Tekka Japanese Restaurant, San Francisco CA

Terrible experience — for anyone who tries to visit: the owner is disrespectful to people waiting in line & they allow people they know to get in the line.

We waited in line for one and a half hour in a cold winter night. The moment we entered, a man who none of the people in line had seen entered the restaurant and took the seat that’s supposed to be ours. The owner said that person was in line “before” us, while none of us had seen that person. This is a similar experience as another person who visited this restaurant and left a similar review.

What disappoints me the most is that for the whole waiting time, the owner didn’t bother coming out to check on the people waiting outside to at least let us know earlier where the line will cut. Instead, she let us wait for ONE AND A HALF hour, just to tell us that we could not enter. This is disrespectful to people’s time. Even worse, her attitude was unapologetic and instead blamed that we didn’t come earlier.

This is a very disappointing experience and I will not visit ever again.

Vibes: 3
Food: 2.5
Service: 3.5
Overall: 3

My experience here just wasn’t good. I went with two friends on a Thursday night for dinner. Inside was partially full. Outside also had people seated but I wouldn’t describe it as packed.

One friend and I got the tasting dinner. The other friend didn’t and her food arrived a full 20 mins before ours. People want to eat together. Once our meal arrived, it was just not great. Too much fish compare to the rice and the fish was not the freshest.

Such an amazing experience. The chefs are lovely and the ambience is awesome. Everything is simply sooo good. Would definitely come again.

They have a wait list and a line. And people on the wait list get in ahead of the people waiting in line. So just because it seems like you’ll make it in for the limited seating, doesn’t mean it will actually work out.

Small place but definitely one of the must try dining experience.
I came to wait on line around 5pm on a Thursday and there was already someone ahead of me and my friend. But the wait was a great experience as we manage to chat with everyone waiting on line:).

If you can get it you should always get the limited item. But you have to be first/ second in line since the quantity for limited item is limited to one per day. We manage to only grab the salmon collar, but the couple that was first in line who grabbed two of the limited dish was kind enough to let my friend and I try the salmon skin they ordered which is amazing! (Best couple ever!) The soft shell crab is great too.
All the serving size is huge. I recommend getting sashimi platter for one to share with two people (lots of groups of two ask for to go boxes because sashimi platter for two is just too much) and get the eel and scallop nigiri.

Overall, I can say that this is the best dining experience I have. It’s a small place and we end up striking conversations with everyone around the table. It feeling like we are eating dinner with a group of friends instead of random stranger in a store. The couple who owns the store really feels like they do this out of passion. They are so kind and put so much effort into the dishes. They don’t skim on the ingredient and charge such a low price that I was shock my meal only cost around 134 for two people. As someone who had omakase going for 200 dollar per person in nyc, this is so worth. Obviously this won’t be a store for the most skilled sashimi cut or nigiri. But I personally enjoy this atmosphere so much more than the fancy omakase out there. I really enjoy seeing the old man preparing the dishes because I can see he’s really there to share his love of his food and not just for cash grab.

Also don’t be afraid to ask for take out boxes if you cannot finish:) z

They had the same sign posted before Labor Day, so it’s unclear if they were closed for Labor Day and open on Tuesday, or if they were also closed on Tuesday and then open Wednesday. Wasted 2 hours waiting for this spot and it was all for nothing, shinjirarenai

Terrible experience waiting for this place.

Sign on the door says "6 seats available". There are 4 people waiting outside before my party of 2 shows up. We briefly speak with the group ahead about the queue before joining ourselves. Sounds good, right?

Well, about 45 minutes pass with us waiting outside in the chilly and foggy Richmond before a staff member comes out, during which time 2 more people join the end of the line. She points to the sign and says *my* party of 2 can't fit because the 2 people that joined the end of the line were *actually* there before us; they came earlier, left because the place was full, and returned for a later seating.

Wait.how were we supposed to know that? She pointed at the sign and said we probably should have asked. The pair that came at the end didn't say anything when they joined the line. The sign said 6 seats available.when it seems it should have said 4. Seems the group ahead wasn't even ahead of the other 2. Why is the restaurant blaming us for waiting out in the cold for nothing?

Given the limited seating and the expected wait, I figured this is the kind of place we'd go once. And, indeed, I'm not coming back after this experience.

Good quality sashimi and cute atmosphere. Also relatively cheap price! I ordered soft shell crab appetizer and sashimi platter for one. The bill was less than $50 before tip. If you want to come here, bring cash, and arrive before 6: 00pm to actually get a seat. Otherwise, you’ll have to wait until 8: 00pm.

This place is a hidden gem. It’s a very small but cozy place so go early to get in line. We ended up chatting with all the people in the room like one big party. The sashimi was so fresh and the price are so reasonable. Definitely worth the value. Surely will be back again soon!