Oma San Francisco Station — Restaurant in San Francisco

Located discreetly in a shopping center with only an 8 seat intimate dining set-up, I was extremely excited to dine here for the evening. Somehow... I left underwhelmed at the end of the meal.

I booked the 16 course omakase trusting the chefs' curated menu, however I didn't think the execution lived up to its $125 price tag.

One reason being quality control definitely needs to be worked on. In my seared sea bass, although it was tasty, I found a fish bone. In one of my nigiri, I had to fish out a fish scale that had been left behind. Finally, in my otoro nirigi, I had significantly less caviar on top of the piece than others at the table. I just think when charging $100+ per person, these mistakes should occur less often than what I experienced.

Another reason was that the omakase experience was not satisfying; a bit boring I would even say. If you want good food, this is it. Everything I ate was fresh and tasty. However, certain fishes they chose to serve and the order of dishes left me waiting for something else. Most of the nigiri I was served was some kind of white fish; very lean and for the most part tasted similarly. The last nirigi served to me was the otoro which I found odd because it was the fattiest, the pinnacle of the meal. I felt like the order of some dishes/nirigis threw me off, and there was not any unique preparation of dishes with flavors that wowed me besides the very first sashimi dish. I just didn't think this omakase was executed as great as it could have been.

Overall, fresh ingredients, tasty, but I would not go back to attend an omakase. If I am paying $125/per person, I might as well pay a bit more for the fancy splurge for a greater tasting experience.

Note: I didn't take pictures of all the dishes I was served. I only attached the ones I...

I came here for an omakase experience with high expectations, but unfortunately left very disappointed. The dishes were quite average overall. Many pieces had an overwhelming amount of wasabi that completely masked the natural flavor of the fish. Only the sashimi stood out to me as genuinely good. Portion sizes were small, and considering the total cost—nearly $300 for two sets ($95 and $125) plus tax and tip—I didn’t feel it was worth the price at all. More concerning was the hygiene and attitude behind the counter. There were two chefs. The chef on the left wore an apron and gloves, looking very professional. In contrast, the chef on the right wore neither an apron nor gloves at any point. In any professional kitchen, wearing an apron is a basic hygiene standard—not just for cleanliness, but also to show respect for the customer and the food. Even worse, I saw this chef eating his own food from a paper bag while seated below the counter, clearly trying not to be seen. Then he returned to preparing food with bare hands. Even if he rinsed them, this behavior is simply unacceptable during an omakase service, where guests are trusting you with quality and care. His attitude was also off-putting. He looked at customers with an unfriendly or annoyed expression, making the whole experience feel tense. I don’t know if there were internal issues among the staff, but it clearly showed in both his attitude and food handling. This was not the omakase experience I hoped for. I cannot recommend this place to anyone looking for a refined and trustworthy...

I ate at Oma SF Station for the second time last week with my wife and two adult daughters. Like our first visit, the experience was outstanding. We have traveled extensively in Japan and are very familiar with traditional, small sushi bars. Oma SF Station is an excellent US version of a small Japanese sushi bar.

It is located in the Japan Town mall tucked away in obscure corner of the mall. Only 8 seats. We stay at the Kabuki Hotel next door several times a year so we find ourselves wandering through this mall and always notice Oma. During the day you will see large Styrofoam containers of fish being delivered. This is always a good indication that you will be having very fresh fish.

We had 4 in our party. 3 of us had the Tsubame menu (12 pieces) and 1 of us had the Sakura menu (16 pieces). The chef managed the mixed menu perfectly.

As this is a small sushi counter, you get to sit directly in front of the chefs and watch them do their magic. The chefs were very engaging and entertaining. I love interacting with sushi chefs.

As for the food.....it was outstanding. Very fresh, great variety and lots of creative preparations. The set omakase menus were really great. I was also able to add a few ala carte items at the end just to top off.

The chef and host were also very knowledgeable about the sake offerings. We enjoyed two different bottlings.

If you want to experience a Tokyo style small sushi bar experience with outstanding food (in the United States), give Oma SF Station a try.

We will be back on our next...