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    Samurai

    3.9 (312 reviews)
    ModerateSushi Bars, Japanese
    Closed • Closed

    Samurai Photos

    SAMURAI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Moderate noise
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Recommended Reviews - Samurai

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    Reviews With Photos

    Uber sake.
    Rachel H.

    Quick update for Samurai Mill Valley, our pick over Sushi Ran locally for a creative take on Japanese cuisine, rolls and nigiri. It's been a solid staple for us in terms of meeting a sushi craving. Favorite items include: Hamachi crunch, the Una Mega Three Roll, the Hokkaido Spice Roll and nigiri offerings on the daily menu. Hamachi Crunch features seared hamachi & steamed spinach with crunchy pops of rice cracker & a creamy ponzu dressing, and can be addictive. Our favorite rolls incorporate citrus and tasty sauces. The Hokkaido Spice Roll has steamed asparagus, fresh orange, avocado, and on the outside has Hokkaido scallop, spicy tuna, a kaiware sauce with spicy cream. The Una Mega Three roll has an eel, avocado and mint center and outside has fresh salmon, tuna, yellowtail and shaved lemon slices a with sweet tare & white-miso sauce. Nigiri cuts are generous and fish is reliably fresh and flavorful. Pluses include: creative and fresh ingredients in a small town setting. The main negative: a no- reservations policy which can mean a long wait.

    Hamachi collar
    Richard W.

    We were glad that Samurai stayed open until 9:30 during the week - later than most other places in Mill Valley. Pretty massive list of menu items. I whittled it down to the following: Tahini Tofu Salad Tofu, avocado, organic green, tomato, and radish sprout with tahini red miso dressing. Great mix of ingredients with the kind of dressing that can be the star of the show, but I'm not sure how serving the dish untossed helps - the presentation is rather drab. Hamachi Nigiri - 2pc Yes, not being super creative here, but I wanted to get a baseline on quality and portions and it did not disappoint. Melts like butter. Nice portion size. Hamachi Crunch Seared Hamachi and steamed spinach with rice, cracker and creamy Ponzi dressing. What a unique dish! It looks like couscous but it's better - little crunchy bits in a heavier nutty sauce. They probably had too much sauce to balance the fish slices - which come seared but hard to tell behind the tan colored sauce. The flavors jump out, and this is a must order for newbies. Sakekawa hand roll Salmon, skin with cucumber, radish, sprout, scallion, and burdock root. I think it was the root that gives a hint of off-putting nutmeg that distracts from the salmon. The presentation is gorgeous, however. Hamachi Collar Yes, we did end up eating hamachi three ways! This one was a clear winner - the grilled collar, thinly seared to a light crunch and juicy supple in the middle. You don't really need the light ponzu sauce imho. Portion size impressive. For $13.5, simply a steak. Overall service was courteous and responsive. Any request was met with a quick return. For food quality and menu originality, this one is a tough call between 4-5 stars. That's all...

    Pickled cucumber
    Joyce S.

    Restaurant was a bit crowded but also cozy for a rainy day. We had about a ten minute wait before being seated. Staff were responsive and hospitable, prompt with service but also polite to give us time to look over the menu and to decide what we want to order. They checked in with us a few times during our meal to make sure we have everything we need. We ordered the seafood yosenabe and the beef sukiyaki. The beef sukiyaki can also come as a set, with added miso soup and tempura. I loved the yosenabe broth, had a good balance of flavor. Seafood was cooked and noodles were al dente. No shrimp in my dish but I got a large piece of scallop, some clams, fish and veggies. The sukiyaki broth was overly sweet for me, but had a good amount of beef and veggies with both clear noodles and udon. Both dishes came with a generous serving of pickled cucumbers and a bowl of rice. Portions were also generous. I brought home a little less than half of my portion and was happy to reheat it for lunch the next day.

    Gohar K.

    Saturday night with family while on a weekend trip to Mill Valley we ended up here for dinner. We enjoyed our food very much, the service was great. The rolls were delicious and the fish fresh. A lot of options for rolls and sashimi. I loved the jimbo maki roll. Ordered a second Jen. Overall a great place to dine at, a bit small and gets really crowded but a great ambiance.

    Stinson roll, Dragon roll and spicy tuna roll
    Emily G.

    One of the best sushi restaurants in the bay! Seriously stumbled upon this restaurant after a trek to Muir Woods and I was met with great service and fresh sushi rolls. This easily became one of my regular spots. I'm leaving CA and had to celebrate one of our last meals here. The Stinson maki is 10/10 and love the eel and avocado roll in the dragon roll. I always love spicy tuna and they have a tasty one with fresh tuna and a nice sesame oil flavor.

    One of the best sushi places in the bay! The sushi taste so fresh! The rice is always perfectly cooked! The roles are nice and packed and stable they don't fall apart! The owner and workers are always so kind & ready to help or get anything you need! It is a small place so it does feel a bit crowded and on weekends there usually a 20-30 minute wait but it's all worth it!

    Beef sukiyaki
    Ken D.

    Average food, but good enough to eat at since it's the only Japanese restaurant in town. I had the beef sukiyaki. It was served In a regular porcelain bowl. The broth was decent but it was super simple. Lacking in cabbage and only came with a little bit of clear noodles. Sukiyaki is traditionally served in a shallow clay pot, not giant soup bowl. My friend ordered 2 rolls and the pork gyōza. I tried a piece of gyōza just 5 minutes after it came out and they were already cold. Would not be a first choice of restaurant to visit, but if I were in the area and really craving Japanese food, I could give it another try.

    a close up of a menu on a table
    Kiyomi W.

    Came in on a Saturday night around 5:15. It wasn't too busy then around 6 it was packed and super loud. This place is really cold so bring a jacket. It made the dinner a lot less enjoyable and I heard a couple ask if they could turn on a heater and the waitress didn't even let the dude finish and she said no. Got the crazy horse roll and negihama roll. My friend got the 15 piece sashimi, cherry blossom roll, and 49er roll. The food is pretty good and the fish is fresh! The sashimi came out kind of fast and then we waited another 20 minutes for the rolls. I'd rate the food 5/5 but the experience as a whole wasn't a 5/5. So getting togo is probably the better option.

    Uni nigiri
    Stacie V.

    My new fav sushi spot in Marin! I snagged a seat immediately at the sushi bar on a Friday evening. The staff is extremely attentive. Prices are reasonable considering the quality which is a rarity nowadays. The place was loud and very family friendly. Lots of crying kids... I'd recommend getting takeout if the wait is too long and eating at a neighboring picnic table near the parking lot.

    suppose 2b ton katsu , taste as if it's DRY pork chops . sauce suppose 2b katsu sauce pic salty teriyaki sauce ,

    Suppose 2b ton katsu , taste looks as if it's DRY PORK CHOPS , was given salty teriyaki sauce in place for the katsu sauce . Very disappointing

    Edamame, Nigiri - Hamachi, Maguro, Bincho Maguro, 49er roll, Crazy Horse roll, and Spicy Scallop roll.

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    3 years ago

    Really great sushi. They are always busy so be prepared to wait. Fun atmosphere, so many great choices to choose from and easy parking.

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    6 years ago

    Best place for sushi in Mill Valley. Very good selection and always fresh prepared. Friendly staff - what else are you asking for?

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    4 years ago

    Fresh, delicious sushi. Excellent quality and very reasonably priced. Friendly staff.

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    Page 3 of 8

    Samurai Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - Samurai

    Do we need to make a reservation for 3 people tonight at 6pm 03/22/24?

    They do not take reservations for less than parties of four.

    Do they still use that amazing sesame mayo in their rolls?

    Yes

    Don’t See Your Question? Ask Away!

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    Oni Kuma - Hokkaido Uni

    Oni Kuma

    3.9(122 reviews)
    0.7 mi
    Family-owned & operated
    Free parking

    Was very excited to try this place…read more Arrived at around 11:50. We had dogs with us so we were waiting to be sat outside, the server made eye contact from inside, but only came to greet us after we waited a few minutes and finally called out to her from the doorway. After being seated and given menus, we waited another 10 min with no service, and I decided to walk in and wash my hands. On my way out of the restroom, the server was finishing chatting with the only customer inside of the restaurant. I asked if we could have some water brought to the table, and she nodded. 5 min or so after I asked her for the water, the customer who was inside was walking out, and we chatted for a bit. Come to find out the sushi chefs and kitchen staff were not available due to the traffic on the freeway. I was in the same traffic, and I knew it was really bad. That was not the issue. The server never came out to our table. She never told us what was going on. We were left hanging for almost 20 min with zero contact, other than dropping the menus, and requesting waters that we never recieved. At an empty restaurant. There was no notice posted out front, there was nothing said from the server. If I was stopping in during a lunch break, I would not have been able to dine elsewhere due to the time I wasted sitting at this place waiting for service. All it took was for the server to let us know the situation and I would have tried to come back some other time. There were 20 full minutes - plenty of opportunity - to make best of a bad situation, and none were taken. Absolutely unacceptable.

    Yelp really needs to offer zero stars--or negative stars--for experiences like this…read more STAY AWAY. Terrible service, cold pre-made food, questionable seafood freshness, and a staff attitude that ruined a family birthday dinner. We came here for my sister-in-law's birthday during a weekend getaway. Our 5:30 p.m. reservation for party of 5 was easy because the restaurant was empty. We chose to sit outside since the weather was nice. At first, everything seemed fine. The waiter brought menus, dinnerware, cups, and water quickly and took our order in a reasonable amount of time. Then the food came out suspiciously fast. The chawanmushi was lukewarm, which is completely wrong for a steamed egg custard that should be served hot and freshly steamed. That made me wonder how much had been prepared too early and left sitting around. The chicken karaage, lemon salmon, tempura udon, agedashi tofu, sashimi, and nigiri sampler were all forgettable. At best, it was average Japanese food for an area with limited options. Worse, the fish had a noticeable "fishy" taste, which raised serious concerns about freshness or storage. The final item we ordered was Curry Tonkatsu, but regular tonkatsu came out instead. We left it untouched because we wanted to send it back or exchange it. By then, we were almost 40 minutes into dinner, everyone had run out of water, and the waiter still had not checked on us. When we finally saw him after another long disappearance, we asked him to come over and clarify the order. That is where the entire table lost its appetite. When we explained that we had ordered Curry Tonkatsu, the waiter became defensive and insisted, loudly and condescendingly, that he had asked whether we wanted curry and that we had said tonkatsu. My sister-in-law explained she said tonkatsu because the menu offered a choice between tonkatsu and chicken katsu, but he kept scolding her. The worst part? She apologized repeatedly--on her own birthday--while he doubled down and said, "Besides, we already made it." So we were supposed to accept the wrong order because the kitchen had already made it? There was zero ownership, zero hospitality, and zero professionalism. My husband asked if we could at least get a side of curry, and we also asked for water. The waiter left and did not return for another 20 minutes. When he finally came back outside, he served the large table next to us first. By the time he reached us, the pitcher ran out, so only three of five people got water. We had to share what little we received before he returned again. The curry side did not arrive until about half an hour after we asked for it. When it finally came out, it was cold and served in a plain white bowl. Either it had been made far too early and left out, or they are microwaving pre-made food for guests. By then, the meal was already ruined. At that point, we just wanted to pay and leave. Everyone was still hungry, but no one had an appetite after being talked down to, ignored, left without water on a hot summer evening, and made to feel punished for questioning a wrong order. The waiter never checked on us again, so we went inside to pay at the register ourselves. As we left, we passed him, and he did not acknowledge us at all. Maybe this place gets a pass because the area has limited Japanese options, but calling it an izakaya is a joke. The food was mediocre at best, and the service was worse than anything I have experienced at far more ordinary restaurants in the midwest like IOWA or MINNESOTA. I will never come back, and I will warn others. Cold food that tasted pre-made or microwaved, seafood that raised freshness concerns, non-existent service, water treated like a luxury, and a waiter more interested in proving a point than fixing a problem. I am genuinely appalled. Avoid this place.

    Photos
    Oni Kuma - Outside Patio

    Outside Patio

    Oni Kuma - Karaage Chicken

    Karaage Chicken

    Oni Kuma - Yasuo head chef

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    Yasuo head chef

    Show de Carnes - Great food and service . All the meat was hot and cooked to perfection.   Felipe  the manager  was marvelous.

    Show de Carnes

    4.6(1.1k reviews)
    2.1 mi
    •$$$$

    I saw an Instagram ad for half off the rodizio experience on Memorial Day and had to make a…read morereservation. Matt had been talking about Brazilian steakhouse every time he saw something that reminded him remotely of Fogo de Chao, so I figured this opportunity might be of interest to him. Come to find out that the day after I make the reservation he asks if I'd be willing to go a Brazilian steakhouse for the long weekend, so I got to surprise him with the fact that I already had a reservation. I'm not the biggest fan of Fogo de Chao based on my prior experiences there. I do believe that I have been to a Show de Carnes location before and had another great experience, but also Show de Carnes's Memorial Day promotion was slightly better than Fogo's and I much preferred that their location was outside of the city even if on the other side of the bridge. I did have to call the morning of to delay our reservation slightly, but it was taken care of for us without hassle. We even got seated closer to the original reservation time when we ended up running early. There isn't much space to wait in the front lobby area especially on a packed night, but everything looks very upscale from the wine bottles on the wall to the crystals above the self-serve side buffet. As far as mandatory meats, I have a couple of personal rules when it comes to Brazilian steakhouse, including go light on the sides and only go for the beef. Picanha is my favorite, extra rare too, so I made myself a whole pincanha meat salad while probably giving the guy cutting the meat a good scare. The grilled pineapple is also a must, followed by the cheese and honey. Matt got a lot more variety but it takes a while for the guys to come around with meat that has already been sliced up some so I can get to the parts that I like. We got a papaya cream and passion fruit mousse for dessert, which we probably really didn't need but enjoyed thoroughly as we are both dessert people. As it was a busy night, it was not too easy to flag a server down. I saw picanhas skip our table left and right so I'm not sure there's an established route for them to bring the meat around. The staff did seem to work together with great teamwork, and someone always stopped by to make sure we had more water and our choice of sides. I would definitely go back and recommend it to anyone that is a protein or all you can eat fan. The regular price per person is definitely steep in my humble opinion, but if you can catch a promo it'll be a great time. Also, don't choose between still or sparkling, ask for tap. I will not be getting got again next time.

    Very good service. Salad bar is excellent with some warm items as well…read more Meat--very good

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    Show de Carnes - Sushi

    Sushi

    Show de Carnes
    Show de Carnes - "Salad bar"; but much more; had sushi, shrimp, fruit and much more.

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    "Salad bar"; but much more; had sushi, shrimp, fruit and much more.

    Buckeye Roadhouse - Oysters Bingo. Winner & our favorite for the evening.

    Buckeye Roadhouse

    4.0(1.9k reviews)
    1.6 mi
    •$$$

    I reserved a table for us being that it was a friday and on a holiday weekend. We arrived early so…read morethat we could hopefully sit down earlier but they didn't have my reservation. The hostess was really nice and she said no worries we can get you a table. There was only two of us so that's probably why it wasn't a problem. We sat down and right away they brought us water to the table. Our waiter came over shortly afterwards to see if we wanted drinks. We ordered a couple glasses of wine and the smoked wings and wedge salad to start. Our wines came out right away and then our wings and salad. It was pretty quick considering they looked pretty busy. Of course the wines were delicious (Zin, Pinot Noir). The salad was pretty basic wedge but good and they made it for two which was good. The wings were cooked perfect, just enough smoke on them, and a little crispy. For our entree we ordered the Ribeye to split between us. The ribeye came out not to much later, it looked good. They also split that for us so that was really nice. The Ribeye was cooked perfect (med rare), a good grill marks on it, great seasoning on it. It came with a herb butter and some kind if dipping sauce as well. Both were really flavorful but the herb butter was the best. Also, the mini baked potato was delicious as well. The steak didn't even need any sauces because the seasoning flavor was already there. For dessert we ordered sticky toffee pudding. It was the best Sticky Toffee pudding I've ever had. I wanted to lick the plate dry. Kiudos. The service was pretty good throughtout the dinner which was nice. I thought they wouldve comped the dessert since it was my girlfriends birthday but they didn't but that's ok.

    I remembered going to the Buckeye years ago, so when we needed a spot between SF and Sonoma County…read moreto meet up with friends the Buckeye fit the bill perfectly! I had the Paper Plane, split the roasted artichoke (asked for garlic aioli with our tarragon sauce and the aioli hit the spot, and the artichoke was perfectly prepared), and ordered The Cobb Salad as my main! It was delicious -- phenomenal shrimp, lots of bacon. The Buckeye is a gorgeous restaurant and our server Enrico deserves an A+ for service, recommendations and friendly banter! Can't wait to go back!

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    Buckeye Roadhouse - Lots of empty seating but packed bar

    Lots of empty seating but packed bar

    Buckeye Roadhouse - Lemon cake with raspberry sauce. Yummm

    Lemon cake with raspberry sauce. Yummm

    Buckeye Roadhouse - Good wine selection

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    Good wine selection

    Pacific Catch

    Pacific Catch

    3.6(836 reviews)
    2.4 mi
    •$$

    Took my family for brunch, we all definitely love it. The service was amazing, food came fast, warm…read moreand delicious. Drinks were the best I've ever tried in a while, their mai-tai was to die for and their Bloody Mary was the best I've ever had. Thanks to the server, waitress and manager Adriana for an excellent service! Will for sure come back again soon!!

    I was in Mill Valley for the first time this past week for a project I was working. My hotel was…read morewithin walking distance of this huge plaza full of restaurants and I was so hungry after 12 hours of work that I just wanted to find the first place to eat. I love fish, and I went into Pacific Catch, it has a nice atmosphere. When I walked in there were two other guys in front of me with their phone out in their hands and showing they were for pickup. After they got their orders, I was next in line, I smiled and said hi, the host who was this young guy didn't even say hello, but had the audacity to think I am some delivery guy like the other two guys in front of me. That really put me off was. I am an IT engineer; I had just left the site I was working and was wearing my work cargo pants and a Tshirt. I don't know what gave this jerk the impression I was there for a pickup, but I replied, NO I am here to eat and get a table. He then with the same miserable expression, reluctantly walked me to a single table, I asked for a larger like a boot and he replied in a rude tone " No, we need those for a larger crowd". That was not accurate as I saw two others sitting alone at a booth. He then threw the menu on the table and walked off. If I wasn't so tired, exhausted, and hungry, I would have walked out and said something to the manager about this jerk on my way out, but I decided to stay. The server came and even he had a weird attitude; I just ordered the food and it came pretty quickly. The Clam chowder soup was just amazing; so was the Salmon sandwich and the house salad was just more amazing. I travel around the country, I eat at many restaurants, and rarely I felt the entire three-course meal to be this good and it was a home run on everything I eat. This was the best meal of my arrival trip that night. On my way out I went to the other female hostess and I asked if I could speak to her in private. She was nice and polite and I told her about this other rude host and how I was treated by him. I saw him looking at me from behind the bar with two other waiters. The hostess assured me she would address the issue with management about him. As I was leaving, this jerk continued looking at me with a smirk on his face, and I then said "You should really work on how you speak to people". He then started laughing and made some comment that I didn't hear and all I heard was loud laughter from all 3 of the like the 3 stooges. I had no issue with the other two staff, and I didn't understand why they felt it was ok to laugh at a paying customer. It ugly after that, and I did address it with one of the owners the next day on the phone about what happened. I even went back the second night in a row, only because of the food, and I was assured that that host won't be there. In the end, the food is what wins; this place has amazing gourmet food, and regardless of the poor service, I still think its one of the best restaurants I have eat at. I would have given it 5 stars if it wasn't for that incident.

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    Pacific Catch
    Pacific Catch
    Pacific Catch

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    Samurai - sushi - Updated September 2026

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