Ariake is great. Great as in sweaty, loud, no holds barred breakup sex. Yeah it's that good. I went with a friend on a Saturday night. It was busy but there was almost no wait. This venue ranks high on the "places to take a date to impress her" list. Japanese food always shows a bit of culture, eh? Anyway, the only true comment I can make is the toro. The toro is like rough breakup sex with a bit of spanking. It was like a slice of heaven with the tuna literally melting in your mouth. Check it out...you won't be disappointed. read more

Came in to grab a late lunch. Our waiter was great but I found the dishes over priced for what was served. They didn't offer any lunch specials over the weekend, which was a disappointment as that looked the most interesting. read more

Ariake - Tonkatsu - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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One of the few places still open for dinner at 9pm on a Saturday. Was starting to think this place was pretty solid until I saw the $140 bill. DEFINITELY NOT WORTH IT. Tried going to Koppou Gomi to begin with but they were already closed. It would've been 10x better there for the same price. Ordered a bunch of sashimi from the specials board. The sashimi was the thinnest and smallest pieces I've ever seen. The scallops were crazy thin and were $20. The toro the chef kept pushing was alright but also not worth the $20 price tag. The miso soup was sickly sweet and I couldn't even finish it. Sake wasn't served nearly cold enough. Waitress was all over the place. At one point she filled up my tea cup and left without filling my friends even though I hadn't taken a sip out of mine and his was completely empty wtf? They also refused to let us sit at the tables further in incase a bigger group of people showed up even though we were one of the last customers that came in. They did have multiple televisions playing the football game though if you're into that. I rarely see sushi places with tv's. read more

Came here on a Wednesday since my favorite Japanese restaurant in the Richmond was closed so I decided to try this place out for the first time, and it will be my last. Ordered $150 worth of food to go, charged me $180. Went back to the restaurant to resolve the issue and they gave me the run around and said only the owner is able to credit my account. Not a problem, that was on 3-3-2015. I spoke with the owner on the phone and he said he will credit my account right away. Two business days later and I still see no credit on my account. 2 business days is NOT right away. Tell me something, when a merchant makes a mistake on the bill, whether you're shopping for clothes or groceries, they correct the mistake on the same day, on the spot. It doesn't take 48hrs to correct a charge, the owner could have invited me back to the restaurant and given me the cash difference or a $30 credit plus compensation for my time and everything would have been resolved. What shady business practice. Words are useless, action is ultimate form of sincerity. read more

We wondered in to Ariake while walking around the neighborhood last night and were very impressed with the quality of the food. In somewhat typical SF sushi tradition, this is an establishment where the "book" is much better than it's "cover." The salmons both regular and the Scottish special were excellent, as was the toro and red sea bream. We had two rolls which were also very good although one of them had a "special sauce" that was a bit too "rich" and we wiped off the roll. In short, Ariake is worth the trip. Note that we spend over $100 for 2 of us (including 2 beers - Koshihikari Echigo which is excellent and not that easy to find) so it's not the cheapest place in town, however. read more

Came here for the first time with some friends. We tried four different rolls and an order of sashimi for 19 dollars. Sushi was pretty good but the maguro mango was mind-blowing amaziiiing. I will definitely go to this place by myself just to get that roll. Minus one star because of the sashimi. We thought it was overpriced for the quantity and quality. read more

If you want amazingly fresh high quality sushi in the city without a super high price tag, this is it!! Their kitchen food options are a good too :} and so is the service Shima Aji, must try! And all the other fish, sake, hon hamachi, is great n fresh. Get the large portion of tuna tataki and it's huge! (for tuna tataki, not talking hungryman tv dinner here) Not the best tuna tataki I've ever had, but decent. Lion King roll was it? With salmon and lemon zest on top, simple but wonderful. The Ariake roll, spicy tuna roll with seaweed salad on top, is also priced nicely and is a staple to my orders. Of course not too much mayo in the spicy tuna roll that the roll looks more orange than red like the shat sushi joints. I also love one of the sushi chefs, talked to him briefly bout his nutty times in Miami in his youth. He was sad when he told me he wished SF had parties that went all night long, boy was he in for a surprise. He'll make it public that the Shima Aji from Japan is his favorite (mine too), as he can't resist to slip a piece in his mouth he exclaims "esss soo gewwww" read more

1. Waited for meal over 45 minutes 2. When asked about delay totally brushed off twice, by smirking waitresses who obviously found out our concerns amusing. 3. Order "vegetables and prawnS" , emphasis on S, plural. There was a tone of vegetables and 1, I repeat 1 (One) prawn. Unreal. 4. Waitress gave us a bill, and then instead of returning our card, just sat down to eat. Wow. Seriously, couldn't finish up charge, and then eat? Anyhow you just lost yourself a customer. read more

Love the fresh fish. A little bit on the pricey side, but the rolls are definitely good. I came here for a friend's birthday and as we sat down and looked at the menu the waitress, I noticed on the nice white board menu behind the sushi chefs that they had TORO and UNI. I was immediately fiending it and put an order in. (later in the night, i ordered one more of the toro too). I also had the Hidden Treasure which was like a chef special. At first it was a a little dissapointing for the price of $12.95 with a almost seafood salad type dish with various sashimi. However, it was still relatively good. Luckily, we were doing family style, so I got the chance to try out the Island, Rainbow, and several other ones. It's always great to have lotsa sushi, lotsa company, and lots n lotsa beer n saki. Good times. read more

We wandered in here because we happened to be walking through the area at lunch time, and were surprised at the quality of our sushi! We ordered the cherry blossom, 49'er, and fireman rolls, and it was some of the best sushi we've had in SF. I wish we lived closer, because this would be our three-times-a-week go-to sushi joint! read more

Ariake - Cherry Blossom - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

For those allergic to seafood but love Japanese cuisine. It's taking a while but I'm working on compiling a list of Japanese restaurants in the Bay Area that serve a broad selection of flavorful non-seafood dishes. Here's what I have so far: 1. Oyagi - San Francisco 2. Tokie's - Foster City 3. Kitaro - San Francisco (fast food like for me but reliable) 4. Ariake - San Francisco 5. 6. up to 10. As you can see, I'm looking to build a top ten list but it has become a surprisingly challenging task as most restaurants I find specialize in sushi. Anyway ,thanks Yelp for your suggestions so far. I'll keep you up to date on my progress. Quick Synopsis - Friendly Vibe. Attentive Service. Gregarious sushi chef. Decent :agedashi tofu, yakitori,chicken teriyaki. Clean. Reasonable Prices. Sushi -Good (confirmed by dan b.) read more

Understated. Straightforward. Mild-mannered. Simply put, Ariake is great. No frills, fresh fish, and no rolls heavily doused in saccharine sweet-mayo. Similarly, the ambiance is no frills and clean. Unique dish - monkfish foie gras? (aka fish liver) Imagine consistency of amateur foie gras with a slightly overwhelming fish flavor. Must have - Sashimi - melts in your mouth. Conducive for dates as this eliminates fish-hanging-from-mouth-as-you-try-to-bite-through-it potential. Bite right through, sista. Noteworthy - Hamachi Mango Asparagus roll - refreshing flavor, delicately dressed with sauce, artistically topped with sparkling roe gems. $$10-15/roll read more

Okay. This place... I can't even... just -- go there. The exterior does not at all betray the cornucopia of deliciousness that resides within. This is a true-blue hole in the wall restaurant. The staff is adorable and incredibly polite. The owner, Jin, imports fish a few times a week. If he's working the sushi bar, you can ask him what's fresh/what he'd recommend and he will go into obscene detail as to why, say, the tuna is the best that night. I've been here a few times with a friend and her husband, and the food has never failed to be anything but incredible. First off, we have ankimo. Monkfish liver. Those not seasoned in sushi may cringe at the thought, but this stuff is SO AMAZING. It's buttery and smooth -- not at all what you might expect from well... liver. If you're brave enough, give it a go -- it's definitely not the cheapest thing on the menu, but very much worth every penny. Next, hamachi kama. This is the cheek/neck of Yellowtail, and Ariake does it right. The meat falls off like it was placed there by hand, and each bite is like a miniature megaton of flavor. They have kuramoro oysters with a great house sauce. This is a great place to start if you want to try oysters! The sauce compliments the flavors of oysters, which are surprisingly sweet -- not briny, and not at all what I expected. In terms of rolls, the only ones I've had are the Ariake and Moon Dog. I... probably won't even bother trying anything else, because those two knock it out of the park. Now if you're in the mood to spend a bit of money, and you're a fan of sake, indulge in the Narutotai. It comes in a 700~ mL steel bottle, and it is likely the best sake you will find on this side of the Pacific. I've rarely appreciated notes of flavor in sake (as it was usually going down with a Kirin or Ichiban in a sake bomb). Narutotai is AMAZING. The stuff is imported, however, and comes at $65 a bottle. read more

Ariake is easily my favorite sushi place in the city (for the money). What they lose in ambiance, they double back and kill it in unbelievable quality of fish. We went again last Friday (I've been too many times to count), and as usual we were greeted with a warm welcome by the owner/chef and with unreal fish. The rolls I would say are above average. But any place can make a decent roll. What really distinguishes one place from another is when you are tasting their Sashimi/Nigiri. I can't say enough about their quality of fish. Try their: Escolar, Ocean Trout, Aji, Shima Aji, Tai, Toro, Hamachi, etc, etc, etc. The hand-written pages on the back wall is where you should focus your attention as that will have his specialty fish listed. Now that they finally have a decent list of sake (used to have like 2 options - hot or cold!), this place cannot be beat, though don't come here looking for ambiance, come looking for fish. Sweet, sweet fish. =) read more

There ain't much outstanding here. Yeah, it's sushi. Just like the sushi in the five million other moderately-priced sushi joints on Geary in the Middle Richmond. Oh, okay. There are a few outstanding things about it, even if they don't really have much to do with the sushi... There's the super friendly younger sushi chef, who gets so excited to see you when you walk through the door, or when you order his favorite "island" roll, that he smiles so big you think his face is going to melt off... There's the fact that they're lightening-fast, even when they're packed, and when they DO screw things up, the servers come right out and apologize in a no-nonsense, "yeah, I'm an idiot, I screwed up" kinda way... And there's the fact that it's only .35 blocks from my apartment... That's probably the best thing about it. I'm sure you'd agree... No, wait -- the BEST thing about it is the feisty little Nisei waitress who didn't take any crap from the nastiest homeless man I have EVER seen, who charged in there on a busy Thursday night last week while I was enjoying a peaceful dinner with a friend. He had barfed in his long tangle of a beard, and literally came STORMING through the door, growling (no joke!), stinking the place up, demanding to use the bathroom. She got right in his path, and I thought he was going to smack her down. But she stood her ground. Instead he just sidestepped her, eventually found the bathroom, and locked himself in, leaving the staff and patrons dumbfounded. We all sort of bonded over the experience, while dude stayed locked in the bathroom, Smiley the Sushi Chef made everyone free nigiri, and Smiley's son (who was forbidden to kick smelly guy's ass) called the cops. I now feel something a lot stronger for Ariake. read more

The food is pretty great, but the staff makes it even better. This trickles down to the users who return often and really have a great time visiting. I've had fellow guests share their sake, or generally strike up conversation just because the overall atmosphere is so awesome. Definite visit. read more

Service good. Price good. Food gooooooood. What we had: Spicy QP roll- it was really fresh and yummy! and a lot of times when I order a spicy something roll, the spicy tends to overpower the rest of the roll, but not here. it was perfect spiciness! Negimachi- tasty Firecracker- mmmm....deeeeeelish! Natto make- I love natto maki and it's a ritual for me to get at least one at sushi restaurants, but i think they put a little too much katsuobushi (bonito flakes) in this, and it was a tad dry. but still good enough to eat Gyoza- had the perfect amount of crispiness and the dip was really good Tsukimi Tororo- tried the quail egg w/grated yam and it had yummy subtle flavors What I loved about this place was that the flavors were subtle enough that you can actually enjoy the taste of the fish in the sushi, because a lot of times at sushi restaurants they put so much other ingredients that you can't really taste the fish. I'm goin back again! read more

Sometimes surprises are fun. Like guessing what's behind door number three and winning a brand new car. Unfortunately, I am not so sure that the inconsistency with the food at Ariake is a game of surprise I particularly enjoy. It's more like finding out that you still won a brand new car, but it's a 1976 Chevrolet Caprice that doesn't even have the original 8-track player so you can show it off to your hipster friends. The food at Ariake seems to be either extremely delicious or not so great. I have yet to get a mix of the two extremes, but I have noticed that the not so great food usually occurs when they are a little busier. This also seems to affect the pacing of the food. You may get your first roll after 10 minutes and your second after 20. I also noticed that though customers sitting at the bar may come in quite awhile after me, they are served first. So I suggest thinking about another option if the place is busy or trying to sit at the bar. The service is always friendly and when the food is "On" they have one of the best Dragon rolls (which I am normally not crazy about) I have ever had. read more

Two words: MOON DOG. Did I ever think I would put those two words together? No. Did I ever think I would eat something with such a name? No. Will I sucker punch you for moon dog? YES. After eating this, I know why this shrimp tempura roll with crab and seared ahi tuna is called moon dog. It sends your taste buds to the moon and leave you begging for more like a dog. Man, I'm so lame, but I speak the truth! Everything we had was amazingly fresh and the chef/owner is very friendly. Rolls range from $6-$12, most of the good ones are $12. ;) P.S. I won't sucker punch you if you bring me with you to eat moon dog. read more

We went there for a birthday dinner tonight and the food was very fresh, yummy and arrived on quickly. The service was prompt, actually sometimes too prompt as we were not ready to place our orders a few times the waitress came around. I tried a bunch of new things for the first time since the birthday girl ordered them. I think the food is excellent, quantity is fair, and the price was fair. This place is great for a date but if you are hungry and short on cash, this ain't the place for you. Happy Dining! read more

This is one gem of a place. Great selection of fish, quality cuts and taste, great presentation, wonderful service, and a price that matches what the quality you're getting. There are a lot of sushi restaurants on Geary Blvd but this has got to be one of my favorites. Not only is the food delicious, but the customer service is also pleasant and I have never had a bad experience yet. Atmosphere in the restaurant is nice, they even have a TV behind the sushi bar if you want to keep up with one of the sports games that's currently on. Will definitely be back. read more

Ariake serves up some great sushi with excellent service. My group of four got seated right away at around 8:00pm on a Tuesday evening...lucky as it was the last table available. We ordered the large house sake and to be quite honest, there was nothing large about it...barely enough for 1.5 shots per person. Decent quality for $6.00. The rolls we ordered were delish! My favorite was the dragon and the Ariake roll (the wakame salad a top tuna roll). There were a couple of rolls I didn't care too much for because they had pickled carrots. Big fan of carrots, but pickled the way they were at Ariake, don't like AT ALL. It's like what some folks think about cilantro...it's the most dominant taste and over powers even the most dynamic tastes (eg tempura). Service is awesome. The servers are attentive with tea and water and food go to our table quickly and almost around the same time (two rolls came out and then the other two). Definitely will go back and try some of the fresh sashimi everyone (including my friends) are talking about. read more

the nicest nicest lady waittress works here. always around when u need her. interior was small, soothing, comfortable. food was above average, delicious. the cherry blossom roll was beautiful. clean bathroom. tremendous homey feel, i like that a lot... read more

Ariake - lucky chopstick, just one stick!... - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Visited Ariake for dinner last night with my hubby. We went in around 6pm and there were only 2 other parties there but it filled up pretty quickly as we were having dinner. They were nice enough to turn on the heater right above our table as it was a chilly evening. Our little table in the corner was nicely decorated with a fresh red rose. A pretty nice touch. The service was excellent and very efficient. An empty dish never stayed on our table for more than a few minutes before being whisked away. We ordered the "Love" chirashi, monk fish liver, and chicken teriyaki. They were nice enough to substitute the salmon roe for extra hamachi, my fav fish, in the chirashi. The sashimi in the chirashi was excellent, very fresh, and I enjoyed the other ingredients of the dish, the marinated bamboo (I think), the soy sauce mushrooms, the sprouts, shredded turnip, and tamago. For $20, I was very satisfied. The monk fish liver was nicely sauced, a bit soy and spicy sauce. Yum! If you like liver pate, you'd like this dish. The chicken teriyaki wasn't terribly special but a good portion and tasted like chicken teriyaki should taste, not over-sweetened like some places. Overall, a good dining experience. Oh, their tea smells (and tastes!) so delicious after coming in from the cold! Our dinner cost about $50 after already adding tip. Pretty affordable considering how much sashimi I ended up eating. read more

My boyfriend and I were excited to come back here after an afternoon of shopping downtown. We strolled in to a 3/4 full restaurant around 6:30pm and sat at the bar since we didn't call ahead. We ordered the exact same thing we got the first time we were here, Maguro and Hamachi Nigiri and the Moon Dog and Ms Vivian rolls. It was good but let me tell you about a few red flags we saw tonight. Apparently they made an incorrect order of hamachi nigiri because we saw a plate sitting on the sushi bar counter for over 5 mins. The sushi chef realized his mistake and took it off the counter and continued to reuse the fish to make ours! If you've ever seen Top Chef you know that Gordon Ramsey would flip out!!! You DONKEY!! But we figured that it wasn't out for thaaat long so we didn't say anything. The pieces were kinda warmer than we would have liked and the maguro wasn't cut around the ligaments and was stringy. We also noticed that the refrigerated door for the fish was frosted so we couldn't see what the sushi chefs were doing. What are they hiding back there anyways? The rolls were definitely NOT as good as the first time. Maybe they were having an off night. We wouldn't know; this was our 2nd time eating here. After paying the bill, my BF watched one of the woman behind the counter make a roll topped with raw salmon. She reached into a tupperware container filler with what looked like left over salmon pieces and proceeded to top this roll. This container was sitting out on the counter the whole time we were there. This was not kept in the refrigerated area with the other raw items. I don't know if the incidents we witnessed tonight are "normal" in the restaurant business. I think if I were a restaurant owner I would at least want my staff to recognize these are things to NOT do in front of customers. We won't be coming here again. The waitstaff was friendly but the food didn't meet the standards they set for themselves the first time around. I expected higher standards from a restaurant that received such high Yelp reviews. read more

with so much sushi on geary in the avenues i always forget that ariake is there. i've been a few times before, and haven't had a bad meal yet. the fish is fresh and tasty, the prices are par, and the space is cool. they've got a decent bar, and i love sitting at the bar slowly ordering one thing after another. read more

Ariake - sashimi combo 3 - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

Accessibility (Parking / Wait Time) 1/1 Star: street parking was easy to find. No wait to be seated. _____ Service (Waiter / Cleanness / Ambiance) 1/1 Star: great service. Clean. Cozy ambiance. Great place for a date for to get some food and drinks with some friends. Intimate setting. There is also a TV if you want to watch the game. _____ Taste (0=Not Edible / 1=Edible / 2=Good (average) / 3=Must Try!) 3/3 Stars: The salmon skin hand roll is a MUST TRY! Hands down the best one I've had so far! The lion king roll was also really delicious. The uni was fresh and tasted like the uni served in Japan. _____ Overall Experience 5/5 Stars _____ Last Words The food was so good that it was eaten on sight! Didn't have a chance to take any pictures =( I will definitely eat here again! read more

This is my favorite sushi place ever. Their sushi is so fresh, and well made. I love all the salmon nigiris. Highly recommend it!

I was finally able to come here for food and I was severely disappointed. I do not know if I came in a bad day, however, for a reputable Japanese restaurant, the food was simply not acceptable. When I came in, the restaurant was crowded however, a sweet waitress was able to fit us in a small table in the back, right by the kitchen. Unfortunately, the smell of disinfect and soap permeated in the air, caught by my ultra sharp senses. Btw, upon walking in, there was this prick berating one of the waitresses because he did not receive his shrimp tempura. With his little daughter in tow, he still was able to act like a complete doosh in front of her, asking the waitress condescending things like if she spoke english. The chef should have pulled out his hanzo blade and taught him a lesson. Seated in the back, the place was so busy that the waitress forgot to give us a menu. When I motioned the gf to get us some, the waitress snapped to attention, apologizing profusely. She was literally so sweet that if there was a Yelp for waiting service, she'd get the maximum amount of stars. Alas, there is not. We ordered the agadashi tofu, lion king, sashimi assortment and an order of toro. I really love tofu and the agadashi came piping hot. The sauce that accompanied it was so good. It reminded me of the house special tofu in Carmel and its accompanying sauce that I have put on a pedestal. The tofu was very good, however, it is such an easy dish that's its pretty much the same everywhere. The sashimi came next and instead of the traditional flat cut, it was cut more into cube pieces. The salmon did not taste very good. Usually, good sashimi melts in your melt. Pls. view Sushi Ran or Akoni for more details. The salmon was tough and tasted similar to sake that I can get at Davis Sushi Buffet or Fujis. The hamachi was equally tough however the maguro was good. HOWEVER, GET THIS....THE TORO WAS SO BAD. Toro is on the more expensive end of sashimi and because it is fatty tuna, literally melts in your mouth. You barely need to chew. However, the toro we got had ligaments and just did not seem like good quality. The redeeming quality was the lion king, which was very good. Many have attempted the lion yet it has rarely been duplicated. Most places' lion kings just crumble when you touch it with chop sticks. It is ironic that an americanized roll is the stand out dish in a traditional sushi restaurant when it should be the quality of the fish. I had really high hopes for this restaurant, hoping it could by my SF Akoni or Sushi Ran, however, it really disappointed me. However, I must say the waitresses are very sweet and I hope they can be employed by the restaurants I mentioned in the first sentence. They forgot our toro order so gave us a third piece free of charge. read more

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The sushi is good. Fresh fish, generous portions, nice variety. There is also a nice selection of specials on any given night and the sushi chefs are very friendly. I don't eat here anymore though. For a place that is NEVER crowded they have a really half-assed way of billing you. I like to look over the bill before I pay...to make sure everything is right. This is especially important at a sushi restaurant because your order may be taken 3 or 4 times in a sitting, sometimes by different people. Plenty of potential for mistakes. When you get your bill at Ariake, it says, "sushi $85" or whatever the grand total is plus tax and a total at the bottom. No itemizing. Ever. Yes, it's kind of nit-picky and some would argue that it's not a good enough reason to boycott good sushi but I want to know exactly what sushi I'm paying for. read more

My friend and I tried Ariake the other night, based on the reviews she read here on Yelp. It didn't disappoint. The atmosphere was lovely and very neighborhood-like and friendly. Jin was the perfect host and introduced himself and asked our names. Another couple at the sushi bar said they'd started coming to Ariake four years ago, but since moving out of the neighborhood still came back all the time with family & friends. And not only was it friendly - it was delicious and fresh! And the portions were really large but the price tag was small. This is my new favorite sushi spot in the city! Yum! read more

WOW - have lived in the Richmond for just over 4yrs now and can't believe it took this long to stumble in here - being just down street from Lou's (outstanding subs), have walked by many times...anyhooo Smallish place, typical sushi bar, tables for ~25 - two sushi chefs working with two waitresses - tried grilled squid, uni nigiri, escolar nigiri, spider roll, Mango/Hamachi roll - all were really, really good. Uni - our favorite to have and seem to be a good barometer of quality; solid serving, albeit a bit on expensive side at $10 for two pieces, but super fresh, piled high inside the little nigiri pocket Escolar was super delicate almost buttery in flavor (sooooo good) - in fact, we ordered two orders of both the Uni & Escolar. Mango/Hamachi a nice roll served with a creamy white sauce that had just a tough of fruity sweetness to it, not too much though and complimented the roll very well. Spider roll is a staple - good panko crust on crab and cooked very well - nearly too well done as the panko was pretty dark but it really wasn't bad at all (about the only complaint if any) - ate the entire thing and would easily order it again. Service was pleasant enough - solid, solid sushi place and reasonable value - nothing to give it 5 stars, but would easily go back again as it is just around corner!! read more

Awesome! First time here and tried the lunch Bento Box- amazing! Everything in it was very fresh and the portions were very generous for a Bento. Will come back to try the sushi! read more

I like. This place gets a good review based on a few things. One: selection, I fear no fish and the variety here keeps me happy. Definitely try the monk fish livers and eat up some live scallops. Two: The owner is super friendly and enjoys his customer's company. This is actually a big deal to me I'll choose a place with better people than food any day. Three: Moderate prices for good quality. This generally is what people look for most when eating out, but as mentioned earlier not me. Well rounded and nice people make it work here, cheers. read more

All I can say it .. This is my fave sushi place in SF I've been eating here since when I first moved here. It's about 7-8yrs now I love how the chef has his hospitality mind and how he cares about his client. The most important is Fish!! All fish here is very fresh n different than regular others sushi place. I took my mom and my girl last week and they never disappointed us:) I will be back again for my hubby bd .. It's a specialty jap place I'm gonna show him read more

Fresh sushi that feels like you are having dinner at someones home. Its a nice and cozy environment with great rolls and nigiri. Not much on the ambiance side, but if you are looking for the freshest catch this is the place. Show up early because is limited seating - especially on weekends. Tastiest unagi this side of Van Ness, so save some for me! read more

Tiny portions. Horrible service. We ordered the lunch bento box with three items: salmon teriyaki, salmon sashimi, and tuna sashimi. The waitress (who later turned out to be the owner) said no, "you can only choose one sashimi item.". OK, no problem, since bento boxes are set prices, so she's probably trying to keep the cost down. "We can pay you extra." "No, sorry," came her polite but stern reply. WHY NOT? I just don't understand people who leave money on the table. The service aside from that was equally lacking. We had to fetch our own menus, and ask for hot tea. What's next? Wash our own dishes? It's not even an one hit wonder. It's an one hit miss. Goodbye Ariake. read more

A solid 4 star sushi joint. After moving to London, when I came back to SF, I was DYING for some sushi-- too $$$ in London, (or rather, £££) which is more like $$$$ with the exchange rate... The great thing about Arikake that they are open Mondays, which seems to be the collective off day for every other sushi place in the area. Rolls/nigiri devoured: -Arikake roll (spicy tuna w. seaweed salad) -49er roll (their take on Ebisu's roll... lemon, salmon, tobiko) -hamachi -tomago -halibut (I forget the japanese word) -Spicy piku? (spicy scallop roll) My favorites were the hamachi, arikake, and 49er roll, though I like Ebisu's version better. read more

Most of the food I tried is typical and fresh. But the Firecraker Roll and Toro are to die for. mmmm ... spicy crunchy ... buttery melty... heaven. read more

Came with a friend for a casual sushi dinner - #obsessedwithsushi. Ariake has been on my to-try list for awhile now and it's super close to where I live. So finally, on a weekday, Ariake was calling my name. Ariake has very fresh nigiri and nice sushi chefs (unlike some nazi sushi places). They even gave us extra salmon sashimi and there's free edamame to start. We ordered: 1. Gyoza - 3/5 Average gyoza, crispy and duricious - paired with slightly spicy soy sauce 2. 10 pcs of salmon sashimi - 4/5 My friend really liked it. I tried a piece as well and it was very fresh. Though the cuts were pretty small compared to other sushi places I've seen. 3. King salmon nigiri - 5/5 My favorite type of nigiri along with Japanese butterfish. Very fresh and portion size was generous. Liked that the chef didn't pack the nigiri full of rice. 4. Hon (natural) Hamachi nigiri - 5/5 Really liked that they have Hon Hamachi and not just Hamachi. Melts in your mouth delicious. 5. Uni with quail egg - 3/5 The uni with quail egg was packed very generously and creamy but it was not as good or as unique as Koo. But if you want no frills Uni with quail egg, this is def a legit option. I would come back to Ariake again if I don't want to wait in a long line (Tekka) or pay $$$ for sushi (Kabuto). Ariake is a very good option for mid-range priced sushi bar around the Golden Gate area. PS. Sushi chefs were really chill but the servers were really sloooowww..we had to ask for menus (??) twice before it came. read more