This is one of my favorite Sushi spots. I used to live just down the street, and my old roomie and I would frequent this spot if we were craving sushi. Now that I no longer live in the 'hood,' I still try and hit up Ariake as often as I can. It's also been a tradition that my old roomie and I go there for our respective birthday outings. Most of the clientele here are locals. I've even brought my mom, who is a picky eater, to Ariake, and she now calls it one of her favs! Anyway, I'm all about the sush, as it is always fresh. I recommend the tataki (white tuna) salad, as it's one of my favorite dishes. It is delish, and I love how the lemon wedges bring out the flavor in each bite. Another fav of mine is the hamachi. Oh, it just melts in your mouth! Make sure to see what their daily specials are. I'm a mango freak, and there was a special sushi roll with mango and hamachi (if memory serves me right). Oh mylanta!!! Truly divine! Service is good. Servers and sushi chefs are friendly and efficient. I recommend going early for dinner to beat the rush. read more

Great sushi at a very good price, and service was good and everyone was very friendly! Especially liked the Moon Dog roll and the Love Sushi dinner, but everything was great! read more

Two nights of sushi in a row! I've always wanted to try here since it's like three blocks from my house. Glad I chose to come here the other night! It was super busy for a Thursday night around 730. The place is small with just a couple tables for 4 and a sushi bar. We got seated right where the door was and it was freezing! We kept looking at what everyone was eating and started drooling. Everything looked so good but we decided on trying these items: Moon Dog Roll ($12) - Shrimp tempura and crab with seared tuna on top and their special sauce Spider Roll ($9) - soft shell crab with veggies. I've had better spider rolls but it was still tasty.. They didn't skimp on the soft shell crab! Dynamite Roll ($7) - Yellow tail, salmon, tuna, lightly deep fried. So good but the outside fried goodness had just a little too much batter on it so it was really thick. Island Roll ($12) - Crab and shrimp tempura with salmon and avocado and lemon on top. MmMMmmm yummy fresh salmon with that thin slice of lemon taste so good together!!!! The prices for those special rolls are pretty pricey but it was worth it. Really good. I wish I would get my tea BEFORE I get my food next time? read more

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Being on a low carb, sugar detox makes eating out a lot harder. I am not saying the diet is hard for me, just trying to figure out what i can eat out that doesn't have added sugar is hard. So why not eat raw fish! Can't go wrong with that ;) Ariake is a Korean owned Japanese restro with a touch of modern kick in their sushi and sushi rolls. After a hardcore workout, my mind only leads to one thing: PROTEIN!!! i need to restore that protein. My workout buddy and i were trying to find a place to eat after being at the gym 2-3 hrs one Tuesday night. Took out the trusty ole yelp app and found Ariake cuz the first thing that came to mind was sashimi. The one thing that caught my eye and would be enough food for two people were the sushi and sashimi dinners. Which are priced starting at 53-63 bucks. Seems like a lot of money but its totally worth it. You get a giant plate of sashimi, and about 8 nigiri and a sushi roll. They have 3 different sushi and sashimi dinners FAITH, HOPE and LOVE. Another time when i came, i got the combination plate which is essentially a 21 piece chirashi equivalent. Once again the fish was very fresh. Awesomeness Their sashimi is very fresh and the portions were awesome, i was content. Mission Complete. PROTEIN restored. read more

Ariake - Love for two - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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***************************** 1,048 ******************************* A decent sushi joint runs by Korean family, not Japanese, this tiny hole-on-the-wall place is always pack on WED-SAT nights. They do have fresh fish, sometimes from Maine, and Japan depends on season. - Ikejime Tai red sea bream - Otoro fatty tuna belly wasn't that fresh this time, must be an off day. - Flounder and Aji nigiri was nice. - Tempura was good. - Ankimo wasn't housemade. - Scallop served on shell was fresh and delish. Reasonable price and always friendly service. read more

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Sushi are good. Very good quality. Will definitely come again. Service wonderful/personalized

A different pace of sushi bars... Jin used to work at the long standing Ebisu over in the inner Sunset before opening up his own place - Ariake. It's been awhile since I've climbed up onto the stools of Ariake's sushi bar to enjoy the fish here. It was a quiet Wednesday night, not too busy, but a steady stream of regulars coming in throughout the evening. There was even a space heater near the front to warm those customers seated near the doorway. We were seated immediately and were greeted with warm disposable towels. Edamame was placed between my dining partner and I. First thing I noticed, the cleaniness of the fish assortment before my eyes. The display case was neat, and the fish weren't just tossed in there. Even all the 'sides' on the counter behind the display case were laid out with care. I definitely appreciate this in a restaurant. We started with the Bonito Sashimi with creamy sauce. I definitely enjoy how Ariake does it. There was a plentiful amount of fish, tobiko eggs, and creamy sauce (without being runny). It was oh so yummy! Next was Firecracker - deep fried shiso leaf with seaweed salad and poki on it. Yummy, and a nice contrast of flavors. We also ordered Uni nigiri, Hamachi nigiri, and Ikura nigiri. It was good, not fabulous, but good. My sister also had a Natto roll that I stayed far away from. The smell alone turns me off! Bleh! We closed with a 49er roll - salmon, avocado, mint leaves, and lemon slices. Refreshing and tasty, quite enjoyable. The green tea ice cream tasted even better than what I recall other places offering. Perhaps it was the creaminess? I'm not sure, but it was good. Service is at a slower pace here, but my tea cup was always full for the most part. (And I do drink lots of tea when I'm dining.) If you're in a rush, I wouldn't recommend eating here then. Go when you have time to spare. With the low music playing in the background, I enjoyed this quieter side of eating sushi. The last few times I've sat at the bar at other restaurants, I was surrounded by loud, obnoxious and overbearing patrons. It was a relief and comforting to be able to enjoy my meal without being subjugated to everyone else's dramatics. In the past, I've had some hits and misses with Ariake's. But last night, they were more on the hit and I would definitely go back. Side note: I used to bring my friend here who became addicted to their Toro. He would come here on his own, daily, weekly, whenever he wanted a taste of Toro. He became known to them as Toro Boy. He then started bringing his friends along, and in turn, one of his friends 'introduced' his favorite SF sushi place to me - Ariake's, on a date. I had to laugh, the power of networking had come full circle. I had to break it to him, I had been the one who brought Toro Boy to Ariake's in the first place. And in turn, it's really my sister's fault 'cuz she found out first Jin had opened this place up. read more

Beautiful quality, excellent service. Small place with traditional sushi. Mackerel and sardine sushi are great .

**3.5 STARS** After riding in and around the Presidio... S.O. was getting a tad bit grumpy b/c he was hungry. He started reading all the restaurant signs when we were on Geary... thus I asked him if he wanted to eat. Instead of answering, he literally just pulled over and parked... right in front of this place... OK... I guess we're eating a late lunch. This place was tiny... I could definitely see this spot getting packed on a busy night! Friendly... and prompt. And they have a lunch menu on a weekend. That caught me off guard... most places only honors their lunch menu on weekdays. That was cool. S.O. ordered a Beef Teriyaki with a side of veggie tempura. He inhaled all of it. I didn't bother to ask if I could try... grumpy... I ordered a shrimp roll... kapa maki ... and tomago... two out of three was decent but the tomago... egg tasted funny. I finished it for principle sake. Anyway... the NFL playoff game was on by the bar so that helped ... Not sure if we'll be back but since the sis lives around the area... possibly! read more

MMMM TORO! Yes, every so often I will splurge on this delicate fatty tuna and every single time I will LOVE it. This time was no exception. I've had toro at other spots where they charge and arm and a leg and only give you one itty bitty piece. Here the serving came with two very healthy slices of buttery, fish goodness. Well worth the price and then some. Everything else I shared here with my buddies was also delicious. The rolls themselves were fanftastic and (relatively) inventive, the shashimi was fresh and melt in your mouth good. I particularly loved the Hamachi Mango and the Ms. Vivian. We also split a couple of appetizers like the Yaki Saba, a grilled mackerel which was also very tasty. The waitstaff was very attentive, refilling my tea regularly and quickly. I was in the start of a head cold so I appreciated the never ending stream of tea! The restaurant itself is not very big but not uncomfortable and there was no wait on a Friday night which my hungry tummy appreciated. My three buddies and I ordered a crap ton of food and a couple of beers. We held our breath when the bill came around and while it was not cheap it wasn't quite as break-the-bank painful as we had anticipated, especially considering the quality of the food. I'd happy drag myself back here and eat my self silly any day of the week! If my checkbook could afford such regular indulgences! read more

Asked for omakase sashimi for two and they end up charging us $90 dollars for that alone on top of everything else we ordered (party of 2). We complaint to them because it was a lot of sashimi for two people and normally it's not that much. The bill was over $250 and they refuse to admit any wrong doing. There was nothing fancy in omakase to justify the price either so we felt ripped off. We're never coming back again. read more

A cute and tiny sushi restaurant with tables on the side and bar seatings to watch the sushi chefs work their magic. There's also a TV in the corner. Service was super friendly. The sushi chefs immediately greet you when you enter and leave and the servers are quite attentive. Rolls I've Tried (Ranked to Most Favorite to Least Favorite): - Maguro Mango - Dragon - Moon Dog - Sweet Heart Their sushi rolls tasted fresh and you can tell the chefs took their time to perfect each roll. I suggest ordering their Special Rolls, especially the Maguro Mango roll. My boyfriend and I order our own roll for Manguro Mango. It's one of our favorite rolls EVER. We come here again and again because of their rolls and good service! read more

Ariake - Maguro Mango Roll - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Jin, the main man over here behind the bar, makes the best dragon roll not only in SF, not only in the Bay Area, not only in California but in my opinion, the best dragon roll on of the western AND eastern seaboards. I have to be honest, I haven't been through the Midwest or the south much so the possibility exists of a sleeper cell sushi spot in Greenbow Alabama which I haven't visited yet that might be better but as for now I rate this an unparalleled dragon roll. I have one hell of a story about it as well, which I love telling every time I come here and tie one on haha. Over all the joint is top notch, very comfortable atmosphere, super solid service and always a great place for a dinner date (as long as she loves sushi). read more

Ariake - Jin getting after it and lil mama MG enjoying her deliciousness. - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Jin + his staff are amazing. Really nice + attentive - never a bad experience. Food is always fresh. When we're in the mood for sushi, we always come here + leave happy. read more

The only reason why I came here tonight is because Turtle Tower from down the street ran out of food an hour before closing. I quickly did a search for Yelp for nearby restaurants and Ariake had the highest ratings and most reviews of all sushi restaurants. The restaurant is very narrow and small, I doubt they could serve more than 20 customers at the same time. My boyfriend and I were seated at the table and we were shocked when we looked through the menu. $15 for a dragon roll?! We understand that San Francisco is expensive, but DAMN! The cheapest roll on the menu was a the crunchy roll which is basically fried tempura and carrots. We ordered the lion king, Bob's, and a hamachi roll. I disagree with the older reviews. This is not the best Japanese restaurants in town and the fish is most definitely not fresh. The staff is friendly but too soft. I asked what bonito was and they whispered "something like albacore." I asked them to repeat and they barely increased their volume and said "like tuna!" I would've walked out if I wasn't starving. $50 for three rolls is not worth it. Save your money and eat sushi at another city. read more

This place auto-wins because it's a Japanese restaurant that stays open until 11 PM on Mondays through Thursdays, midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Staying open past 10 PM--that's herra rare for Japanese restaurants! When we arrived around 10:15 PM, we had to a wait a few minutes for an open table. Looking through Yelp reviews, there wasn't a strong consensus for must-order items, but a good number did mention the Moon Dog special roll. Which is exactly what I chose. The MOON DOG, $14, is an 8-piece roll stuffed with prawn tempura and crab, topped with seared tuna and special sauce (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ariake-japanese-restaurant-san-francisco?select=tkz1Qpo4Qxzxk2Glir7v4g#zBEvOlPMsQ34W8XYk12jiQ). The seared tuna is nicely subtle and smoky, and the tempura added that textural dimension. The special sauce and Japanese mayo weren't too heavy, and the freshly diced scallions were appreciated. They seasoned the sushi rice with furikake and used cucumber slivers in the roll. Sadly, I didn't really taste the crab. My boyfriend ordered dinner entree #6, the SALMON SHIOYAKI, $16, which is broiled salmon without teriyaki sauce (http://www.yelp.com/biz_photos/ariake-japanese-restaurant-san-francisco?select=tkz1Qpo4Qxzxk2Glir7v4g#Nd7ZBcAGWVemFkqPgIYBJw). Since it's a dinner entree, it's served with miso soup and mixed greens salad. The entree dish also comes with a pile of shredded pickled daikon and another pile of seaweed salad (double yum). The salmon wasn't strongly flavored but wasn't dry either. Not the moistest I've had, but tasty nonetheless. The food is good, but I wouldn't go out of my way to eat here. Unfortunately, I couldn't bite the bullet and convince myself to order their slightly pricey raw fish dishes. I'm starting to follow a trend of either paying dirt cheap for mediocre fish, or paying oodles for amazingly high quality fish (e.g. Tekka). But, when it's past 10 PM, and you're craving Japanese, Ariake becomes your default option :P read more

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Kabuto was closed on Monday, poo So I Stumble into Ariake Don't use the menu Order off the signs behind the chefs Toro Nigiri Hamachi Mango Firecracker Dynamite King Salmon Nigiri Chef sent out salmon skin - delicious! red snapper halibut shima aji yellow jack and more halibut! As you can see this led to some random orders :( But it all ended well! The sushi here is so fresh but what made it better was the chef explained each fishes flavor type and steered me into my beloved halibut! They also cut fat slices an order of nigiri here will get you about 2x other places as well as placing shiso leave in some! All for under 100 bucks! Come hungry, come curious, and let the chefs guide you. you can also go k-style and order sesame oil and red pepper paste! just when I thought sf did not have fresh sushi I found a gem :') read more

This restaurant is great for traditional Japanese sushi. The quality of fish here is delicious! It's a sleeper restaurant that no one seems to know about. The sister restaurant Kabuto, down the street, is known more for the creative sushi. However Ariake is awesome for the regular, typical nigiri and sashimi. However they have some great rolls too! The "Love" Combination is great. I would suggest the Chirashi (donburi style) since I think they give you more rice that way. I've had that combo as a sashimi dinner, which was great, but I was not full at the end, which can be disappointing if you're really hungry. The service here is really sweet. There's one girl that is very personable, and funny. I don't know her name but she's a young Asian girl, and she interacted like we were friends, even though I hadn't been there before! I came here recently with my friend on a Friday night. At 5:30pm, I asked if we could make a reservation for 7:30pm for 2 people. They said sure! And we were glad I made the reservation, because it was packed that Friday night. It's a sleeper on weekdays, but I guess it becomes quite popular on the weekends. read more

Very small and very slow. Unfortunately, I didn't have a very good experience at this place for lunch. I went with some coworkers for lunch and nobody else was there but the wait for our food took a solid 45 minutes. It was unfortunate because lunches should be that time in total and not just waiting for everyone's order to come out. Servers were nice and came by to refill our teas a coupe of times. I had the Oyaku Udon and it was ok but the presentation wasn't very appealing and it could have used more seasoning. read more

A hidden gem in the Richmond District! This is the best sushi I've had in the city and here's why: -Super close walking distance to me. Sushi anytime! -Delicious, and FRESH fish for nigiri or sashimi. I was really impressed with the freshness of the Hon Maguro my first visit, but my second visit it was a lot stringier...but still fresh. They made up for the stringiness by giving me a little extra maguro as sashimi on the side. They have a board behind the sushi bar that shows what their "catch of the days" are---follow this, try something new, and you will be set. -Really delicious specialty rolls. I'm not a huge fan of lots of mayo sauces, so if you are along the same parallel as me, great! Order the Hamachi Mango or Dragon rolls. The tempura in the rolls doesn't overwhelm the sushi, if you know what I mean. If you like more mayo-y sauces they have a few of those too: Moon Dog and Bob's rolls. Disclaimer: very small space with limited tables. I usually sit at the bar, but even that sometimes gets crowded. Be forewarned that you may need to wait for a good 30min for a table, but it's worth it! read more

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I have only tried cooked lunch items and a few rolls. Have yet to try the sashimi. The hot/cooked items are a winner here. Of note is the unagi donburi which has a beautiful presentation, homemade bento box style! Exudes a very warm and homey feeling. The unagi and rice have great flavor and texture. I also love the addition of pickled vegetables which complement the unagi quite nicely. The rolls are so-so; I didn't find the fish very fresh and the pieces were tiny. Disappointing, but I'm hoping sashimi and nigiri orders will be better. read more

Ariake - Unagi donburi - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

My favorite neighborhood gem. Fresh fish, great variety, fun staff members, and bang for the buck!

I was craving sushi and my friend brought me here. They get a solid 3.5 stars. All the specialty rolls were good, tempura was ok and the chicken skews were ok. Bummer, they don't have butterfish!! read more

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I had a nice lunch here. Rolls are kind of small but decent prices. The Crunchy roll was nice, with the tempura very crunchy not overly hard. Also had the Seaweed Salad, which had a good amount of sashimi pieces, which was decent but not the best I've had. read more

Ariake - seafood salad - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

We spontaneously went to grab a late sushi dinner at 9pm on a random Tuesday night and it was still so full! We sat at the bar and chatted with the knowledgeable chef and ordered straight from him, so nigiri and rolls came out within a few minutes. Amazing quality fish for the price, it is definitely my new favorite low key spot in the city. read more

Really cute neighborhood joint. The sushi chefs and staff were very welcoming. They were even speaking to some of the "regulars" in Japanese! I had the tempura udon and a California hand roll. The udon broth was slightly bland, but the hand roll was tasty. I'll be sure to order more sushi next time, as that seemed to be their specialty. read more

Ariake - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

This is my favorite sushi place! This place is pretty small but their fish is always super fresh and unbearably delicious! They are more about real sushi and don't have rolls that are smothered in sauces - don't get me wrong, if you are looking for rolls and sauces, you will get it - but you will get the real deal. Their chefs and waitresses are super nice and helpful if you need recommendations. Best place ever! read more

Ariake - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Large Tataki, Double Albacore, Moon Dog and Hamachi Mango. That is my order EVERY time I come here (at least monthly). Each time it's just as good as I can imagine and better than I remember. read more

Ariake - Left to right: Hamachi Mango, Moon Dog, Double Albacore - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Really good Japanese restaurant in the Outer Richmond and I can't believe I have not gone here more often. Went here for the first time years ago and finally tried it again today for lunch. The shrimp/veggies tempura is great -- not too much batter and was served with strips of tuna sashimi, side salad and rice. Salmon nigiri was delicious, fish so fresh, it melted in my mouth. The spiciness of the Dynamite Roll was perfect :-)! Service was a bit slow, only one waitress, one sushi chef and another chef in the kitchen, but the food is worth the wait. If you sit at the bar, you get free edamame to snack on while waiting for your food. read more

The Moon Dog is still the best item on their menu ~ a must try for everyone! Bob's was pretty good as well and their sashimi is really fresh. When there is a full house, service is not as great - my tea cup was always empty and I had to ask 3x before it got refilled =/ May not be such a great place to chill but still a great place for sushi. read more

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FOOD 1.) chicken udon - simple basic good 2.) tatake - Mm pretty good, kinda sour w I dno lemon juice SERVICE Very good. Had a big group n they did a good job pouring all our tea etc ATMOSPHERE: Nice small intimate Japanese feel :) like a dive bar layout but it's a sushi bar on the left side read more

So the sushi has been very good in the past but the last couple of times I've ordered from here they are either out of an ingredient or the service has been slow and tonight things were again disappointing, sloppily packed and for three meals and two rolls they gave us one packet of soy sauce which is just annoying after a long day and spending what you spend here. So just save your money and go somewhere else. read more

I've been to many places for sushi in San Francisco and I just had to upload a review for Ariake. My third time dining there and hands down, they have some of the freshest sashimi and tastiest nigiri anywhere. I asked the chef/owner where they source their fish and he informed me that twice a week it's flown from the eastern seas of Japan and Korea. The colder water white fishes are the best in those parts, and I certainly do not mind paying a couple of more dollars for it. Great food... excellent service!!! My go to for sushi! read more

They use pretty damn good fish I must say. Our O-Toro, was indeed the buttery strip of perfection that I had hoped for. The hon-hamachi was great as well. Would be a good place for a sushi happy hour type deal. read more

I'm not sure why everyone thinks the sushi here is so good. Maybe it was the night I came, but the fish was definitely not fresh. I had a piece that was definitely frozen then thawed (I think it was the Shiro Maguro). Also, the Saba was a little thick cut and somewhat rubbery. In general, I suspect they compensate for the fish quality by having large pieces. However, everyone was very nice and the cooked items were very good (hamachi Kama and Unagi were great) so you may want to stick with that or the rolls (which seem popular). read more

Food are good but a bit overpriced given the roll size. Few items were not available

I was wandering Geary, trying to decide upon dinner when I stopped in front of Ariake. Having always passed by, I decided to finally try this Japanese restaurant. I must say I was pretty disappointed by most facets of my visit. To begin, the service was pretty bad, bad enough to warrant writing about. Our waitress seemed like she didn't want to be there and constantly kept asking if we wanted more items after we explicitly said we were done ordering. Our food came out but we had no utensils to eat them with, and when I asked for chopsticks, it seemed as though I was doing her a disservice. We ordered the cherry blossom roll as well as an unagi roll. The cherry blossom roll was hardly fresh, while the unagi roll was passable. On top of that, the ginger served to us was old and dried up. Our rolls seemed far larger on the menu but came out to be much smaller, so I left the meal still hungry. Coupled with the fact that the rolls were more expensive than most restaurants, it made for a pretty lackluster experience. If you're on Geary and want Japanese cuisine or sushi, you'd do better to find somewhere else a few blocks away. read more

Ariake - Cherry blossom roll - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

I've been spoiled with really good sushi lately. Of course, I can't compare Ariake to the $$$$ places. However, we can't eat $$$$ sushi every day, so my boyfriend and I are on the hunt for our go-to neighborhood spot with the best quality and value that doesn't make our wallets cry. Quality's pretty decent. I ordered the lunch sashimi and everything tasted fresh. Value wise, my sashimi lunch was not worth $19. It came with miso soup, but I was expecting a side salad or rice. Maybe I've just been spoiled at similar places that provide this with their sashimi meals? My boyfriend ordered a two item lunch bento, and for $12 that's a steaaaaaal. I'd probably come back for their $12 lunch bento, but a) I'm never usually in SF during weekday lunchtime and b) I don't crave bentos. If you like bentos, though, then this is the place for you! read more

Ariake - Lunch sashimi combination - $19 - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Looking for a Late-Night Sushi Place - you've found the right place. It's a little hole in the wall, not too spacious for groups. They serve with only the FRESHEST ingredients. Therefore don't expect to be stuffed full without a hefty bill, their QUALITY definitely valued greater than QUANTITY. Agedashi Tofu - so fresh, literally served at cooking temperature [so the anxious me, dives for a piece and burns my mouth - ___ -] Hamachi Mango - various colored tobiko. Mango wasn't too sweet because it wasn't in season. But the Hamachi was very fresh, almost melted in my mouth! Firecracker - MUST TRY, its so UNIQUE. The seaweed is covered with tempura batter (but it's actually not heavy AT ALL), covered with spicy tuna, fresh seaweed salad and topped with tobiko. SO DELICIOUS (I wish we ordered more) Moondog (what an odd name) - it was so good. It consisted of crunchy shrimp tempura (I'm very hesitant of tempura in my sushi since I fear excessive batter), cucumber topped with seared tuna and this special sauce they made. Ahh, if I ever need a snack in between my big meals and is in the neighborhood, I will definitely come back! read more

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Ssshh! Don't tell too many people about this great little spot! Fresh fish & personal service in a warm and cozy setting. read more