No doubt about it, Koo excels at serving fresh sushi and sashimi. Chef/owner Kiyoshi Hayakawa (Sushi Ran, Ace Wasabi’s,Tokyo GoGo) turns out fresh fish with daily specials out of his simple, clean digs on Irving Street. They have fusion dishes, too, but the sushi bar items are really their strong suit. Service here is courteous and efficient. They have a nice selection of sake and my husband likes the fact that they serve Asahi Black which is pretty hard to find at many restaurants in SF.

Be forewarned that parking can be difficult in the neighborhood, especially on weekend nights, and it can be tough to get a table if you don’t plan ahead. Just be sure to make reservations and give yourself extra time to park.

We recently discovered that they don’t like to do substitutions. My son wanted to have white rice instead of potatoes with his chicken teriyaki but they said they couldn’t do it. So, we had to order a bowl of rice on the side.

Still, this is one of my favorite places to go for sushi with my husband and friends.

While many of the dishes here were good, it was the Spoonful of Happiness dish that will make this a memorable eating experience for me. It’s actually 2 spoonfuls of happiness, accompanied by a sweet sake shot. One spoonful contains 2 large chunks of uni, a quail egg, and tobiko swimming in a pool of ponzu, while the other contains some perfect ankimo, wrapped in whitefish, drizzled with truffle oil. It is heavenly! though this is a starter, we wished it was served at the end of the meal, so we could savor the flavor all night!

As for the other food, it was all good, and fairly priced – not cheap, but not expensive either. I’ve heard some great things about the omakase, served at the sushi bar, and definitely would like to go back and try it. The rolls were unusual and creative. A little on the small side, but I prefer that so I can try more things. Their “catch of the day” sushi menu contained some unusual fish that I’ve never seen before (e.g., mexican black sea bass). The only sushi I had on this trip was the Kona Kanpachi, and it was good… but wasn’t amazing. So I’m not quite sure how much I enjoy the sushi/sashimi here yet, but it’s a good place for rolls and japanese small dishes. They also have some nice girly sakes, like their Lychee Sake. That was nice, light, and sweet. Hardcore sake drinkers will probably just think it tastes like juice, but I liked it.

The restaurant is small and cozy, but unlike most Japanese restaurants, they do take reservations, which is great. I came here on a Thursday evening following the July 4th holiday, and it was full pretty much the whole time, but there wasn’t a line of people waiting, so walk-ins are probably fine on weeknights. I called for a reservation at 5:30 pm the day of and got one easily.

The only thing negative about this place is that they are a little low on staff – it could be b/c of the holiday people were on vacation, but though service was friendly, they were a little slow.

Overall, really enjoyed this place and look forward to trying more things off the menu! And a few more spoonfuls of happiness.

Yes – this is one of the best sushi’s I’ve had in the States – brings back memories of having sushi in the Tokyo Tsukiji Fish market! We were lucky to be served by the owner and had the Omakse. The “Spoonful of Happiness” dish was amazing – there were layers and layers of flavors that explodes in your mouth. Highly recommend the restaurant!!!