Sakesan Bistro

Delivery wasn’t great. The rice on the rolls was very similar to that quality of «sushi rice» you’d get if you got grocery store sushi. The hot items were pretty bland. Wouldn’t order again but maybe it’s better in the actual restaurant

I am very impressed with the quality of fish here! My favorite things to order are the uni (it’s expensive but worth it), the Inside Out Roll (fresh snow crab, mayo, and avocado atop a soft shell crab roll!), and their Spicy Scallop hand roll. As for sashimi, the maguro and hamachi have been consistent stand outs, whereas the salmon and waru have been good but not mind blowing. We typically order take out but based on Unilocal photos, the restaurant looks lovely and would make for a great date night!

The food has honestly been going slightly downhill but it is still pretty good. $ 1 oysters you say? Of course! Their raiders roll is definitely one roll I would recommend.
Service:5
Ambiance:5
Food:3.5

After reading a lot of positive reviews about Sakesan and purchasing a Unilocal deal, the husband and I made plans to head out there for a Friday date night. I also made a reservation via Unilocal Seat Me and we were promptly seated in the private room separated by tall glass walls (must take off shoes). I would recommend having a res as there was quite a wait list during the evening.
The hostess and waitress were very cordial and friendly. Even though we were in our private room, the waitress checked on us frequently. She always asked if everything was ok and if we needed anything. My tea cup was always filled. Ambiance is modern… reminds me of Mokutanya in San Mateo. The seating arrangements in the private rooms are great for parties and large groups. Further inside is sushi bar seating as well as tables for two.
Our dinner consisted of a sashimi platter and a sukiyaki:
— 35 piece sashimi chef’s selection ($ 62): Consisted of salmon, salmon belly, walu, aji, tuna and white albacore. Each fish had 5 thick slices. Fish was fresh and although not the highest grade sushi, could tell that it was cured well with lemon juice. Salmon belly was the highlight. Enjoyed the Hawaiian walu very much. Presentation was nice. Not bad for the price and quality.
–Beef sukiyaki ($ 15): Sliced beef, Napa cabbage, tofu and clear noodles cooked in a sweet sauce/​broth. Wasn’t too keen on the sauce. Tasted like a watered down version of teriyaki. Came with a bowl of sushi rice. Would not order again as sauce was too sweet for our liking.
Total tab before tip was $ 92. Paid $ 10 for a $ 20 Unilocal deal, so saved $ 10. Overall, sushi was fresh and SB is a good place to have above average sushi quality. Service was great. Ambiance is nicer than most Japanese eateries in the area. Parking can be hit and miss on Clement St.

I’ve found that I typically frequent Sakesan on Friday nights when I want to FEEL like I’m going out without overexerting myself. It feels contemporary, and the loud EDM music and lighting is fun. Just don’t sit too close to the glass karaōke room; it can get loud and distracting if you’re trying to have a conversation.
Ambiance: they have a section that loosely interprets Japanese dining etiquette by permitting you to dine at tables separated by glass if you first remove your shoes. Does it lend to an air of questionable authenticity? Maybe, but it’s really fun regardless, especially in groups or on a date.
Food: The sushi is delicious and while there are few restaurant dishes I ever crave, I think I’ve actually experienced withdrawal days after eating the albacore tacos (3/​$ 9). Get. These. Other things I love include the OMG roll and the California roll.
The Gambler roll is incredibly fun and I highly recommend it. I was always reluctant because of the price, but when purchased in a group it’s an awesome, playful investment. For wasabi haters — the spiciness is from ghost pepper, not wasabi. We also found out that they don’t have milk on hand to quell the discomfort for the lucky winner, so be careful if you have no spice tolerance.
Price: There are Groupons for this place that make is a steal, but even after you’ve exhausted those, the price is still baseline reasonable.

ugh raw fish is so good. I cry.
Came here on Mother’s Day and made a reservation an hour ahead of time (lol) but showed up 20 minutes early to our reservation and everything was already ready. They gave us a kareoke room, which had a super cool and roomy set up, great for bigger groups.
Service was super friendly, but are not very attentive, which is understandable BC we were in a room with a closed door (wall and door was still glass though). They did not check in to pick up empty plates, refill waters, or bring us the check until I had to just get up and ask them about 40 minutes after we finished up everything.
The sushi combo is delish, fish had such nice texture and flavor, also not SUPER cold like other places. Raw fish rolls were also super good. Nigiri was delightful as well. The rice that they have has a very subtle, somewhat sweet flavor to it, which was extremely enjoyable. Dragon roll is always my go to roll so I had to try it here. The tempura inside was nice and crisp and fresh and warm and ugh. Real good guys. Unagi part was alright though, nothing special.
Overall love this place. I would assume it is more busy other days and parking would also be quite the struggle. I would suggest for them to have buttons inside the kareoke rooms to help fix that one issue with service though. :))

So we decided to eat some sushi with my cousins here at Sakesan Bistro. You should definitely make a reservation, because the wait could be long. Doesn’t look like there is too much seating room. The staff is friendly, but it was tough to to track your waitress down at times, because they literally all look alike =P!!!
There was a mix up with the Nabe Udon. The fried tempura was a fried banana instead of shrimp, which was funny. They brought out a fried shrimp for us. We started out with the raw oysters (1 dozen for $ 12), it was my first time having raw oysters — they were really good. The jalapeño poppers comes with a piece of salmon and was delicious too! We also tried the spicy tuna tacos which comes with a sesame powder topping. The crunchy wonton wrapper served as a taco shell which was perfect.
For the rolls, we had the rainbow roll, godzilla roll, and super dynamite. The rolls in general are pretty big — a good size. We didn’t have any nigiri or sashimi, so it’s tough to say just how good their sushi really is. But everything we ate was really good overall. The staff is great!

This restaurant has a very modern, hip vibe: dimly lit, blasting edm/​pop music, large tv screens for karaōke
For 4 people we ordered:
— a dozen of oysters
— thunder roll
— golden gate roll
— gambler roll
— hamachi kama
— chirashi bowl
— 2 orders of hamachi belly nigiri (special)
I would recommend getting the $ 1 oyster specials. All the sushi we got were extremely fresh and I liked that they added furikake seasoning to the rice of the chirashi bowl.
The gambler roll made it a very interesting twist to eating sushi. We decided to try it as the menu states that out of the 8 pieces, there is one that is extremely spicy. BUT SPOILER ALERT: the supposedly «extremely spicy» one is not actually that spicy. They simply placed a thinly sliced jalepeno within one of the pieces. I also was not a fan that it was overloaded with spicy mayo. I had to take most of it off my plate. For the experience, I thought it was cool, but I definitely would not get it again, especially not for $ 16 bucks.
Overall, I would come back again as this place has really fresh, delicious sushi, and most of the rolls did not disappoint except for the gambler roll.

Delicious! Great environment! Best with friends!
My personal favorite to-​go snack is the unigi hand roll. The wait for a table is reasonable.
Karaōke & sushi surprisingly works well together.

I came here with 3 friends on a Thursday night around 10pm for dinner. The place was still pretty packed to our surprise! We had to wait probably 5ish minutes but soon after we were seated at one of the larger tables.
WHAT WE GOT:
I can only comment on what I tried, but from what my other friends got, they said they’d definitely come back!
1) Gambler Roll (to share): it was a pretty good roll! The four of us took a gamble twice (there’s 8 pieces) and luckily I didn’t get the spicy one! The menu advertises it as being extremely spicy but my friend handled it just fine and said it wasn’t that spicy… I think next time we’ll probably ask them to put 2−3x the spiciness than their usual!
2) Thunder Roll: 4 kinds of fish on top of a spicy tuna roll and topped with tobiko – I liked this one! I’m a fan of assorted fish so this was perfect for me.
3) Rainbow Roll: standard rainbow roll, nothing bad, nothing great.
They have SO many rolls here – I definitely want to come back and try some more, and get the gambler roll again! The waiter came around a couple times and was pretty attentive to refilling our waters as well. The atmosphere seemed very laidback, with karoake rooms in the back for parties. Being seated at one of the bigger tables had a more intimate feel and felt more private… I was definitely digging it. Overall I think this place is a well rounded sushi place to go to!

Yay, Sakesan! You’re the first sushi spot in the Richmond that didn’t disappoint!
Very modern spot, they even have karaōke rooms! We came on a Friday night and it was packed.
+ Sashimi omakase ($ 30) — 10 pieces, 2 each of chu-​toro, sake toro, hamachi toro, amberjack and black snapper. Every fish was delicious, no complaints. Chu-​toro was extremely fatty, melt in yo mouth, a pleasant surprise for just medium fatty tuna.
+ Salmon trio ($ 9) — One nigiri each of salmon, king salmon and salmon belly. If I make it back here again, I’m definitely ordering three salmon trios and calling it a day. Do not skip this one!!!
+ Nabe udon ($ 14) — Tbh, just a filler because we were hungry and didn’t want to spend a lot to get full. This was whatevers.
Kinda disappointing how they don’t have that many options for nigiri outside of a la carte. You can either do 5 pieces of nigiri with tekka roll for $ 16 or 8 pieces with a California roll for $ 22. but what if I don’t want the rolls.
Definitely recommend getting the Groupon here, as it can add up quickly depending on what you order.

Great modern décor, no shoes with wood cut outs for feet to dangle. High quality fish, prompt service.
Thank you Cynthia.
Sometimes a sentence is worth a 1,000 words!

This restaurant has a great menu, something for everyone. We ate there last night, what a nice Japanese restaurant in the hood. Atmosphere, service and food, excellent.
We started with the edamame, grilled mushrooms and the fried octopus, paired with a nice Chardonnay and my husband had the beer on tap. Next we had the Thunder Roll, now my new favorite roll, followed by salmon, and hamachi. The fish was so fresh, melted in your mouth.
Can’t wait to go back and try more of the great menu. Would love to reserve one of the glassed in rooms with friends. This is such a nice spot in my hood.

On Saturday night we made a reservation and got a table at Sakesan Bistro. It was packed even on a stormy night. There are several glass enclosures that divide the tables with a coup0le of Karoke set ups in the back. There service is excellent and the food comes out fast. We ordered the following:
Hamachi Kama 4 stars
1 doz Oysters 5 stars very fresh served with ponzu
Sukiyaki 5 stars
Omakase sashimi 4 stars
Thunder Roll 4 stars
Tempura Moriawase 1 star only miss of the night oily greasy and very heavy.
Beef Don 4 stars
Suzuki & Walu sashimi 4 stars
Hamachi Carpaccio 5 stars excellent
Japanese Uni sushi 3 stars $ 32 meh
Drinks Asahi Pitcher & Tea
Green Tea and Mango Mochi Ice cream.
Service was excellent. Parking is a challenge. $ 203 before tip.

Can’t believe I’m only now writing this review. I’ve loved this place for well over a year now. I first discovered this awesome sushi spot through Groupon. Decided to give it a shot as I love the Inner Richmond Clement scene, as I grew up in the area. A few visits and a year later, this is my go to sushi place and one of my overall favorites in San Francisco (Little Tokyo being the other).
First of all, the Groupon is great. 15 dollars for 30 dollars worth of sushi? Yes please! Overall, I’ve never paid more than 35 bucks total for a two person dinner– and that usually consist of 2 Miso soups and 3 specialty rolls. Not bad at all. Secondly, they have a huge projector inside that shows music videos and plays new and old songs. It’s nice to not sit in full silence and get a few nostalgic songs come up. Other than the music, the overall environment here is what I look for. It’s cozy, the staff are friendly (sometimes a tiny bit slow when it’s more busy), and the food is always amazing. Never had 1 experience where I was disappointed in what I ate. Always walked out satisfied and feeling refreshed. Also, location, location, location. Clement is one of my favorite places to be at, and there’s many yummy dessert places to go to once you are nice and full from sushi (including Tapioca within a few blocks).
If you’re in the area (or even if you’re not) and are looking for tasty sushi, want quick service, a good ambiance and reasonable prices, I really can’t make a better suggestion.

I had a groupon for this restaurant and came with 2 other people on a Friday night. The restaurant was full, but we only had to wait about 20 minutes before we were seated. They have some tables in the front where you have to take off your shoes.
We ordered the following dishes:
1. Bacon wrapped asparagus ($ 6): Comes in 6 little pieces
2. Half a dozen oysters ($ ¹⁄₁): there is a note that says the oyster deal does not work with any offers/​deals, but as long as you order more than the groupon value ($ 30 in my case) then it works
3. Lion King Roll ($ 12): Baked california roll with salmon on top. I really liked the taste of garlic in the sauce; so delicious
4. Dragon Roll ($ 14): Shrimp tempura with avocado and unagi
5. Phoenix Roll ($ 14): Soft shell crab with cream cheese, salmon, and avocado
Overall, I enjoyed all of the food, and with the groupon voucher, it made the dinner even more worth it! I will definitely be back

I didn’t finish my late night Sakesan sushi delivery — which is a rarity for me.
I ordered the standard ‘not so healthy’ and ‘not so traditional rolls’:
Rock and Roll — BBQ eel and avocado.
Shrimp Tempura roll — Shrimp tempura, Kani, cucumber and avocado with tobiko on top.
Dragon Roll — Shrimp tempura with BBQ eel and avocado and tobiko on top.
and the
Aloha Roll — Shrimp tempura, tuna and fresh mango roll with tobiko and unagi sauce.
The fish looked dull, the rolls were messy, the rice was overdone, and foremost I didn’t enjoy the overpowering BBQ flavor of the eel which came in both the Rock and Roll and the Dragon Roll. I felt like I was eating straight BBQ sauce — which is not a taste that I like to associate with sushi.
I quite enjoyed the Aloha Roll — topped with fresh mango, but the extra sauce on top of the mango — I found to be too rich.
I appreciate that Sakesan provides late night sushi for those who are looking for it, but the prices of their specialty rolls quickly add up and I have had far better rolls with similar ingredients at other Japanese/​sushi spots in the city.
Sakesan has solid reviews and their ambiance sounds quite lovely — but I think I’ll be sticking to Koo and Ebisu for sushi delivery going forward.
Trust.

Randomly walked in because the interior looked pretty cool.
Menu had a ton of items to choose from including a vegetarian section. I ordered:
Mangotini — meh
Jalapeño poppers — so freaking delicious, coming back for this
Angry Bird roll — pretty tasty
Lion King roll — really tasty
Our waitress was super nice and the place overall has really chill vibes. There’s also karaōke rooms in the back if you wanna have a sushi karaōke partay with your buddies. They also have a Unilocal deal thats $ 10 for $ 20 right now (which I forgot to use. HAHA). Definitely coming back for happy hour though. Whoohoo!
Note: Parking is also tough in this area but I came on a Monday night around 7−8pm and easily found right out front.

Don’t come here without Groupon: $ 15 for $ 30 worth of food. Good deal!
Ordered 3 rolls, an appetizer, and 2 desserts for a total of around $ 29 for 2 people with groupon applied.
Rolls were fresh, good quality, and cost $ 8 to $ 15 I tried:
–49ers roll (yum salmon!)
–Golden Gate roll (unagi and mango roll)
— Tuna roll (can’t remember the specific name)
My favorite was the Golden Gate roll and then the 49ers.
Dessert:
–Fried tempura and red bean ice cream ($ 7, it was too much fried stuff at once. I’d pass next time)
–Green tea cheesecake ($ 5, delicious, try it!)
Overall, good service, and I would come back!

I was a little shocked to find a groupon deal for this place, but hey I ain’t complaining!
We started our meal with some oysters and the dynamite baked mussels. Both extremely good. The oysters are big, cold and juicy. The mussels were baked in a very unique way, we really liked them.
We had some nigiri, the salmon platter and some tuna. all very good, I would prefered the fish a tiny bit colder, but nonetheless they were good.
The highlight though were definitely the rolls! Don’t get me wrong the nigiri were good but the rolls were great! We had the Raiders and the Golden gate. If you’re a fan of scallops you’re gonna looooveee the Raiders, creamy garlic and so delicious! the Golden gate is amazing too the Unagi and mango toped with Salmon are amazing!
Great sushi here! I’ll be definitely coming here again!