Sanraku

As much as I hate being in the «stuck» here for work meeting lunches and dinnerse, I have to say that they’ve consistently delivered in quality and service. It’s not a sexy date place by all means but you know, it’s pretty good in my book. Decent selection and large enough portions for sushi to keep me happy. Small sakes are affordable without breaking the bank. Solid for a sushi spot in the Metreon.

One of my favorite sushi spots in the city. Everything I’ve had has been super good. Top of my list of places to go repeatedly.

Some of the best sushi we have ever had. Would go back anytime. Service very, very friendly and efficient.

I loved the Sanraku on Sutter when I went there for dinner so I was excited to treat my friends here on a Friday afternoon.
The food here can be a bit pricy, but being that it is located within the Metreon Center with its own space for seating, one can’t really expect it to have cheaply priced meals. When I came here, there was immediate seating for 4 which was nice and the service was always very friendly. We ordered some rolls to share, and they were each pretty good in their own way, but nothing extraordinarily special.
Sanraku in Metreon is a pretty good place for a nice sit down meal with Japanese food, though I find the one on Sutter to be a slight notch above this one.

I got lunch with my husband and infant son at Sanraku.
The food was great. We shared the Sushi Lover’s lunch and the Chicken Udon soup. Both were delicious, especially the sushi.
The staff was very accommodating and moved chairs out of the way so that we could fit the stroller next to the table. Even though they were busy and we occupied a table for 4, we didn’t feel rushed at all.
The place looks very clean and they have a health score of 100.
Will go there again.

A good spot to grab food before or after a movie if you’re looking for something a step up from other options in the Metreon. It was easy to get a spot, service was friendly, and our three sushi rolls were all decent.

It’s not exactly a 3 star, but not quite up to a 4-​star rating. I would say Sanraku is a solid 3.75. Don’t get me wrong, this place was great, and it has been my go-​to for sushi in downtown SF for the past month and a half. I just can’t seem to find enough reason to bump it up to 4 stars.
The place is located in the food court of the metreon, but the restaurant itself is nicely decorated, and it doesn’t feel like eating in a food court at all. The place is small (like most restaurants in SF), and does get packed around dinner time, so I would probably recommend making a reservation in advance…
I have tried all the specialty rolls that doesn’t have eel, the eskimo roll, SF roll, spicy roll, and the katsu-​don rice bowl. All the ingredients tasted fresh, and the portions do not disappoint. It definitely hits the spot when you are craving sushi.
The katsu don bowl didn’t really do it for me. It’s fried pork that is coated with eggs, so it’s a bit crispy and soggy at the same time. The flavors were great, and they don’t skimp out on the meat and rice. For me, it really was the weird crispy/​soggy texture that turned me away from this dish.
Overall, it’s a great place to visit when you are craving sushi! The staff are all very friendly and attentive. I love that it’s in such a convenient location!

Decided to choose Sanraku to meet a friend for lunch, since they have healthy offerings and it is in a convenient location.
Service was a little spotty as it took awhile for us to get our order taken, and my dining companion asked if she could just have the dipping soba without the tempura and they said they could do this, but then brought it out with tempura too. Taste wise I think she thought her soba was fine. We also shared an order of gyoza which was standard. I got the sashimi salad (another friend raved about this to me). They were very generous with the fish, and unfortunately wouldn’t take any requests to omit certain fishes and give more of tuna or salmon as I asked. The dressing was aight citrus dressing. I loved the salmon and tuna but didn’t care for the mackerel or hamachi. I’ve only had hamachi at Alexander’s before and loved those little shooters. The fish seemed fresh, I have to warn you that I am just very picky with fish.
I’ve heard that the original Sutter location is better so if you are a fish aficionado, you may want to head to that location instead. All in all, Sanraku at Metereon is a decent option for Japanese lunch in downtown.

Wow! An actual restaurant in Metreon. I never notice this restaraunt until I walk in. I will say this restaurant is AMAZING! Now I need is a girlfriend.
The price is OK. It is San Francisco so I can not complain.
I had the San Francisco and Rainbow (no jokes please). My sushi was GREAT!
Will I come here again? YES!

Conveniently located inside the Metreon! Sushi here was okay, I tried the 49ers roll and rock n roll roll. My friend and I were happy with it. Good but not the best, at decent prices. I’d come back because there aren’t many sushi places like this in the area.

Every thing was tasty. A little pricey I thought is why giving 4 stars and the location is weird like next to a good court in a mall. Haha. But it was good food if near. Give them a shot

Solid sushi. Convenient location next to the amazing Yerba Buena open area. However, I prefer the ambience of the Union Sq branch — somehow feels more… intimate?
The Buta Kakuni is delicious! (melt in your mouth + good flavor)

The sushi was decent, but the reason I’m writing this review is because of the service. Absolutely 5 stars all the way, in that regard. My wife and I were trying to find a specific sake we’ve had before (not here), and our waitress was so patient with us and gave us tasters of 4 different kinds. She definitely went above and beyond to help us find something we’d like, and was so kind in the process.
As for the sushi itself, my baseline is always yellowtail — that’s the one thing I get so I can compare sushi places. The yellowtail here was mostly good, though a little firm in some areas. I probably wouldn’t get it again, though.
The location is sort of funny — back side of a food court. If you’re trying to find this place, don’t come in from the street, because you won’t find it there!

Great location! Fast and excellent service and good food and prices my favorite was the sashimi (mixed raw fish) salad. I usually get the Ahí Poke, but they don’t have it so instead l got Sashimi was pleased and satisfied.

J’ai attendu un petit moment avant de laisser mon avis pour me laisser le temps de tester d’autres adresses aux USA pour comparer. Verdict? Sanraku s’en sort très bien !
Testé lors d’une soirée entre collègues, nous avons rapidement trouvé de la place au bar (nous étions 8). J’ai trouvé ça drôlement sympa de manger en face des Chefs pendant qu’ils préparaient les différents plateaux. Une première pour moi qui prend souvent mes sushis/​makis à emporter. J’ai vu passer de nombreuses créations qui m’auraient ouvert l’appétit si j’avais eu la possibilité de manger du poisson et des fruits de mer. Pour moi, ce sera donc un repas végétarien comme à chaque fois. J’aime quand un resto à sushis propose des recettes élaborées pour les personnes qui né mangent pas de poissons. Même si j’adore le classique Maki Avocat, je m’en lasse vite ! Du coup cette fois ci je l’ai accompagné d’une recette beaucoup plus fun, un California concombre/​avocat/​sesame surplombé d’une patate douce tempura. Les pièces étaient gargantuesques ! J’ai eu l’audace de rajouter un plat de légumes tempura. Je me suis régalée du début à la fin ! Je reviendrai dans leur restaurant lors d’un prochain séjour à San Francisco, c’est sûr !

A solid spot for Japanese. We got a sushi samples full of everything from squid to shrimp to yellow tail. My dining companion order the tempura shrimp and I took it to be rather bland. But the service, quality of the sushi sampler were enough for me to want to return someday. I recommend this spot if you’re pressed for time but still want a sit-​down, light Japanese lunch. Sanraku met our needs as we were pressed for time and had a major sushi craving. It gets pretty busy during lunch time– but not too busy to get an immediate seat for 2 during peak hours.

For the price this place is kind of a gold mine. I had the salmon roll and two other things that were on the special list. It was fantastic, the texture and taste of the fish was beyond what I was expecting for the price point. There’s not much else to say about this place, the service is mediocre, the ambiance is pretty much what you would expect from a place in an upscale mall.
While I’m sure there is better sushi in SF, this is a great option if you want bang for your buck.

Sushi, Chicken, Gemüse — tut euch selber einen Gefallen und entscheidet euch für eins (nicht alle drei!)
Das Restaurant selber ist nichts außergewöhnliches, die Lage ist auch nicht von Vorteil, denn obwohl es hier direkt an einem kleinen Park gelegen ist, ist das Restaurant teil einer Shopping-​Mall, also nicht gerade eine ruhige Lage. Wir hatten telefonisch reserviert und mussten dann ein paar Minuten warten, bis wir an unseren Tisch geführt wurden.
Der Service hier ist fantastisch, wir hatten viel zu viele Fragen zu Inhaltsstoffen (die Intoleranten mal wieder) und Gerichten (die Deutschen halt), und unsere nette Bedienung war so zuvorkommend und hilfsbereit, sie rannte sogar trotz unserer Proteste in die Küche um uns einen speziellen Topf zu zeigen, in dem das Essen serviert wird, damit wir uns eine Vorstellung machen konnten. Unfassbar guter Service!
Das Essen war grundsätzlich gut — da ich mich nicht entscheiden konnte, wählte ich eine Kombi aus Tempura Gemüse und Sesame Chicken, dazu eine Rolle Sushi — in der Annahme, dass dann alles kleiner ausfallen würde. Falsch gedacht. Wählt man das Kombi, erhält man nicht nur 2 volle Teller, sondern noch zusätzlich Salat und Suppe. Ich saß also vor einem Berg von Essen — und das sollte ich alles alleine essen? Keine Chance! Selbst mit Hilfe meiner Tischnachbarn und weiteren fleißigen Helfern, blieb noch einiges liegen. Mein Tipp: nur eine Sache bestellen, glaubt mir, es reicht!
Das Sesame Chicken war ein wenig zu intensiv vom Geschmack her, ohne den beiligenden Reis (ja, den gab es auch noch obendrauf) kann man den ganzen Teller definitiv nicht essen — Taste Overload! Das Sushi war gut. Nicht umwerfend, nichts spezielles, aber dennoch wirklich gut. Das Tempura Gemüse war auch okay, teilweise war das nicht nur bissfest, sondern so gut wie roh, aber es hat dennoch geschmeckt!
Alles in allem war es für San Francisco Verhältnisse auch preislich völlig in Ordnung, insbesondere wenn man die riesen Portionen bedenkt!
Kurz gesagt:
* Kleiner Laden in einer Mall
* Unsagbar guter Service
* Gutes Essen, riesige Portionen…
* …und seid bloß nicht so blöd und bestellt mehr als ein Gericht! :D

I’m not sure why Sanraku gets a bad rap– or is «average.» It’s pretty good, has Japanese people that SPEAK Japanese running the kitchen/​restaurant and has an abundance of specials at any given time. I’m sold. My only qualm with Sanraku is the pricing. The sushi is a bit pricy given the location and the portions.
But DAMN, if it isn’t delicious.
I haven’t tried everything on the menu, but anytime they mention ‘specials,’ I’ll probably get it. They have monkfish liver here, which is something that seems offputting but GOD, it’s so good. I haven’t tried the uni here, but I’ve tried a lot of their other specials and each one of them has tasted fresh and delicious. Like I said, I’m not too sure why Sanraku has average reviews when their specials are pretty good and not ordinary. You wouldn’t be able to get monkfish liver at just any ol’ sushi joint. They take pride in their sushi and it shows. If you’re going to follow the standard menu, you may be disappointed. The menu is average, and not the best Japanese food I’ve had, but it’s doable in a pinch. I can see why people are not happy with the regular menu, but those people should just be adventurous and try everything on the specials menu :)
This would be a great place to have a quick date night before watching a movie at the Metreon. The service is also on-​point, but it does get pricey– so watch out!

Un bon 3,5* !
Sanraku a quelques atouts pour lui :
— On y mange très rapidement, testé pour le dej et le diner, malgré le monde vous serez servis très vite.
— Le choix est assez dingue: tempura, teppanyaki, rolls, sushi, soupes, salades, sashimi…
— Tout est frais, et préparé sur place, sous vos yeux.
— C’est hyper central, et quand le temps le permet vous pouvez profiter de la terrasse avec vue sur le parc, plutôt chouette !
Nous y sommes allés jeudi soir, entre collègues, enfin ceux qui avaient envie de choses légères (!)
Installés rapidement au bar, j’ai pris des rolls au saumon, avocat et une soupe aux palourdes. Quand j’ai vu arriver le bazar je me suis dit: «Je né vais jamais pouvoir finir tout ça» (j’ai quasi toujours cette impression quand je vais dans un resto ici !) Et puis, finalement, j’ai réussi à en venir à bout !
Les rolls étaient top, super frais, bien faits, la soupe, finalement assez quelconque.
Le resto est situé dans un centre commercial, du coup, l’ambiance n’est pas la plus charmante /​authentique de la ville, mais en résumé, Sanraku fait bien le job !

We headed here for lunch after encountering a massive queue elsewhere. The location of this place is a bit meh — it’s attached to a shopping centre but it has a separate restaurant space so once you’re inside, it’s fine. We had a short wait for a table while they arranged us a table of 6 and then we were ready to order.
They have a bento of the day which is on display at the counter — I always love a bento so decided to go for that. We also got some dumplings and sushi for the table — the dumplings here are excellent, I’d definitely recommend those. The bento box ordered arrived a bit after everyone else’s food and they were packed with a selection of dishes as well as as separate portion of rice. Nothing in the box blew my mind — it was all nice and tasty and fresh. There was a weird fried shumai which I didn’t really like the texture of but apart from that I was pretty impressed with this place.

Convenience is the word that first comes to mind when I think of Sanraku. It’s right smack in the center on the first floor of the Metreon. It was movie night for my wife and I and since Jurassic World started at 7pm, we made reservations for 5:30pm on a Saturday.
So upon arrival the restaurant was semi-​empty. Not really busy but 5:30 is an early dinner time. We were handed menus and asked what drinks we would like. It’s all the typical Japanese/​sushi type items you’d expect. They actually have a nigiri list of fish imported from Japan, New Zealand, and Europe as well. However we stuck to the regular menu:
Sushi Platter: this consists of California roll and 8 pieces of nigiri (chefs choice)
Dragon and rainbow rolls.
I thought the sushi was average. The cuts of fish are on the small side, not generous by any means. The quality was fine. Presentation-​wise it was decent. Nothing really stood out, but at the same time I didn’t have anything glaringly bad from what I ordered.
The service was ok, however I did have to look for the waitress a couple times during the meal. But everyone there was extremely friendly. Price-​wise it’s on the higher side, especially considering the portion sizes but I understand that rent is probably high inside the Metreon.
So how would I rate Sanraku overall? I’d say «convenient».

I enjoy coming to Sanraku for a variety of reasons. It’s close to the office, I can sit indoor or outdoors (weather permitting) and they have a nice variety of selections. Their bento box is always changing, which I enjoy since it’s one of my «go-​to» picks. However, the combination boxes and sushi are also very good.
I’ve always received good service and it can get busy during the lunch-​hour. I like that I can sit and relax for lunch, near my office and enjoy a good meal.
It’s located inside the Metreon, which has a variety of food selections. Prices are reasonable, considering they’re located in SOMA.

Went here on a Sunday night around 6:30 after our movie ended. It wasn’t too busy, which we found as a surprise since it was Mother’s Day and it was prime dinner time.
The first thing I noticed was the price. It’s a bit on the pricy side to make this a «go-​to» restaurant. But I guess that comes with the location of it being inside the Metreon.
We ordered the sesame chicken & tempura dinner entrée, a katsu-​don with brown rice, and the San Francisco roll. The first thing I noticed was how fast the food came. I’m not a fan of waiting too long for food, especially when I’m starving (I admit, I have the case of the ‘hangry’), so I was very happy at how fast our food came.
The food was tasty and flavorful, especially the sesame chicken. The dinner entrée can be a bit big that my boyfriend even took half of his order home for lunch the next day. My katsu-​don was enough. A lot of rice, but I can’t complain because I love that they offer brown rice.
Overall, I probably won’t come back often. But I definitely recommend Sanraku if you’re looking for a decent place to have dinner in the area that’s not fast food or food court.
A big thumbs up to the service. Our server was friendly, attentive and polite.

3.5 stars calls it about right for Sanraku. While I’d consider this an above average restaurant for it’s mall location, the value just isn’t quite there. $ 33 for a 15-​piece sashimi is steep, and while the fish is tasty, the cuts aren’t generous. The service was slow to start on my last recent visit but picked up toward the end of the meal.
I am pretty damn impressed by the quality of the sake list here. It’s not extensive but much more complete than most sushi restaurants I encounter. They have one of my faves, Seikyo,
I’ll definitely come back, and with touched up service could see my experience jumping up to a 4-​star level.

I’m embarrassed to admit that I’ve been ignoring this place for years. The one on Sutter has been there a number of years, but I’ve never tried that location either even though the reviews are better. I just figured how good could it be if they decided to open one at the Metreon with a front entrance smack in the middle of the food court (photo:
). Surely it can’t be any better than Sorabol Korean or Coriander Thai. Well, I was wrong. I admit it. I’m not sure why Jamie W. and I ended up here for dinner on a Sunday, but I had it my head that I should try it at least once. We were taken into the inner recesses of the restaurant in the far right corner, but it didn’t appear to affect the speed of their service.
The menu is quite comprehensive spanning all the expected Japanese dishes including quite a sushi selection. We started with our usual, a $ 4 bowl of Edamame lightly seasoned with sea salt (photo:
). Good start. Jamie ordered the $ 16 Sesame Chicken, quite a pile of chicken breast pieces marinated with a sweet sauce so that the sesame seeds had something to hold onto. It came with steamed vegetables and a tiny scoop of potato salad (photo:
). The poultry was surprisingly moist with the seeds providing a nice crunch. Because he ordered a full dinner, he also got the bowl of salad with miso dressing (photo:
) and the cup of miso soup (photo:
), both done primarily by the numbers but both satisfying nonetheless.
I decided to try the $ 15 Sashimi Salad, which was quite an extravaganza of fresh sashimi — in particular, tuna, yellowtail, shrimp and squid — with organic mixed greens and sliced cherry tomatoes and topped with salmon roe (photo:
). It was genuinely delicious, a most fortunate and refreshing surprise that was certainly hearty enough as an entrée. As a chaser, I ordered the $ 8 Chawanmushi just because I hadn’t had any in a long time. It’s a savory steamed egg custard filled with seafood, spinach and mushrooms (photo:
). It was one of the best ones I’ve had in a long time as it managed the precarious balance between pudding-​like and firm. Even though Sanraku was borne out of the Marriott Corporation and not a Ginza-​originated chain, I still say give this Sanraku a try.
FOOD — 4 stars… unexpectedly solid Japanese fare here with an exceptional sashimi salad
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… outside it’s the Metreon, inside you might as well be in the basement of the Matsuya Ginza department store
SERVICE — 3.5 stars… quick and responsive
TOTAL — 4 stars… don’t judge a Metreon operation by its cover… or its neighbors

Service très agréable, poisson frais et préparé sous vos yeux… Cuisine japonaise raffinée. Allez-​y les yeux fermés !