Kabuto Restaurant

I almost always order from the ‘special sushi’ menu and am never disappointed. The presentation is beautiful, the sushi is delicious and the service is always professional. Pricier than the other neighborhood places but worth it.

Be careful judging this restaurant on the pictures alone. The pictures look great, real Instagram model pictures. There are way too many menus and menu items; think cheesecake factory.
We ordered all the «appetizer» favorites that were reviewed well:
Ceviche
Kobe beef
Hamachi jalapeño
Foie gras sushi
Toro caviar truffle sushi
We then ordered quite a bit of sushi nigiri:
Hamachi
Blue fin
Toro
And a few others that the waitress recommended.
Our waitress’s breath smelled heavily of cigarette smoke, which blasted our palettes every time she came to us. The plates were too large for the table and the sushi, which were hurriedly dumped on us every time.
The sushi was not fresh. The special appetizers that they do, the ones that involve hitting the sushi with a blow torch and/​or dressing/​masking the fish with a bunch of foie gras/​caviar, are just ok; for two pieces of sushi nigiri, the caviar and foie gras appetizers were about $ 20 a piece. The kobe beef was good, but again, a lot of salt on top.

Best sushi I’ve had in San Francisco. Sun, our waitress, basically told us what to eat, and was 100% business (telling us when to use soy sauce, etc), and made the experience delicious and memorable. Very, very highly recommended.

This review is long over due!!! My boyfriend and his sister introduced me to this amazing little spot a couple years ago, and this has become my most favorite sushi place EVER! Seriously, I’ve enjoyed sushi all over the Bay and this is by far the best! Eric the owner has created some amazing dishes ! Every time we go we order the must haves: ceviche, hamachi pear, tar tar, spicy tar tar, the «crispy», baby lobster, & the hamachi Kama, when ever they haven’t sold out! If your in the inner Richmond it’s a must try place!

Delightful food. Flavors range from fresh classic to gloriously innovative sushi. Staff were very pleasant and attentive even though it was crazy busy. Can’t wait to return!
Agree with other reviewers — this place is small so do make RSVP to save yourself time.

My extreme dissatisfaction of this restaurant does not stem from its food. I didn’t even get to give the food a chance.
I’ve had a few friends recommend this sushi restaurant on more than a few occasions. I decided to give it a try and made reservations for two at 8:30 p.m. We arrived at 8:15 p.m. to check in with the waitress and stood inside because it was raining outside. There are tables along the side of the restaurant and seats adjacent to the sushi bar. My friend and I were really hoping to get seated at a table. The clock struck 8:30 p.m. and we were not seated yet — but no big deal because they were busy, it happens. At 8:35 p.m. a Caucasian couple comes in and asks me (since I was standing near the front) if there was a place to put names down for walk ins — I pointed him to the clipboard. My friend and I are Asian American and in our mid 20s where as the Caucasian couple looked to be in their mid to late 40s. Nearing 8:45 p.m., a table left and I felt prepared to sit down. The waitress sat the Caucasian couple down instead of us. When I approached the waitress regarding why they got seated before us despite us having a reservation and waiting for nearly 30 minutes, she looked confused and uttered «they had a reservation». When I explained to her that they didn’t (because I watched him put his name down on the «walk in» clipboard), she hesitantly said «Oh, two people at the end of the bar are almost done! You will be next». I told her that she could cancel our reservations and I would never come back.
My friend and I drove up to Wako on Clement instead and spent our $ 278.16 on dinner there instead. We made a reservation during the drive and were seated immediately. They treated us with great hospitality despite how busy they were.
I included our age and ethnicity not to claim that Kabuto discriminated against us, but rather to give readers as much detail as possible and allow them to draw their own inferences about my experience. The only thing I can speak of with certainty is that I will not be giving this place a chance — ever.

Amazing sushi, amazing service, amazing everything! From the outside kabuko just looks like a normal Japanese restaurant but as soon as you walk through the door you know it’s a legit sushi joint. Make sure to make reservations because the place has very limited seating.
My friend and I’s first time so we ordered a lot!
–1849 oysters: the first oyster I’ve tried that I actually enjoyed! Comes with quail egg, uni, etc
–ceviche: was my favorite! Came on top of a sheet of crunchy sweet sea weed
–amaebi sweet shrimp: liked this one the least, tasted very oceany and the texture was gooey
–live scallop: must get! Scallop comes two ways, one raw sashimi style and the inner parts are cut up and served as a mini clam chowder. Amazing!
–sunrise: salmon sushi served with a raw quail egg on top, was good but the egg made it VERY rich tasting
–hamachi jalapeño: beautifully presented, really good
–Kobe beef
–kanpachi
–hon maguro
–tako
–tamago
–tuna sampler
–unagi
–green tea crème brûlée
–green tea & strawberry panna cotta: AMAZING get it.
All together our bill was $ 180, pricey but definitely worth it! We each had one of everything and left full. We will be back!

Ever single time I step into kabuto I’m thinking it’s good but not the greatest. And then I get my first piece of sushi and it all comes rushing back to me. Holy Sh! this is the BEST SUSHI in San Francisco bar none. These guys are constantly innovating with new rolls and flavors. If it doesn’t work they drop it. If it works they keep it. It’s a simple philosophy and they keep surprising me with new flavors in an amuse bouche presentation.
I recently had the toro truffle carpaccio with gold flakes and just about lost my mind with the explosion of flavor in my mouth. And the Foie gras nigiri is a must have. My wife loves the toro nigiri. I’m fine with whatever. It’s pricey but you get what you pay for and you always leave with a story of decadence that is unparalleled in San Francisco maybe the world.

I absolutely love the design and crafting of each sushi piece. I have never seen such level of craftiness. We ordered the ceviche which was completely not what he had expected. Don’t take it the wrong way but it was not the raw fish in a cup kinda thing. The beauty and photos that came out absolutely stunning.
We lyfted here because this place it was hard to find parking.
Wow I’m not sure what to write. The fish was okay. I just loved the design and taking pictures of it.
The service was great. 5 STARS FOR SURE!

This is now my favorite sushi restaurant in all of SF :) This tiny little restaurant on Geary is barely noticeable & doesn’t look fancy at all. Their food quality is top notch. We ordered:
— Baby Main Lobster sushi
— Foie Gras sushi
— Toro tartar
— Abalone sushi
— Toro caviar sushi w/​gold flakes
— Hamachi
…and a couple more, I can’t remember. But the above are my favorite absolutely delicious. Every plate has its own sauce with very fresh fish. This place can get very pricy but worth every dollar! Go early so you don’t have to wait for a table

Over the years, I’ve passed by Kabuto countless times driving on Geary. I’ve had Kabuto bookmarked for a while and finally made it out to give it a try.
«A» and I ordered the omakase ($ 75/​person), which consist of the following items:
Hamachi Jalapeño — fish was fresh, but otherwise nothing unique.
Uni and Eggplant Soup — I’m normally not a fan of uni or eggplant, but the two ingredients paired well together. Unfortunately for me, there was a hair in my soup, which made me lose my appetite.
1849 Oyster — Tasted like the ocean.
Tempura — nothing special as you can’t really mess up on tempura.
Grilled Spicy Mussels
Baby Maine Lobster
Ceviche — It’s a piece of nigiri, but I wouldn’t consider this ceviche as I didn’t taste the tart/​acidic flavor.
Hamachi Pear
Foie Gras Sushi — Of all the items we had, the foie gras sushi stood out the most. It was our favorite of the night. It was so good I wanted to order another!
Toro Caviar Truffle Sushi
Today’s Sushi — Chef’s selection 4 pieces of nigiri
Dessert
Matcha Panna Cotta
Matcha Crème Brulee
Not your typical omakase menu, but the presentation was beautiful. In terms of the omakase menu, I think it’s overpriced. I’ve had better omakase elsewhere. But I have to praise the chef for his innovative creations.

Best sushi I have had in my entire life. Most delicious. Here are some pictures. Friend of mine told me it was off the beaten track and they were right. Not very busy when I walked in but then it got really busy and big line and unbelievable food. Let the chef to the ordering for you.

This place was ahhmazing! I loved the fresh fish and the aburi toro was the best piece of fish I’ve tasted thus far.
Highlights:
Aburi toro
Clam soup
Ceviche (delicious)
Tofu

The sushi is fresh and tasty! They add little adornments which make their style pretty unique.
Service was average, though initially I felt like they were somewhat pushy. In the span of 5 minutes after being seated I was asked if I was ready to order 2 or 3 times, while still holding the menu and reading through everything.
Everything I ordered was amazing.
Prices are high, expect to pay at least $ 50 a person if you order anything off their specials.
They never refilled my tea, which I finished ½ way through my meal :(
I know they are busy, though wait time between dishes was REALLY long. From observation they make everything in batches. So if you don’t order a lot of items. You will wait a bit.

This is a long overdue review. I have been coming to this place for about 4 years and I still haven’t gotten tired of it.
Food: Creative and delicious. The food here is Japanese fusion fine-​dining quality for a very reasonable price. The portions are generous and the dishes are well presented. My favorites are the 1849 oyster, foie gras sushi, lobster sushi, and jalapeño yellowtail.
Service: The service is average. I think the waitress can be slightly more friendly and welcoming.
Atmosphere: The restaurant is casual but clean. Very typical family business type of setting.
Price: $ 200 for two dinner omakase; ~$ 90 a la carte for two.

Just an amazing sushi spot. I passed by this place hundreds of times without noticing it at all, usually on my way to some other sushi spot.
The place is clean, friendly service staff and great food.
The sushi is always super fresh. Kabuto’s sushi is traditional for the most part. The chef is very creative however, with tradition it is possible to stray from the common offerings and create something new inline with the tradition.
That’s one of the reasons I like this place so much, I find new and very pleasing items. The freshness of the fish is never compromised. I am a huge fan of the Okra Nigiri. The atmosphere is simple and personal, it’s also family friendly.

Can I just say, Kabuto is still my #1 sushi spot. Period. Don’t get me wrong, I love traditional sushi, but the unique combinations they come up with here only enhance the flavors of the fish and take you to a whole new level of sushi experience.
Though the restaurant interior is nothing to take notice of, you can’t help but take a moment to admire the fresh, beautifully decorated sushi that gets delivered to your table. I primarily order from their special sushi menu, but there are a few items from the regular menu that have become staples in my order.
Top items: 1849 oysters, Toro Tartar, Foie Gras (yes, it’s back!), Ceviche, Sunrise, and Ono Grape

Called that Shabu shabu restaurant on 9^th and Irving at 9 pm and asked how long it was the wait, they announced that it was 1 hour. Halu was our backup plan so I said, «don’t assume. Let me call.» He said, «It is 9 PM, how crowded could it be? I threw back a look at him, «It is 9 pm on Friday. That spot is right by Clement. Everyone would be out.» He let me call. So I did. The voice on the other end said, «For two?» Pause. «One hour.» So much for the backup plan.
No longer wanting to take any chances, we drove to Geary. Something has to give. Or not.
Was about to walk into the ramen shop, until he asked: «Can I show you this place?» I looked across the street and there it was. A sudden change of heart, we jaywalked across Geary and entered this restaurant, at 9:15 PM. Packed, but there was two counter space spots that just opened up. It had our names written all over it.
Lucky find. Omakase menu looked enticing but required more time than allotted. Octopus salad and chicken karage to tie us over. Specialty roll and spicy hamachi roll. and monk fish liver nigiri. Bonito fish nigiri to finish because it is «our» fish.
It would appear that this is a crowd pleaser joint. Menu consists of hot and cold appetizers, very pretty and innovative rolls, and nigiri selection is more than you’d expect at a small restaurant like this. Rice is a bit too mushy though he seemed to like it just fine (to be expected given that he’s some miscellaneous white guy from the midwest, who has not, presumably, developed the discriminatory taste for that perfect white rice as I have). I did not order enough nigiri to make an educated assessment but the neighbors seemed to be doing the Omakase thing, so I was able to do a visual inspection by proximity. I was impressed enough to want to give it another try when it is not this late.
He said that he’d often walk by here and found it to be too crowded to come in. So there we were, two hungry people, Friday night, eating, at this seemingly popular spot, finally.
For an Asian (mostly Chinese, some Korean and a little bit of Japanese), the only things I know how to make are American or northern European food, with the occasional Indian curry (British style) thrown in. Have not figured out how to cook East Asian food, which consists of predominantly Chinese, Korean or Japanese. So much for my heritage food.
Therefore, my enthusiasm for Inner Richmond’s Japanese abundance runs high. I liked it. He loved it. It’s in his hood. Chances are, we may come back sooner than expected.

SF is blessed with a bounty of amazing sushi restaurants. Is Kabuto the number one absolute best ever? I can’t say. But I can tell you what makes me love this place and what will keep me coming back. Fresh fish is the key to any good sushi. Kabuto has created some very creative flavor and texture combinations that are not only delicious but memorable. The service is humble and somehow the people remind me of my family. It’s not fancy but does great food need to be? We used to live in the Richmond district back when we first moved to SF and to think we passed this gem every day makes me feel like I really missed out.
It is on the pricier side but I felt that it was fair and worth it. I don’t like to eat big meals so we didn’t have to order much for me to be satisfied and full. But I imagine most people could double what I am about to recommend. Omakase is probably your best bet then. The only thing that I didn’t enjoy was the Sonoma duck special sushi. Wasabi overload.
Here is what we/​I had and would get again.
— hojicha
— hamachi pear
— ceviche
— 1849 oyster
— toro tartare
— salmon with uni + caviar
— matcha crème brûlée
I forgot to ask about foie gras and live scallop but again I wasn’t that hungry so maybe next time.

2.5 stars.
I don’t think the price matches the quality of the fish. Some of the sushi we got were a bit stringy in texture :\ I now compare all sushi to Amami in San Bruno because they are just so fresh with the right price. This place didn’t compare :(Also, their «special sushi» is super expensive at about $ 5 – 7 per PIECE. We didn’t order it, but man, that stuff better be amazing for that price!
Pretty small place but we were able to get same-​day reservations so that wasn’t an issue.