Tokyo Go-Go

I read a few of my earlier reviews for various sushi establishments and sheesh! I was such a sushi snob. Fact is, fusion sushi and schmancy/​creative rolls can be just as good as the highest grade sashimi. AND it takes more than knife skills. Plus rolling skills, which a great deal of people might even claim to have mastered in college.
Tokyo Go Go’s rolls are fun, flavorful, and filled with fresh ingredients. Their desserts are also delicious. And the vibe and ambiance here is a quick pick-​me-​up. (Literally? I wouldn’t know, sorry.)
(I came here with an online deal so my meal was also super affordable.)

Wasn’t too busy on a Tuesday night. Fish taco roll, dragon roll, and a couple others. Sapporo beer

First impressions are very important. Sadly, my first impression of Tokyo Go-​Go was not so great. I came with a reservation for 7:30 PM on Saturday night. When I arrived, however, there were no seats available for my reservation, and my party had to wait for a good 20 minutes before being seated. What’s worse, when we first arrived, no one greeted us or helped us — it took at least 15 minutes before the staff finally came to check up on everyone who entered the restaurant.
That said, once we were finally seated, my experience changed completely. The food came out very quickly, and more importantly, the food was delicious.
What I recommend: The Golden Gate Rolls (fantastic — there is a slight citrus taste), The Spicy Tuna Rolls, Truffle Hamachi Sashimi, Twin Peak Roll, Grilled Beef Skewers.
Each of the dishes we ordered had a special taste that cannot be found in other fusion Japanese restaurants. The Golden Gate Rolls, for example, may in the beginning seem like an ordinary salmon roll, but with the crunchy asparagus and lemon on the top, the taste is not only savory, but also salty and sweet — it is absolutely delightful! The Grilled Beef Skewers are a great appetizer to order when you are waiting for your food. The serving size of the Truffle Hamachi Sashimi is pretty small, but my friend who ordered it absolutely loved it.
Overall, if you can stand a long wait and somewhat mediocre service, Tokyo Go-​Go is a must-​go restaurant in San Francisco. My recommendation? After a satisfying meal at Tokyo Go-​Go, head on over to nearby Bi-​Rite Creamery for dessert!

I must have walked past Tokyo Go-​Go a hundred times before noticing it was there. We ended up there on a friend’s recommendation, it was half-​full when we arrived, but got packed quickly. If you’re coming on a weekend night, definitely get a reservation.
The staff was helpful and accommodating, and the bartenders whipped up a whiskey and ginger ale that was about 75% Jameson. I was impressed already. We chowed down at the sushi bar on the ample-​sized gyoza and multiple rolls. (While I was expecting to like the Kamikaze roll more, the Mount Rose unagi roll was the better of the two. We went in for a third, and the Golden Gate roll we chose was our favorite.)
They made a small, completely forgivable error on our bill, and they comped our drinks to apologize. That’s some seriously awesome service! This was my first sushi experience in San Francisco, and I’m proud to say I’ll go back!

Food ³⁄₅
The rolls here are smaller than I am used to. The rolls were good, but not great and not really creative. I guess Isushi really blew my mind away, and now it’s hard to compete with that. Alot of my rating of the food, has to do with the price, because It just wasn’t worth almost $ 100 for just me and my BF to eat dinner. The experience and food did not meet up to my expectations, The drinks are also pretty weak as well
Service ⁵⁄₅
Our waiter was very attentive and answered all of our questions
Ambiance ⁴⁄₅
I loved the ambiance here, Played top EDM from 2012, Lots of Avicii and vocal edm, my fav.
If there is a happy hour, I will be back, but only for that.

Babe found a livingsocial coupon to this place and right off the bat, I can say the prices for the quality of food here is not worth it unless you have a coupon. (Without it, I’d give this place 3 STARS)
We grabbed the Mount Rose, Golden Gate, Fish Taco, Ninja and the Kamikaze Rolls.
Fish Taco Roll — Surprisingly do taste like fish tacos, and it was pretty good.
Kamikaze Roll — I originally thought wouldn’t like this roll but the asparagus packed a nice crunchy surprise.
Mount Rose Roll — Tastes much like any other roll that has unagi which I love, so I naturally enjoyed this one too. However, if I were to pay full price, I wouldn’t grab this one because I can probably getter a similar but better quality somewhere else for the same price.
Golden Gate Roll — Not bad, the only problem I had was the lemon peel because it was way to sour, but that cash easily be picked off.
Ninja Roll — Also not bad, but pretty ordinary.
Overall, not bad, but nothing to rave about. Slightly above average.

I don’t know why I keep trying to eat Sushi in the Mission, and I don’t understand how this place gets good review.
It must be the theory of relativity: If all the girls at a bar are ugly, some of them start to look pretty good after a while. All the Sushi places in the Mission are terrible, so this one is just the best of the bunch…
Went there tonight and picked up seared hamachi, a TNT roll, 2 miso and 2 drinks.
Before we even got to taste the food there, we had to wait about 30 minutes for our entrée’s after ordering. This is way too long for one roll, and 5 pieces of sashimi.
Once the seared hamachi came out it was a dry, poor cut of meat. First of all the piece of meat was split between white and dark hamachi meat, and lacked a certain pop in your mouth to savor. Instead the hamachi was too fishy; almost as if old.
The TNT roll came out and tasted like chile verde. Definitely not the taste you want when going out for sushi. After taking out first bite the gf and I looked at each other with anti-​O faces.
Bill came out to about 60 dollars for 2 dishes, miso, and drink. Vastly over-​priced, and the service took way too long.
Take a pro-​tip and go next door to Pakwan for some Indian food and eat right.

This used to be THE cool place for hip sushi in SF — just returned after years and after I have another hit of Pepto Bismol I will continue.
The once trendy room is now dingy. Service was horrid — not really the waitress’ fault as she was running around like crazy while the busboy, hostess and bartender watched TV and left my beers on the bar til I went up and got them. I asked the busboy twice to clear the table and when he did he took the almost full beer as well. Hamachi was tough. And to top it off the old fish had a party in my stomach much of the night.
Someone better start paying attention around here or sayonara.

A BART trip into the city, a brisk five block walk, and I found myself at Tokyo Go-​Go Sushi/​Bar restaurant on New Year’s Eve 2012. This review is for dinner on 12−31−12. I had called to make reservations ahead of time. Luckily I had since they apparently were closing early for the evening at 9pm, so I made reservations for 8:30pm.
As we walked up to the front entrance, I observed a sign saying «cash only». I wasn’t sure if it was only for that night, but worth bearing in mind. Our host that greeted us at the door also made us kindly aware of the cash only policy in effect. We were shown to our seats in the back dining area upon our arrival. As we walked through the sushi bar area and the dining area next to it, the restaurant was just beginning to get crowded. We sat and ordered two large sakes to start off the night, a purple haze sake and a ginger sake. I much preferred the hot ginger sake over the purple haze which was darker looking bolder tasting sake. The hot sake tasted great and every shot warmed me up all over, perfect for the cold night.
After drinking for a bit, no one had yet taken our order so I had to flag down a server. We got tempura hamachi, ninja roll, and TNT roll. I wanted to order the Fort Point roll, and he said they were out of the Kobe beef for the night so were not serving the roll. For appetizers, we went ahead and ordered some chicken skewers and oysters on a half shell. We also ordered up another round of sakes to celebrate the New Year; this time with a round of the Anchor Steam beer on tap. I made a request to our server to please bring the appetizers and entrees out separately.
Service was not the quickest. Every single dish that we had ordered came out separately which sucked because after finishing one plate, we had to wait for the next to be served, usually a ten minute wait. By far the best roll of the ones we tried was the spicy TNT roll. It can get a bit loud but not enough to where you have to scream for conversation. The wall décor is unusual as well and tripped me out as the night went on; essentially, on the walls were light bulbs which gave me the feeling that i was looking up at a ceiling. And of course there is the low mood lighting.
So the bill comes and I have to say that I was disappointed to see they automatically added %18 gratuity. Service was nice and friendly but ultimately when it comes to small parties, it should be left up to customers what is an appropriate tip.
The deal: I purchased and used a Bloomspot for $ 25 of $ 50 worth of food and drinks.
I don’t think I would pay a return visit, maybe for the happy hour but definitely not for dinner. There are much better sushi bars in terms of price and portion sizes.
(++) outstanding ginger sake & Spicy TNT roll
(+++) thanks to our server for the sake.
(-/​+) Parking is terrible; highly accessible by BART
(-) in comparison to other sushi bars, dinner was a bit on the the pricey side.

Popped in here with my PIC, before the show at Verdi Club.
Cool décor, although we weren’t crazy about the silly light bulbs on the wall, that would get brighter and dimmer every few minutes.
Very decent sushi, although we thought the portions were a bit small. Bummer that they were out of the Kobe beef roll, as we were really looking forward to trying that one. Outstanding service provided by our waitress. The food seemed to take a long time to arrive with each order, considering the place wasn’t that busy.
Sakana in Phoenix is STILL the best sushi I’ve ever had anywhere.
Want Spanish tapas? Then go a few doors down to Picaro and get your paella on, but please, don’t ask them for a burrito or a pupusa!

Goodbye Tokyo Go Go — you’re gone from my book.
This place used to be a lot better but eventually with all the new restaurants popping up in SF, we stopped visiting. Then tonight we went back with a Groupon.
Chasu ramen — I never say this about ramen, but wow it was not even salty enough, much less flavorful.
Azteca roll — good flavors, but not nearly enough fish.
Seaweed salad — meh.
Misco black cod — this used to be my favorite dish there. It’s still good, but not good enough to save the show.

I love it here, the atmosphere, people, the food, EVERYTHING! They are open late, and still take in those little straggler that come wondering in at closing.
You have to try the truffle oil hamachi, spicy salmon tartare, and fisht taco roll! I came back the very next day to try it again, to see if it was really legit and it was!
Sometimes I wish I lived in the city, this is the best spot if i have those late night craving (like anything pass 9pm is late for me).

With a name as fun as Tokyo Go-​Go, I didn’t think the food would be as good as it was but I was absolutely proven wrong. Tokyo Go-​Go does take a playful spin on their menu but have no doubt the about the emphasis on freshness of produce — paramount for any good sushi joint.
Came here for dinner with a friend and it was pretty packed with a 30 minute wait. No biggie — headed for drinks around the corner while waiting for the call from the restaurant. Well lubricated, we were more than ready to begin eating when were were seated. First up, the tuna and salmon tartare. Right off the bat I knew we were in for a good meal because the fish was so fresh, and when paired with the guacamole and shrimp chips, it was such well-​balanced bites of flavor. The veggie tempura (
) was well executed — crispy yet not oily and the vegetables still had a good bite in them.
Now sushi is when the meal gets delightful. Shiro maguro and hamachi nigiri (
) coupled with a rainbow row and spicy scallop roll (
) again showcased the freshness of their fish. The nigiri were just the right size for the perfect bite and the fish just melts in your mouth. There is not much to say about rolls that are made well such that you get the perfect proportion of ingredients throughout. Wonderful cap to the meal.
Now I understand why the restaurant has been a long-​time favorite in the neighborhood. I’ve heard about Tokyo Go-Go’s happy hour and I can’t wait to stop by soon for some hand rolls and beer.

I had the worst cocktail of my life here.
On the other hand, their cheesecake was fantastic. Tell me why 70% of sushi restaurants think they can serve the same previously frozen then half assed defrosted and over priced green tea cheesecake and think we won’t notice??? Everything else was very good except my roll came with this strange green sauce all over it. I just picked it all off and my date ate it while waiting for his food to come.

We came here on a Living Social deal on Saturday evening. Luckily there wasn’t any wait and we got seated right away. The décor and set-​up is pretty nice; very modern and fun.
We ordered a few things and shared:
— Gyoza: average, though it came at the very end which was kinda weird
— Tuna & Salmon Tartare: comes with shrimp chips. Pretty good, though I’ve had better
— Golden Gate Roll: decided to get one of the lighter rolls and it was yummy! I love the addition of lemon on top (which I’m usually not a fan of).
— Twin Peak Roll: really sauce-​heavy, but it was good all the same. A bit too heavy for me, so I only had two. But if you like your rolls fried with sweet sauce/​cream cheese then you’d definitely like this one.
Overall we had a good experience. The service was great even though there weren’t that much staff on hand. And I personally liked the sizes of the rolls since they were easy to eat (and not in huge pieces like they have at some restaurants) but they were overpriced. About $ 10-​$ 14 for most of them, and it’s not like the portions are humongous nor are they the best tasting rolls I’ve had. It was a good place to go with the deal, but otherwise not worth the high price.

Decent! My friend got a LivingSocial deal here — but the price wasn’t tooooo bad. It’s fair, I’d say.
I still don’t think I’d come here again, not without a deal at least. The food wasn’t bad, it was just OK. The bartender was awesome and super friendly though!
Their sushi/​rolls are decent, I liked the flavor palette and stuff, but the rice overall seemed kind of dry and the rice/​fish balance was kinda off for me.

Tokyo Go Go is awesome! First of all the manager is great, he was super helpful and generous when it came to a Living Social coupon issue I had. I purchased one for myself and 2 for others somehow the coupon I had was marked used already but when I showed him my living social account he took my word in good faith and let me use it still. Likely I accidentally gave my coupon to the person I was gifting to. I appreciate their good customer service.
The sushi at Tokyo Go Go is great! My favorite is the FISH TACO ROLL! Its a must if you go. Their handrolls are really good too!
I also appreciate that their happy hr is until 7pm, usually I can catch the last 15 min of happy hr and order $ 3.75 handrolls and $ 3 beer.
They also have a variety of cocktails everyone’s favorites like lychee cocktail and cucumber gimlet.
I heard they’re doing another LivingSocial deal soon ;)

Five stars for the host, he was great! Funny, we got more service from him than our actual server who we saw ONCE. The rest of the time we had to stop any waitstaff walking by to order more drinks or get refills on water.
The food was aiight. We only came because I had a livingsocial coupon.
We enjoyed the salad and the Fish Taco roll the best.
I guess I’m not a fan of fancy, saucy sushi. If you like it like that, you will love it here.

One of my favorite spots for happy hour. I love that they have uni oyster shooters for only $ 2 which are super fresh, great handrolls, consistently fresh sushi, nice wait staff, clean and trendy décor. I planned a large birthday dinner party there for a friend and was very happy with the turnout. Excellent selection of sake and cocktails. Great place for special occasions, happy hour, and to take out of towners.
The only negative thing is that parking is a pain. But that’s just how San Francisco/​Mission area is. I agree with another Unilocaler that their chairs are hard and uncomfortable to sit on! :D

Great if you make it for happy hour specials but after that you’ll be spending money for sushi that’s just not worth it… so thinly sliced I wondered if there was any fish on my pieces!
The rolls are inventive but again, its hard to judge when there isn’t any fish sitting on top or wrapped around rice.
Good service, wish the food was as good.