Tsunami Sushi - San Francisco

My good friend, the Fin, had told me once that the best sake is always served cold. So when Joe B made reservations for dinner at Tsunami Sushi Restaurant both the Senora and I were very excited indeed. Tsunami is well known around San Francisco for its deep sake cellar, superb fish and not so friendly prices. All dressed up, we hailed a cab, waved good-bye to the hotel and made our way to 1308 Fulton Street and our evening of sushi.

Small with a low-key vibe, Tsunami is a San Francisco sushi hipster hang-out. Mellow house beats combined with dim lights and hard wood paneling only add to the restaurants uber relaxed feeling. When our server arrived at the table, I had a hard time hearing anything that she said. The room had become quite loud. I guess the sake was kicking and my fellow diners where starting to become a little rowdy.

One of the restaurants big draws has to be its extensive sake cellar. Hard-to-find sakes are offered by the glass, bottle or flight. I decide to try the Luxury Flight, a mid level tasting. The sake came much like a wine fight, served in small glasses with a card explaining what you are drinking. I must say that I had never tried good cold sake before and was pleasantly surprised. All three were very smooth and pleasant to sip. It wasn’t long before I started to get the warm sake glow.

The Senora and I both had miso soup and shared some edamame as our starter. For our dinners, the senora had a salmon roll and a five piece sashimi, chef’s choice. I had the sixteen piece chef’s choice sashimi. Joe B and Bay Lady order three different kinds of house rolls, while Brother-In-Law-Foodblog had the Fudo Make and a tuna roll.

The fish was fresh and tasty like good sushi should be and was exactly what we expected. The Senora loved her roll and the fish. My sashimi was also outstanding. The cuts, a little small, were like heaven to my mouth. Unfortunately, I was so caught in with my meal and because I was having a hard time hearing anything our server said, I can’t tell you what I ate. Sadly, while we were eating, we received little service and our glasses went dry and stayed dry for most of the evening. When our server would notice our table and give us the time of day, it would take 15mins to get a refill of H2O or a bottle of beer. Senora Foodblog’s and my share of the meal came to $130.

Senor Foodblog says one spoon for Tsunami. I really liked the layout and the feel of the place. The food was wonderful and the sake so smooth. I can understand why Tsunami is so popular with the in crowd. If only the service was as good as the food, then the restaurant would be well worth all the hype. But until then it is nothing more than just another expensive place to eat and be seen. I guess Senora Foodblog and I are officially hipsters now…cool.