Noriega Okazu Ya Restaurant

We got here around 9pm on a Wednesday night for a quick dinner, and we were NOT impressed.
The Service: Sub par. It wasn’t that our server was «terrible», really. It was more that she did the absolute bare minimum required to take our order, deliver our food, and bus our table. With only one other table taken at the restaurant, you’d think she would at least act like she cared we were there, but this was not the case.
Our server pretty much dropped menus on the table without instruction or comment, walked away, and didn’t bother checking on us. When the food was ready, she set it at the far edge of the table (we had to drag everything into place ourself) and walked off again without saying a word. She didn’t pour our first cup of tea before setting our kettle down (which is strange, as it’s just good customer service to do so), and we weren’t done with our edamame when she prematurely took it away (we had literally only had two or three pieces before she swooped it off).
Sigh.
Having worked in a restaurant myself, this sort of service would NOT fly with my manager. As a customer, it made us feel as if she didn’t want us there, and like we were a hassle to serve. Sure, she didn’t spill anything, but c’mon. There’s a reason this restaurant has such a low rating on Unilocal,and the service is only ONE of the reasons why.
The Food:
Also sub par. The rice was cold and stale, the miso soup was watery, the fish was not fresh, and none of the rolls we ordered (love on fire, salmon tuna, and rainbow roll) made either of us lift our brows and say «wow». The only thing we really enjoyed was the tempura, and only because it was the only hot thing on our plate that came at the temperature it was supposed to arrive in. But you can’t exactly screw up deep fried stuff, so this restaurant isn’t scoring any points with deep fried veggies.
When we received desert, our ice cream was smeared with whatever other ice cream flavors they have in whatever vat is sitting in their kitchen. Uhm, okay. This is yet another thing I find strange. At the restaurant I’ve worked in, the chefs and cooks at least RINSE the ice cream scoops in hot water before scooping new deserts for each bowl. At this restaurant, our desert was cross-​contaminated with other flavors (I’ve uploaded a photo as an example). This is just bad food handling in general, and it’s obvious this restaurant doesn’t care about quality.
I realize I’m nit-​picking at this point, but in a city like San Francisco where there are so many other places to eat with better service, better food prep & handling, and tastier food, why would ANYONE bother coming back here again other than that it is inexpensive? Did they drop their prices to retain customers because they knew their service and food was bad? I’m shocked this place is still open. Usually, when a restaurant in San Francisco isn’t «that great», it closes very quickly. Again, there are just so many other restaurants to try!
I gave this place two stars instead of one because it’s not like someone spilled hot tea on me or served me spoiled food, but I would never recommend this sushi place to friends, visiting colleagues, or family. Ever.
Oh well.

It wasn’t as good as it used to be! :(
The last time I ate at Noriega Okazu Ya was a few years ago. The quality has declined and I’m disappointed.
My friend and I went last night around 5 pm. There weren’t many people for dinner but it took a while to get our tea. After we were seated, it was another long wait for the server to take our order.
We ordered the rainbow roll, sushi nuggets, tuna roll and spicy tuna roll. The rainbow didn’t taste fresh. Sushi nuggets were good, but since they were so fried and oily, I could really only eat a couple before feeling gross. Nothing special about the tuna rolls. Minus one star also for not having a variety of desserts-​they only have mango ice cream and green tea ice cream.
I won’t be coming back to Noriega Okazu Ya.

There was some high points and some very low points. The whole experience averages out to just 3 stars. I haven’t been here in a while prior to this visit, but what I would usually get is the Chilean Sea Bass. It is fantastic; I sometimes have day dreams about it so I’m glad I get to finally have it again. As expected, it was delicious. The bass was perfectly cooked and just melted in my mouth. The sauce was sweet from the onions and the heap of bean sprouts just soaks it all up. I’d give this dish 5 stars on its own.
What makes this a 3 star review is the NY Steak. Oh good lord it was no bueno. If you wanted to get steak, maybe it’s best not to order from a Japanese restaurant; just go down the street to Café Bakery & Restaurant. The meat was under cooked and over cooked; it was just really inconsistent (we ordered medium well). The meat was also hard to chew and most of it was inedible. So that was a total waste.
Lesson learned. Never get steak here! Stick to Chilean Sea Bass.

Nice place for lunch-​easy parking, fresh, testy & affordable food, cute interior, friendly service! :)

This place has a great selection with great prices. We had 3 rolls and edamame for about 30 bucks with tip. The service was meh and the décor and vibe of the place are on the good side of ok. The price and quality of fish are what I care about and I’ll be frequenting this joint

November 2013
It’s a sad day when even the $ 1.00 sake won’t get my friends or I to come back here.
If sushi came out of a can, then this would be the place that would be selling that low quality cheap stuff.
And this place loves to load up their «fish» with tons of rice.
Maybe that’s what the sake is for… to make people so drunk that they don’t notice.

Their food is a bit salty, I ordered their beef teriyaki and it ws a bit too salty for me and I had water too! My friend ordered their ramen, and it was too salty too. The only thing I liked was their ice cream and salad. :X

I have been to this sushi restaurant a couple of times years ago and it seems as though nothing has changed. The same waitress that was working there, still works here. The fact that there is only one waitress and there were at least 8 full tables… Is still the same. I never understood why they didn’t hire more people because although our waitress (Candy) was super nice, you can tell she was running around a lot. Plus, we had to ask her for the same things, multiple times.
Food:
I had the lion king roll. Since I don’t eat raw fish, this is my go to roll. The spicy sauce on top was AMAZING! I highly recommend you ask for their spicy mayo sauce. It’s a little sweet and makes a perfect dipping sauce.
My mom had their spicy tuna and Negihama roll. She wasn’t too hungry so it was the perfect amount for her.
My moms bestie first ordered their sizzling plate with the New York steak. Unfortunately, we had to send it back. It was completely rubbery and fatty — definitely not the New York steak cut. She ordered chicken katsu instead and liked it.
Will I be back? If I’m in the area and craving that spicy sauce… Then sure!

I really wish you can give negative stars because this place did not even deserve one.
The service was disappointing. Seeing that my boyfriend and I sat down and ordered before others, one would think we would be serviced first. That was not the case. I would be patient if the food was worth waiting for, but it’s not. I have no idea how Gordon Ramsey has the stomach for it, but kudos to him and tasting horrible food in his tv series «Kitchen Nightmares». Thats exactly how I felt after eating here.
I ordered two very simple and standard dishes any Japanese sushi bar could make. A nigiri and a caterpillar roll. Easy. Simple. I waited about 40 minutes before my food finally came out. Definitely NOT worth the wait. I started off with a bite of nigiri and it was rancid and spoiled. Disguising! I wouldn’t feed it to maggots. They tired to mask the nigiri skins taste and smell with an extreme amount of soy sauce thinking it was okay. It sure is hell not! I didn’t even finish the rest. The caterpillar roll was not as bad, but still horrible. The avocado was not fresh and they tired to submerge the roll in sauce again to mask some other awful thing about it. The only thing that DID taste good was the Sapporo beer. Thank goodness they didn’t partake in producing it!
I felt like throwing up after that god awful meal. You don’t serve people spoiled food! That’s a health code violation that needs to be looked into.
Last words: Disguising, and I hope they go out of business.

Not the best sushi I’ve had. Pretty average. I heard that the other location has better quality food. Idk if that’s true but every time I come here, it’s never busy. So I guess that should say something.

I’m so disappointed. We used to come to Noriega Okazu Ya a lot because the sushi tasted fresh and their prices were reasonable, plus they were only a few blocks from my house. Now, it seems they have bumped up the prices and the fish did not taste fresh at all. Probably won’t be coming again. Sorry…
Note: I do hear that Taraval Okazu Ya is better. Not sure if it is still the same owner, but I used to see the boss lady at both.

Mr. W and I were both starving so we decided to skip the long line at their Taraval location and head over to this location. Bad idea. There is a reason why Taraval was packed and Noriega was practically empty.
We started off with the agedashi tofu. Mr. W. and I were so impressed the last time we had it at Taraval but we both agreed that it was not half as good at Noriega.
Next up, we had the sashimi combo. The sashimi was good but I’ve just had better. that’s all!
We ordered a dinner combo to go and it’s nice that it came with ice cream but when we wanted to get a plastic to go spoon. they told us that they didn’t have any. Weird.
I might be back again when Taraval has too long of a line but this wouldn’t be my number one choice!

All the Japanese food you can get here are average. Nothing really special about their food and for that price you might as well go eat at a higher end Japanese restaurant with higher quality food. However, my friend who is a regular here since it opened told me the secret to Okazu is its ramen. They probably have the cheapest ramen in town. The chicken teriyaki ramen is pretty good and its price is unbeatable. This is the only thing I get on the menu ever since I got ripped off getting the other stuff. If you were looking for a quick meal, go grab a bowl of chicken teriyaki ramen at Okazu Ya. I recommend this meal to all those frugal people out there looking for decent food that won’t break the bank.
What I recommend:
Chicken Teriyaki Ramen

I’ve eaten at the Noriega branch several times. My friends usually choose this place due to it’s conveint location.
The menu provides a wide selection of sushi rolls, noodles and entrees. Many of the rolls don’t have a description of what’s in the roll. So if you’re like me, taking the risk and surprising yourself, you may end up with some funky stuff. Hence, I highly recommend getting their entrees or noodles over sushi. The sizes provide a filling meal though. Beside from the main courses, the green tea ice cream tastes like celery.
Service is pretty bad. Food is sometimes slow to come out. The waitress doesn’t check up on your table and sort of does her own thing. Unless you go up to ask for the check, you’ll be waiting awhile. Literally, my friends and I will do the wave and service won’t notice. Yes, I am serious; My group stood up and did yoga stretches the last time we were here.
There hasn’t been a crowd here every time I’ve gone. I’ve eaten at Okazu Ya on NYE and there still were some empty tables.
Overall,
Service– ³⁄₁₀
Atmosphere– ⁶⁄₁₀ (It’s clean. Looks nothing like the inside décor of the Taravel one).
Food– ⁶⁄₁₀

I’ve eaten here a couple times, and for both of them I was underwhelmed.
The service is mediocre and the food matches, not to mention that it’s also overpriced. There are some things on the menu that are a bit more tasty here then other places, i.e. their Korokke or Beef Teriyaki, but that’s about it – and those couple of things aren’t enough for me to give it more then 2 stars. The place just needs to either seriously lower its prices, or step up the quality of both its food and service. Period.

Let me start by saying I generally like to the benefit of the doubt — I like to be fair. So when I complain, it’s because something is seriously wrong.
I really wanted to love this place because I’m a huge fan of Okazu Ya on Taraval. the food at this location is just as good BUT, I got food poisoning eating here once (my husband and I both did). So, since then, I haven’t been back.
But, assuming my food poisoning incident was just a fluke, I actually like their food. They have a large specialty roll selection, which includes my favorite roll in the world — the Cajun roll.
They know how to make real teriyaki — not just grilled meat with sauce on top. Their spare ribs are juicy and tender, and have a surprising amount of meat on them.
But there’s a reason this places scores one lower star than the Taraval location. My suggestion is to stay away unless you like taking Immodium AD for 3 days.

There are two Okazu ya’s I like to go to. The one here and the other on Taraval. I usually come to this one because parking is easier and it’s more convenient to get to, but both are about the same in quality of food.
The many times I’ve been here, I’ve ordered only a few sushi rolls and mostly the bento box deals. The rolls are not expensive, depending on which ones you order, and the box meals are pretty decent for the price. But many Japanese restaurants offer the same, i.e. miso soup, rice, side salad, after-​meal ice cream, etc. However, the most recent time I’ve been here, Dad insisted that I try the clam ramen. And it was delicious! I’ve never had ramen like this before, and they give a huge portion of clams. Each one is marinated with a special spicy sauce (yes, it’s spicy) and piled on top of ramen noodles. I could barely finish it because they gave such a big bowl, but it was definitely worth it! I also ordered two rolls the last time I visited — the spicy tuna roll and the dynamite roll. It was good, but nothing too out of the ordinary.
Service is almost always around 15 – 20 minutes after you order. However, if you’re caught coming here on a day with more than 4, 5 families in the restaurant, you can expect the wait to be a little longer. They do try their best to get everything else for you before the main dish comes out. The wait is understandable though due to small staff.
Definitely, definitely try the clam ramen if you like clam. If not, this is a good restaurant to go to if you’re around Noriega and just want some Japanese food to satisfy your cravings.

I remember when this place first opened up I felt a bit excited to try out a new place since its always exciting — well i thought it would be.
the décor in here was pretty nice and modern especially compared to the restaurants around the area besides that other northern Vietnamese food restaurant.
I came on a nice sunday with my family and we each ordered something different. I got one of their ramens and it didn’t taste good at all. it tasted like cheap ramen noodle packaged ramen and i ended up having a bad stomach ache after i went home.
the next time ic ame was two weeks ago for my dad’s birthday. I guess he wanted some nice raw fish /​sashimi so we decided to go here since we didnt want to deal with parking at japan town.
man the fish was not even fresh and we paid $ 35 for not that many pieces. i liked the salmon but that was it. the tuna was not great and the spider roll was some measly little crap.
the service was nonexistent. the waitress seemed all grouchy and grumpy probably because she has to work at such a crappy restaurant. I could tell that their pots of tea were barely washed at all. and for tea at a japanese restaurant, it’s suppose to be good rice tea. instead, it was some watered down jasmine tea that was luke warm, disgusting.
and when i wanted to order more rolls, the waitress seemed like she dragged herself over here to give me a new menu. i paid $ 85 for a few pieces of sashimi for a family of 4 and 3 rolls and i didn’t even get a thank you from this lady, pssh i’m never coming here again.
this place shouldnt even exist anymore and i wondered why it was so empty on a friday night.

01.04.10
It was cold. I was sick. I was also starving.
We were seated quickly. The window was open. It didn’t help my sickness. I left my jacket on the entire time.
The oyako udon really hit the spot, though. And priced right, too.

[M]ona: 3 Stars
[W]ayne: 3.5 Stars
Average: 3.25 Stars
+ Extensive Sushi Menu
+ Reasonable Prices
+ Good Service
+ Fast Service
— Bad Lighting
— Not the best Japanese restaurant in the Sunset
[M] Last Friday was supposed to be Home-​Cooking Day for Wayne and I, but we were both famished after a long days of work and decided to save Creamy Corn Stew and baking Peanut Butter cookies for another night. We went straight to Noriega Okazu Ya for dinner instead.
There weren’t much people dining in when we arrived so service was quite fast and efficient. One thing that I like about Okazu Ya is that they serve you tea in humongous tea pots. No need keep asking for refills!
We ordered a Breaded Scallop ($ 9.95) dish and a few rolls of sushi: Ying Yang Roll ($ 11.95), Rainbow Roll ($ 8.95), Futomaki ($ 3.75), Sushi Nuggets ($ 5.95), Tamago Nigiri ($ 2.00), and Pumpkin Nigiri ($ 6.00).
BREADED SCALLOP: Comes with Salad, Miso Soup and a bowl of rice. The scallops had a nice crunch but were a bit on the dry side. The wedge of lemon that came with it didn’t help so we asked for teriyaki sauce. Much better!
YING YANG ROLL (6 Pieces): Portion size was smaller than Taravel Okazu Ya’s version. The uni wasn’t as fresh but the scallops were. Wayne tried one piece and gave me a weirdest look like «How the h3ck can anyone like this???”~ I got the whole roll to myself — SCORE! :D
RAINBOW ROLL (6 Pieces): My BF orders Rainbow Rolls at every Sushi restaurant we’ve been to. I normally am not fond of it but this time was different. They use real crab meat here instead of the imitation stuff. I will definitely think about ordering this again next time!
FUTOMAKI (4 Pieces): Wayne’s been addicted to Futomakis ever since we’ve had it at Tani’s Kitchen. It’s nothing special here.
SUSHI NUGGETS (6 Pieces): Loved the nuggets. It’s sushi fried in tenpura batter and stuffed with cream cheese. The sauce on the side was sweet thick and went very well with the Sushi Nuggets. We had to ask for extra! (Yeah, we like extra sauce on everything hehe: P)
PUMPKIN (2 Pieces): Much spicier than Taravel Okazu Ya’s version and they put less topiko on top. It was still good none the less.
TAMAGO NIGIRI (2 Pieces): The egg was sweet but tasted refrigerated. I didn’t like the rice either. It was hard and lumpy. If you want to try a good Tamago Nigiri, visit Tani’s Kitchen.
Total was $ 53.16 plus tip.