Yoko O.

Still awesome! We went for lunch and the prices are more affordable. We went for the $30 one because it had the truffle oil and it was amazing the first time we had it. And it is worth it. Maybe not if you just wanted a Ramen or something but if you want a special fancy lunch with a perfect cucumber salad (with Wakame seaweed) and perfectly steamed edamame, get it, you won't be sorry. Lunch cost me 49. A bit high but oh boy, was it worth it?!?!?!!!!!

Gina G.

I will be dreaming about Yonsei Handrolls for quite some time after a pretty extraordinary meal here. Would love to return for dinner to experience the cocktail menu also, but let's dive into lunch. Check hours before heading over because they may vary between weekday/night and weekends, but weekday they open at 11:30a. While in the area, we were so hungry and realized we had never tried Yonsei before. Also fyi there is a wine bar that opens at 12p called Best Friends next door. While parking on San Pablo can be a bit challenging, we found street parking near the front of the building, so we took this as a great sign. The vibes inside were high ~ loved the art and immaculate space. Also love the bar area and sleek but cozy environment. They have the coolest lunch menu. Being new to handrolls, we went with the DIY Lunch Set that included 3 different fish: yellowtail, spicy tuna, and salmon with rice and the seaweed wrappers. What an excellent and incredibly fun way to have a 'first foodie moment' with others. (See pics and videos) We also ordered the sashimi salad and tenpura (Shungiku Kakiage) to start, with a few 'single' handrolls for variety as well. I ordered an Avocado single handroll, and it was perfection. Everything we tried was incredibly thoughtful, intentional, light, fresh, and just simply delicious. So much flavor, so much depth to each and every bite. Service was great, and I appreciate the variety of lunch 'sets' but also the individual handrolls if you want to try something different. I can now say I'm a huge fan of the open-faced Japanese sushi handroll. The wasabi hit different here and the soy sauce in the liquid dropper (see video) was everything. Chef's kiss.

Vega T.

Came on a Sunday lunch and was seated right away. Indoors was a nice ambiance - it felt very clean and modern. We ordered the Temaki Gochisou lunch set, which was 3 hand rolls with sides. The sides were edamame and a seaweed cucumber salad. We did a late lunch so we were very hungry. The rolls didn't come out until after we finished the sides. The 3 rolls came with: - seared albacore, black garlic aioli - black cod & truffle butter: my fav out of the set! - saba misoyaki, myoga ginger The rolls were all delicious but we were still hungry so we added on a snow crab & chives and a salmon belly, truffle salt, yuzu to share. They were both good but the salmon belly felt a bit short. It didn't feel like a premium cut and felt like just regular salmon. One suggestion is to provide some warm hand towels. It felt odd to me that a handroll place didn't have any hand wipes to start off the meal or at the end. It would be a nice touch vs going to the restroom to wash my hands before/after the meal.

Helen W.

I have been wanting to try this place and decided to give it a try the other night. The restaurant itself is small but the noise level was good where we can have a conversation. Both food and service were excellent. The Handrolls comes out one at a time which allows you to enjoy them individually and remain fresh. I liked the flavor of the rice and the fish was very fresh. Just a word of caution: it was not cheap.

Jessica M.

The "newer" of the two locations. The Albany location opened up mid last year, I believe. I used to go to the Oakland location quite often. (Which I also love!) I really enjoy this Handroll spot. I have regular rolls I order lol today I got the lunch special they offer. They have two to choose from. I got the more expensive one ($27) Just cause it comes with the comes with black cod which is one of the regulars I order. The special comes with three rolls, a side of edamame, a cucumber salad and a green salad. All of which are also delicious. Edamame is steamed and salted. Salads are not over dressed and a perfect addition to the rolls. This particular special came with the seared albacore Handroll, the black cod, and the saba misoyaki. It was my first time having the saba roll. It was good. Not one of my favorites but definitely still a good one. 3 rolls is never enough for me, so I added 2 of the regulars I like: the negihama and the salmon belly. Cannot go wrong with those! The albacore Handroll is slightly seared and comes with this black garlic aioli. So good! I could eat a ton of those. The black cod is perfectly cooked. The truffle butter goes so well with it. It's definitely one of my top rolls. The negihama is lighter and you can really taste the fish. I just love the way they prepare it. I always order it when I come. Gotta give that one a try when you visit. And last but not least, the salmon belly. Perfect piece of fish. They have a truffle salt and a yuzu finish. Anything with yuzu, I love. Definitely try that one when you come. I came for lunch so I didn't order any cocktails/drinks this time, but their drinks are good also. Love coming here. Service is always good. Restaurant is clean and well maintained. This location has better parking than the Oakland one but it never stopped me from coming lol Come check them out!

Genevieve Y.

date & time: wednesday march 11, 2026 @ 1pm sushi date: the husband vibe: besties & couples in vintage crop tees, denim minis & mid-calf boots music: drake, rhianna & frank ocean decor: aesthetic hand roll spot service: super great devour: vegetarian & sushi hand rolls total: $60.68

Maxine L.

Moderately sized handroll place right off of Solano. Parking was not bad on a weekday evening. My friend and I were greeted and sat immediately. We came a little earlier than dinner rush, so we didn't have any wait. The interior is modern and clean. Service is super quick and welcoming as well. We shared the duck tataki appetizer and I tried the crab, cod, salmon belly, and toro handrolls. The duck tataki was pretty good! Doesn't come with a lot of duck pieces, but the duck itself was yummy. Rolls were overall good. I was disappointed by the toro and crab rolls though. Toro is a premium ingredient so I understand why it's more expensive. But the toppings they chose didn't do much for the toro. The fish quality was good, but the overall roll was just fine. The crab roll was very mayo heavy and not much crab flavor. My standout was definitely the black cod. It was super buttery, juicy, tender, and the truffle went perfectly with it. The salmon belly was also delicious. Loved the touch of yuzu on it. Overall, some really good things and some not so great things. Would definitely come back for the black cod alone though!

Thomas S.

Overall I expected more for the price range and the 4.5 stars. While the handroll approach while intriguing it was really offset by the just average quality sushi. For example, the Toro was just so so, and the Salmon was not orange, yet the pricing is similar to higher end sushi establishments.nothing spectacular, rather better described as "entry-level sushi experience." Price for 4 people (food only): $230 Food: Average quality sushi. Not quite the level I expected when making the reservation. Even the sushi salad (arugula + sashimi) was had way too much dressing each bite. Just a clear miss. Ambiance: Loud, cold, energetic Service: little slow on the water refills but good. Overall, good not great. Not sure I'd be back given the other sushi choices in the area and my desire for higher quality.

Tori Linh T.

Made reservations for a table of two at 8:30 pm on a Sunday through Resy. We came in early around 8:20, and as soon as we walked in, we were "greeted" by one of the servers, and the first thing he said was that he was going to be doing last call "sooner rather than later." He wouldn't give us a specific time of when that would be but really emphasized that we needed to hurry and order right as we sat down, so we ended up ordering right away. This was despite the fact that there was an entire hour before they closed. When we asked the server what time they closed so we could make sure we could eat and leave well before then he told us the restaurant closes around "9-9:15 depending on the night". This was a weird remark because on Yelp, it says this place closes at 9:30 on Sundays. Despite our experience starting off to a not-so-great and rude start, we really kept our hopes up that the food would make up for that. We ordered the $36 OG and $52 Yonsei set. Each roll came out in pairs of two with good timing of when we finished. However, we noticed that the seaweed got progressively soggier as each new piece was brought out to us. Therefore, we were thinking that they had our rolls all made in advance and only brought them out to us when they saw we were finished with what was on the table. A good hand roll preserves the crunch of the seaweed wrap. This was a pretty bad shortcoming that affected the texture of the hand rolls because each time we took a bite, we had to pull it instead of getting a nice, crisp crunch. Also, the server didn't ask if we needed soy sauce, so we had to grab it from another table. In addition, we weren't a fan of the octopus because it seemed like it was overcooked and therefore overly chewy. The snow crab hand roll tasted like a crab sandwich wrapped in soggy seaweed. The server had no intention of actually providing any customer service whatsoever. They didn't check up on us even once, ask how our day was going, ask how our meal was, or ask whether or not we liked the few hand rolls we evidently didn't finish. On top of all of this, it was pretty funny that they charged us two dollars for the side of pickled wasabi when they gave us these tiny portions, which probably cumulatively came out to half a tablespoon (weird that they would be so skimpy with these sides if they were charging us for it.) On a positive note, we could tell the fish was fresh, and we liked the concept of the soy sauce being in a pipette bottle. Also, we did really enjoy the black cod hand roll. Overall, this place is a decent, at most, spot for Japanese-style hand rolls. To be honest, I've had way better elsewhere, and this place didn't strike me as anything unique other than their customer service, or lack there of and fresh fish. If there are other hand roll spots in the area, they probably offer a better experience than this place because their service doesn't even meet bare minimum standards (I've been a server for 5+ years). Be sure to come more than an hour and 10 minutes in advance if you have to eat here, unless you want to be treated like a burden and rushed to eat. P.S. We were only there for a total of 30 minutes, start to finish.

Anne C.

Fabulous place for lunch, the food was excellent and I will definitely return! The lunch specials include cucumber salad, edamame, and greens to accompany 3 small (2 bites) hand rolls. Also pickled ginger and wasabi. All very good, beautifully presented, and nicely seasoned. The waitstaff was attentive, informative, and friendly. The soy sauce is served in an eyedropper bottle. Yes. Also: at lunch the restaurant was a bit chilly, I was glad I wore a layer. Although all the food was gorgeous and delectable, at the end I was still a bit hungry. Perhaps I should have asked for a side of rice or something? Or maybe rice should be included? The lunch specials start at $20 for 3 vegetable rolls and $25-27 for 3 sushi rolls. For us $25 is a bit of a splurge for lunch, maybe not for you :)

Andrew S.

Started off with some cocktails: - Sailor by Moonlight: Iichiko Silhouette Shochu, Rum blend, Genmai, Brucato Chaparral, and Citrus. Quite a tasty drink, highly recommend. - High Roller Martini: Walter Collective Vodka, Dry Vermouth, Sushi Rice, Shiso, Nori, Pickled Ginger, Shoyu. Do not recommend unless you really want a Martini. I thought it would be a really cool drink with sushi rice, shiso, and nori etc in the drink, but the drink came with sliced ginger on a wooden pick; no nori, sushi rice, or shiso. I thought at least I'd taste the flavors, but not at all. Do not recommend getting the Omaka-sets because you don't save any $$$ from ordering the Omaka-set, it is the same price as individually ordering the same items. Just order each handroll that you want to try, unless the Omaka-set has all the handrolls you wanted. The handrool I wanted to try the MOST was the Toro & caviar handroll, but they ran out of caviar and it was only lunch time, around noon! Very sad I didn't get to try it. I really enjoyed all the handrolls I ordered, but I highly recommend the Black cod & truffle butter handroll. Cod was so tender and buttery with truffle butter on top! Also really enjoyed the Negihama yellowtail with green onions and the uni with ikura and wasabi stems. Hand rolls I tried: Seared Albacore with black garlic aioli Negihama yellowtail with green onions Salmon with sesame and lemon Spicy tua with tempura crunch Tako-wasa with nori aioli and micro wasabi Black cod with truffle butter Uni with ikura and wasabi stems Taro & takuan (pickled daikon) I really liked that they had infused soy sauce, added so much more flavor and depth to the taste.

Allen V.

Hit up Yonsei Handroll before my half marathon and honestly... if I run a PR, I'm giving full credit to these rolls. Every single one came out looking like a tiny work of art -- glossy nori, warm rice, and toppings so fresh they practically sparkled. The baller set? Worth every penny. The uni, caviar, truffle butter... my tastebuds were out here living their best luxury life while I sat in my running shorts like a king. Snow crab? Melts. Salmon belly? Dangerous. Spicy ama ebi? Straight flames. And that black cod? I'd fight someone for the last one. Even dessert slapped -- rich, silky, and way too easy to finish even though I swore I was "saving room for tomorrow." Service was smooth, the vibes were classy but chill, and everything came out stupid fresh. 10/10 -- fueled my run, fed my soul, and fully ruined all other handrolls for me.

Marielle V.

We came for lunch today - would recommend making a reservation in advance. Ambiance was modern, bright. I'm sure it's more intimate at night. Playlist was on point (and definitely passed the vibe check!) Originally, based on service, I wanted to rate a 3/5. We were mindful that there were only 2-3 servers, and were doing the best they could with the circumstances. Though, we were disappointed for how long we had to wait for various items (drinks, apps, and the hand rolls in general). We noticed that other people sat after us got their food ahead of time and we waited quite an extended period of time. Though, this had nothing to do with the servers themselves. They did an amazing job - nice, patient and respectful (and aware we were waiting a long time). They ended up comping our drinks for the wait which was thoughtful. But, for the best part. The food was amazing! Flavor profiles were simple, but so so yummy. If you're new to hand rolls, their preset omakase is a good way to start. Aside from the presets (we got the OG and the $20 lunch set) we'd definitely recommend the salmon belly, saba miso yaki. The hamachi carpaccio was also we'd also suggest adding wasabi and their house soy sauce to each bite! Will return. Amazing to have this in the area - and not have to go all the way to San Francisco for a quality hand roll meal.