Shimizu Sushi

Really good sushi! Charisma, shrek, and hamachi Kama super tasty. The staff are always great!

Definitely nothing but potential for 4 or 5 stars. The ambiance is good and warm, the staff is friendly, and the aroma is wonderful. You walk in and it smells like ocean, not like fish.
We ordered four different sushi specials, sake, Sapporo, and sushi salads. All the food was really awesome, and this is the third attendance.
I felt it appropriate to discuss the good things before diving into the bad because all and all, it is a great place to try. But here’s what went down.
As I went into the bathroom to wash my hands, one of the sushi chefs bolted out of the bathroom; as he exited, I entered. The only toilet in the bathroom still had the liquid inside the ball moving about from the pressure of him doing his business. And I don’t care, I mean everybody use the bathroom, whatever. But I was totally grossed out because it was full of urine, urine on the sides of the toilet, urine in the toilet. I mean come on man. And he didn’t wash his hands…
When I told my girlfriend about it, she argued that the potential existed he could have just went into the bathroom to wash his hands, and that explains why there was still urine in the toilet, & why I didn’t see him wash his hands (as in, perhaps it was somebody else, and he didn’t even see it). I suppose that’s not an impossible scenario, but that argument does not explain why the toilet water was moving, and why he would go into the bathroom just to wash his hands? Not only that, but as respectable as a sushi chef position is, why leave urine in the toilet, his or not.
At the very, very least, even if it wasn’t him (which, let’s be honest, there is a high probability it was him), why not just flush the toilet for christ sake on your way out. It was the most unprofessional behavior I have seen in the world of retail. Mainly because it leads to speculation that the food you just ate may not have been the safe.
I’m sure it was, I’m sure nobody’s ever gotten sick from eating there, ever. But at the very least it’s gross and unprofessional. We still left a fat tip in the rare circumstance that I was wrong in this matter, but deductive reasoning tells me I was not, and therefore I will not be returning.

Awesome food. I don’t care much for any sushi places, but this place has the best rolls in town. Fresh seafood, and great teriyaki bowels. Come hungry, leave full and maybe drunk of Saki!!!

nothing really wow in here, except when the bill comes, WOW really… it boil down to the price and the quality of the food and they don’t justify each other. But this place will be ok cos its location, there will be constant spillovers from other nearby busy restaurant, myself was a victim and I hope you hop on a different boat. stick with the other one near by…

This place is by far my favorite sushi spot in the East Bay so far. I really like everything about it. The restaurant is super casual and bustling. They’ve got extremely reasonable prices. Everything I had was really good. The draft beers are fresh, cold, and carbonated. The spicy edamame was a must. The specialty rolls are solid, but have a high rice to fish ratio. The sashimi plate is a piece de resistance. It is a heaping pile of the freshest, thickest, incrediblist cuts of fish you could ever hope for. The service here is top notch as well. On top of all of this, they give you a punch card. Rest assured, I will be back, and I will be punching that card!

The other sushi alternative on Piedmont. It is the polar opposite of Geta. Geta is all about simple rolls with no frills, this one brings all the frills! Both are good depending on what you’re looking for.
What they’re probably most known for is the Flaming Dragon, which is the roll on fire. It comes out, and yes, it is indeed on fire. Other than the presentation, it tastes like any other baked roll. Most of the rolls are saucy and heavy, which is nice depending on your preference.

This is the first time we’ve been here. We had the Flaming Roll which was a show stopper and was delicious. Also had the Cherry Blossom and the Yami Yami which were fresh and tasty also. The servers were very friendly and efficient. Can’t wait to go back again.

Still the best Sushi ever! Whenever I go to another sushi place, which is not very often, I always compare it to Shimizu. They are still the best! I always get the Sashimi, it’s always fresh and they always surprise me with new additions! The service is great and you gotta love the stamp card!

I’ve been here quite a few times with friends and the service is always lovely.
I’m writing a review now because I brought my guy here for his birthday dinner last night and it was such an enjoyable experience. The service was great, as usual, and the food was AMAZING. If you haven’t ordered the Flaming Dragon roll, YOU MUST!!!
I told one of the waiters that it was my guy’s birthday and he smiled and said that he’d bring him a little something. After we finished eating, they turned up some birthday music and their wonderful staff sang and smiled as they brought some delicious dessert with a cute little candle in it for the birthday boy. Haha. It was on the house too!
Thank you everyone at Shimizu for great food and great service! We will definitely be back again!!!

Shimizu is a happy place for consistently delicious Japanese food. It’s small and often crowded, but people are pleasant, food and drink usually arrive in a reasonable time, and what arrives has never yet failed to please us. Whether it’s the wakame salad or the croquettes, salmon bento box, or a Lion King, M.A.M.A., Shrek, or Yami-​Yami roll hasn’t mattered. We’re generally able to stuff ourselves and leave a good tip for a little over $ 40.
I was actually surprised to find I hadn’t already reviewed this wonderful spot, so it’s about time!

This is a small little place in North Oakland. I came with a friend here for lunch since we were craving sushi. It could get a little busy since it’s in a busy working district so be aware. But it’s worth the wait. The staff was very friendly, and it was a good atmosphere overall!
I ordered the bento box with chicken teriyaki, my all time favorite. It was delicious. The tempura was nice and crispy. Everything was good! We didnt order any rolls or anything, but I’ll definitely update when we do go back.
Highly recommended!

2^nd Review Its a lazy Sunday so I walk over to Shimizu after reading reviews here. People, you disappoint me as did the sushi & service.
Many people raved about the Flaming Dragon Roll but flames just doesn’t seem like sushi to me. I chose the Spicy Spider roll which combines 3 of my fave types of sushi: spicy tuna, salmon and soft shell crab.
Where was the flavor and sushi? The spicy tuna wasn’t at all spicy and barely made an appearance in the roll. A thin slice of salmon rested on top of a lot of sushi rice and avocado a tiny piece of tuna. Guess what, that mound of tobiko on top didn’t fool me.
Now, the small portion would’ve been fine if the flavors crushed it. Sadly, they were lacking. Doesn’t keep the place from being full, though.
On my ‘dining while black’ scale they get a 3-​. No check-​in. No water. Can’t catch anyone’s eye. As soon as I finished the bill was presented. Come on, my money is still green, how about a little service? After two tries there’s no good reason to return, especially when Geta is down the street.

This sushi lover is head over heels for Shimizu Sushi! When you’ve eaten as much sushi as I have, you learn to develop a keen distinction for what separates high quality and tasty sushi from poor quality and meh-​tasting sushi. Excellent sushi is made with the freshest ingredients, has a good ratio between rice and filling both inside and outside the roll, and allows all the ingredients to shine through without any one of them masking the flavor of the others. This is exactly what Shimizu sushi is.
I ordered the Flaming Dragon roll, which is a roll with deep fried shrimp, crab, spicy tuna with salmon, yellow tail, tuna, avoc, and tobiko (fish eggs) that comes to you on fire. I LOVE flaming rolls, because the smokey flavor that is infused in the roll adds another dimension of flavor that delights the taste buds. Add that smokey essence to a roll that basically has all the inhabitants from the sea in it and you are tasting a dynamite roll. There’s sweetness from the crab and avocado, spice from the tuna, crunch from the deep fried shrimp, and savory elements from the yellow tail and tobiko. Definitely one of the tastiest rolls I’ve ever had.
I also ordered the Salmon Lover roll, which is a roll with deep fried salmon and cream cheese covered with fresh salmon and tobiko. Cream cheese in a sushi roll? Hell yeah! Salmon and cream cheese are a classic pairing, and putting that into a sushi roll with crunch from the fried salmon and savory elements from the tobiko gives you yet another tasty roll.
Shimizu Sushi is a small restaurant, but its food is nothing but delicious. Service is also superb because our server was friendly, made jokes with us, and the food came out surprisingly quick. I’ll definitely be back!

My husband and I love ordering this place after work for takeout home.
Everything we have had has tasted fresh and filling. It is moderately priced, but always super busy so we have never eaten in the restaurant to be able to comment on service.
I would highly recommend for this area. Lots of specialized rolls and great soup.

I think I may have found my sushi love. It only took a few months, but I’m crushing hard. A small, bustling restaurant with a few tables and a long sushi bar.
— Spicy edamame: yes! Not your regular edamame, but covered with a red pepper oil. A nice kick I had yet to have with edamame.
— Sashimi plate — a total win. I’d come back for this and this alone. Huge cuts of fresh, delicious fish. This was a bargain and a half. There was honestly so much fresh fish. This is what sealed the deal of my recent love affair with this place. Five stars of goodness.
— A handful of different rolls — all good, but none that I absolutely loved. A bit too much rice and not enough fish. Reasonably priced for sure, but I wouldn’t come back for the rolls alone.
Honestly, this review is teetering on five stars all because of that sashimi plate. If you’re looking for high quality fish and super reasonable prices, Shimizu.

Shimizu isn’t my ideal place when I’m craving sushi but it does the job when I’m too lazy to drive and I want it quickly. It also helps that it’s literally down the street from my house. Overall, good rolls. I have to say that their miso soup is one of the best that I’ve had. It has a very distinct flavor and it’s not loaded with MSG like other places are. And they use real tofu. Yay! We also ordered the ikura, spicy tuna hand roll for him, delicious roll, and Piedmont roll. I thought the ikura would look like the picture on the menu with the cucumbers on it but it wasn’t. It was still good though. The delicious roll was delicious. The deep fried soft shell crab had a nice crunch to it and the individual pieces were pretty evenly cut. Lastly, the Piedmont roll was refreshing and a nice change compared to your typical sushi roll wrapped with rice and seaweed.

We wanted sushi yesterday and let me be honest. This location wasn’t our primary choice. We actually wanted to try Geta sushi, however that place ended up being as small as my closet and with a wait for infinity we decided to try the next nearest sushi spot which just so happened to be Shimizu Sushi.
Overall, it was pretty darn good. There wasn’t that long of a wait, so we got to browse the menu for a few minutes before we were seated which was just perfect. We were seated and greeted within no time and were even given complimentary miso soup which isn’t all that common. The beer and sake were also priced decently.
Plenty of sushi rolls to chose from at pretty average prices. There really isn’t anything about this place that makes it stand out, but when you’re craving sushi and want something of good quality then this place works.
Overall, a nice little experience and wouldn’t mind coming again.

Not super impressed with our meal here. Service was friendly but not all that helpful. The edamame tasted cold and not the freshest I’ve had. Sushi roll was ok but it would have tasted better if the tempura was served hot to give it the contrast.
Plus a star for having their own parking lot because finding parking on Piedmont is never a joyful experience.
We don’t have sushi very often but it’s not likely I would return.

Disappointing. There’s a vegetarian section, but the waitress was more interested in rushing to write down my order than be interested in answering what was vegan.
I did eventually order the «vegetable lover’s» roll, which came quickly, however it was one of the blandest sushi orders I’ve ever had in a restaurant, and I couldn’t finish, which is very unusual since I don’t like to waste food.
At no point during the meal did the waitress bother to come by and see how things were. I did mention it when she finally bought the check, but was ignored.
The edamame wasn’t much better, and needed something, and the beer selection matched the whole theme, so didn’t bother. Whole Foods vege sushi is far better.
I did leave a tip since my son liked his, but the whole deal just felt like a waste of money to me.
At least they have off street parking. Piedmont Avenue is pretty impossible to park on these days.

Since most restaurants required reservations or had long lines during Valentine’s Day I decided to come here since this sushi joint accommodated a lot of customers and they were able to seat us right away.
I looked through the menu, picked out a couple of rolls and had to try the flaming roll of course! I like the presentation and all, but my sushi was partly burnt after the flame went out which has never happened at any other restaurant that served flaming rolls. I’m not too sure if that was just mine or if it happened to other people too.
The rolls were decently priced but the pieces of raw fish on every roll I ordered seemed a bit small. I guess that’s what it means when the prices are a little lower.
Service was excellent here, it was really easy to flag a waiter down in case I needed anything and our water was filled occasionally without asking which was great even though they were really busy with everything else.