6 PM Seating at Hinata

There are two things I love and one thing I wish they can do at Hinata Sushi. First, the quality of food at the price point for their omakase. You can’t find a new sushi restaurant focused on quality without charging you over $120, but this place does. And they do it without cutting corners. Just look at that fish below. Next, the atmosphere. When you first walk in and see the space, you’ll wonder why they don’t try and cram more tables in like every other place trying to survive their lease. Nope, not here. There’s the sushi bar and a few tables off to the side. And what a better way to experience everything than to be closer to the lively sushi chefs. You guessed it, they are talkative and they do liven up the place. This made for a wonderful night.

So what’s the thing I wish they could change? Well, it’s really out of their control and more of user error. It’s the fact that they are right next to another sushi place with a similar name. I thought it was the place and had me worried that I sent all my friends to the wrong address. Yeah, I didn’t see the big blacked out door with the sign on it. I can’t complain. User error.

Hinata has only two seatings, one at 6:00pm and another at 8:30pm. Reservations ahead of time is a must and do read their cancellation policy.

Once we got seated and acquainted with our friendly chef and staff, we noticed the refinements of the establishment. Like the self-selection of sake glasses and the wet nap, in case you wanted to eat with your hands. Then there was the prep work which was done in front of you. Letting you see the precision of each chef and the dish they were preparing. We got their omakase for $78 which included appetizers, twelve pieces of nigiri, soup, and dessert. Nice price huh?

Overall the food and people were great. This is definitely the type of establishment I would go to over and over again. Block out two hours for dinner and be prepared for a fun night.

Hinata Sushi

810 Van Ness Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94109
+1 (415) 829-8291
hinatasf.com

Verdict: I highly recommend this place for the great sushi and atmosphere.

Then for the finale was the dessert, panna cotta with Okinawa black sugar syrup. Call me a cab, I’m done for tonight.

Finishing up the course was the fish broth with red miso, nameko mushroom, and mitsuba. A solid bowl of soup.

Oops, there’s another uni offering which was their otoro seared with sea urchin. Looks at that masterpiece. I actually didn’t order this but witnessing trusting my company, this is going to be something I’ll have to order next time.

Then there’s the Hokkaido short spine uni topped with gold flakes as well. And no, this wasn’t what made this one so good. It’s the Hokkaido sea urchin which makes this so wonderful. $11 USD

Next was the Hokkaido uni. This was the deep sea uni packed in sea water topped with gold flakes. It gives you more taste of the sea. Pretty good, but I like it more without the briny taste of the ocean. $12 USD

I decided to try all three of their uni offering. First was the uni from Santa Barbara. So good! $8 USD

Finishing off the sushi journey of the omakase were these cured salmon roe on top of rice. It’s a small amount given before your soup and dessert. However, we wanted to try their uni.

Onto their amazing zuke which isn’t just soy sauce cured tuna, but with fatty tuna. Now, this type of zuke is what I can be a fan of.

Then it was off to the once again flavorful world. Here we have the smoked Spanish mackerel topped with cherry stems.

Having the sweet fish next helped bring us back from that volcanic journey back into the ocean.

And here’s the torched Japanese Barracuda, always a tasty treat. The cut what thin with a focus on more of that toasted skin.

Their cut of striped jack was thick and was quite a mouthful of that buttery taste.

Here’s a cut of baby red snapper topped with dehydrated egg yolk. Beautiful and delicious piece. And I hope I got that topping name correct.

Now, this was interesting, the Japanese sardine. I’ve had this before in Japan recently and was expecting to see its shiny skin. Apparently, it’s not served that way here and the taste was much more delicate, without that salty tanginess.

I used to be a huge fan of Albacore tuna when I first got into sushi. Then it died off after experiencing all the other types of fish available. This came with a bit of nostalgia, though it’s prepared by the hands of an expert here.

Look at that bluefin tuna, such a deep red hue.

Next up was the artic char presented with more of the skin side than I’ve seen before. Thankfully, that didn’t take away from the taste I love.

The start of the sushi was amberjack, topped with some sudachi zest.

Starting off the night were some wonderful assortment of seafood. Going clockwise from the top, we have snow crab with Japanese cucumber and kumquat, sho-yu braised octopus, Shigoku oyster with caviar, and seared Hokkaido scallop with miso aioli. My favorite here was the oyster.

Of course, we had to have some sake with our meal. And lucky for us, my friends at the other table sent us over this bottle. It was quite a bit for the two of us. But I have to say, it was a very smooth and easy to drink sake. Sorry, I don’t know the name of it even though it’s right here in the picture.For all those who can read, here you go.