Japanese Restaurants in San Francisco

The Japanese restaurants of San Francisco are a wonderful way to stock up on fresh-from-the-sea fare: snatch up sushi, sashimi, sake, and all the slippery seaweed your anime-lovin’ heart can handle.

A sleek, sexy spot to start is Blowfish Sushi in the Mission, which boasts luscious libations amid modern decor with a dash of sinful kitsch; the walls are lined with fancy flat-screens and anime prints, showcasing mildly erotic films and heaving Asian ta-tas.

Kiss Seafood in Pacific Heights is a serious and expensive sushi spot where you can set up shop at the bar and watch deft fingers whipping up fishy delights. Peruse the steep but extensive sake list which offers a slew of tongue twisting options from mushroomy and earthy to tangy and sweet. Be sure to check out the Omakase as well, a Japanese expression meaning that you leave your selection up to the chef, and you get five or six delicate dishes featuring some of the chef’s faves.

More raucous revelers ready to paint the town red head over to Barracuda Sushi in Castro for a triple-threat evening of $3 sake bombs, a slew of twinkling lights, and reasonable roll in a rainbow of colors. Laissez-faire ladies, hepped-up hipsters, and post-work cronies all gather to watch the night fall from the window seats.

San Francisco Japanese restaurants range from rowdy and risque to suave and sophisticated, but every spot has its raw magnetism.