Ryoko’s

1÷31÷15: First thing first: this place IS NOT TWO $. It IS easily $$$$. I want to make that clear because we were really in for a surprise when we got here. The reviews are great, and 2 $‘s – awesome! So we walked 2mi to get here through some REALLY rough parts of town, got seated, cracked open the menu… and WOW, this place is really expensive. Trust me – if you’re a guy, there’s no way you will leave full without eating at least $ 60 worth of stuff. Have no clue how this place could have gotten $$ next to their title. We spent ~$ 200 for 3 and I can still eat about 2x what I got.
Moving on, it looks very friendly inside and cozy. Small space with lots of happy people crammed in. Doesn’t look all that fancy, but is certainly done up Japanese style. Big huge bar. Lots of happy people. Very casual. Even a bunch of people sitting on the stairs waiting for a table. Not something you would associate with $$$$ prices.
But alas, the place is definitely in the upper-​tier of cost… say even competitively priced to a place like Nobu. So, is the cost deserved…
1. Namacho Honjozo Sake 300ml $ 25: As the menu said, a little on the sweeter side, but not a «sweet» sake. Was smooth. Okay. ⁶⁄₁₀
2. Fried Cheese $ 5: Probably, other than the prices, the only real disappointing moment. Just some cheese rolled into won ton skins and fried. Like zero effort here. Served with an unimpressive sauce. Skip this, trust me. ²⁄₁₀
3. House Salad $ 5.95: Nothing fancy here. Just a standard selection of greens. Nothing Japanese about this one except maybe the dressing. ⁴⁄₁₀
4. Hama Kama $ 17.50: This would be the collar (rear section of head) of a hamachi fish. And gawd, it is REALLY good. I’ve had salmon collars, tuna collars, etc., at many places, and I think this one is the best I’ve ever had. The meat is so juicy, so buttery. Amazingly tender. Totally melts in your mouth. My only complaint is that the skin is not as crispy as it can be, but they serve it upside down, so I guess… whatever. ⁹⁄₁₀
Alright… so, now we are getting to the sushi. Here’s the deal: their pieces are small. Much smaller than the typical sushi place in California. Now, when I was in Japan I would say that they tend to make their sushi in a similar size and style, so it’s probably the case that other places here make theirs bigger to seem a better deal. But anyway, here, it is damn small. If you’re hungry you’ll want to order 2x as much as you normally would.
5. Nigiri Sushi Dinner $ 39.95: So here’s the first example of their pricing. It’s nearly $ 40 for 9!!! pieces of nigiri, and some California roll. Insane. I need at least 2−3x of these to be full. Again, these pieces are SMALL.
BUT… OMFG it’s GOOD SUSHI. I think this is the most tasty sushi I’ve had since moving up to the Bay Area 2 years ago! So fresh! Everything was so flavorful and so clean. Nothing overly fancy looking here, just really really really high-​quality sushi. So, again, ignoring my expectations from a $$ Unilocal restaurant, and the über casual environment, … as a $$$$ place, keeping in mind even the simpleton California rolls was extraordinarily good… ¹⁰⁄₁₀
6. Masaba (Mackerel) Nigiri 3pc $ 8.95: Man, that’s some good mackerel. So tasty. Yet, does not have that gritty fibrous taste of the not-​so-​good ones. Has a bit of that slight crunch, and just totally melts in your mouth afterwards. One of the best. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
7. Uni (Sea Urchin) Sashimi $ 15.80: So, the sashimi uni vs the nigiri version only really differs in that the sashimi is served on a shiso leaf, and the nigiri is of course on rice. Otherwise each «1pc» is made up of 2 chunky and short smaller pieces. Typically the uni I’ve had is longer, but these are short and cute. Zero fishiness. Zero bitterness. So… clearly extremely fresh and high-​quality. However, I do miss some bite. A little too perfect for me. ⁹⁄₁₀
8. Uni (Sea Urchin) Nigiri 2p $ 15.80: See #7.
9. Unagi (BBQ Eel) Nigiri 3p $ 11.25: Beautiful pieces. Great tasting. But I think not particularly special, but clearly well cooked. ⁸⁄₁₀
10. Hamachi Toro Nigiri 3pc $ 13.50: The cheaper toro, apparently. But still damn good. Again, that crispness of ultra fresh fish is combined with that buttery sensation. Divine. And compared to the tuna toro, not too bad of a price. ¹⁰⁄₁₀
So, the key here is to ignore your subconscious instincts to expect cheaper eats after seeing the $$ next to the title, and seeing the extremely casual surroundings. Except to spend a fortune and then you will enjoy yourself a lot more. This is some of the very best sushi I have ever found up here that does not have a Michelin star, and I’m sure you’d love it (as long as your friend picks up the bill.)
⁵⁄₅
#japanese #sushi #sashimi

Absolutely delicious! One of my favorite places in SF! Jumping tuna was my favorite! Not a lot of appetizers/​starters. Lots of rolls and sushis!
There is always a line to be seated. Obviously weekdays are not as crowded as the weekends.

This place has delicious sushi. All my orders were fresh and melted in my mouth. Come early on weekends. They dont take reservations. Very small restaurant, large parties is not ideal for this place.

This is my favorite place for sushi in the City. Excellent sushi with some creative twists to play with your palette and make you smile. Set in an underground lair with chill out tunes from the DJ — it’s the kind of sushi bar you could see yourself at after a fun night of dancing. Underground Kyoto sushi bar with a taste of the Ibiza vibe, but without the sand and sunsets.
The chefs and staff are all Japanese, which lends extra credibility to the authenticity of that third round of sushi you already ordered because your mouth was demanding more. おいしい！^_^

Came here because I was shopping downtown and craving sushi. Ebisu is my go to spot and they were closed, so we thought we’d try this place out. I still prefer Ebisu though, they have more options there.
The quality of the fish was on point, but I just wish they had a larger selection of rolls. Watch out for the volcano roll– that thing is super spicy. We also ordered the dragon roll, pokemon, and spicy scallop roll. They were all delicious, but the portions are kind of small for the price that they charge.
I wish they had better appetitzers as well. Their menu was not very exciting.
I don’t think I would come back here again unless I was downtown, otherwise I would just go to Ebisu.

Great service– super fresh fish. Salmon and Hamachi– rolls not overly creative with superior flavoring. Sat at the bar and had a blast. Only pitfall was the oysters were tasteless. Even in its natural state. They responded by taking them off the bill. No reservations and it’s not a corporate card type place. It’s cool and edgy. Perfect place around Union Square

Plain and simple: if you have time to wait for a seat then you should wait. The food here is incredible and I believe everyone should at least try this place out once.
There is a DJ that plays on the weekends but the music isn’t overbearing. The music is actually quite nice and gives a completely different vibe from any other restaurant, it almost feels like an upscale Vegas restaurant (as far as in an audible sense).
The restaurant itself isn’t fancy or big in space. It is designed to be very functional and have as many seats/​tables it can possibly fit. If you don’t mind a smaller space then you’re all set.
The quality of the food is hard to compare to any other sushi spots. I really enjoyed their sushi and the presentation they come served with. The pricing is a bit higher but not so high that it makes you think twice about the worth.
If you are visiting San Francisco and in the Union Square area, this place should be on your list for dinner.

Awesome sushi place in SF!
Ryoko’s is a little whole in the wall located in a basement in Lower Nob Hill. It’s very understated, so other than hearing the crowd when the door opens or reading reviews on Unilocal,it would be easy to walk by.
On a Monday night, my friend and I waited for about 20 minutes to get a table. You can tell the servers work to get everyone in and out as they are non-​stop running between tables — very impressive.
Sometimes deep fried rolls can be too much for me. However, you can hardly tell the Jumping Tuna is fried! The sushi here is so fresh and rolls are pretty inexpensive compared to other SF locations.

Don’t arrive and hour before closing. Their fryer was off and many items on the menu were unavailable. Can’t totally complain in a city where most restaurants are closed after the 10pm. Also this restaurant does not offer take out. I assume because of their large raw selection.
Quirky vibe this place. Security sits outside the door in the cold, feels a bit intimidating. Walk down the stairs and the music is pumping. Superb selection of music by the way. Tribute to the musicians displayed on the walls. It’s fun here!
Sashimi was a bit bland but the sake did not disappoint. I think the vibe is what is appealing here.

This place was okay, in my opinion. Not fantastic, but not terrible. Overall, I would give it 3.5 stars. With all the great food in the city, I’m shocked that this place has so many reviews and so many good reviews. The service was pretty good for it being so busy, but I thought the food was sub-​par.
FOOD: 3 stars.
Most people know that I am EXTREMELY picky when it comes to sushi, so take this with a grain of salt. The food was nothing outstanding. There’s not a large selection of rolls to choose from and they were out of a few things that night, which sucked. We tried to «customize» a few things and they said they couldn’t do it… I was so confused. There’s only been a few other places that I’ve been to where they couldn’t «customize» a roll. The quality of fish was really good, though. I just wish that overall, they had a better menu. *I continue to quote the word customize because my request for customization was placing salmon on top of one of their rolls on the menu*
ATMOSPHERE: 2 stars.
So packed in here OMG. From the minute you walk in the door, there are people lining the stairs waiting for a table. It is extremely dark and super tight. I could practically hold hands with the table next to us. We sat at the table by the door which was really annoying because people were hovering right over our table the entire time. Not only is that gross, it’s also super annoying.
SERVICE: 4.5 stars.
Honestly the service was really good for how packed and busy it was. Although it took awhile, our server was really on top of everything. She wasn’t too overwhelmed with all the chaos going on, which was pretty impressive.
I don’t think I would come back here — with all the sushi places in a one mile radius of this place, you could probably find a better place. Overall very average.

Wow I should have went with my gut. This place is all hype don’t be fooled like I was people. This is overpriced, overhyped mediocre sushi at best. I will acknowledge the fact that I set the bar pretty high when I see so many good reviews, but wow I’m still in shock from the horrible service I just received, and keep in mind I waited almost an hour for my table.
Case and point asked my waitress twice for extra wasabi and lemon never got it. When I went to the sushi chef and kindly asked for extra wasabi, he actually had the audacity to tell me that I did not need extra wasabi «it takes the flavor away from the fish»… WHATTTT are you kidding me! This place did not get the memo when they said the customers are always right, or I guess it did not apply to them. In any case I strongly advise my fellow Unilocalers to stay away from this dump. Such small weak sushi cuts and very overpriced and horrible service to top it all off!

Thank god my friends got here over an hour earlier to put our name down so that by the time I arrived to the city, it was ready. This place gets packed and I know why. I had a lot of their items like the chirachi bowl, salmon rolls and what not. The salmon was so fresh and delicious. The best one was for sure the uni. It was sooo damn fresh, maybe even fresher than Japan??? It gets really expensive though so for four people to fill us up including two bottles of sake, it was $ 215 before tip or so.

Since we’re on vacation for the next 8 days, I’ll refrain from writing long reviews for the time being. Ryoko’s seems to be quite a popular sushi joint here in SF. They opened their doors at 6pm, but by 6:30pm, all but one small table were taken up. Only the sushi bar seats were available. Lucky for us, they sat the 4 of us on the small table, but then moved us to a bigger table once it was available. The food here is excellent… not the best I’ve had, but nonetheless still very good. All the fish was of high quality and was very fresh. The sushi was very well made. Good presentation and perfect fish to rice ratio! Prices were slightly on the expensive side, but was well worth it due to the quality of both the food and the attentive service.

There are countless sushi options in SF, but it was my birthday — :) — and I wanted a place that wasn’t high dollar or stuffy but still had a festive energy. Jessica T rec’d Ryoko’s and it was perrrfect.
Know that they don’t take reservations, so walk in and write your name on the clip board and prepare for a wait. Order a beer from a bartender to help pass the time.
They feature a ton of rolls and apps, but don’t miss out on the specialty fish menu posted above the bar — it’s a fresh selection straight from Japan. The uni was my favorite of the night, along with the wagyu beef, and spicy hotate (chopped scallop).
Service was prompt, décor fun … it’s cool spot for a small group outing or just a 1:1 dinner with a friend.

Came here with my bf. We love sushi and we’ve tried plenty, but this place is over-​hyped. The wait took a long time, small place, and service kinda slow. This place is a cozy little den down some stairs but it was definitely mediocre. If you’re looking for something better, I suggest elephant sushi. We got the rainbow roll, and a baked roll, which was decent. I wasn’t too impressed by this place. We sat at the bar, and service still took some time. They have alcohol here but when I asked for a mojito they didn’t have that.
The only plus is that this place opens later.
I wouldn’t come here again in the future, its one of those lets try it once and thats it kinda thing.

What a fun spot! Izakaya style!
Embark down a dark stairway into a Japanese party. EDM pulses in the background. Sushi chefs and wait staff bid you welcome as you squeeze by the tight fitting chairs, sushi bar and packed diners/​drinkers. I feel transported.
The sushi and accompanying bites of rice balls, salads, miso soups and other izakaya fare are delicious and very fairly priced.
My buddy and me had all of the above plus a saki and a beer for about $ 100. Not bad for being a stones throw from union square.
I will return when I want to get some Japanese style izakaya in this basement party house.

I came here for a dinner party, heard many good things about this place. We arrived around 7PM and it was packed, the wait line was all the way up to the stairs to outside, we waited about an hour.
We had a party of 7 and so lucky for us we got the private room, super nice and cozy, however due to the long wait, the waiter told us we only have a minimum for an hour and half to eat. Exclusive indeed. I ordered their chirashi bowl and it was fresh and delicious. Quality of the fish was high, their sashimi scallops were sweet, fresh and yummy, my favorite!
I would definitely come here again, maybe on a day when the wait isn’t so long.

You wouldn’t expect to find such a cool, dive-​y sushi place next to the most touristy place in SF, but surprise surprise. The wait wasn’t terribly long for 3 but we went on a Tuesday night and it was still pretty packed!
Ryoko’s is a hip place where all the young folks go to grab a bite and a drink after work.
Chirashi ($ 40) — Mixed sashimi over rice, my go to usually at Japanese restaurants (none of that fake roll stuff!); super duper expensive but good quality fish. Not sure if it was worth the price tag for the portion size though!
Grilled squid ($ 11) — delicious, especially when paired with the creamy mayo sauce! You can really taste the squid, and it’s very filling too!
Grilled saba ($ 10) — I love saba and this one was no exception. Portion size was great and it was cooked to perfection. Careful of the bones!
Unfortunately the prices are steep if you want the yummy stuff but there are some good finds on the menu, especially during happy hour!

If your in the city and want the best sushi of you life come here. We have tried just about every roll on the menu and are yet to be disappointed. We love this place with a passion is worth the long wait to get a table.
FYI — Our all time favorite is the volcano roll. It has peanut butter in it. Who would of thought of that! But it is delicious.

Yes I am a fan, and here is why:
— open late night
— great sushi selection
— not too expensive
— EDM playing in the background
As I was enjoying my nigiri omakase, I couldn’t help but notice how attentive wait staff is.
You do need to put your name down on the wait list by the host station so please don’t be like me and just wait in line.
Also I recommend getting a toro salmon and toro tuna and skip regular maguro and sake.

San Francisco rastet hier komplett aus in dem LAden. Lange Schlangen zieren den Eingang. Und da setzt auch meine Kritik an.
Von 3−4h Gesamt“Erlebnis”, habe ich 20−30min gegessen. Der Großteil meiner Zeit stand ich am Eingang und musste hilflos dabei zusehen wie Neuankömmliche an uns vorbeigeschleußt werden — nervig. Der Deutsche in mir ist im Dreieck gesprungen. Jetzt liege ich schon mit meinem Handtuch in der ersten Reihe und dennoch schaffen es welche vor mir am Tisch zu sitzen.
Gut es lag auch größtenteils daran, dass wir 6 Leute waren und die Tische sehr klein sind. Ein 2er Tisch wäre sicher früher frei geworden.
Das Essen war dann eine echte Wohltat. Mit das beste Sushi was ich je hatte. Sehr frisch, individuell zubereitet. Für 6 Stücke/​Rollen zahlt man hier aber auch 14USD. Kein Schnäppchen. Am Ende hatte jeder von uns eine Rechnung von 40USD inkl Getränke und wir hatten nicht sooo viel gegessen.
Dann durften wir noch ein ganzes Weilchen warten bis man unser Geld endlich annehmen wollte. Wie der Schweizer sagen würde — mühsam.
Essen 5*
Preis-​Leistung 3*
Wartezeiten 1*

Resto à sushis underground au sens propre du terme ! Il né faut pas louper la toute petite entrée, et descendre les marches pour arriver dans la petite salle sombre, bar d’un côté derrière lequel s’affairent les cuistots (comment ça s’appelle déjà un préparateur de sushis ?), tables de l’autre. Arrivez pile à l’ouverture à 18 heures si vous né voulez pas poireauter, car l’adresse est très courue. Sinon il y a, à la mode US, une liste d’attente à l’entrée, sur laquelle on s’inscrit soi-​même dans l’ordre d’arrivée.
Et la bouffe? Excellente, fraîchissime (si vous vous installez au bar, vous pouvez superviser la préparation), la carte n’est pas trop longue et il n’y a pas une seule déception dans les assiettes, même si j’ai été étonné d’apprendre que quand on commande par exemple un roll au crabe, c’est de l’”imitation crab”, comprenez du surimi. Curieux: le crabe est une des spécialités culinaires de SF, et ce n’est pas marqué en clair sur la carte. Et vu les prix pratiqués, ils devraient pouvoir se permettre d’acheter du vrai crabe. Il doit y avoir une subtilité de réglementation ou une habitude locale qui m’échappent.
Parlant de prix, c’est cher, du moins en comparaison (toujours brutale) avec ma cantine à sushis berlinoise habituelle: comptez dans les 50 dollars par personne au moins. Mais vous né paierez pas forcément moins à Paris, et sans certitude sur la qualité. Service aimable et pas trop lent. Une bonne adresse très SF !