Sushi Zone

I thought I had reviewed this before!
One of my favorite sushi spots in the city. It’s a small place so expect to wait. And they can’t seat parties larger than 6 people.
You really can’t go wrong with what you order but some personal favorites: baked sea bass, Hawaiian rolls, nigiris and Sashimis of any kind. The fish is really fresh so again, you can’t go wrong.
Service is great as well!

Small place with good fresh rolls with fair pricing. Sashimi on the expensive side but good. Wait is too too log… need to simplify that…

This place is super small and can accommodate about ‘12 –15 people. The prices are also pretty pricey, but their fish is pretty good… for the most part. The wait is really long and it is cash only. Most of the dishes average $ 12
Got sashimi platter + extra salmon and hamachi sashimi– not bad. Fish did not melt in the mouth but was yummy. No weird aftertaste.
Hamachi roll– not bad
Mussel roll– did not like it. mussel tasted weird
Mango salmon roll [something like that] — ok
The rolls were a bit too warm and mushy imo. Got a nice amount of fish but some of them had either too much rice or sauce :(
uni nigiri– very small and expensive. not worth it at all and some of it was bitter :(I feel for the price I paid for this, I could go to another place and get yummier.
Again, this place is just average, nothing too special, but they are pretty generous with their fish proportions.

One of my favorite spots in the city for sushi! Always great service and fresh fish! The baked mussels, mango hamachi, and uni are all a must!
Get there when it opens if you don’t want to wait! It is also cash only.

Still here twice a month. At least Unilocal reminds me how many years it’s been.
Hawaiian Roll #2
Papaya Unagi
Spicy Hamachi
Baked mussels
Baked Bass
And an assortment of the sizable nigiri.
Hamachi Kama is one of the best around.
Start with a large hot sake…
…finish with the Oshinko w/​Shiso.
Check out Pisco around the corner if there’s a wait.
Don’t give up and go to Roku next door. Not even close on its best day.
Look for parking on the north side of market, due to street directions and no turn lanes, it’s the last to fill up.

Sushi Zone is a tiny place that takes CASH ONLY! The wait can seem long, but I used this time to catch up with my friend, and we were ready for our rolls once we got seated. My favorite thing was the stuffed mushroom appetizer. So good! Would totally come back, if I am not going some place after dinner. The place is so small that I felt like I smelled like food after I left.

Great traditional place!
Pretty small but food and atmosphere are nice!
Not so many choice in the menu but the quality is pretty high.
Price: medium

Favorite sushi place in the city. Even on a Tuesday you’ll be waiting an hour or two, but completely worth it. tiny space, fresh product, good service. cash only. I crave the sushi here regularly. tried lots of other joints but this is the real deal. excellent quality and worth the money.

I find my self wondering if this places if worth 3 or 4 stars. The food was decent, the prices were decent. This place is super small, do not come here with a party bigger than 4. I’m very conservative with my reviews, and I wish I could agree with other reviews about the quality of the food but this places didn’t leave an impression on me.

Best sushi I’ve had in a while. Make sure you try the baked sea bass– it’s amazing. Also had the spicy albacore tuna roll, which was perfect. The place is small and they only have one chef who makes everything, so expect to wait over an hour to be seated. There usually is a line outside the door before they even open! Reasonably priced, too. Just don’t expect 5 star service.

This is the BEST place for sushi in the city. It never fails. The BF and I go so often we know everyone there! Hideko, Al, Yoshida, Rie, and Fatoshi are the best! Our regular rolls are spicy mango salmon and spicy hamachi. But their Indian roll is also yummy! They have the best shashimi! If I get sake… I dunno if it’s the dill but it has such a great taste!!! Love it here. If it’s your first time… don’t forget to order their baked bass! To DIE for. I LOVE sushi zone!!!

Want to eat dinner by yourself or just one other friend? This is the right place. For large groups, not so much. The ambience is a little quirky but service is great. And there’s almost always a wait so be prepared. There’s only two tables equipped for four people a piece and the bar which can fit about 8 people.
Food is yummy though but a bit pricey. Mango hamachi roll was delicious but couldn’t tell the difference between 1 and 2 that much.
Cash only.

Sushi Zone serves consistently fresh and delicious sushi at excellent, cash only, prices. I’ve enjoyed dining at this wonderfully tiny place for more than 10 years and it never disappoints. If it it weren’t for having to time it right (or endure a long wait) to get a seat I would go there every week.
Masterful sushi chefs, pleasant and highly efficient staff, and great music always.
Especially appreciative of their generous use of mangos and macadamia nuts in the Baked Sea Bass with Mango, Spicy Mango Salmon Maki, and Hawaiian Roll #2 with albacore, mangos and macadamia nuts. Also love the Seared Albacore and Spicy Tuna.

This is perhaps my favorite sushi bar in the US. Whenever my wife and I travel to San Francisco this is the first place we eat.
The place is very small and busy so we have learned that showing up about 30 minutes prior to opening is the best bet.
The sushi has always been delicious and the use of macadamia nuts and other unique flavors is intriguing.
I can’t wait to return someday soon with our kids who have grown to love sushi as much as we do.

Dinner review.
Mango hamachi roll — ³⁄₅
Spicy scallop roll — ³⁄₅
Unagi papaya roll — ⁵⁄₅
Rainbow roll — ⁴⁄₅
Tekka maki — ⁴⁄₅
Baked sea bass — ⁵⁄₅ — Perfect.
Overall, this is now my favorite sushi place in SF. Good quality and very generous portions. The baked sea bass is «as good as it gets.»

This place is a hidden gem (only because I’m usually not in the area)! We went here for an early dinner because we’ve read that the place is pretty small and there are long waits if you go later in the evening. We got seated at the sushi bar around 5:30pm and it was cool seeing the chef work his magic. Everything on the menu looked good; we had the baked mussels, amaebi nigiris, the sake and maguro sashimi and hamachi mango roll and spicy tuna roll. They were all fresh and tasted great without the fancy sauces to covering up the fish. We will definitely come back again! Just make sure you show up early for a table.

Excellent sushi.
We got there right at 5 and did not have to wait at all. Very happy with everything we tried. Highlights include the baked bass, spicy hamachi roll and the King California roll. We also tried the spicy tuna, Hawaiian #1 and the hamachi nigiri. They were all excellent and I wish we were staying here longer so we could go back! All the fish/​produce was super fresh and all the rolls were made right in front of us. Would definitely recommend this to any sushi lover out there! Is a must visit for sure!

OK, I’ll be honest. I didn’t eat here. I did many years ago and remember it being pretty good despite a VERY LONG wait. But my issue with Sushi Zone has to do with a recent experience.
My partner and I planned to celebrate his birthday at Sushi Zone last Tuesday but didn’t want to wait for hours – they don’t take reservations. So the Saturday before, we stopped by and asked specifically about a good time to come the following Tuesday to avoid a long wait. The person we spoke to told us to come 30 minutes before opening at 5PM – again the following Tuesday – and it was likely we wouldn’t have to wait. So based on that advice, we both left work two hours early and raced over to the restaurant by 4:30. But when we got there, there was no one around. Then we noticed a sign posted on the door that said the restaurant would be closed that Tuesday.
We understand that the closure of the restaurant the following Tuesday may have slipped that person’s mind on the Saturday before when we inquired. But today when I called, explained the situation and suggested that as compensation for this oversight and the inconvenience it caused us, that maybe some evening Sushi Zone could set aside a couple of chairs for us at a designated time so we wouldn’t have to wait, the person I spoke with basically blew me off. Reminding me about their policy to not take reservations, they told me they would not do that.
Very frustrating experience.

Very small place — bar seating + a couple of booths. Wait times can easily surpass 45 mins. The selection is pretty basic, but their sashimi is good and portions are on the large side.
Go sign-​in, ask the approximate wait time and grab a drink or two nearby.

Fish is incredible. Great little hidden gem.
Small place, so make sure to plan around the wait :)

I was really looking forward to enjoying this place. After all, I’d finally found a sushi spot in San Francisco that prepares baked mussels. After waiting an hour outside for a seat, my friend and I finally sat down at the sushi bar. Space is limited here — there are 2 tables that can accommodate up to 4, the bar can accommodate around 8.
Service is friendly and quick. That should not be too difficult taking in to account the small space. We ordered the Sashimi Combo, which came with 14 pieces of the chefs choice. The platter included Salmon, Mackerel, Yellowtail, Octopus and other selections I was not familiar with. Though there were two slices each, we could cut each slice in half they were so big. You ever have one of those moments about an experience and say. ‘hmm that’s a bad idea’, then do it anyway? Well that is how I felt when I had my first bite of the salmon. It had a metallic taste to it. The tuna was meaty, though lacking any flavor whatsoever. I passed on the octopus, not my thing. The mackerel was about the same, not much flavor.
When the baked mussels arrived I thought, okay those look amazing! The golden brown crust on the outside was deceiving. The inside tasted like mussels and scrambled eggs mixed with mayonnaise. No! Guess I better head back to LA if I want some proper baked mussels.
After not enjoying this meal, we learned it was cash only. I had maybe $ 19.00 in my wallet and my friend have left her card in her other wallet. You know how women be changing purses. Anyway, I went to the liquor mart next door to withdraw cash. I was able to get cash, but not the amount requested because the machine ran out of bills. I returned to the restaurant and told them what happened and asked, do you not have Stripe or any device to accept payment? ‘No we only have a cash register.’ Okay, well 1 you need to jump into the 21^st century and 2 where is the next nearest ATM? Walk number 2 consisted of crossing Market street at 9:30pm to a laundromat that had an ATM inside. Bill paid, tip left, we lyfted home. As you do.
Ohh ho ho but the story does not end there. Around 3am my stomach was not feeling too good. Let’s just say my dinner did not remain in my belly very long… I did not throw it up.
I most certainly will not be returning.

Anything with the word «zone» in it makes me think of Airplane! «Sushi Zone is for immediate loading and unloading of yummy fish only. There is no stopping in the white zone.» Sushi Zone is certainly as delicious as Airplane! is hilarious.
I don’t get to come to this miniscule spot as often as I would like (that whole pesky problem of living on the other side of the US), but if I were to live in San Francisco, I’d be occupying a stool at Sushi Zone regularly.
I’m old-​fashioned with my sushi, so I order the sushi combo, and whoa, it’s fantastical. Fair portion sizes, fresh from the sea, and very very tasty. The same can be said for the baked bass. Two women next to me ordered one of these appetizers for each of them which was actually a clever idea. Maybe I’ll branch out next time, but for now, the baked bass and sushi combo make me as content as a giant clam.

I really enjoy Sushi Zone however I do feel that it’s lost its luster over the years. My best advice to people who have never been is don’t count on the traditional rolls or pieces to be the best sushi in SF, but rather go for some of the specials offered that day or week. For example, I just had a dish with baked sea bass, a light mayo and mango sauce served inside a clamshell and it was absolutely epic. It put the sushi to shame.
Be willing to wait, upwards of an hour, though one can get incredibly lucky simply by showing up at the right time (like I did my last visit).

Spicy hamachi roll and spicy mango roll amazing
Baked bass must must try. so delicious.
Yes everyone right he is sushi Einstein

I’ve been enjoying Ao’s sushi here since ’99. His salmon (sake) nigiri is my favorite because he somehow adds the slightest hint of dill. The baked sea bass app is not to be missed. Your really aren’t going to go wrong with any of the time-​honored maki rolls, but I really just love the simple mango tuna or mango yellow tail.
Always opt for at least one hand roll (Ao is sorta famous for these in the rock-​and-​roll world) and try something new every time. For me recently it was the uni, which I was informed was from Japan when Ao handed it to me. Expect long lines, but really, it’s worth it. Try going on a rainy evening or when a big TV event is on to avoid some of the lines. Thanks again Ao for keeping it real all these years! You and the rest of the crew are awesome!