First Seating at Saru Sushi
You hear of good sushi places all the time. And if you’re like me, you have a bit of skepticism. But when it came to Saru Sushi, it wasn’t how many people said it was amazing, it was who, plenty of fellow skeptics and food snobs. And after coming here, I get it, it’s good. It’s real good. You have to appreciate the creations and flavors they put together and you’ll fall in love with this place.
We got the fifteen minutes before they opened and already a few people were there with the same idea. First seating. And this was a Tuesday.
Once they opened we were seated right away. They had a couple seats outside and next to the window, but we chose the bar. Meeting the sushi chefs would be a good idea for future visits. The pair next to us already made that connection. And from what I saw, their nigiri omakase set included some very unique courses. As you may have guessed, I’ll have to come back to do the same. Not to say our set wasn’t great. It was and included some unique fish I haven’t had, wild and young. Yeah, we’re still talking about sushi here.
Although each of us got the nigiri tasting, $60USD for 12 kinds, we added a couple of other dishes we read about, the tasting spoons and the himachi truffle. With that and one more round of nigiri, I left fulfilled. I should note that I was starving before dinner and I ate more than I normally do. Not bad filling your belly with high quality food. Great job chefs. Ill see you soon for the advanced course.
Saru Sushi
3856 24th Street
San Francisco, CA 94114
+1 415-400-4510
http://akaisarusf.com/
Verdict: You want to taste some fine sushi, come here and have their sushi omakase.
I didn’t catch the name of this one, even after our waitress repeated it to me several times. It got to the point that I didn’t want to ask anymore. Obviously something I never had before.
This was my favorite for tonight, albacore belly. That’s right, the fattiest part of white tuna which puts it in the category of other toro. So delicate, so soft, so good to eat.
I love the selection of fish here. Here we have wild young yellowtail. Delish!
Sea bream was a nice starter for our final leg. The daikon topping didn’t take away from the fish and the nikiri complimented the fish quite well.
And finally, the last plating. Sorry, the evening lighting was changing and I didn’t adjust my camera correctly. So these last few photos will look a bit off color. Still won’t stop me from writing about the food.
I couldn’t finish the night without a little Japanese sea urchin. It comes as one serving without any nori. Not that I was complaining. After this, I was a happy little kid.
$9.00USD
There may be a bit of controversy here, because I took note that this was yellow tail from our waiter. However, as I was sitting there and even now when I’m writing this up, I didn’t think this was hamachi. The colors are more closer to shima aji. Not that I’m an expert. Good nonetheless.
Firm to almost a crisp, the surf clam was there to keep pace with the sleuth of fish we had. Sure, it’s not a fish, but who cares. My taste buds were having a field day.
Look at the little lines in this medium fatty tuna. Almost could have gone without the coat of nikiri.
Young wild red snapper. Super clean taste and no issues with the skin.
Within 5 minutes of finishing the first round, the chef prepares us yet another beautiful plating.
Ending the first serving was simply salmon belly. No need to top this. The chef is letting all the natural fatty oils flavor this one. There may be a light coating of nikiri.
Another wonderfully prepared piece of sushi. Spanish mackerel topped with something I should have asked the chef about. Well, that’s one more reason to come back.
I really loved this one. Lean tuna with some magical yuzu topping that made my eyes widen and my body freeze as everything was focused on what I was consuming. Lean tuna was always a bit bland for me. This was completely different.
Starting our evening journey was Japanese sea bass. I didn’t see it on the menu, so it must be their special selection. I’ve had sea bass before but the way it was season gave me quite a surprise. Hats off to the chef for leading off with wonderful flavors.
Look at this beauty. And to think, we will get two more of these. My inner food porn junkie was going nuts.
The chef generously added this to our meal, cucumber salad topped with crab meat. It’s served cold and the cucumbers were refreshingly crisp.
This was good. Seared yellow tail highlighted with truffle oil made each bite tasty. However, a few weeks ago I had a similar dish at another restaurant. I won’t name it yet because I need to go back to get a formal review in (what it really means is that I need better photos). Anyways, the hamachi truffle at the other place came with a slice of black truffle. Talk about ruining myself for this dish. It’s still good though.
$15.0USD
I didn’t actually have this one, my friend tried it and said it was good. Looks yummy. Maybe we should have ordered the same thing.
$7.00USD/2 spoons
Seared monkfish liver in a garlic ponzu sauce. This would be the correct serving size for me when it comes to ankimo. But I have to say the sear does make this taste better.
$7.00USD/2 spoons