VERY yummy! pretty decorations and quiet which i appreciate :) staff are very nice as well! the only flaw would be that they seem to be consistently out of ramen when i go there (which is pretty often) but i usually get udon instead so i dont particularly mind.. read more

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I continue to LOVE Tenkyu. It is now the longest standing sushi restaurant in Downtown San Rafael. There are definitely many other sushi places that I frequent, especially since I now live in San Francisco, but I've been coming to Tenkyu and being served delicious sushi by Chuck since I was a young college student. They have reliable quality and prices. They have great rolls and fresh sashimi. I love their Japanese pickles and the truffle Unagi. I've been getting the Nigiri Specials for more than 20 years now and it always hits the spot. Bar seating is fun. Both seats are great for groups. The owners are such hard workers and I'm proud to continue to support a family run business that has been a staple in downtown San Rafael for so many years! Thank you Tenkyu! read more

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If you're looking for a fun dine in sushi experience in downtown San Rafael stop here! The owners of this place are super friendly and welcoming. The food was great and everything tasted really fresh. We sat at the bar and Chuck the chef went out of his way to spice up our plates. We got to try one of his special creations, it was delicious! Can't wait to come back here. read more

Tenkyu - Chuck nailed the presentation! Dragon Roll. Spider Roll. Golden gate roll. - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

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Our family favorite! They have a fun little room for private celebrations and the service is great. They are always willing to customize any roll. The sushi is so fresh and The chef is very creative! read more

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I was craving sushi on a Wednesday evening around 8ish. So many places were getting ready to close and some I just didn't feel like making the drive. Then I remembered one of the bartenders across the street from Tenkyu ordered from there and it looked amazing. She was very happy with the freshness of the sashimi and the rest of whatever it was she had. So I went, placed my order for a chicken bento with sashimi and a rock and roll roll which was the eel. Since it was a 15 minute wait I went across the street to said bar and said bartender was there :) Took my meal home and I'll tell ya, it was pretty damn tasty! The sashimi was so fresh and tasted soooo good! The tempura was delicious. The chicken was a little dry. Honestly I was a little disappointed with the unagi roll. It was way smaller than I expected and I really didn't get much of a taste of the eel. The inside itself looks very interesting. There are the dining tables, then it looked like there was a sushi bar in the back to the right and also right in the middle a sushi boat seating area? I'd love to try that! Bottom line, I was in the middle here with my review but it won't stop me from going back and trying more. read more

Tenkyu - Teriyaki chicken bento with sashimi and tempura. Rock and roll roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

This place never disappoints. Everyone is always super kind and friendly. The music and everything is very relaxing and soothing and modern. Definitely a secret gem. read more

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I love dining here. They are open for dinner feom Tues - Fri. I'm told the hours were never updated after COVID. The sushi is made fresh with expertise. I like the fresh salmon which has a mild, fresh flavor. I also like to try the Udon noodles and rice bowls. I've been coming here for years and I hope Maronite's remember this wonderful sushi restaurant. read more

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I love Japanese food, and I was really excited to try Tenkyu because it was recommended by a friend. Unfortunately, the lack of flavor and freshness of the food outweighed the great location, vibe, and staff. I do not recommend. Tenkyu was empty when I walked in. It took a few minutes for the staff to see me from the back and seat me. That said, they were very helpful and friendly. The staff immediately got my drink order and gave me some tea, which was the highlight of my meal. The tea was good and definitely flowing. I started with an appetizer. The ebi shumai were cold in the center, which was off-putting, but not enough to send back. I hoped the sushi would be better. It wasn't. I ordered a basic Sake Maki (salmon roll) and Ikura nigiri (salmon roe on rice). The seaweed wrapper was... not good. It was rubbery and tough to eat. It kinda upset my stomach. The rice was stuck to the inside of it and not the usual sushi rice I'm used to. Feeling bummed about the sushi, I hoped Tenkyu would redeem itself with warm food, so I ordered the tonkatsu appetizer. The meat was tough to chew and totally lacking in seasoning. The breading was also flavorless and falling off, and the katsu sauce was bland (and sparsely drizzled). Street parking on fourth is tough, but you can sometimes find a spot right in front. The ambience is nice. Fun, loungy music. Nice decor. Private tables and a long, U-shaped sushi bar with lots of porcelain cats waving. There's also an alcohol bar at the front. I can think of lots of other places in San Rafael/Marin to spend $40 and enjoy pretty great Japanese food. I'm bummed. read more

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Tenkyu might not be that authentic Japanese restaurant but the food is amazing! The creativity chuck has for making whatever you want is surely a talent. The service is top notch and family friendly and welcoming environment is great! I think it's one of San Rafael's hidden restaurant gems! read more

The food here is SO good and SO fresh! I mean, look at this presentation. 10/10 I wish I lived closer. read more

Tenkyu - Avocado Maki, Sweet Potato Makisweet - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

Tenkyu is one of our favorite regular spots - either to dine in or pick up. The owners are super kind and the food is yummy. It's a great spot to have a conversation with your friend. I never feel like I need to finish eating and leave like some other sushi places, I can take my time. We love it! read more

The couple (they seemed like a couple) working here were very friendly. The food was great, fresh, and not skimpy on avocado. Portions seem relative to price (Alaska was ~$10, Tenkyu was ~$18) & fair compared with other locations in the area (which can be difficult to tell because online, some menus haven't been updated for 2+ years). I saw they had a sushi boat-style table with a chef in the center who makes fresh dishes to grab (I love those), but when I asked about it (such as if they have that active during the lunch hours), they said maybe next year. The overall city on a Sunday night lacks visitors, so I'm not surprised this place was also empty. In fact, I didn't realize they stayed open an extra 15 mins for us to pick up our order. That was very kind of them and unexpected. (Closing hours online were off by a whole hour.) read more

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This restaurant offers fast service and good value for sushi. Good nigiri assortments too. Definitely coming back read more

Tenkyu - Nigiri Special - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

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Quality and serving size for the rolls is not favorable. The overall taste was good but not worth the price we paid. Staff was very nice and waited on us efficiently. It was a Saturday night around 8:00. The fried banana was good and the edamame was done extremely well. read more

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Tenkyu is a great sushi find in San Rafael! The price earns it an extra star. I ordered the Grilled Saba Mackerel lunch special and it came with a salad and rice and miso soup! Service was good. Booth I had was close to the window and great space within the restaurant including a sushi bar with seating all around it . Food was pretty good ! Will be back and try some more of their menu ! read more

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I have always liked this restaurant! Good menu, tasty food, a go-to from way, way back. And just recently I went by for some take-out with my mom. And after years and years and years... the owner still recognized me and my mom. What a sweet thing to say hello! Try my favorite: California hand roll with tempura shrimp. read more

This place has very good, very fresh and clean sushi, and other dishes. It's very quiet, and often empty so I worry about their ability to survive. The lunches are very good values. Prices for sushi may seem high, but they reflects the quality and the high cost of fish. read more

I will have to admit that the sushi here was pretty good...but it wasn't what we were expecting when we ordered. We ordered the Tenkyu Boat to go and were expecting Maguro, Salmon, Hamachi, Tako, etc... as was described online. Instead we got some very good Hamachi, smoked salmon, saba, tako, and ebi. Admittedly, the saba was a pleasant surprise (though for many people it is hit or miss), but we were less than impressed with spending $45 on the item and getting surprised with lesser substitutes of ebi and smoked salmon. It was good quality, but when we order a sushi platter and less than half the food is raw, you can't help but feel like we just got "what was leftover" at the end of the night. Surprises at sushi restaurants rarely turn out overall in your favor...this was one of those cases... read more

Came here an hour before closing. The meal started off very very strong w the best miso soup I've never had. I had high hopes for the rest of my meal. The server let us know they were short staffed which was okay. Our meals proceeded to come out late which was fine but they got some of our orders incorrectly. I got the chicken katsu and all I got was the panko crumbs and no chicken. My rice came out after I finished my crumbs and salad. My friends dragon roll came at the end when we were about to leave. I know they were short staffed but getting our order correct was all we asked, late was fine. Benefit of doubt, short staffed and don't come before closing! At least the restaurant was clean. read more

Tenkyu has been our goto Sushi bar for many years. Previously we ate at all the more trendy and expensive Sushi restaurants throughout Marin. A note, i go back to about 1966 for Sushi. There was only ONE Sushi restaurant in New York City then! My friend Hideoki Hagiwara was Japans top fashion photographer at the time and he introduced us to Sushi meal after meal especially st occasions like the birth of his son. It was real inexpensive back then! OK, back to today at Tenkyu! The owners have built a beautiful space filled with Japanese furniture, ornaments, dolls, paintings, costumes and much much else. They used to have little wooden boats delivering your food at the bar! Their pricing is medium and up. I enjoy their 20 piece Sushi for about $21 plus a bowl of tasty miso soup. If the toro is around l, I might splurge on some! Occasionally, the fish can suffer from not a fast enough turnover but over 95% of the time it's fresh and delicious! If more folks gave this sleeper restaurant a try, this would go away completely! The husband/wife team work fast and are extremely friendly / service oriented. Just what you expect from the Japanese! The restaurant including the men's bathroom is usually spotless. read more

Hubby brought me here on a date almost 20 years ago! I really wanted Sushi Ran in Sausalito, but I didn't want to come across as high maintenance cuz I'm not. Also, he would've ran for the hills if he knew how I ate LOL! It's only because most of my Chinese peeps own such sushi joints, so it's not quite Chef Kusakabe authentic. And I speak Mandarin to them as a test. We haven't dined here in a long time, and I wanted to bring our teenage son here to tell him the dating places mommy & daddy frequented along this stretch of downtown San Rafael like the pool hall across the street (now Tam Commons). Let's just say, our teenager didn't care & wanted to be on his phone while we paid the bill. The sushi here isn't stellar, service is still friendly...that's about it. FYI, the sushi boat only operates on Fridays & Saturdays now. These days, it's not cheap to feed a family with a hangry teenager. Sushi to Dai For or Kamikaze are other go-to sushi places in SR, except there's no boat and that's okay! read more

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Place was super good miso was seasoned great and the sushi was fantastic I also loved the ambience would definitely recommend!

This place has such great service! Super great place to go when in downtown san rafael! The sushi rolls are small for the price but they were really good! They get the food out to you very fast. There's indoor dining, togo ordering and outdoor dining. read more

Tenkyu - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

Great people and friendly unassuming service. Food is always good and prices are the best. Sushi is always fresh and reasonably priced. Low key atmosphere in a warm comfortable setting. I love the broiled mackerel and the Tempura is perfect. My daughter always gets the vegetable nigiri rolls. I read some of the one star reviews and I think the reviewer was mixed up with another place. I've been coming here forever and I love it. read more

It's been the 5th time that we come to this place and the treatment that we get is excellent since first time. Both waitresses and sushi Chef are always very nice ! As always we ask for the Tenkyu boat and our fried banana . All very good , but it will be nice if they had some coffee for dessert or more variety of wines . read more

Tenkyu - Tenkyu Boat! - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

I love this family. It's a family run business and I've known the couple for years. The husband does all the prep work himself and always uses sustainable fish choices. Sushi is always fabulous, first class all they way. Always very good and inexpensive to boot. Don't look any further this is your place. There daughter is also the hostess and waitress. Very wonderful people highly recommend them! read more

Love this place. I've been coming here for about 15 years. I'm originally from LA, so when I make a trip to Nor Cal I always make a point to stop by here. Hands down best sushi. Chuck always makes a point to give the best food. read more

The good: Their menu is vast ranging from sushi to Donkatsu to Ramen and the service was friendly and prompt. The bad: It just wasn't very tasty; fish was fishy; the broth had little flavor; and the pork and beef were chewy (and not the right cut for Udon or Ramen). read more

This is a kind of a funny location because obviously it is styled in the time of the floating sushi boat concepts. It's unfortunate now because it's not in use and does block the experience of sitting at the sushi bar however they are still cranking out all of your favorite treats. The sizes are adequate the pricing is fair and the overall quality of the food was good. Wait staff was attentive and I enjoyed everything I ordered. If you are craving ramen they serve up a solid bowl to fill your noodle cravings. I could see this as my go to spot for takeout or the family sushi night that's not going to break the bank and everyone will leave with a happy belly. Plenty of street parking. read more

Tenkyu - Dinner bill for 3 - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

Ordered via phone, picked up in less than 30 minutes and it was delicious! My pickiest child ate his portion in a record time, and said it was the best sushi he's ever had (and we eat sushi a lot!) All the kids agreed the Golden Gate roll is scrumptious. Yum!! I made a mistake and miscounted the order, thinking I was missing something and they were so kind in making sure everything was correct. Thank you! read more

Tenkyu - Waiting outside for food. One customer in at a time. :) - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

Had lunch here for the first time. Had one of the bentos, and friend had a Caterpillar Roll (I think... see photo), and it looked great. My bento was just meh. The chicken teriyaki was flavorless and soggy. Maybe I missed it on the menu, but there were no sushi lunch set/combination... just three small pieces of California Roll included in the bentos. The interior looked dingy and dated. Big positive: the servers are kind and attentive. read more

Tenkyu - Caterpillar roll? Pretty. - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

Fantastic Sushi, The owners really know their craft. On top, their friendly and sincere, to me good customer service is everything in a business.We have been coming to that restaurant for years and never had we've gotten ill from the food. We love it, Will continue bringing our family there in the future. read more

My first time here and wow that sushi is fresh and tasty. I had the Dragon Roll with Nigiri for lunch. I cant wait to go back! read more

Tenkyu - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

Fresh food, great service, good prices (compared to the other Japanese and sushi restaurants in Marin) and a relaxed, inviting ambiance....and very kid friendly! read more

service was super kind and attentive. The food was absolutely delicious and worth every penny! I asked for a spicy dragon roll and it was a very tasteful dragon roll i've had in a while! read more

I highly recommend this restaurant. The Marin roll and pork gyoza are very good. I've only ordered carry out, but the service has always been quick and my order has always been correct. read more

Very delicious food. There located on in 4th and c st. A/C on and very welcoming. We were greeted immediately with a hello and a smile. Great place for special occasions or even just lunch time read more

Tenkyu - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Rafael, California

We always go to our favorite sushi restaurant but it was closed on Sunday and our friends found Tenkyu. What a pleasant surprise. Food amazing and our server Ping I believe was her name so attentive. And everything came out nice and hot. Had our own little private booth love it. Will definitely come back when we return from our Trip in May. read more

Ordered here for the first time and the food and service was great. Looking at their set up, I can guess how much fun it would have been to dine in, the bar and big conveyer belt seating options. I'll continue to order food to go, looking forward to when I can dine in. read more

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I've been going to Tenkyu for almost two decades - dining in and taking out - and love it! Family run - great food - I'm always recognized and I know I'm going to get a wonderful meal. read more