Absolutely delicious and wonderfully made. The quality of the fish was outstanding and fresh - melt in your mouth. Especially loved the salmon (can't go wrong). The Atlantic roll had a great balance of fish and creaminess - I loved the miso aioli and the serrano pepper gives it a great texture and layer of flavor. Overall, 5/5 for taste and looks of course. Sashimi Set had great variety and the quality and taste of fish was excellent. I loved the addition of the perilla leaf which gave it a flowery layer of flavor. Really great food for the value. 5/5 Oysters has a great tangy sauce and lemony flavor. Really loved the multiple flavors and textures coming together - it just worked. It's more on the meatier side which I love and it wasn't too fishy! We even ate the seaweed in the middle that had sesame tastes. Dessert was a wonderful surprise. I wouldn't 100% recommend it since the waffle layer was a little hard or chewy but overall not bad. I liked the red bean that wasn't overpowering and who doesn't like vanilla ice cream! 5/5 We also got miso soup and they made it to perfection -- some restaurants have it too strong or don't put tofu and seaweed. It was warm and extremely comforting. Service: 5/5 AMAZING! Truly kind server who would check up on us frequently and the food arrived in a timely manner. They were so kind on my Birthday especially. We tipped 25% because we loved it so much and they were above and beyond. EXTREMELY WORTH THE SERVICE. Ambiance: 5/5 It's such a cozy and nicely aesthetic place. Little small but felt comforting. Loved the wood details and small Japanese touches. Their music was great and trendy but chill (charli xcx& others). Really loved the plating too, just made the experience all more enjoyable. Highly recommend for special occasions. read more

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Downright delicious food. Great service. Very cozy ambience. Their sushi is off the charts! Some of the best tasting and freshest fish I've ever had, hands down. You can see the chefs working the magic if you grab a seat at the bar. Was blown away by the flavors their dishes packed in! read more

Butterfish Sushi - Behind the bar. Mastery at work. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Berkeley, California

This restaurant was highly recommended by college peers from UC Berkeley, so we had to give it a go! There is some street parking available, but it might be limited. The restaurant is rather small and has more seating at the bar, nevertheless it was very aesthetic and comfortable. The service was super nice, and explained everything to us as well as checking up on us frequently. The quality of the food was definitely living up to its hype. The fish tasted very fresh, and was almost melting in your mouth. We ordered two of their special rolls that I believe are changed weekly or monthly(?). They were super interesting combinations. My roll was salmon with yuzu, lemon, aioli and cherry tomatoes. It was a great combination with flavors that complemented each other. However, there was just a tad of too much oil in their aioli, which overpowered my taste buds, and impacted the overall enjoyment of it. But if there was less oil, it would've been perfect. Overall, this is a great restaurant with quality fish and I would definitely recommend it! read more

Butterfish Sushi - Sashimi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Took my husband out for dinner yesterday for Father's Day. We decided to try a new sushi spot and came upon Butterfish on yelp. Service 5/5 Dan was super nice, welcoming, and gave us complimentary miso soup and edamame since they are still soft opening. Indian roll 2/5 the tempura shrimp was hard and had too much batter. The sushi rice was also a bit mushy. Salmon belly nigiri 5/5 melts in your mouth and was delicious. Creamy scallop roll 4/5 I like that it had a tang of lemon and was creamy. Chan Washi egg 3/5 steam egg with mushroom. The texture was nice, silky, and creamy. It was almost like a egg soup. Kaisen nigiri toro, uni, and ikura don 3/5 decent, but not the best I've had. read more

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If you've read other reviews of this place complaining about service, then I'm here to tell you that it continues to be a problem for them. Staff are not particularly welcoming, and for us, they screwed up something with our order and it took an hour to be delivered. No one checked up on us, thus the egregious delay of our order was not noticed. It was only until we complained that they tried to placate us with small serving of edamame. No attempt was made to rectify the situation. The chefs were just automations, no acknowledgement of anyone seated at the counter. Food was OK, sort of fusion, though uni was not fresh and rather bitter tasting, but to their credit, they comped it when we complained about the quality. They were attentive after we complained but it shouldn't have come to that. We'll go elsewhere next time. read more

Great quality sushi, really enjoyed the Indian roll and matcha cheesecake. Cute but small restraint ambiance so I'd recommend making reservations read more

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Food was good and interesting. Cute little space. A bit tight space but intimate. Service was attentive.

I really loved my lunch at Butterfish Sushi. Great service and high quality ingredients. Team was very friendly. I will definitely go back. read more

Butterfish Sushi - From sushi menu. - Sushi Bars Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Best sushi I've had in a long time. Might be the best sushi I've had ever. Great food. Great atmosphere. Great staff. Will be back.

Had a lovely bite during their soft opening week. I am a sucker for oysters, and they had a lovely pacific oyster with some tobiko on it. So delicious! The shiro maguro was perfect and buttery, miso good. Atmosphere was good with nice lighting and hip hop music (which we liked). Everyone was very friendly and attentive! Looking forward to trying more things as they open! read more

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The food was delicious. I only got one roll because everything on the menu was incredibly expensive. The service was slow. We waited 45 minutes for a table with no reservation. Only a few parties can be seated at a time. The ambiance is very nice and is good for date night or get together with friends. read more

Great food and even better service! This was our second time here and everything we've ever had was delicious and the service was even better. Definitely my new favorite sushi restaurant. read more

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Great sushi, kind staff, small cozy interior. Make a reservation on the weekends, there was a big line as there are so few tables. read more

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It is our go to spot for sushi! The sushi chefs, kitchen staff, and servers are always on point. We had the privilege to sit at the bar where head chef dazzled us with our sushi skills. He personally breaks down all the fish himself. It is an "every occasion" place. I highly recommend read more

Wow.... Again....I have lived in Japan and the quality of fish from Chef Wan..... don't order off menu.... Sit at sushi bar if you can... If you cannot... ask to talk to chef Wan...... He will create magic for whatever you want.... The music and decor are so on point ..... But who cares about that .... The sushi matters .... Rolls for beginners ..... nigiri for pros....imatsu..... engawa slightly seared.... Never wasabi.... Only yuzu kosho on the side... you'll thank me... This place is banging!!! We drive 1 hr to eat here once A week. read more

Top quality sushi. Friendly service. This cozy place is ideal for a date night. It's definitely a notch above most of the decent sushi places in Berkeley. read more

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This place is incredible. The signature rolls, like the Smoked Hamachi were completely new and interesting experiences, while more traditional rolls were exceptional. The tempura in an our rolls was warm and crispy. The staff and service are also top notch. Can't wait to go back. read more

Outstanding sushi, though it can be difficult to get a seat so plan ahead if you're going to a show (as we were).

Essentially just ordered everything that was recommended by our server, a mix of apps, sashimi and rolls. Everything was fantastic, especially the butterfish. read more

This is the best sushi I've ever had. Yes. That does include Kirala. It also includes the sushi I have had in Japan during many trips there. Smoked Himachi will blow your mind. The Pacific Roll is flamed and a smoked flavor makes it come up several levels. The Unagi is perfect and the sauce is divine! The service is fantastic, as is the ambience. I'm so grateful something good has opened on University Avenue. We have so few worthy restaurants close to campus. This is one of them. Definitely an adult spot. It's a little pricey, but definitely worth the price difference. This place has made me like sushi more than money so that doesn't seem to be a problem. Additional recommendations include: Fatty tuna nigiri! (What do they put on that?!), Roe Roll, crispy salon skin roll. Also Matcha cheesecake and or ice cream for dessert is pretty yum. I always walk out of there feeling like I just did myself a favor that's going to last a long time. The only downside is that I'm out front right now and they are not open. It's Tuesday. I'll be back as soon as possible. read more

Excellent food and first class service, everyone here treats you like family even though it was our first time here. Premium quality sushi....... We will definitely be back with our family. read more

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i like this place! small place but cozy. the service there was really nice and sweet. food was good too especially their rolls. i liked the indian roll the most! food came out quick too and you get complimentary wasabi peas! would come back read more

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The food here is amazing! Every dish was so flavorful and delicious that my family and I kept ordering more. We took our server, Dan's suggestions for every plate and loved everything he recommended! Dan and the other servers and chefs were all super friendly and polite. All in all, excellent food, excellent service, wonderful ambiance, and gorgeous presentation! read more

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Everything was quite sensational. To give you an idea, we had a friend flying in from overseas to celebrate the holidays and we wanted to take her to an amazing sushi place (because she loves sushi) Therefore, after a fine evening at a bar, we got recommended to Butterfish Sushi. I called and within 5min they had a table ready for us ! We had a fabulous evening, great ambiance. Food was beyond delicious (we got 4 different roles with 2 platters + a bottle of sake). Dan, our waiter, went over and beyond for us to have a phenomenal experience. Therefore, I would recommend that place. Not just recommend it, but hopefully wish that everybody has the same experience as us. Enjoy ! read more

Super good sushi, soft opening so a little bit slow bc they're kicking in gear but very nice and attentive staff. Really enjoyed the rolls and hand rolls, fish is fresh! Very cute local eatery, really enjoyed it and highly recommend. read more

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We went there tonight for an early dinner, our first time here. Everything we had was excellent. The ambience and service were also very good. We'll be back. read more

Butterfish Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Berkeley, California

Food is perfect in taste. Four star because it's still a bit too pricey. The black cod is really tastey! The sushi and rolls are also great read more

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Amazing, high-quality and unique sushi (even the 'basic' rolls were outstanding, and with flavorful surprises to boot) - super-friendly, and attentive service. Delighted by our visit, and will return. read more

Butterfish Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Berkeley, California

Incredible Sushi Restaurant . Everything we tried was fresh and texture/quality of fish was perfect. Dan was very helpfull and we went his recommendations. We ordered (butterfish appetizer, smoked hamachi roll, artic roll, umi-mass roll, blue fin tuna roll, Toro and Salmon Belly nigiri) Our favorites were butterfish and hamachi roll. Each dish was beautifully presented. Will definitely come back soon. read more

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Amazing sushi and the best sushi chef EVER: Chef Won!! He is an artist. The food is delicious and a welcoming staff. The decor is cozy and intimate. Great experience and highly, highly recommended! read more

Butterfish Sushi - Great time time with Chef Won - Sushi Bars Near Me - Berkeley, California

Went here for my partner and I'd 3 year anniversary. Food was sensational, sashimi was extremely fresh and the owner was so nice! The vibe was amazing, and I loved how vibrant it was. Would definitely recommend this spot! read more

Butterfish Sushi - Sushi Bars Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Took my friend here for her birthday dinner and it was so good that I decided to go with my boyfriend literally 5 days later. Seen the reviews about wait times so I made sure to make reservations both times I came here. The sashimi set was so fresh and buttery, and nigiri set was just as good. Also tried the otoro don and it was so good, but filled us up pretty quick with all the rice beneath. Not necessarily a bad thing tho lol The service was great. First visit we had a gentleman seat us and he was nice and made recommendations on which sake to try, even gave me a sample to try before I decided which drink to order. Id come back for sure. The other lady that usually brought us food so so sweet and kind as well. Overall great experience. The interior is smaller than other sushi spots, more intimate, read more

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A bit overpriced, but this is Berkeley so to be expected. I really enjoyed the food here, from the plating to the taste and texture, everything was delicious. I had a various assortment of nigiri, my fave is the salmon which did not disappoint. Fresh and such a buttery and velvety texture, I could eat this all day. The black cod entree was sooooo good, a little on the sweet side but such a yummy experience. I really enjoyed the rolls I had and thought there was a nice balance of rice to fish, with flavors that complimented instead of overwhelmed. And ohh, the salmon roe was yum, my son would describe this as a taste of ocean in every burst. read more

What an unbelievable experience. This place is phenomenal. We were greeted by Dan who was kind, fun and energetic. He set the mood for the night very well. We sat at the bar and were taken care of by Chef Wan who is easily one of the most talented sushi chefs in the country. He is so friendly and knowledgeable and his passion for his work is so clear. The food was out of this world. I had the winter yuzu roll which was so insanely good. My family and I shared several different kinds of nigiri whose quality was top notch. This is the kind of place that experience sushi lovers need to try because the chefs will not give you anything that they do not think is the best of the best. The restaurant itself had such a nice vibe. The music was fun and lively, the interior was clean and sleek, and the service was fantastic. Mark my words, this place will be famous soon. Berkeley is so lucky to have a sushi place of this quality. Get in now before this place blows up and becomes super famous. read more

Quality food, friendly staff, reasonable price, and good ambience made my first visit pleasant and enjoyable. Will be going back soon.

I would like to first start off that the service was good, we were offered snacks while choosing from our menu. The environment was small, very little room to move around. The food was very disappointing especially given the price. We ordered the Chirashi and the Rainbow rice dish. The Chirashi had rice that was unevenly mixed with vinegar. And the fish in both did not have the high quality that the other reviews mentioned. However it is possible it was just the items we ordered, but it was 30 dollars for a rainbow don and 40 for Chirashi. read more

What a surprise to find this gem of a sushi place on University! The service was great and the food, exquisite. Find a way to have the yuzu-infused tobiko. So good! The fish was fresh and delicately, thoughtfully arranged. I got the sashimi salad and my kiddo (a huge sushi fan) ordered the Winter Yuzu special. Great upscale ambience with a welcoming, down-to-earth, Berkeley vibe. read more

Wonderful and friendly service, large portions, fresh fish, and nice ambiance. The purple rice is so tasty. I can't wait to go again!

Seriously so delicious. Just had the most fabulous birthday dinner for my daughter. Dan our waiter did NOT steer us wrong. We ordered the Hamachi special- it had king crab instead of rice - seriously THE BEST SUSHI I have ever eaten in my life. He had us order other things but I can't remember their names. Just let Dan order for you!!! Thank you Dan!! read more

Butterfish Sushi is a wonderful restaurant with amazing food, wonderful service and a good vibe.