Nara — Restaurant in San Francisco

Living so close to Nara, I'd like to say I've become a regular here. I usually do dinner pick up orders. Initially I ordered specialty rolls like rainbow roll or crunch roll which are actually quite good, though a bit pricy compared to other sushi places.

Then I realized the dinner combination specials were a much better deal. I started off with chicken katsu + california roll, which is actually the best option if you want huge portions. The california roll is standard. The katsu is very large and can be a meal of its own, but it isn't very good. Maybe I'm just not a fan of the sauce they use. I started getting saba and salmon shioyaki, which are healthier and have more reasonable portion sizes. Sometimes I alternate cali roll with sashimi (which is just 4 pieces of tuna + salmon each).

What I really like about doing take out orders from here is that they are extremely fast. If I order sushi over the phone, it tends to be ready in 5 minutes. The cooked items take a bit longer obviously (~10-15m) but still much quicker than many of the nearby establishments. The restaurant does get crowded from time to time but I have found that the wait staff are attentive and the chefs are extremely efficient, and have never felt like I needed to wait very long for my food.

I have tried their 3-6pm happy hour recently, too. It's a $1 nigiri $2 deal, though there are only a couple of nigiri options, and they often run out of surf clam and yellowtail if you go a little late. So we just get a handful of tuna, salmon, shrimp, inari, and salmon roe nigiri. The fish here is of decent quality, though not spectacular. Pairing the meal with a warm drink is always great. We got tea since we weren't up for alcohol at the time. It ended up being $24 split between 2, which isn't too bad. I'd definitely come again for happy hour, and have sake to complement the meal.

What is especially amazing is that they are open late -- up until 2am on weekends! Late night cravings are often fulfilled...

Met up with some friends on a Saturday night. It's SF so finding parking is always a challenge but I lived there for six years so I taught my kids a few tricks.

We made a reservation for 7pm and the table was ready as I requested (outside) when we arrived. The outside area was nice enough and gave us a feeling of "privacy" from other diners. The young lady brought a heater tower over and turned it on without us having to ask. QR code on the table was worn so I had to go to three other tables before I found one that worked.

Service was friendly and unobtrusive. It started to rain toward the end of our meal and the server set us up to move before it became an issue because our table was the only one not covered. Our server made a great recommendation on sake after asking us several questions about what we were looking for. Some might feel the service was aloof but I prefer to be left with my company and will ask if I need something.

The food and beverage were great. As I mentioned, the sake (Daiwa, I believe) was the perfect recommendation based on what the adults in my group were looking for. My wife and I got several vegetarian options and they were all very tasty. The tempura was perfectly seasoned and included kabocha and what must have maitake mushrooms. The veggie roll was also good and even the agedashi tofu was cooked well and tasted good despite not being able to have the dashi broth.

My buddy paid for the check so I'm not sure about the cost but everything on the menu seemed reasonable. The check came quickly and was authorized before I could stop my server to split it. The servers did a great job of taking anything off the table that didn't need to be there so things were...

Our first time here, and we loved it. It started to get hectic when we got there. They sat us immediately. We started off with chicken karaage. Fresh and crispy. Mostly meat and not a bunch of fried breading. Whatever the white dipping sauce was. It was delicious. We asked the waitress but she wasn't too sure. I had the Jessica Alba roll. I got it without sesame seeds. It had shrimp tempura inside and tobiko. Which in most places is a topping. They put it inside the sushi roll, and it still had that delicious pop and crunch. Had some cucumber in it as well. On top was delicious fresh white tuna or shiro maguro on the menu. Topped with eel sauce. When I say it was delicious. I mean, I ordered 2 for myself. It was that good. I did share a few pieces with 2 people who were sitting at the same table as us. They loved it. My partner had the hamachi kama with side order of sushi rice. Which I highly recommend together. It's a can soda type of place, so those refills cost more, but they do have happy hours and drink specials on alcohol. I love this place. Can't wait to come back to the bay to eat here again. Domo arigato...