Minako Organic Japanese Restaurant
Categories: Sushi Bars, Japanese [Edit]
Neighborhood: Mission2154 Mission St
(between 18th St & Clarion Aly)
San Francisco, CA 94110 (415) 864-1888
- Hours:
Wed-Sun 5:30 p.m.-9:00 p.m. - Price Range: $$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: No
- Good for Kids: No
- Takes Reservations: No
- Delivers: No
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
- Outdoor Seating: No
- Good for: Dinner
- Alcohol: Beer & Wine Only
66 reviews
Neighborhood: Castro
"What a great neighborhood find. Daimaru had a simple yet satisfying menu to choose from. Fabulous food choices and a staff that knows how to…" read more »
162 Reviews for Minako Organic Japanese Restaurant
I love this place. And not because it is literally around the corner from my apartment, but it has great food, the sweetest staff and a LOT of vegan/veggie options.
The presentation is perfect and the specials mirror is a joy to look at.
Definitely good for a good mix of Japanese and San Francisco styles and another fun place to eat out in the Mission.
Minako Organic is not your average Japanese restaurant or sushi joint. Eclectic is the word I'd use to describe it, a very interesting fusion of Japan and San Francisco, but definitely good! The menus are hand-written and not very well organized but contain so many choices! There's even a little mirror of sticky notes with extra-special-specials. The age tofu and vegetable tempura were cooked to perfection and really tasty. The fish sushi special was good, definitely not at the same level as Koo or Eiji, but this isn't a sushi place. I'd absolutely recommend Minako to anyone wanting some good vegetarian Japanese food, a bowl of noodles, or just something different! I'll certainly be back.
Minako does have an inventive menu and a great beverage selection. The rolls we got were delicious. That said, the place seems a bit disorganized. The last time I was there they ran out of rice before closing time.
In terms of price, I think you're paying a significant premium for the organic ingredients. Did my taste buds detect all that organic goodness? Nope, only my wallet felt it.
I'd say the place caters to a niche customer - the vegan/vegetarian sushi lover. If I were entertaining a vegan/vegetarian friend who craved Japanese food, we'd maneuver around the crack hookers on Mission St. to get to Minako. I just wouldn't go out of my way to come here otherwise.
Pros:
- Hands down, this is the best Japanese food I've had in the city. Everything I've had there tastes amazing.
- Tons of vegan / vegetarian dishes that are actually inventive, and not just a variation on veggie tempura (which admittedly was the best tempura we'd ever had)
- The owner/waitress is really nice and takes time to explain your food options to you - we realized this is why the service ends up being really slow.
Cons:
- Doesn't take reservations, which leads us to...
- ...absurd wait during prime dining times (3 hours?!), and nowhere to wait because the restaurant is very cramped (or "cozy", take your pick) and if you wait outside on Mission street, you will be sereneded by crazy people mumbling to themselves, and it smells like pee.
- Bad location, see above
- Esoteric pricing schemes and missing prices on the menu, which is handwritten and while very artistic and pretty makes it difficult to actually choose what food you want.
- The waitress forgot TWO of the things we ordered.
- This place is CRAZY expensive. You can order three little courses and be set back like $50, not including beverage, easy. I ordered a bowl of plum soba soup thinking it would be something like a traditional miso bowl you get as part of a dinner order at a sushi place. It had no price on the menu, and it turned out it was $18 for a medium-sized bowl. $18. Turns out the pickled plums were pickling since 1982 (!) and they were "vintage" or something. Ok, it was delicious and I guess worth it, but come ON. A dinner order including small entree, soup, rice, and small salad starts at $22. I do think you get what you pay for, but be prepared.
I think a lot of confusion arises from the fact that that this restaurant appears humble and inexpensive and unpretentious yet is actually REALLY pretentious. Like a Ritz Carlton Hotel being located in the Tenderloin or something. But in the end, you do get what you pay for. Just go in with a fistful of dollas and a laid-back attitude and let yourself enjoy the delicious food.
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Hands down, best slices of hamachi I have ever tasted in my entire life! I don't know what was in the mint sauce but damn it was refreshing and buttery.
My friend who is vegan and uses no oil or wheat(she's has mild celiac's) in her cooking introduced me to this place. As an omnivore, I was apprehensive about it but everything was delicious and they had a wide variety of offerings. The miso soup was light and not overbearing. The salmon ume salad had the right amount of pucker to it. The owner's mom makes her own ume and I think ours was from the 1980something vintage. A vintage plum? I'll buy into that! The warm house sake that we drank really brought out the flavors of the salad.
Tofu napoleon looked bland but tasted so good as it soaked up all the sauce. My fish was fresh and delicious and the avocado roll must have had a whole avocado where most places skimp.
Only drawback is that I would have preferred the sushi rice to be warmer but still... not much to complain about. I would so go back again, and again, and again.
Ambiance and service:
Small homey place. Not good for groups of more than four. Service can be slow but it's attentive. You can't come here for a rush job so set your expectations appropriately. The price is in range as far as San Francisco is concerned. It's not cheap sushi boat but the quality is a hell of a lot better.
Calling all vegan and vegetarian Japanese food enthusiasts!!
If you've been longing to go out for Japanese w/ your non-v friends, but have gotten tired of the same ole avocado roll, and have shelled out your last $20.00 ever on veggie tempura, then do I have a place for you...Minako!
This joint has lots of yummy options that should keep all y'all Vs and your fish-eating posse happy. It's family run (as the other reviewers have noted), and is full of those quirky lil touches (like origami hanging from shelves and illustrated menus) that make this Japanese restaurant fit into its Mission digs like a bug in a rug.
Caution tho, the menu's pricing is *not* entirely clear. Case in point: I ended up shelling out over 25 buckeroos, when I thought I was only paying around 11. Not all that big of a deal, given that I had ordered an entree and appetizer, but still it wasn't all that fun to get a bill larger than I'd deduced beforehand.
Sooo, with that in mind, bone appetite!
Minako is one of my favorite restaurants in San Francisco.
Excellent selection of beautifully presented veggie/vegan rolls.
Not for the impatient and remember to close your menu when you're ready to order.
Contrast makes Minako the closest you will get to authentic Japan in the United States.
The contrast being the neighborhood. Along the gutter-like 17 & 18th St. blocks of Mission St you would expect nothing other than a heat lamp fried chicken/Chinese food dump.
As if an oasis pops up, you see the Japanese decor and bamboo of Minako. The place is small but evident as soon as you walk in is an atmosphere which is very Japan, not really Japanese, if you've ever been to Japan you will know what I'm talking about.
A family like atmosphere and even a bathroom worth mentioning create a place which is absolutely 1000% different from the neighborhood which it is set in.
Have a few good pieces of sushi, organic Japanese small dishes, and a couple of Asahis and just for a split second, you forget your in an area with more stabbings and shootings than good restaurants.
The staff is extremely friendly and the patrons are as well.
Take your first step outside the door and it will hit you, you're not in the streets of Tokyo, but the gutter which Minako made you forget all about for an hour or so.
Best Authentic Japanese Teishoku (set dinner)!
Never expected that most authentic japanese food to be in mission...
It is not like Japan town Teishoku, $10 with minimal quality and lots of food. In their food, you can actually taste the flavor of vegetable and fish, but it cost from $16-$20.
When you order dinner set, it comes with so many Kobachi (small plate). The small plate is better than the main dish. I think they know how to pick good ingredient and make the flavor of the ingredient shine with saddle flavoring rather than hide it with special sauce.
This place makes me want to go to Japan, so I cannot go too often. Their food makes me miss my mother without being broke like at Kappa.
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My Husband and I finally came to this neigborhood for dinner. And we are very much into organic/healthy cooking. In fact, I took a few Japanese Biofood cooking class from a Chef. With this said, my reviews are as follow:
We ordered:
Mint Hamachi ($15) - very innovative way to serve sushi, the mint gives the Hamachi a refreshing taste!
Grill Calamari ($13) - the squid was excellent, we had the sea salted type. The true taste of this seafood came out from the light grilling in sea salt. But if you like the heavily seasoned and deep-fried food, this is not the dish for you. I don't like my food too salty and heavy.
Corn Tempura ($7.5) - the corn was soooo fresh, when I bite down on it, the juice from the corn came out, I love it. It's like a corn fritter.
Wakame Soba ($15 or $17.50 for preordered homemade noodles)- the broth was just amazing! Very sweet flavored! It was so good that I have to ask the owner how they made it! I assumed something has to do with dried mushroom and something else.... And I was right! She was kind enough to actually show me what to put in, and how they made it! I even got to meet her Mom, who made everything there!
The reason for being 4 stars but not 5 is because of the price. It is not only $$ sign. It should be in $$$ sign. And some of the items weren't even priced. But if you look at all the other stuff on the menu, you will know that it is pricey!
Also, the neighborhood is not the best..... I won't wait outside because most people on the street either smell like pee, or they talk and spit like crazy......
PS, we came in on a Wednesday night, there were people, but no wait.
Otherwise, I was so happy! This place is very good. Specially for someone who cares and knows their food.
This is one of those no-frills places that is just about the food. I would call it "hole-in-the-wall" style in terms of location and ambiance, but you'd be surprised at how delicious and lovingly prepared the food was. The menu is hand-written and HUGE! Hands down, this is the best Japanese food I've ever tasted. It was also the most unique. I mean, almond-crusted-tofu--it doesn't get better than that!
Don't try coming here with a ton of people. There's no point. The place is tiny inside and even with a small group (3 people), we had to wait forever. Other than that, enjoy the "organic-ness" of this awesome restaurant.
SIMPLY GENIUS...
let your palate confirm it for you!
There's something very anime about this place-- i feel like i'm in a graphic novel when i come in to eat here. The food is creative and delightful and fresh. Veggies sing and fish sparkle. The rolls are huge and cartoon like and flavorful. The shelves in the back of the kitchen are stacked with home-made japanese pickled plums. The bathroom is an aquatic memory. You have to be willing to check your ego at the door of this small, slow, delicious place. If you aren't quirky, or if you like to press your personality into things rather than be receptive to oddity, this is not the place for you. Instead, you should leave it to us soft walkers and peaceful eaters.
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Cucumber rolls, avocado rolls and inari do not a veggie sushi menu make. Minako has pages and pages of veggie and vegan options that already have me planning on coming back to make my way through the menu piece by piece. The veggie eel rolls were definitely a highlight. Quirky music, a waitress with decided opinions on what you should order (which turned out tobe helpful in terms of deciding portion sizes), and a dictate to please close your menu when you're ready to order rounds out this lil mom and daughter joint.
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I've come to Minako three times and the food has been consistently fresh & delicious. My friend introduced me to this place and I really love the atmosphere. The owner, Minako, is very friendly and personable. I recently came here with my honey and he liked it a lot too. The avo-tempura roll, toro sake sashimi and vegetarian unagi are excellent. The restaurant is pretty small, so you should expect to wait if you come after 6pm. Overall, if you're looking for a cute authentic Japanese restaurant, go to Minako! :)
Minako divides people because it defies description. Once you know Minako and her mother, Yoko, eating here is an experience unlike any other.
Some don't's: don't come here in a hurry, don't measure this place against other sushi places (it's a neighborhood bistro crossed with a japanese restaurant), don't be too hard on the servers (they have a hard job trying to be stand-in Minako's).
Some do's: expect to be delighted by the way they make/serve dishes you've had elsewhere (like Nasu Dengaku, Spicy Tuna Rolls), get to know Minako, talk to the folks at the next table (they're probably interesting and also FOM), have your kids meet Yoko (she's incredibly kind/generous).
I can't remember what's it's like to come here for the first time and just evaluate the food. I know that's what made us come back, but the full experience of sitting for hours and soaking in the quirky ambiance of this mother/daughter creation is a one of a kind experience.
I'm rating this place an "are you kidding me"?
I'm not sure why everyone is raving about this place. Service was very awkward and uncomfortable. I asked for recommendations and the waitress couldn't answer our questions. The food was just okay, but way overpriced ($17 for 4 slices of hamachi sashimi in mint sauce?). In addition, the fish was not fresh.
For those people who have not had that much experience with japanese food, this place may seem very "missiony," "cool" and "organic", but I think it takes more than a divy looking restaurant with an organic menu to warrant good reviews. There are plenty of places that are organic that just don't advertise it that way.
My sense is that vegans are excited about it since there is a special vegan menu, but for others, there are plenty of other great places in the city that have the same atmosphere.
This place is way off the mark. I actually find it a little creepy given the weird menus and the server that has a tendency to be curt, walk away randomly, and hug random people as they are coming and going.
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DON'T TRUST THE OTHER REVIEWS
I can't believe the reviews this place has gotten. NO WAY! My best guess is that the 4 to 5 star ratings have been artificially obtained by friends of the owner (see below). The service, food, and value are simply atrocious.
The problem with this place starts from the beginning. I walked in around 7:15pm on a Thursday to see three empty tables. Surprisingly, we were quoted a wait time of 45 minutes. The owner has this bizarre system of keeping the wait list. We decided to wait anyways since it must be good with that kind of wait. We sat down at 8pm... but we didn't get our menus for nearly thirty minutes. By 9pm, we were finally asked for our orders. Can you believe it took an hour to actually order! However, everyone else in the restaurant seemed to be on a first-name basis with the owner and received much better service (hence, my theory that the ratings are artificial). Anyways, my wife ordered veggie food and I ordered fish. Unfortunately, all my food came out first (around 9:20) and my wife's came out twenty minutes later. The waitress knew my wife was eating only veggie food; how hard could it have been to serve both of us at the same time?
I wish I could say the food redeemed this place but NOT EVEN CLOSE!
To be fair the hamachi in mint sauce and hamachi crudo salad were very good but the tofu dumpling soup, grilled calamari, veggie rolls, and teriyaki tofu were plagued with blandness and were completely forgettable.
Worst of all, the prices were horrible. This is one of the places that have a lot of interesting specials without prices listed. They hope you don't feel comfortable enough to ask so that they can gouge you at the end. Each hamachi dish was $15 for 4-5 pieces! The two small pieces of teriyaki tofu was $10. The bill for the two of us was $90 for the food I listed above with one beer. I wish I had the courage to tip 0.01, but I couldn't. But, easily this was the worst 100 dollar meal I have ever had in my entire life!!!
Please don't trust the other reviews. Go to Ariake, Kabuto, Kiss, Sushi Bistro, Koo ... just to name a few places that are light-years better for less money.
To Summarize:
1. SERVICE -- 1 star -- bizarre wait list, extremely slow service,
preferential treatment to the owner's "friends"
2. FOOD -- 2 star -- mostly bland, tasteless dishes except for the hamachi
sashimi plates which were really good.
3. VALUE -- 1 star -- Jacking up the prices for the specials without letting the customer know, way over priced veggie rolls.
This was, hands down, the worst dining service I've ever had in my entire life. This actually beats the time one of the chefs at Denny's chased after me with a butcher knife.
Their time estimation for seating was way off. They said 10-15 minutes, which turned out to be 30-35 minutes. We were waiting for a table for two, but a group of 5 suddenly shows up, hugs the waitress (she apparently knew more than half the goddamn place), and they get seated immediately. She then comes up to us and hands us menus and states that we "should order some appetizers if we want to get our order before this large group, otherwise our food will take a long time," Thanks for that. Really.
We finally sit down, order our food. She asks me what I would like to drink. I look at the menu, look up to answer her question, only to find she has turned her back on me to talk to some people who just walked in the door. She's also never heard of writing in short hand, as she told me to "hold on" after every single item I asked for. She runs off, our drinks arrive with one appetizer.
At this point, I was already calculating in my head how this place would rate on Yelp, and why the hell it had a 4 star review to begin with. The food would have to be nothing short of amazing to save it from my wrath.
15 years later, all the food appeared at once, including the second appetizer we had ordered. By this time, my stomach had decided to eat itself to ward off hunger, so I couldn't finish the sushi, which was average at best. We asked for the bill, and it came rather quickly, but we were shocked to see that it was $72! I expect those kind of prices at Blowfish Sushi to Die For, but not at some little shithole that serves sushi that Safeway could beat. Not only that, but the bill contained some ads and product information for a UMPC. What the hell is that shit? You want me to pay for this crap AND buy a goddamn ultra-mobile computer? You're lucky I didn't jump across all these tables and cut your throat (thank you There Will Be Blood for this great line).
The bill sat on the table, credit card waiting to be swiped, for at least a millennia. They even cleaned the table and removed the plates, but just left the bill sitting there. Our waitress sat with two people who seemed to know the employees, one of which had the worst fucking scenester myspace haircut with a terrible mustache. I wanted to walk over there, grab the guys head, and just cut his hair the fuck off. She just sat there, talking, as I stared with hate in my eyes. They finally picked up the bill and returned promptly for me to sign.
I tipped $0.01.
I am adding this to my list of places to burn down when the Revolution comes, because anyone with this bad of service doesn't deserve to have a restaurant anywhere. These people should be run out of town.
This makes me miss Country Station even more.
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I live at the top of a big hill overlooking San Francisco. And on top of my big hill, I often stand outside and scream: "I love MINAKO!"
Best restaurant ever.
Sometimes I just want to take all of Minako's awesomeness and smash it into a bazillion pieces, so that I can share it with the world and make the world a better place. Just close your menu when you are ready to order, gently tap your foot to the rock and roll, and relax...
My standard order (bring a friend!):
1. Miso Soup
2. Avo Tempura Roll
3. Iggy Maki
4. A new rad vegan dish every single time oh my god I love this place.
Minako is the stuff that dreams are made of.
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This is the Mission... I came expecting two-star Japanese food.
Man, what a shocker. I was so amazingly wrong.
I'm extremely picky about my Japanese food. Minako blew me away.
Dinner:
saba shioyaki teishoku
grilled tako
unagi jive ass roll
The best part of my meal was the assorted tsukemono with the teishoku -- absolutely amazing flavors. They pickle all the stuff there (and you can see it all in assorted jars if you are on the way to the restroom (which is too cute for words)). And the shiitake miso shiru was the best miso shiru I've yet found in a Bay Area restaurant.
The saba? Decent, but cold. Definitely pre-grilled -- the entire meal was pretty much pre-prepared. The grilled tako was probably a misnomer. It was mostly red bell pepper and sesame seed. The tako was thrown in for only a minute -- no smokey grilly flavor, just pure bell pepper flavor. Interesting, but not what I expected.
And the jive ass roll? Very tasty, and exactly what you'd expect to find -- if you like chicken teriyaki and sake bombs and avocado, this is what you want to order. =)
If you want real Japanese food, you can find it here -- I highly recommend getting one of the teishoku so you can try out the assorted oden veggies and tsukemono. And if you want Whitey American food, you can also find it here. Overall, four stars for the food -- five if they actually made the food when you ordered, which probably doesn't work out so well in this very low, low volume mom-and-daughter restaurant. (Pricey for the servings: appetizer, entree, and drinks will come out to around $40ish.)
The service? Er, I'd subtract two stars if I could, but the food's too good. Honestly, the girl there, I guess the owner's daughter, is not cut out at all to be a waitress. Not outright rude, but definitely one of the worst waitresses I've ever had. Terrible.
And a P.S. You can find the same type of food (shoujin ryouri) Chaya serves down the street. But Chaya (Cha-Ya) is horrible. Horrendous. Minako is so much better, but gets less business. Go here.
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Crikey!
Big ass organic rolls.
Great homemade organic Miso Soup.
Delicious organic Corn Tempura.
Freshest fish EVAH, ma-lady.
I could go on and on and on and on. The only thing I was disappointed in was the fact that I lived around the corner from this place for almost two years without knowing it existed. Quite possibly the best Japanese restaurant in Northern California. Seriously. Don't fuck with the waitresses - don't sit down before they seat you and DO NOT order with an open menu or they'll go Kung Fu Hustle on your ass. As my friend put it, the place is very "process driven." They have a vision and you'd better abide it. Get past all the tomfoolery and hi-jinks and you'll have yourself a 5-star spectacular meal. No joke, go, NOW.
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1. If you like your food to arrive slowly and randomly, Minako is your place. We had three people in our "party." One ordered the salmon, one ordered some sushi, and the other ordered the udon. First came the sushi after about fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes after that came the salmon, and finally, nearly forty minutes later, and after everyone had eaten, did the bowl of udon arrive.
2. The food was average, and the service was terrible. I didn't feel like they were prepared to actually cook anything in that kitchen.
3. The decor was very hipster. The artwork was nice. The menu's were handwritten, and they were playing the Strokes. Even the patrons were so classic hipster, that it felt like they were just there for decoration too.
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The food is pretty good here, they have a great vegetarian / vegan selection which is why I came back. My favorite item was the Tofu House which was a hollowed out block of tofu with good stuff in it. I was so excited to go back. A friend and I went back after work one day and I began to order. After ordering, the waitress said, "do you realize that 3 out of the 4 things you just ordered are fried?" I said yes I knew that and that's one of the main reasons I ordered them. She made me feel so self conscious about my choices and I didn't want to make eye contact with her while eating my fried food. My friend started ordering and she said "let me stop you, you are ordering a lot of food, you might want to start with that and go from there". My friend declined and continued to order. When the food came it was not as good as the first time. I had an avocado tempura roll that tasted like hot mush. Even though some of the food was grossing me out, I decided that I would finish all of it just to prove her wrong that we had ordered too much. I felt like I was in an eating contest. I was so full but just kept trying to finish as she paced back and forth judging. When I just couldn't eat anymore I asked for the bill. She said, "do you want a box?" I said no. She said, "oh, you ordered too much food?" I was too full to think of anything to come back with so I just ignored her. The food is pretty good but I prefer to eat without judgment.
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The vibe here is quirky, welcoming and edgy in a very California way. Part of the experience of dining in this somewhat 'sushi nazi-esque' restaurant is learning some of the eccentricities. For example, if you want to be seated, you must proceed directly to the counter next to the fridge in the back . (Something they let you figure out for yourself.) Once seated, you must make your decisions and close the menu. Your table will simply not be approached while anyone's menu remains open.
Now, onto the food: The menu consists of seemingly endless selections of small plates, teriyaki, marinated broiled fish and sushi and sashimi. While I am not vegetarian, I was impressed to see over a page dedicated to vegan maki and vegetarian sushi. (The Green River roll, made with spicy vegan unagi, is quite tasty.) In addition, they have a wide selection of cooked things, more imaginative than your standard tonkatsu and tempura. We also enjoyed sampling a few of the organic sakes.
Overall, everything here is quite homey and personal, from the service to the hand-drawn menus to the over-sized rolls. Why not a full five stars? This place is strictly a mother-daughter operation, so not only do things go a little slow , timing is a little off as well. Luckily, I was dining with someone I enjoy talking to. . .
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This is a dream. For real.
You know that scene in Wong Kar Wai's "In the Mood for Love," where Tony Leung whispers a secret into a hole in the wall.? I feel like this restaurant is a little like that.
It's like time stops: you're at home but you're not too. Clean minimal furniture and sharpie scribbles and drawings, paper lights on the ceiling and a soft punk rock song on the radio...
Bring some close friends and order to share.
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Super sweet family owned/runned! You have to be polite and patient to get the right treatment....just like in any other situation. Stop complaining people! A true gem hidden in the heart of the mission.
Foodgasm and a half!
If i were going to be told I were going to die tomorrow and could choose my meals for the next day, I would like dinner here, please.
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the food is pretty good. the prices don't reflect the portions. the last time i was there is THE last time i'll go there. we sat down and no one came to us for 25 minutes. no drinks, nothing. then all these burning man people came in and got hugs and food before we did. then some cops came in and got hugs. i don't like burning man and i sure as hell don't like cops, or seeing my waitress hug four cops. gross. thanks, hehe but no thanks. i'll stick with my go to spot. sorry for betraying you "go to" spot, i won't do it again.
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I'm particularly fond of long dinners, the kind that last a couple hours, with good company, good conversation, and Minako is the kind of place where this is possible. It is a sushi place where - if you're lucky enough to get a table (small!) - you HAVE to share everything, or else you run the risk of one person's food coming out long before your own. The place has character through and through, and Judy, the daughter of the mother/daughter duo, was quirky but frank. When I tried to order the Edamame, she said "No, it's too soft now, it's no good." You can't beat that honesty.
For sushi, everything tasted distinctly different and incredibly fresh. The portions were bigger than your average sushi joint, to the point that you're better off disassembling the rolls and breaking it down smaller (this is done for a reason, ask Judy, she will explain the thought process behind this). I recommend trying the Tako Nigiri, the Reyes Maki, the...everything.
The prices are steep, although not unreasonable if you come here on special occasions. Be warned: the seating system can be hectic; they have limited hours and what looks like a great reputation, so tables disappear quickly. Call ahead to make sure they can accommodate you and your party.
Verdict? I will be back to this place. Many, many times.
Ordered some takeout. The miso was fantastic (better than Nobu). The spicy tuna roll was average. Unagi was great. Tempura shrimp roll was good.
In general, nothing blew my socks off except the price but given that it's less than a block from my house, I'll be back.
Yummy food. I eat there with my friends who are regulars when I have the chance. Not often enough!
My girlfriend and I love this place. The food is always delicious, and the selection is great. The sake black cod is our favorite; it's on the specials menu but we've gotten it twice now, so who knows. While we do like to get sushi over at Ryoko's, I don't bother eating anywhere else when I'm in the mood for home cooked Japanese food. If you want more than cookie cutter teriyaki and tempura you're going to love Minako. Though the price is a little high, I personally feel it's worth it for the quality.
Warning: the sushi rolls are the size of my fist. This is my new favorite neighborhood Japanese restaurant. The wait staff is super friendly and our waitress recognized and greeted my friend as neighborhood regular. The standard items on the menu are great but you MUST try whatever they have on special for the night because those dishes are sublime. We had a hamachi in 3 mint sauce that was orgasmic. The sashimi was fresh and cut generously. I was so happy to see Hijiki, and BBQ abalone, BBQ tako, grilled Ika (spicy miso or salted) as well as an extensive vegan menu. I'm coming here at least 2x a month from now on. Aside from the yummy food its nice to meet up with the other regulars.
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It has been years since I've had an orgasmic sushi experience and this was it. A friend and I discovered Minako quite by accident in the Mission while trying to find grub. It's not in the best parts of the mission but so worth waiding through misterious puddles of I don't know what to get to this place.
They weren't open yet and we waited for about 15 minutes. The place is super small and intimate. There is only about a dozen tables in the place so you may want to call ahead. And going at opening seemed to be key to getting quick service.
Everything was awesome. And for once, I was satisfied for hours afterwords. I'd comment on my order but it slipped my mind. I wil say it's good, good stuff.
Another place where I ask myself, what am I missing here? If this is some people's "favorite Japanese restaurant," then how come I find it very mediocre and pricey?
Did I enter a parallel universe where I missed the small print next to the restaurant name: beware, this is the OPPOSITE of the real Minako restaurant!? I didn't have to wait at all when I went there on a rainy weekday evening. The place was almost empty. Judy wasn't THAT friendly. I have had warmer nameless waitresses at other restaurants. And the sushi we ordered were portioned ridiculously. Did they accidentally stuffed in two avocados instead of one? For a 4-piece sushi, I say that's too much avocado. I must admit the udon soup was delicious. But that's before I realized it was like $16. For a bowl of udon soup? I could've gotten a better bowl of udon soup at Chika for $7.
I am afraid to go back to find myself enter some sort of Miyazaki world where giant avocados threaten to suffocate me and I drown in the udon soup that charges multiples of $16 every 2 seconds.
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Tried to go here several times. This place is very tiny, so there's always a wait for a table. The first time we went, it was 8:45, but they wouldn't let us in because they said they were closed (sign says closed at 9 PM.)
Second time ... we went at 7:45 and we got our name on the list; they told us it would be ~45 minutes for a table, so went around the corner to Little Baobab to get a cocktail, and gave them our cell # so they could call us when our table was ready ... well, 45 minutes passed and no word from them, so we walked over there and they had given our table away - without calling us - and said they were closed, again. (It was 8:40 at this point. Sign still said "closed at 9.)
Third time ... exact same thing happened again as happened the second time.
Screw these people. Not going back again - why bother? They're in a really shitty part of the Mission right next to Shooter's Alley.
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3.5 stars. It was pretty good. Affordable rolls and nasu dengaku (deep fried eggplant with miso sauce) was really good. I wasn't really impressed by Hijiki salad, I can make it better. Overall, the food was decent for pricing.
