Tao Sushi

Food here is decent. I did the AYCE and the price is fair at $ 28.99. Nothing all that special but it’s not terribly disgusting either.
Their AYCE menu is similar to that of Monster Chef in Half Moon Bay, except there was barely a wait here. Service is definitely better than Monster Chef but that’s not saying much.
Sashimi tastes like it was frozen and thawed. Can’t expect super fresh sushi for AYCE right?
Anyways, long story short, food is okay. Would probably be back if I had huge cravings for sushi rolls but don’t expect grade A sushi when coming here (or any AYCE sushi restaurants for that matter).
3 stars.

Had the drunk munchies after a Unilocal event last night and remembered this AYCE sushi spot. Also one of the few places still open. Came in at 9pm and it was poppin!
$ 28.99 for AYCE. I’m literally still dreaming about this place. I want to go every night. I went with my cousin so we didn’t actually end up ordering a ton of food between the two of us. Definitely would be a funner experience with a group so you can try more things!
Being the super asian that I am, I made a list of everything we ordered so I could check the a la carte menu to see if we got our monies worth and we definitely did. We ended up ordering ten items but I saw so many other things I want to try!
Hamachi Sashimi x2 — $ 14.95 x2
Agedashi Tofu — $ 7.50
Sunrise — $ 10.95
Poki — $ 12.95
Footman Roll — $ 11.95
Hamachi Tartare — $ 15.95
Escolar Sashimi — $ 14.94
Sake Sashimi — $ 12.95
Nemo — $ 10.95
Strawberry Ice Ceam
Of course our total was only $ 63. Such a good deal! We left totally stuffed. Standouts were the sunrise, all the sashimi, and the nemo. No longer do we have to go to Half Moon Bay for AYCE sushi! There is a place right by me now! Danger danger. There goes my entire budget.
They didn’t tell us about dessert until I asked. They only had strawberry ice cream which was the perfect end! We left well before the two hour time limit. I’ve already told everyone I know about this place. Can’t wait to go again!

All u can eat sashimi? For $ 28?!? How is this not 5stars. The sushi is great the price makes it amazing because you can sit and go off on some sushi for 2 hours while watching the Warriors turn up. Awesome experience.

Had been looking forward to trying this place with AYCE but it’s nothing special. Disappointed.
They have a regular menu, which we’ve had delivery from, once in Spring 2015. We had ordered 5 rolls and a 2-​item bento box, which came out to $ 70.36, and left no lasting impression then. That should’ve been the litmus test.
Food = Okay.
AYCE = $ 28.99
AYCED = $ 35.99 (house sake, select beers and sodas.)
Rules for AYCE = 2 hours, cannot waste food, can only order 3 items per person at a time. And if you leave a bunch of ‘leftovers’ (e.g. rice), you will be charged the full price of said item. They have signs everywhere saying, don’t waste food. And no, cannot take home leftovers. These rules are at the top of their AYCE menu.
AYCE menu = Plenty of appetizers, sashimi, maki, specialty rolls, and a selection of unique items to choose from.
Mix tempura (Carrots, sweet potato, green beans, zucchini, shrimp, and onion) = good and plentiful.
Tiger prawns teppenyaki = delicious. Comes with a bit of seaweed salad.
Ohitashi = okay. Nothing special.
Hamachi sashimi = delicious. (Had two orders of this.)
Hotate nigiri = good.
Spider roll = okay. Disappointing soft shell crab. I wondered if it was really soft shell crab.
SFPD (Shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, imitation crab meat and avocado topped with unagi and unagi sauce) = good.
Behind the Green Door (Shrimp tempura, bonito fish and onions topped with creamy sauce) = okay. Not a fan of the bonito fish nor creamy sauce.
Real crab roll (maki) with avocado = good but we were way too full by then.
The rice isn’t very good, and some of the rolls just had way too much of it. They could make a better effort.
Service = okay. One server. We didn’t get anymore wasabi after the first round.
Prices = moderate. Dinner for two came out to $ 70.67.
Bathroom = a wreck. He went to wash his hands before ordering and it wasn’t a pleasant discovery. Another red flag.
And for the record, who leaves on Dateline on the TV at a restaurant? They were covering a murder case, which was less than appetizing, too.

I let my bf order the first round tonight. He ordered a few selections of raw fish and it all came out as nigiri. He forgot to request sashimi, but shouldn’t the waiter ask us to make sure?
There rolls are terrible here. I ordered something with shrimp tempera, but it came out soggy. The only crunch I had were from cucumbers.
We ordered the saba nigiri, salmon nigiri, family affair roll, salmon skin roll, dragon roll, and a dozen raw oysters.
I’m not sure how this happened, but their dragon roll was not good. I feel like there wasn’t enough sauce and the chef didn’t pay much attention to it since this was such a basic roll.
We had roughly 3 – 5 pieces total left of rolls. We were stuffed and asked for the check. The waiter came over and asked if were going to finish the rolls. My bf looked at each other thinking we would be charged and said «uhh…yeah, sure.»
Really? They’re that picky?! Yes I know it’s terrible to waste food. But lets be honest, your rolls here suck. Learn to make shrimp tempura before you charge your customers for leftovers.

This probably my favorite sushi restaurant!
The food is amazing, so fresh and taste so good.
The service are great, it’s so quiet and the ppl are nice and trying to save the planet so DO NOT waste food or water and if you do they will charge you! love it. I’ll definitely come back :)

I have never been so frustrated after leaving a restaurant. The service is sooooo slow that it’s painful to watch a dish come out, hoping it’s yours, but the server brings it to another table.
They have AYCE sushi and sashimi for $ 29 a person. Included are appetizers and their special dishes. Appetizers include chicken Kaarage, gyoza, wakame salad, short ribs, deep fried oysters, agedashi tofu, typical Japanese appetizers. I have only tried the short ribs and they have a good flavor to them. I wanted the raw oysters but they didn’t have them that night.
For sashimi, sake tasted better than hamachi and albacore. The hamachi and albacore did not seem as fresh as the sake sashimi. I also had the sake nigiri and smoked sake nigiri. Both were equally good as well. For the rolls, I only tried the Romeo and Juliet roll, which was a bit different than the ones I had elsewhere. It was still good but there was so much rice… Like I think that’s how they get you, by adding so much rice that you get full and order less. The food was decent but the wait for it just makes you wanna pull your hair out.
They were definitely understaffed and everyone was just sitting there waiting for their food to come out. Within 10 minutes of ordering we were able to get ²⁄₆ of our dishes but we devoured everything 10 minutes later. 20 minutes passes by and then our 3^rd dish comes. Then every dish that comes out comes out btw 20 – 25 minutes of each other. It’s really irritating to have to wait so long just so eat! You wait so long to the point where you actually lose your appetite. Then the price you’re paying for AYCE just does not seem worth it anymore. Luckily we had ordered Hoyo sake to pass the time, but I did not go there specifically to drink. We could’ve ordered appetizers to curb our hunger because those dishes came out quickly. However, we did not want to get full off of non-​sushi items.
As for service, I felt bad for the servers. They knew that the food was coming out in such a slow snail pace but they had no control over it. I saw at least 2 parties inquire about their food and even telling them to cancel all of their orders if it wasn’t made yet. There were no apologies either.
To the owners: please add on more sushi chefs. Your customers do not want to continuously wait for food to come out.

[wk late post] 3.5 stars…
thought we were staying in frm the pouring rain & wild wind, but sissy had her mind set on trying this place & we were all down… friends reco… AYCE sushi & jap grub galore w/​fam for 28.99pp… +7. for AYCE sake/​beer/​soda for those who wanna participate…(think AYCE is mandatory for every1 at ur table tho)…
my resto used 2b up the street, but haven’t been to the area since… in this space was long-​time acquaintances’ resto, Live Sushi (they have Omakase on Townsend now)…
T H E V I B E…
idk if it was the horrible weather or the color scheme or the rude waitress or combo, but this did not feel like a welcoming place…
maroon décor & dark furnishing… long bench seating along right wall w/​tables & chairs in front of it… sushi bar seating avail. in back, left corner…
T H E G R U B…
pretty good… made to order… they tell u that u can order 3 max at a time, have to finish b4 u can order more, & 2hr limit… we ordered more later…& we weren’t timed… but they did remind us to finish b4 bringing out desserts…
good variety of apps, «something unique», chef’s special rolls, nigiri, sashimi & maki… «add’l charge items» avail: aji, amaebi, hamachi & sake belly, hirame, kobe beef, kuromaguro (bluefin), toro, uni, & bb lobster…
our apps:
— agedashi tofu w/​bonito
— mix tempura
— short rib teriyaki… big plate, 3 cut slabs
— soft shell crab… fam likes, so we had at least 4!
— tiger prawns teppanyaki, shell-on…eh, was expecting it to be better
— yaki ika (grilled squid)…average, w/​chili powder
— we wanted oysters, DF or ½ shell, but they were «out»…WTH?
— wasabi tako… unappealing, raw mush… not octopus that u usually get… pppuke!
«Something Unique» section:
— Ankimo (monk fish liver w/​ponzu) x2… we alwaz enjoy this
— ordered the Hamachi Passion, but nvr came
— Nemo x2, seared sake wrapped scallops w/​garlic butter dipping sauce… didnt taste much garlic or butter… more like ponzu like all the other sauces
— Sunrise, sake wrapped rice topped w/​tobiko & quail egg
Chef’s Special Rolls section:
— think we had the DJ roll (I wasn’t around when that was ordered)…tempura, avo, cucumber inside topped w/​walu, jalapeño (except it was onions instead), tuna seared w/​creamy sauce
our Nigiri:
— hotategai x2, ikura, maguro, saba, sake, unagi, walu (escolar)
our Sashimi:
— hamachi, maguro, & sake
our Maki:
— salmon skin (no meat, jus xtra crunchy skin) & real cali
free green tea or strawberry ice cream for ea person if 1 checks in…
T H E D R I N K S…
AYCD +7. to AYCE = 35.99 …sm beer alone is 4. so, if u were having a couple anywaz, u got your money’s worth… fam mem took advantage w/​2 beers, 3 sakes, & 2 sodas ;-P .
T H E S E R V I C E…
well-staffed…for lack of better words, the «more-​asian» waitresses & busser were helpful & attentive, but the «more-​modern» girl had a LOT of ATTITUDE & def hates her job… minus at least ½ star for that BS…
T H E C O N C L U S I O N…
AYCE is pretty worth it… decent food… fam thought fish was fresh… i alwaz like some unique items… +AYCD is a good deal too… would come again, but on an empty stomach to maximize, haha… idk how long this 1yr anni special is gonna last… been already 4mos! lol…
sissy said us 4 had like 34 items…
4 AYCE, 1 of which were AYCD… came out to ~$ 145 all inclusive… incl 5% off, b4 tax, for paying in cash…

This place is amaaaaaazing! The normal menu is ok but what makes this place a gem in this crappy neighborhood is the all you can eat option… The oysters and fish are really fresh… The 35 bucks for all you can eat and drink is definitely worth it…
Standout item has to be the wasabi Tako… I won’t lie, I ordered 4…

Good sushi if you only like to eat rice.
Worst sushi I ever had, I don’t recommend it, there are many better options out there, in fact anywhere is better but this place.

$ 28.99 for all you can eat. It’s not the best quality but it’s hell of a deal considering the price. The selection is pretty good. From beef short ribs to sashimi. Don’t forget they include ice cream at the end. It’s not on the menu so just ask.
I’ve come on a Saturday night and there’s a wait so you might want to call before you show up. Street parking isn’t bad at all.

I had the unagi don there, it was above slab of unagi, the sauce was sweet and flavorful, the meat is tender, the garnish was ok, like the radish, don’t know what the green stuff was, the ginger was the usual stuff, rice was warm and aplenty, I would comeback and try the others stuff, but on a cold night miso and unagi will do, service was good, the staff was attentive. Will come back again.

My friend and I ordered the Crazy Monkey roll, Swamp roll, 49er roll, and Double Hamachi roll. Every single roll was warm and bland. The worst was the Double Hamachi. I couldn’t bring myself to eat more than two pieces due to the strong fishy taste. I ended up having to ask them to take it off the bill (which I have never done before). I would not recommend this place to anyone. Thank god I had a Groupon that I had been gifted.

We went AYCE.
Beef short ribs, soft-​shell crab, gomae Not good
Various rolls, seafood salad OK-​to-​pretty-​good
Saba sashimi, grilled squid Good
Service was good. Pleasant, pretty, hard-​working servers.
Nicely appointed room, so it looked like we were not in the Excelsior. (I suppose, strictly speaking, we were dining in Mission Terrace).
Overall, decent. Not as good as the cheaper Sushi Raw, up the street a couple few.
Tip:
Sit towards the back to avoid temperature fluctuations.

The all you can eat is definitely worth it. The menu has an abundance of items to select from! There were a good amount of sashimi to order from too. The service was slow so it took a long time for the food to come and to order the next round (you can only order three items at a time). Definitely call in to check if the all you can eat deal is still going.

I’ve been here a few times, mostly for take out. I usually order a bento box, the beef ribs are okay and the salmon’s okay.
That being said, I cannot eat the rice they serve, it literally tastes like plastic. You know what I’m talking about, as if the rice is not a digestible food. The taste is really bad. Maybe they’re buying that cheap man-​made plastic rice China’s selling. I don’t know but I’ve eaten a lot of rice in my days, as for this rice it tastes like plastic and eating plastic tastes nasty to me.
Lastly, I came in with a friend we wanted to order food, we sat down, they brought us water but after waiting like like 7 –10 minutes, as we were both hungry and we were having a late lunch, no one came to ask us for our order. We got up to leave and still no one came.
So, since service was bad and the rice is bad, and there are plenty of other places that i can spend my money at, I’ll go elsewhere.

AYCE (all you can eat) sushi place in San Francisco!
What I ordered:
— Smoked salmon nigiri (so bomb)
— Saba sashimi and nigiri (I want more!)
— Bergschneider roll (unagi lovers)
— SFPD roll (for spicy lovers)
— Salmon sashimi
— Short ribs
— Grilled squid
— Mochi ice cream (I really wanted to try their mint chocolate mochi but none the night I went)
Make sure to as you server you come for the AYCE (all you can eat) because there is a specific menu for that. Unfortunately no where on the menu indicatedmto us how much per person it was. However, we were also the type to leave a restaurant once we find out how much the dishes are, that is just silly (and other words that should be kept to my self) for those who do.
The places I would go to for AYCE sushi are mainly in Davis and Milpitas, so it’s nice to have one in sf. There were so many appetizers and rolls that I didn’t order so I’ll definitely be back soon to try them!

This place is amazing! Great food, great prices, great service! I always order a bento box with 2 – 3 orders of chicken katsu or a Soup. It’s always got a table open when we come. The chef knows his fish and is happy to cook/​roll to order.

So this is what the owner messaged me with:
«thank you for your tips. Well 3pieces sushi and 4 pieces vegetable tempura cost me nothing. But if everyday everyone left over food like you, the restaurant would be GG ok. No waste food is our rules. Pls follow the rules, next time don’t waste food. So sry about your experience.»
Okay, well if it costed you nothing at all, then why were you so adamant about charging us full price for the leftovers? If you can’t afford to have customers waste a few pieces here and there then why are you even doing an AYCE promotion? Also, after spending $ 60 at your place and still providing rude customer service like this, i’m pretty sure your restaurant would be «GG» soon. Good luck.

Decent quality for AYCE.
I had their salmon, mackeral, yellowtail, squid, and unagi. All were great!
Ama ebi and oysters were decent quality too.
The ama ebi was an additional charge. My boyfriend and I had 4 pieces of that along with a coke and the bill came out to $ 78 before tips. This is not bad because with the amount of sashimi we had, it could’ve easily been over $ 110 anywhere.
Tao has Groupon but it’s not applicable to their AYCE. Many people made reservations but it was unnecessary on a Monday night. Parking seems rough but we lucked out and snagged a spot near the entrance.

Okay, I do not like eating all you can eat because I never think I get my money’s worth and I always think the quality of food at AYCE are horrible. This place makes me second guess that. They have a decent selection for AYCE and the quality is pretty darn good.
My favorite is the hamachi tartare. That thing is on a shrimp chip and its friggin amazing in your mouth. I could eat that thing for days.
You can also get the butter fish sashimi. I haven’t gone to any other places that have this and it is pretty darn good.
The short ribs are pretty good as well. You wouldn’t expect it at a sushi place.
They also have steamed monkfish liver. It’s the seafood version of foie grais.
Make reservations in advance! Also, there’s a 2 hr time limit. I suggest you keep putting your orders in. They will charge you if you waste food so don’t get too trigger happy.

What a lovely place!!! I went to here with my brother for the AYCE. It was so worthhhh.
The sashimi was fresh and high quality.
The rolls were so tasty and delicious.
The waitresses were very friendly to us.
With this high quality food and service I will definitely come back and try everything!!!
I high recommend others to come here for party or other activities.
Good place to have funnnn!!!

My BF and I ordered dinner via EAT24. The food was ready within 30 mins of placing the order. The sushi rolls were on the pricier side ($ 14-​$ 16 for a specialty roll), but they’re also running an anniversary promotion right now — looks like it’s AYCE at the restaurant but you also get a discount off any pick up orders placed online. I thought prices were reasonable including the promotion.
We tried:
— Dragon Roll: Shrimp tempura and cucumber topped with unagi and avocado. YUM!
— SFPD Roll: Shrimp tempura, spicy tuna, imitation crab meat and avocado topped with unagi and unagi sauce. There could have been more spicy tuna I think — it was also delicious, but was super similar to the Dragon Roll.
— California Roll: your typical Cali roll, but a decent size for $ 6/​roll!
The restaurant ambiance was pretty typical, nothing special I think. I would order pick up from here again!

This was our first time dining here. We ordered food to go for pick up a few times. So when we came in for sit down dinner, we didn’t know about their «all you can eat» dinner special for $ 28. So one of us was hungrier than the other. I was not that hungry so I only wanted one specialty roll and not two or three orders of appetizers, entrée etc. So when it came time for the waitress to take our order, I was shocked and surprised to hear her say «you should both get the all you can eat special»…I was like, did I hear her say that I don’t have a choice to not pay $ 28?! I only wanted one speciality roll that costs $ 14.95. Why do I have to pay $ 28 if my husband was the only one willing to pay their all you eat deal? I was not that hungry.
I imagine & understand that they think we would be passing or sharing our food. I get it. But as standard business practice, that is not fair to «assume» ALL your customers that walk in would share their food.
We would have gladly paid the extra $ 28 for myself, but honestly what a waste of money AND food, because I will not finish ALL of it. FYI — any leftovers you still have to pay. This restaurant should post this «assumption» all over their restaurant & menu that EVERYONE in your party who orders all you can eat special has no choice but to pay $ 28.
Of course if your coming in with a huge appetite, then this is worth it, I guess.
Interestingly enough, another couple dining next to us overheard this awkward & unprofessional statement of «you should», he suggested to order & pay separately, that way I’m not obligated to pay $ 28.
That’s fine. I’ll take my business elsewhere, like Sanraku @ Metreon in SF. Sanraku consistently delivers Quality sushi, attentive & friendly staff and efficient service.

The two positives — water was consistently refilled without us having to ask. And the cooked rolls and items under the «Something unique» section were consistent and tasty.
The service was the main thing that left me with a (figurative) bitter taste in my mouth. Basically, don’t be condescending when answering simple questions that your customers ask. Don’t act like I’m inconveniencing you when I kindly follow up on items that were ordered but never received.
This place has the potential to be a solid restaurant, but their waitstaff are holding them back thus far.

SUSHI HEAVEN. Come here for their AYCE. It’s their anniversary promotion, so come before it’s too late. $ 28.99/person. During the time I went, it was an additional $ 6 for all you can drink. That was seriously a steal because one drink alone is almost that price. I think they caught on though, so now they raised the price.
There’s SO many things to choose from. If you’re into sashimi, they have plenty. For the other costly ones: toro or uni, by paying a reduced additional cost, you can have it, too. Otherwise, stick to their ayce menu. It’s incredibly worth it over regular/​happy hour because 90% of their items are also in the ayce menu. The portions are regular sized so beware when ordering rolls. For meat lovers, the BBQ short ribs was another favorite. In Korean places, that dish could probably cost ya easily $ 10.
The service is great. Grabbing the attention of waiters were easy. Ordering the food was fast and so was receiving the food. As a sashimi lover, I loved how there was different varieties. As an added plus, they even include raw oysters! Downfall though, they ran out, little bit too early imo (we came at 6pm).
This is probably one of my favorite ayce sushi places in S.F. which is cheating because there isn’t very many. Strongly recommend to come with an empty stomach. Come in a large party so you can try everything!!!

I am so impressed with Tao! They were a packed full-​house last night and everything ran so smooth. I never felt like i waited long for my sushi. I had the AYCE. All the servers did a great job and were all smiles! Everything tasted amazing and was great quality. They even let me change the channel on the tv to the warriors game :)
Definitely going to recommend this spot to my friends and will be back soon!

Their AYCE promotion is SO SO SO worth it if you love sushi!
I don’t know how long this deal will last but this was honestly the best sushi buffet I’ve had so far. The selection was incredible and the sushi quality was amazing. One thing I usually hate about most sushi buffets is that they always stuff their sushi with rice so you get full easier (ughhhhh). But this place actually serves you a la carte quality sushi rolls that are unique and flavorful.
And omg the AYCE sashimi! Eating sashimi alone is already getting you money’s worth but add in the great quality of the fish and you’ve got yourself a steal. They also serve fresh oysters, scallops, grilled tiger prawns and other great seafood selections.
This place does come with a few rules that will stop you from running them out of business though:
— 2 hour time limit
— You can only order 3 items at a time per person
— Everyone at your table must order AYCE
I do have to mention that service is super slow and it takes pretty long to get your food so I would not recommend coming here with a large party. Our waitresses were kind of impatient, didn’t get our orders right and there were 20 – 25 minute periods where we were waiting for our next order; and when you’re in a big group and only have 2 hours to eat, that’s a big time waster! Also, if you don’t like raw fish, then this buffet would not be worth it for you because they don’t have many cooked items on the menu.
If service was better, then this place would be a solid 5. But to be perfect was too good to be true. If you’re a sushi lover, I would definitely take advantage of this great AYCE promotion before it’s over! It’s hard to find quality sushi buffets (with AYCE sashimi) so don’t miss out!

Friend dragged me out to TAO Sushi telling me it’s improved since my first visit last year.
I’ll keep things sweet and simple.
Avoid the gyoza at all cost
Sashimi here is still the same, it’s straight from the freezer (at least they weren’t bricks)
Avoid the AYCE, came here and wanted oysters but they were sold out
Service is mediocre, almost as bad as the food
Shoot me

My bf and I enjoy coming here during the night. We love the freshness of the sushi and how fast it takes to get to our table. I absolutely love the green tea– which is fresh and hot here. The only thing is that the service is fast when it comes to food, but when it comes to filling up my tea. it takes some time. We have tried plenty of dishes here and I think they’re all pretty good! We got the sweet shrimp and was surprised when a plate full of HUGE shrimp heads came up. It was a pretty cool picture, and the raw sweet shrimp was amazing! We’ve also had salmon wrapped scallop which was pretty delicious too! One of my favorites is the romeo juliet.
They also serve ice cream mocha here, which is nothing special, but just from the box kind haha. I love the fish here, its pretty good. We’ve always seem to miss happy hour which is 9 – 10 pm, but the price difference is not dramatic. We definitely love this place for something thats within Daly City!

Let me tell you a tale about Tao.
Tao being «the absolute principle underlying the universe, combining within itself the principles of yin and yang and signifying the way, or code of behavior, that is in harmony with the natural order.»
This place has none of that. This place is just chaos.
Chaos and overly priced Japanese food.
My friend the Living Social King took me here, and said he checked Unilocal ahead of time to make sure it was on the up and up.
I have no idea where all these 4 – 5 stars are coming from because I instantly started laughing when the chef’s roll with «kobe beef» at $ 25 featured imitation crab meat!
Um, for $ 25.00, you can afford to toss a few pieces of lump crab mixed with mayonnaise in there, right?
And don’t get me started on their «happy hour.»
There’s nothing happy about it. $ 8-​$ 10 for each item? How is that a bargain?
Man, the rolls were gluey chinese rice with mashed up fish. The bento box had overcook salmon and the worst thousand island dressing.
Oh man, get me out of here. Coupon or no coupon I would never come bad here.