TiffanyChang

The food was heavenly at kiss. The prix fix I ordered was a 6 course dinner, including pickled goods, sushi, sashimi, grilled fish, some cold noodle and miso soup at the end. There was also this soft tofu stew thingy with fish that was so effing good that I couldn’t stop eating and almost burnt my tongue. The meal was $42, and my friend and I split a large Sapporo, and a raw octopus sashimi appetizer (never had RAW octopus, though it was only so-so). On my part I paid $70. I almost never over tip but I felt the mom and pop team working the entire restaurant deserved it.

The price was on the expensive side for me, but once in a while it is totally doable, given the experience was so amazingly positive last night.

Reservation is a must because they only do two rounds of seating every night, and they easily turn away customers without reservation. They gauge cooking time to accept your omakase orders. And it makes sense, because even the miso soup was made right in front of me, with extra goodies in it.

Contrary to the Yelp reviews on its service, I had a fantastic experience (hence the over-tipping). The wife/waitress was very accommodating when my friend needed to change her order, and never rushed us to finish up when other customers showed for their reservation.

Is it ironic that all the food tend to be a little too salty? Didn’t like the foie gras there. Didn’t like the detached service. The food was quite forgettable, as i have no more to write about this place.

Loved all the raw fish dishes. Excellent cocktails. Gracious hostess and a nice view into the kitchen.

True fine dining experience. Loved everything when i was there. Maybe except for the bill.

Good enough ramen, better grilled Izakaya items, and mediocre service.

I go there (or used to go there when my rent was cheaper at a few blocks away from the restaurant) for the guarantee on certain items I love so much. Black cod. Live scallops. The entire Aji prepared from head to tail. Incomparably fresh Uni (or live Uni from time to time, if you’re lucky ). And once in a while I throw in Kobe beef sashmi and some salmon belly. Or any other interesting fish that is on the special board that day. I have not been disappointed.

To be able to indulge ridiculously fresh fish that many other restaurants will just outrightly tell you that they don’t have it because people don’t eat that here… I don’t consider the price at Ebisu ridiculously high.

Value is the reason I come back here over and over.

The sashimi dinner combo has to be the best deal you can find in SF. Nice, large pieces of raw fish, rice, salad, miso, and complimentary ice cream at the end for under $20. The chef is willing to substitue certain fish that I don’t like (squid and red tuna), and the staple fish items such as salmon, red snapper, white tuna, and (occasionally) butterfish or bonito are all very good (not of top grade, but very fresh).

Good place for a low-key dinner by myself, usually accompanied with iPod and gossip magazines.

In searching for a good neighborhood sushi place, I think I have come close. It has all the elements that Ebisu did when I was a regular: Family owned, interesting items on the special board, first-name basis with customers, and chatty sushi chefs.

However, the decor is odd… does it turn into a piano bar at some point of the night? The price is a bit stiff too… which places this place more on a 3.5 star than a 4. I hit close to $50.00 and I didn’t even have the giant clam (it ran out). The hostess/daughter of the owner was sweet enough to give me some robata item on the house that looked like chicken or squid, until I realized was oysters (quite good). The agedashi tofu was also very good (I like it when restaurants prepare simple dishes to perfection). Fish was good, but once again, pricier than it should be. An interesting surprise: small pieces of lime on top of Kanpachi. I was a little turned off by the sight of it… (“That’s not Japanese…”) But the flavor (very subtle hints of lime) was amazing. It hit all the right notes in my mouth. Which reminds me of the popular comic book “Shota No Sushi”, that innovative ingredients can be used to create something not quite traditional, but still tasty.

I came to this place a long time ago, for an event called “sushi mixer.” Ah, the good old early 2000s when people were so into meeting and mingling through online social networking… Anyway, I remember the food to be excellent, back in 2004 or so.

My recent visit (last Friday) proved me that the food was still amazing. Again, I love a special board busy with interesting fish items all over it. Even for salmon, we got to pick from a variety of three (NICE). Very good food and reasonable price (as written on the board). Young Hamachi (inada) is one of my favorites and I was a very happy person when I chowed it down within 5 seconds. And since I was with company, I was open to trying out rolls as well. The “I Hate Salmon Roll” was actually not bad. Though my preference still lies with the various nigiri we got.

One point deducted for service: When arriving, at least 3 servers passed by us without even the slightest gesture to acknowledge us. A party of two snatched seats before us even though we had reservation. Service was very disconnected and scattered.

Greasy and salty, you’ll have your low and dirty culinary cravings satisfied here, best after hours. From peppered shrimp to hollow-stem spinach with garlic, you cannot go wrong. Family style or a la carte on the soup noodle or rice plate, either way works well for me. Cheap, fast, and minimal customer service. Where else can one be accepted at 2AM with an empty stomach and pocket change? Hing Lung is the answer.