Wako Japanese Restaurant, San Francisco CA

First time having Omakase, and the service was incredible! Everyone was so positive and lovely and the chef was extremely excited and you could tell he loved his work. The food was delicious and beautifully made. I'm no expert since it was my first Omakase but I'm told that their price is very reasonable for what you get.

Good omakase! However, I think the price is more than what it's worth. The aesthetics and flavor pairings are not special, but rather standard at omakases.

For the sushi tasting ($98 for 10 nigiris) :

The red snapper: soft, fragrant, fresh, and the wasabi is super fresh.

Halibut: texture was soft, but the aftertaste a little acrid.

Damn good sushi place. I bet you never taste this kind of sushi before. Best sushi in town for sure. Highly recommended.

Masterful Omakase from Wako with excellent cuts of fish, helpful and attentive servers, and dishes that were very small yet piqued my curiosity. But was it worth it? I'll let you be the judge. For three people, the total ended up being ~$500 and we were only allowed to be in the restaurant for 1 hour.

I came into Wako happy to find a sushi restaurant open past 9pm; not knowing their level of prestige. From the beginning, the staff were warm, friendly, and inviting. Service staff made recommendations based on my preferences and the chefs continued to walk me through additions. My frazzled workday ended with one of the best meals I’ve had this year. Special thanks to the entire staff for an amazing evening.

We did the sushi tasing.
The food is delicious, but the value is not quite there, due to small quantities and expensive prices.

Going to a one Michelin star restaurant, you'd expect not to leave the place hungry.

We did other omekase in SF with better value.

Great sushi tasting here! Shari was just great! Right temperatures, right amount and right red vinegar! Neta were good quality and kobuzime put nice textures to fish! This is one step higher than other omakase place. I recommend.

Around $360 for two people, I just want to give 0 star for the service. Food is OK, but the service is really really bad. I think $300 for two is enough for a fine dining, but the service is even worse than some $10 restaurants. We’ve been asked to eat fast twice, because the table was reserved after us. And their attitude is really rude. Feels like they are fully booked, so they don’t care their customers’ feelings. Will not come back twice if they don’t improve their service. I will pay for good food and service, not for a bad experience.

We came for an anniversary and it was an great experience. We did the tasting menu ($98 for 10 pieces of sushi, each one better than the last). We also really liked the waygu sushi. Incredible attention to detail and really attentive service from Tomo (the chef) and the rest of the staff. Would strongly recommend

Best dang fish I’ve ever had in my life. It’s a great place to celebrate something, and all the variations of fish had their own charm in flavor. Definitely expensive, but I think the prices are justified with the ingredients, the skills of the chefs, and the smaller more attentive dining experience.

Such an amazing omakase experience with great value! Make sure to sit at the counter bar, if chef tomo is there you’re in for a treat.would definitely recommend to people wanting to try omakase for the first time.our chef tomo was so knowledgeable and friendly, explaining the nuances of each course.it was so fun watching him meticulously crafting the sushi and appreciated how he adjusted the fish placement when he noticed i’m left handed.omakase
- can’t stop thinking about the fried fig with sesame dressing! Other highlight dishes were the scallop, pike mackarel, uni, and otoro.
- also had the wild red snapper, halibut, king mackarel, cod milt, bonito, and jalapeño blue fin.all great.ebi & farmers veggie tempura
- really well made tempura, loved the mushrooms and shrimp the most.
- the matcha salt was innovative and paired well!

chocolate truffles
- gave us truffles for our anniversary, a nice touch
- truffles were tasty but nothing too unique

Loved the vibe, the professionalism, kindness and attention to detail. The staff were all very efficient and a lot of teamwork was present. The fish were all good quality and as a lover of sushi, I would recommend this place to all my friends! Good bang for buck. Me and my husband went there for the sushi tasting.

Wako has a michelin star and it’s well deserved! I ordered multiple dishes but some of the highlights are pictured. The roe was so fresh, as was the salmon and tuna.

AMAZING! I read about their history online, and had to check it out. Traveling solo, I wanted a cool bar to sit, and no doubt some awesome Sushi sounded fun. Lemme tell you something - THIS PLACE IS FRIGGIN AWESOME! The chefs tasting was a MANDATORY! In addition, I got 2 other items and both were equally as delicate, fine, and sophisticated as the rest. Some bubbles and some hot Sake made for a perfect night!

Good sushi! There wasn't any piece that I didn't like, but I wasn't wowed either. Hubby didn't like the place as some pieces were too fishy for him; I didn't feel that way though.

Overall wouldn't return as there are many other places worth trying for similar price points.

Good Sushi. Just the right balance of flavor and the original taste of ingredients. Also their Omakase is of great value.we tried：
Sweet Shrimp with Sea Urchin： 5/5
Sweet shrimp never let me down.

Chu Toro： 5/5

Beltfish：5/5
My favorite！OMG item of the meal. They gave the fish a bit of torch, which added another layer of taste.

Kampachi: 5/5

Japanese Blue Fish: 5/5

Bonito: 3/5
Somehow the Bonito tasted pretty watery, I didn’t enjoy this one.

For hand rolls, we tried the Red Snapper one. The roe in it was too salty … didn't enjoy it. (I almost want to go with 4 stars after this hand roll)

We also had some small plates they are okay but nothing special.

In general, if the food is good. I don’t care that much about service. But our waitress knocked over a tea cup, which surprised me a bit.

It was our second visit to this restaurant. The first visit was years ago before it was granted a star and it was an amazing experience. But unfortunately, our recent visit was not such a pleasant one.

Food - 4 stars. Don't give me wrong the sushi was great compared to its price ($95 for 10 pieces), but compared to other Michelin starred sushi places I would say the rice is a little bit on the hard and dry side. Maybe I was too picky.

Service - 2 stars. This is the part we were feeling less pleasant.
When we entered the store we were grated very impatiently and even kinda on the rude side. Maybe we were not that well dressed that day, the lady may think us to be someone just wandering on the street trying to grab some cheap sushi, and accidentally entered a premium place.

When the sushi were served, the lady who presented the food to us had started to move away from us even before she completed the sentence. Sometimes I was trying to ask some follow-up questions but she did not give us the chance. Frankly speaking I did not know what's the rush. I've been to almost all Michelin starred sushi restaurants in bay area and it was never like this.

When we paid the check and left the restaurant, again, no one greeted us as well. Maybe we were not welcomed from the very beginning.

After all, I appreciate their effort to lower the bar for accessing premium sushi (tasting menu at $95 compared to other places at around $200). But frankly speaking I was disappointed on the way I was treated. I'll find somewhere else next time maybe.

Bar seating were open, but waiter refused to let us sit there. Waiter was pushing us to order at least 2 times in 5mins. Paid $300 plus for some low-end and flavorless food.

I WAS NOT EVEN HALF FULL AFTER THE WHOLE MEAL! AVOID!

Nope.

We came here expecting omakase and to be seated in front of the sushi chef.

Got told the equivalent of “you’re wrong, sit down”.

Be very careful when booking this place on Open Table. The people next to us were also dupped and told to sit at a table.

So we tried to make the best of it. The fare was mediocre and we had a waitress hovering behind us the whole meal.

The only good part of the meal was the yellowtail. It melted in your mouth. For $10-$15 per piece that’s the quality I expect from every piece!

Also look out for the 18% required tip before they kick you out the door having just paid an $180 tab.

Wako will never see us again or any of our friends.

Food was phenomenal. Fish was fresh, some were buttery and melted in your mouth, and others were complimented well with the included toppings. Just an overall very thorough experience with the tasting menu. However, the service was subpar off the bat. I had higher expectations given the restaurant’s reputation, but the hostess/ server was quite rude. We were sat next to the door which was left open “for ventilation” but the wind was unbearably cold. When I asked if the door could be shut slightly I was told to “just wear a jacket”. I even requested to switch tables as an alternative but it was refused as well. Very disappointing to say the least given how wonderful the food was. Bottom line: There’s more to a culinary experience than just the food.