San Francisco Sushi
 

Hey,

heading to San Francisco for two nights and napa for two nights in March and need some restaurant suggestions...

specifically interested in sushi in SF - either lunch or dinner - preferrable upscale

also interested to hear any other suggestions in either SF or napa...

planning on trying to get French Laundry reservations again (no luck last time) - any suggestions on how to accomplish this would be appreciated.

thanks,

j

Sushi Ran in Sausalito has wonderful sushi. http://www.sushiran.com/

Fl - stay at a hotel that will make the reservation for you.

hi Tess,

i've heard sushi Ran is amazing...

how do we dine there without a car in SF? is there a ferry? how long does it take? expensive cab i presume.

we won't be driving by on our way to the valley during their lunch or dinner hours...

thanks

There is a ferry to Sausalito. I don't know anything about the restaurant, but I find it hard to believe you wont find just as good/upscale sushi in the city. Unless you wanted to go to Sausalito for other reasons.

I've heard good things about Ino Sushi at the Peace Plaza in Japantown. I haven't been myself but have it on my list for my next visit.

Hi JMWF,

Yes, you can take a ferry to and from Sausalito.

http://www.blueandgoldfleet.com/

http://goldengateferry.org/schedules/Sausalito.php

It takes about 30 minutes, each way. Sushi Ran is well worth the trip - amazing!

I recommend that you visit the Japantown mall. There are numerous sushi places there on two floors, open for lunch or dinner. Some are casual, like the sushi boat place, and some are quite upscale. The best thing to do is walk around and see what looks good to you.

There's a hotel right there (Kabuki hotel) but if you're staying in the Union Square area, you can reach it by the 38 bus down Geary.

Have fun.

Re: Ino Sushi

Ino is probably the best sushi in Japantown. Be forewarned that it is not a hip sushi-pub with all kinds of imaginative, creative rolls and such. Ino's ita-mae-san (chef) is a very old-fashioned, rigorously disciplined guy who concentrates on the freshest ingredients and the preparations that showcase them simply and best. He's also a bit of a snob but I figure he's earned it - don't be put off by that, though - he's friendly enough and the staff is very nice.

If you like a livelier atmosphere and a bigger place, a lot of folks here like Ebisu on Ninth Avenue near Irving.

Downtown, I've always liked Sanraku on Sutter Street near Jones. It has a nice atmosphere, good mix of locals and visitors, and decent non-sushi dishes if you want tempura or such.

Now here's a suggestion if you like seafood - Bar Crudo (crudo as in raw) on Bush Street, right on top of the Stockton Street Tunnel. This is the place to go for oysters, scallops, lobster salad, and whatever the chef thinks is the best of the catch. I had uni (sea urchin) here and it was presented in a salad so fetchingly done it was a shame to actually bite into it. If it's a cold night, the very rich chowder is also a sure bet - it changes every night according to what was swimming 12 or so hours ago. Bar Crudo is tiny and popular - definitely call for a reservation.

thanks for all the responses.

Sushi Ran is excellent, but it would be a bit of a walk from the Sausalito ferry dock. It is on a side street. I don't have a SF sushi place to recommend - take a suggestion from another poster or your concierge at the hotel.

In Napa Valley there are so many excellent restaurants. Try Press or Terra in St Helena, La Toque in Rutherford, Bistro Jeanty in Yountville. In the city of Napa we like Pearl, Kelly's No Bad Days Cafe, Annalien (upscale Vietnamese), Cole's Chophouse, Celedon, Zuzu, or Angele. The new vegetarian restaurant Ubuntu has been getting rave reviews. The space is beautiful.

I 2nd Ino Sushi in San Francisco's Japantown. DH and I ate there about a year ago and really enjoyed it. Very fresh and innovative. There's other good sushi places in Japantown. See their website:http://www.sfjapantown.org/rs_01.html

Sushi Ran is a bit of a walk but worth it. First Class all the way plus Sausalito is a beautiful town. You can get a cab at the Ferry Dock.

It's less than a 1/2 mile to Sushi Ran from the dock. You can work up an appetite on the way up and work off the sushi on the way back. No biggie...we've done it many times. If someone can walk SF, they can do this with ease. Live a little!

By the way, the view of SF from Sausalito and the ferry is amazing. Have a great trip!

Some other suggestions from today's Chron: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl.../CM2PTQ82V.DTL

Yank Sing for Deem Sum could be something to check out.http://www.yanksing.com/ but you specified Sushi so maybe that's a stretch.

For SF dim sum: http://www.tonkiang.net/ is a favorite.

We have always had great sushi at Sanraku in the Union Square area..
Friends who stay at the Nikko say they have a great Japanese restaurant.

We got reservations for lunch at FL and what we did was 60 days from when we wanted to dine and right at midnight go on opentable dot com and have everything ready to hit the button and not a second to late..
That's what worked for us!
We had a wonderful lunch and I'm glad we went.

frenchlaundry.com