewers not actually being cooked properly (the shiitake mushrooms). The lamb skewers actual had an odor I couldn't ignore while eating it much to my sadness (could've been the pesto or yogurt they used unnecessarily that was off). The chicken skin I ordered was unexpectedly fried given it wasn't listed in that section to my recollection and tasted like chicharones. Chicken heart skewers were decent. I wouldn't write home about the hojicha panna cotta matcha sauce dessert sadly despite being a big fan of hojicha and matcha. The special mashed potato, fried cauliflower, spicy miso ramen was pretty good, but other reviewers who say this is the best ramen in town clearly haven't been to dedicated ramen establishments like Mensho, Marufuku, or Taishoken and were surely mistaken. I liked the "Yuzu Dream" was a pretty drink I got as it went nicely with the skewers I ordered, but for what it was and for $15, it was hard not to wince thinking about it. If it wasn't for the fact we were here for a birthday and I was in a spendy mood, I would feel a lot worse about our final bill. Would go again to try some other stuff as the menu looked really interesting and the staff was quick/efficient, but felt compelled to say the other reviews overhyped this place a bit too much. Overall, felt like a lot of dishes were over sauced or flavored to cater to the average diner and was sacrificing some genuinely deliciousness of what I miss from Japan. I know it's a tall order, but writing this to say this spot definitely leans slightly more in the Americanized side while being a nice refreshing take on the typical Japanese American restaurant you might find in San...