Not that far, apparently. Ryoko's serves up Japanese fare in an underground cross between a sushi bar and a discotheque. You walk down a steep flight of stairs into a dark room dominated by a grand piano. You grab a seat wherever you can, hopefully at the sushi bar in front of the chef. The staff hustles about, chattering at each other in Japanese.
I just wanted some food to go, so I sat at the bar and waited for my order. The waitress plopped down a bowl of edamame and asked if I wanted anything to drink while I waited. I just had some water, but appreciated how attentive she was to a to go customer. The sushi chef, though swamped, kept smiling at me and politely saying "Just a minute!" When I grabbed my food and stood up to leave, the staff let out a chorus of "arigato!" So friendly! I had the hamachi roll and the Jumping California. The hamachi roll was a standard roll. Not very tightly rolled, but fine fish quality. The Jumping California must be a house specialty. At least three other people ordered it while I was there. The filling was a bit heavy on mayo, but the avocado was extremely creamy and the batter was not too thick. As far as deep fried maki rolls go, this one was a winner. It's the kind of roll I like to have towards the end of a sushi meal, when my stomach hankers for something warm and filling to finish up.
Summary: it may be more about the hipster atmosphere and loud music, but the staff couldn't be nicer and the food's not bad. And from what I could see sitting at the bar, they do NOT skimp on the alcohol here!
Ryoko's619 Taylor Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
cross street: between Post & Sutter
415.775.1028
2 comments:
What about the price though? I need to do more hunting for convenient and inexpensive sushi. All I can find usually is crappy expensive sushi from supermarkets with imitation stuff. So sad...
I head back to CA in less than a month and sushi will be at the top of my list!
I've given up debating the price and quality of sushi in SF. It only aggravates me, and I can't convince any die-hard San Franciscans that LA sushi simply blows what they have out of the water in every way imaginable.
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