I'm torn about this place. On the one hand, if someone as meticulously critical as Nobu K is going to give their sushi 5 stars, who am I to argue? The sushi-savvier folks in my party agreed that the quality of the fish was unimpeachable, and, frankly, every roll I ate was like a drop of rain in the desert. On the other hand, I wonder if that's because it took nearly an hour for the sushi to come out, and in the meantime we'd been downing sake, hardly an appetite suppresant. Starving stomachs rarely make for picky palates. Not that the wait was unenjoyable--the dark wood beams over cream-colored walls and the just-right lighting make an ideal atmosphere. But I guess my biggest complaint comes down to this: for these kind of prices (there's a $20-per-person minimum that you'll have no problem reaching well before you're full), where's the flair? The boldness? The fun? Aside from a couple well-placed jalapenos, all the rolls were awfully stodgy and conservative. Those Jimisan guys aren't afraid to put raspberry dressing on their sushi, even at the risk of stealing the thunder from the fish itself. I dunno, maybe that's just where the hard-core sushi lovers and I differ. read more

At the end of a recent phone conversation, I wanted to pummel one of my good friends. Turned out, I was just misunderstanding him. Every time I asked him where he wanted to eat, he kept saying "cool." It wasn't until I met him at the address and read the sign and realized that in fact, he was saying "KOO" and not "cool." I mean, can you blame me? Where should we eat? Cool. What? I said, cool. I know, food is cool, where the F should we eat? I told you, cool. I am going to beat you down. Cool. Anyways, Koo is indeed cool and definitely worth a trip. The spicy scallop rolls are delicious and not to be missed. Plus they have a killer happy hour. I still, for the life of me, cannot figure out why, no matter how much I spend on sushi, I am still hungry 15 minutes after. Must move through me faster than Metamucil. Yuk. read more

After the concise, thorough, meticulous review by Paulina C, I finally made Koo our dinner destination for the lovely Friday night evening with my girl. I went prepared, and memorized some signature dishes all the reviews seem to rave about, to make sure I wouldn't miss anything. After an hour or so, and $130 at Koo, I had to say I was solely disappointed, and here is why in detail. While Koo had abundant selection of some hard to find fishes, they fell short in the presentation of these high end seafood. Blue Shrimp, or the special Agi would taste more scrumptious with a gentle touch of lime, or a bit of ponzu sauce. If you have tried out Sushi Sam Omikase you'd know what I am talking about. The poor quality of sushi rice marked the downfall of Koo on Friday night, as it was way too salty and lacked sweetness and texture. This is really unforgivable, as sushi rice should always been sacrosanct at high end Japanese cuisine like this. I couldn't be any more let down. :( Places like Sushi Sam, Shimo, and Live Sushi bar all have authentically prepared sushi rice just to name a few. The overall quality of raw food here was at least decent, but nothing to die for. Uni sushi did regain certain reputation for Koo, as the Uni stayed true to Paulina C's review, it is sweet and fresh enough even with the unimpressive sushi rice. I would assume Koo isn't totally bad for a neighborhood favorite, and maybe they do have better quality sushi rice on any other day, but it will never justify my 30+ minutes of driving all the way from San Mateo. read more

I knew it was going to be expensive, I just hoped that it would be worth it, and mmm, it so was. I knew that the Spoonful of Happiness ($10) was going to be awesome, and it was, but what I didn't expect, was for the shot of cold sake that came with it to be the first cold sake I have ever appreciated. I ordered a full glass of it ($7) after I finished my mockable large hot sake ($5 on their 5 year anniversary special). The Catch of the Day selection featured a lot of tempting nigiri offerings. I sampled the Tairagai (Korean Pen Shell - excellent) & the Sazae (Japanese Baby Sea Snail - bland). He was impressed by the Kinme-dai (Japanese Deep Sea Red Snapper). Immediately upon swallowing the uni portion of my Spoonful of Happiness I ordered a pair of uni handrolls ($4 on anniversary special) & while the quality of the uni was just as fantastic & the portions of all the handrolls we ordered very generous, I wish I had just had another order of the Spoonful of Happiness, it's just that good. I could go on & on. Almost everything was fantastic. My only real complaint is that the smelt tempura really should come with a dipping sauce. $115 after tax & tip for two greedy eaters who had skipped lunch. Oh, two more notes: 1) 6-7pm on a weekday seems like a good time for families to come in - there were several seated with small children while we were there (I envy the parents who can afford this place). 2) The edamame was cold, which seems to be a recently reoccurring problem for us, boo! read more

A japanese husband and wife team have gifted us SF'ers with some all time authentic treats of top top quality. If you are ready to pay for what you get (and fairly priced as well) and not the type that prefers standing on the chairs dropping sake bombs, this could be your spot. SPOONFULL OF HAPPINESS - everyone at your table MUST get their own order of this and that is MANDATORY!!! You will run around 9th/Irving streets after like a heaved pinball bouncing from corner to corner until you finally collapse all warm and fuzzy. Also, if you leave your wallet there in a drunken stupper they will hunt you down and find you. read more

Oh. My. God. Some of the most amazing sushi I have ever tasted. Everything was impeccably fresh and absolutely delicious. The service is great and they take reservations!!!!!! I LOVE that, since so many Japanese restaurants don't and you end up waiting for hours. It is a elegant, refined atmosphere. I was there on a Wednesday evening, and it was relatively quiet around 8pm. My dining companion and I sat at the bar and basically had one sushi chef to ourselves. Pretty f-ing rad! (Yes, I am singlehandedly reviving the word "rad"). You HAVE to start with the "Spoonful of Happiness" -- Spoonful of Uni, Quail Egg, Tobiko, Ponzu & Ankimo wrapped with whitefish, Truffle-Oil & a shot of chilled Sake -- absolutely mind-blowingly full of complex flavors and textures. We had the halibut sashimi special which was wonderful... It came with a Ponzu dipping sauce and the fish was sliced so thinly that you could see through it! Also had the aji (Spanish mackerel) nigiri and the kona kanpachi (Hawaiian amberjack). Both were absolutely delicious and the aji was the best I've ever tasted. The hamachi sashimi was so rich and fresh that it simply melted in our mouths. We had the negi-toro roll, which was probably the weakest fish of the evening, in comparison to the others. As Fong later explained to me, negi-toro is simply the lowest grade of toro cut up into tiny pieces so that the less impressive flavor is not as noticeable. The dragon roll, with tempura shrimp, unagi, and avocado was perfectly done... very light and tasty. Notice and enjoy the fresh wasabi: it tastes amazing and makes such a difference! My mouth is watering just thinking about all of this amazing food. I can't wait to go back. I've finally found my favorite sushi joint in the city. read more

EDIT: okay so my #1 Fan Dfens T. thinks this is a lot of food. Actually, 1 order of oysters is only 2 pcs. We had 2 orders = 4 oysters. Also, it's SMALL PORTIONS HERE! plus it was split between 3 hungry girls that is all. Okay but my betch and I do grub like crazy amounts NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM. You reading this betch!??! I said "I HAS A CARROT. NOM NOM NOM NOM NOM" _______________________ My girlfriends and I ordered all this: salmon & tuna tartare the grilled eggplant smothered in miso spoonfuls of happiness kumamoto oysters for sushi: the best roll uni nigiri aji nigiri tobiko + quail egg nigiri The salmon & tuna tartare was good. What I liked most about it was the chips it came with, and the fact that the tuna and salmon were diced. Usually the tuna tartare is a disgusting mush which is why i don't normally order it. we all enjoyed the eggplant, it was grilled perfectly and the miso gave it a nice sweet taste to offset the smoky bitterness of the grilled skin. our oysters were fresh, we liked them. nothing new there. SPOONFULS OF HAPPINESS!! honestly, the best thing we freaking ate all night. I felt that the spoon with the quail egg and uni was much nicer, smoother and rich. My betch enjoyed the ankimo (steamed monk fish liver) wrapped with albacore and white truffle oil better. I agreed that it was good, but i felt that the aftertaste of the truffle oil overpowered the monk fish liver. All of our sushi was the usual standard fare. The rice maybe should have been cooked a little better because it all fell apart every time I attempted picking up my nigiri with my chopsticks. Originally my review was going to be 4 stars, but I had to deduct another one because my friend's best roll had the butt of the avocado in it. oh COME ON you're supposed to chop that part of the avocado off! nobody freaking eats that. Other than that, this place is sort of overly hyped. The only thing that truly stood out were the spoonfuls of happiness. read more

A Spoonful of Happiness makes the medicine go down. You start with uni, add quail egg and tobiko, take ponzu & ankimo wrapped with whitefish, add a hint of truffle-oil, washed down with a shot of chilled Sake. Splendor. Oh, and while we're releasing some epicurean endorphins, why not add the Bamboo Tower? Crystal sesame-ponzu, mizuna green with fresh white fish, scallop and shrimp. There are a lot of contestants biding for my last meal on earth. Why not treat each meal as if it is? read more

Dr. P told me that being back in SF felt like coming home, like she had never left. I am going to take that as an indication that she will be moving back one day soon. To hammer that point in, on our first night back, I brought her to Koo for omakase with the most Japanese person I know. I ate things I'd either never had before or that were prepared in a completely different way. Everything was off menu except for the Spoonfuls of Happiness. I can almost taste some of the flavors now. We ate so much but I think Kiyoshi-san was disappointed we didn't have room for more. He said we needed to give him fair warning of our capacity before we started next time so that we could get an even fuller experience. I don't know how that would be possible but I'm willing to give it a shot. Dr. P had room for dessert so we got them all. They were a very refreshing and not overly sweet end to a memorable meal. I bet she's coming home. She has to. All this saying goodbye business is getting too hard. read more

17-December, Monday: Personal and unpretentious Koo specializes in unique sushi preparations with modern flairs such as the Spoonful of Happiness: A bit of uni (sea uchin), a quail egg, tobiko, and ankimo (monkfish liver) are wrapped in whitefish, ponzu, truffle oil, and a shot of chilled sake. As complicated as it sounds, it is simply delicious. Also a great place for takeout. read more

I held an engagement dinner between the two families, which met for the first time. I arrived early and was able to choose where the party of 10 would sit. The restaurant is a good size, not too big or small. You get the feeling the service will be very professional, which is was. We ordered the $65 Omakase, which comes with the Spoonful of Happiness. First off, it's a great deal. Second, it's two spoonfuls. I've never had monkfish liver and was pleasantly surprised. The sake paired with the dish was smooth as well. The sashimi and nigiri courses were fresh. The nigiri course was surprisingly broad in the flavor profiles. Great selection. I was just overall pleased with out seamless the dinner went. The transition in courses was smooth so it really helped the dinner/meeting of families go well. I will be back again, next time to sit at the sushi bar. read more

Just to close out the controversy, I will say that perhaps my rant about restaurants and ego was reactionary to feeling belittled. The owner obviously values customer input, which is admirable in itself. Thank you, Kiyoshi, for reading my review and offering your input. Miscommunication happens. If I would have known there was a minimum, I would have been happy to order more because I wouldn't have felt unwelcome. Really, my review had nothing to do with not being served on account of our unacceptable order-- who wants to serve someone asking for tea and beans? My review was for the attitude, for the quickness of dismissal rather than treating a customer as a guest. I hope no other customers experience the same treatment. Yelp drama! read more

With Ebisu and Ariake in this neighborhood, Koo has some competition. But for reasonably priced, quality fish, Koo really fits the bill. They have both sushi and izakaya-style cooked food. I particularly enjoyed the spoonfuls of happiness, which consists of a small spoon of sea urchin, quail egg, tobiko and ponzu sauce; another small spoon of monkfish liver and whitefish. These are both served with a shot of chilled sake that is meant to be sipped between spoonfuls. The sake pairs nicely with the food but also cleans your palate just enough to ready your taste buds for the next spoon. All in all, it is a marrying of flavors that complement each other. You will also find here the much coveted Asahi Kuronama beer. If you like Japanese beer, this is a good choice even for a dark lager. read more

Thanks to miss Denise W., I can finally check Koo off my bookmark list. Lucky for me, she took me on a lovely dinner date here for my 27th birthday. What we ordered: Spoonful of Happiness -- BOMB. I love me some uni and this one certainly made me happy Scallops Two Way -- It's ok. One way was on a beet and I'm not too sure about the other. I could've done without this dish. Tuna Tartare -- Yummm! I loved it that it came with these chip like crackers Hamachi and avocado hand roll -- Good. Not excellent but decent Gozilla tofu -- I prefer agedashi tofu over this type but that's not due to the taste. I think it could've used more flavor. Some roll -- I can't remember the name but it came with jalepenos and hamachi. It was delicious but not memorable. All washed down with a bottle of hot sake. I really enjoyed our meal and thought the small hole in the wall was the perfect setting for two girlfriends to catch up. I'm looking forward to bringing Mr. Dubs back for another try of the Spoonful of Happiness. read more

Tried the omakase here so we had a big selection of fish and cooked dishes. The big hit was the spoonful of happiness, which comes with a spoon of ankimo with seabream, and another spoon of uni with a quail egg. Suffice to say, we started and ended with this dish. Surprisingly, some of the fish was on the fishy side, but for the most part everything was fresh and cut well. Of note, they serve real wasabi here. read more

Spoonful of happiness is SO delicious! One spoon with uni and a raw quail egg in a small pool of ponzu sauce while the other spoon had hamachi wrapped around monk liver in a pool of ponzu sauce. My effin lord is it GOOD! It was so good I had to have 2 servings of it. The rest of the items on the menu such as the uni and toro were very flavorful and fresh while the miso cod was a pretty thick piece that was also flavorful. The food here is excellent and nothing came short of anything. read more

Spoon Full of Happiness. That is all you need to know and order. Uni and a quail egg in ponzu with fish roe and Ankimo in Suzuki sashimi with truffle oil. This was the most amazing dish of the night which is served with a small glass of sake has a palette cleanser. Stick to their nigiri: +Amber Jack +Salmon +Scallop +Hamachi read more

Koo - spoon full of happiness - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Quite possibly my favorite sushi joint in the city. The fish positively melts in your mouth! And, as if that wasn't already a reason to go back. . . let me just tell you: Save room for dessert. The Mt. Fuji chocolate cake is to DIE for (and, very quite possibly, my favorite dessert in the city--but I'm open to other suggestions on that point.) Cozy intimate feel, low light, great place to take a date! read more

Really good SUSHI! The sushi was amazing and the ambience was perfect. I ordered the Dynamite, Tamago Nigiri and their specialty roll, Tokyo Crunch. All were fantastic! Minus 1 starshine because the hostess asked us to leave when we were cutting close to the next reservation. What a BITCH! read more

I went to koo tonight with my parents who are VERY picky about their fish. We had the sashimi platter, a fatty tuna roll, azteca roll, best roll, and I had the spoonful of happiness (YUM). All the fish was wonderfully fresh and literally melted in my mouth. (even my parents agreed!) The hamachi was delicious! The salmon too was realllllly good especially served with that subtle hint of lemon. My mom really enjoyed the azteca roll bec. it had a a little bit of spicy but wasn't overpowering. My favorite roll was the best roll because I loved the texture of the asparagus tempura and the taste of the lemon and salmon! I would definitely come back as long as someone else was picking up the tab ... me being a poor grad student =( Its so refreshing to find a quality sushi place with actual good SUSHI. not all those nonsense rolls and cheap, not-fresh fish (*cough cough* korean owned sushi places - and no offense, I'm korean and my aunt owns a sushi place! hehe) read more

I was craving sushi and was looking for a new place to try. I saw good reviews for Koo on Yelp and made reservations for me and two friends at the sushi bar. Reservation is a must, especially for a weekend night, since their sushi bar only has 6 seats. They seated us as soon as we walked in and I noticed that there was a cute guy sitting next to me and he was by himself! Score! However, I was with my two girlfriends and we were pretty engrossed in our own conversation, even though I kept stealing glances over to the guy sitting next to me. I have a soft spot for any man who knows how to enjoy good sushi. Sadly, he left shortly after we got there and then I was left with no cute guys in the restaurant... Okay, onto the food part, Koo's "Spoonful of Happiness" (1 spoon of monk fish liver wrapped in halibut sashimi and the other spoon is uni with quail egg and truffle oil) is a must and my friends and I all felt very happy after that. We then had various sashimi, ranging from pen shell to Hawaiian amberjack to white tuna belly (our favorite) and of course toro. The service was good too, as they always kept our teacups full and cleared our plates as soon as we finished something. Koo is a fairly authentic Japanese restaurant ran by very friendly folks. If you are looking for fresh fish in a quiet setting, this is a great place to go! read more

So reading all these reviews on Yelp and the boy living so close and hearing some people on Muni talking about, I told the boy that we had to go to this place. LIKE HAD TO. So, we went. We went there right before 7..on like a Tuesday. No need for reservations. Although when we left, maybe around 8:30, the place was packed. We ordered things as per suggestions of people on Yelp. Spoonful of Happiness: we ordered one for each of us. They were good, but the one with the quail egg was very overpowered by the egg. The other spoonful was much better. Aztec Roll, Tokyo Crunch, Flying Kamikaze: all pretty good rolls. We were definitely very full after all these. My suggestion: if you can, make it for happy hour. cheaper alcohol and not as many people. read more

Located on the less hectic part of Irving, is this innovative Japanese restaurant-Koo. Their menu is filled with non-traditional items mixed in with more recognizable dishes to accompany the sushi/sashimi. The service was great, but the infused sake was even better. My lady and I were hooked on the Fiji Apple and Lychee. You'd better order the bottle to save yourself money at the end of the meal! Dont miss: Flavored Sakes Sashimi Thinly sliced Hamachi with the Engawa served with ponzu Spoonful of Happiness! Mt. Fuji dessert The only miss: Fried fish with the hint of curry. Pass! We enjoyed it so much that we're planning a return visit next week. read more

After reading all the great reviews from this place I decided to give it a try. I came away with a weird, scary, and disappointing experience. I ordered a couple rolls from this place. The weird part is that the food looked and tasted good, BUT I ended up getting VERY SICK, breaking out with hives all over my body for weeks. *** I ordered the same sushi that I have ordered at TONS of other sushi restaurants and never got sick or broke out with hives. I am not allergic to sushi, or the type that I ordered. The disappointing part was knowing that they did not take the proper precautions that one should take when handling raw fish and eel. I'm fairly sure that it was some kind of bacteria from the fish or eel. It was either bacteria that was on the cutting board (i.e not properly sanitized) or it was improper storage of the fish (not at the right temperature, or left out). Could I have been the 1 unlucky exception to getting sick? Yes. But once is way more than enough for me not to want to have anyone experience that. There are plenty of other Sushi restaurants in SF that have better sushi that won't get you sick. So the real question is...do you feel lucky punk...well do you...? read more

Apparently, I have been going to really slow restaurants lately. After 15 minutes of waiting, I had to flag a waitress down so she would get someone to take our order. The 3 of us ordered: spoonful of happiness, sashimi combo, dynamite handroll, hamachi handroll, salmon handroll, fried tofu, chicken teriyaki, and a bowl of rice. I asked for no wasabi in the dynamite roll and the waitress kinda looked at me crazy. I couldn't understand her until finally I realized she was trying to say that if I don't want wasabi, I can't have tobiko too cause they're together. Weird, but okay, as long as there isn't wasabi. Food came out one by one, as if we were having a # course tasting meal. It took quite awhile for everything to come out. And they forgot the rice, so the chicken teriyaki was getting cold as we waited for the rice. There's really not much to say about the food. It was very forgettable. The total came out to be just under $70. Totally not worth it because it felt like I just had an appetizer and was ready for the main course! We left hungry!! read more

1. All of the staff is Japanese. 2. All of the chefs are over 50. 3. All of the fish is fresh. 4. Every roll I've tried has been perfectly executed. Need I say more? P.S. The $4 happy hour hand rolls are bomb. Best way to make it affordable. read more

Date: Saturday, Nov 16th, 2007 Cast of Characters: Furui-san - older, slightly plump female hostess, looked like she came directly from a 1957 Japanese movie Atarashii-san - younger, skinnier, female hostess Obi-san - waiter whose belt clashed with his clothes Megane-chan - busboy wearing glasses Tsugu-chan - sitting across from me, kept filling my beer glass me Tsugu-chan and I arrived around 7:30p, only to find all the seats occupied and a warning of a 45 minute wait. But, after Tsugu-chan and Furui-san exchanged pleasantries, Furui-san took our phone number and said she'd call when a table was ready. Tsugu-chan and I went to a local watering hole to pass the time and down our first beer. Within 20 minutes or so the precious call from Furui-san came. Atarashii-san seated us immediately upon returning. Tsugu-chan quickly spied Megane-chan, an old acquaintance. I thought "Great, we'll get the inside scoop of the best fish". Unfortunately, despite being happy to see Tsugu-chan again, Megane-chan was only the busboy and didn't have the skinny for us. :( It would have been useful as the menu of special fish had at least 10 entries and insider knowledge to navigate could have been handy. Nonetheless, Tsugu-chan and I quickly settled on the following: Appetizer - Spoonful of Happiness Sashimi - Hirame (or was it Hamachi?!) and Engawa Nigiri - Kuro Dai (Black Snapper, if I translated correctly) - Gindaro (Black Cod) - Akamutsu (Red something, snapper like, but not Tai) Veggies - Goma Ae (Spinach with Sesame) Maki - California Roll Beer - Sapporo The Spoonful of Happiness was actually two spoons and a jigger of sake. One spoon contained Uni (Sea Urchin) with Quail Egg and the other Ankimo (Monkfish Liver, tastes kind of like Foie Gras) with a dab of a white fish (don't remember which one). Although both of us really like Ankimo, Tsugu-chan selected the Uni Spoon and I had the Ankimo. It was tasty, maybe 3.5/5, but not as good as the name. After a swig of sake that 3.5 turned into a 4. :) The sashimi and nigiri, however, did not disappoint at all. The sashimi was sliced very thin, reminiscent of carpaccio. It came with ponzu as a dipping sauce and some minced green onion. It was very good and I got to eat most of it as Tsugu-chan started talking to Megane-chan again. :) The nigiri arrive quickly after the sashimi was consumed. The arrival of the nigiri ignited a debate between Tsugu-chan and I about "fingers v chopsticks". I'm a finger-method man. Tsugu-chan said that's correct at the sushi counter, but at a table chopsticks are OK. I still think Tsugu-chan just didn't want to lose the debate! :o In any case, what really matters is that in all cases the fish was extremely fresh and the rice was well-made (although I still think Sushi on North Beach has the best shari [thanks to Noboo's reviews, I've learned a new word]). The goma-ae and california roll were quality dishes, but nothing to write home about. Although, I'd feel remiss if I didn't mention that the goma-ae also had some asparagus. Though, as it should be at a sushi place, the fish was the star of the show. Next time -- reservations for the sushi counter. That should be fun. read more

Koo is great! Everyone should try their Spoonful of Happiness! It's 2 spoonfuls of goodies and comes with a shot of sake. That sake was smooth! Also must try their different daily catches. I'm totally in love with the toro and the Fresh Scallops. I can't believe it took me that long to try this place out. Their handroll is really worth it too. It's $4-5 (depending if you come during Happy Hour or not) and there are a lot of ingredients in the handroll. The salmon and Rock n Roll hand roll had so much fish in there! Totally worth it! Service was great! We never had a hard time flagging down our server. He was very soft spoken though and at times I wished he spoke just a bit louder, but other than that tiny flaw, the service was perfect. The other staff members were courteous and our tea and water were refilled literally every 5 minutes. Their dessert was also very good. We tried both the chocolate one and the mousse. Both were delightful! I can't wait to come back! read more

The two star rating has to do partly with a matter of expectation (would give it a 2.5). I searched on yelp for the top sushi places in some of the surrounding neighborhoods near where I live and this was the top result. The sushi was definitely below expectations. The location is just outside of the main Inner Sunset restaurant area, so a little bit out of the way and fun of the rest of the neighborhood. When I got there I was a little disappointed to see the sushi bar awkwardly removed from the rest of the seating. The server took us to the main dining side and sat the two of us in between two other groups when there were plenty of other open tables. The tables are pretty squished together on the far wall. Ordering the food was find, our server was nice and very timely; service was definitely the highlight of the meal. The food itself was only OK. There was a limited number of rolls and none of the three we tried were stellar as the reviews suggested. The Best Roll for example, was not very good. The Dynamite Roll also was nothing special, just hard to eat. The best was their Spicy Tuna Roll, which was very unconventional for a STR. And the scallops two ways was overpriced and not very flavorful. Food: Overall, the portions were small, overpriced, and only average (some even below average) sushi. Spent ~$70 for two people and were still hungry afterwards. Environment: The ambiance was not too great. Service: The service was good. Overall: Way below expectations. Overrated. read more

The other morning I had a very stressful dream. I was standing in line in an Asian pastry shop. When I got to the front, I was asked to step aside while others behind me were being served. After a while I spoke up and was told to go to the serving window outside. Outside, I eventually asked one of the staff for service and she said they had just closed. I was fuming. O Yelp stars for you!...that's when I realized I was having a Yelp Nightmare. Fortunately this wasn't the case at Koo. In fact I had the complete opposite experience. I arrived for dinner without a reservation. They were pretty much booked up ~ I hadn't realized how popular they were. The host was apologetic and said all they had was a table for 2 available for the next hour. I was moved by how accommodating they were. My friend showed and we sat down. Service with a smile, friendly and super efficient. Orders promptly taken, glasses kept full, and the food was enjoyable. Got a nod and a thank you on the way out. Will definitely come back. I hope to revisit this place in my dream sometime too. 5 Yelp stars for you! read more

Hidden gem. Get a reservation if you want a table. Love sitting at sushi bar. Melt in your mouth sushi.

Recently I've been on a sushi kick and have been roaming the city for places with really fresh fish. Koo is my newest discovery and I am definitely adding it to my list of favorite sushi places (along with Yuzu, Ozumo, and Kabuto). Koo is a no-nonsense sushi joint with yummy rolls and most importantly FRESH fish. We ordered: Kamikazi Roll- Yum! Spicy tuna roll covered with albacore tuna. SO delicious, the best thing I had that night. Best Roll- Good but I wouldn't call it the best roll there. It's a roll filled with avocado and asparagus tempura, and covered with salmon and thin slices of lemon. Hirame (halibut) sashimi special- several thin slices of very fresh halibut served with a side of ponzu sauce (I would recommend pouring it on top of the halibut since halibut is pretty flavorless) and a little pile of green onions and spicy grated daikon. Wild White Salmon nigiri- This was a special catch of the day and it was amazing! I've never had raw white salmon--it looks and tastes almost like Toro- light pink fish with a buttery taste and feel. Very good. The sushi rice here is also made very well in my opinion--nice and firm and just the right amount of seasoning. The SERVICE was what I would expect in a casual sushi joint on Irving St- attentive and polite, but nothing special. They brought our food out fast and filled our tea regularly. The DECOR isn't particularly special either- just a nice clean sushi place with modern decor, not fancy at all though. It would still be nice enough for a casual first date though. I'd definitely go back for the fresh fish and yummy rolls, and the prices were really good too ($56 total for 2 rolls, 1 order nigiri, 1 special sashimi plate). read more

Are you smooth? Clean? Rich and smooth? Ooooh yeah! I wish we all wore descriptions like the hot names for the cold sake selection. It's fun to order a bunch and try to figure out which ones fit the name. Since I'm not much of a connoisseur, it's sometimes a safe bet to go with price. tacky, i know. but.... by the third one, I could care less what price it is anyway... They should change their website from sushikoo to sakikoo since the roll and sushi choices don't hit you over the head. I'm all about sharing and trying out each dish possible. Top on my list is the tuna and salmon tartare - deelish. Ordered and only ok...the dragon roll, tuna and mushroom, and beef tataki read more

Koo is so close to my house that the chef could fart and it would probably waft in my bedroom window. Yet, I didn't eat here until like, what, a week ago after living here for three years? Well, here's the deal. I would occasionally eat sushi with friends or girlfriends (what's up with girls loving sushi so goddamn much?), but I never really was a huge fan. So I take a friend out to dinner who wanted sushi, and I didn't just like it - it was stellar! I honestly don't remember what we ate, but it was amazing. Five stars for nice people and my first time loving sushi. read more

It was too far to drive for average sushi. It was decent, but so are a lot of places in San Francisco. Decor was nice, but the lighting was way too bright. I felt rushed, but that's OK, I was ready to go. read more

I came back here for their $4 happy hour uni handroll and was disappointed to see that it's an extra $1 for the uni. The uni wasn't as plentiful as the first time around but still heavenly with added crunchy bits of tobiko for $0.50 more. Of course, I had to get the Spoonful of Happiness, which is still just that - happiness in my mouth. read more

Just came back from dinner at Koo. Wow! Took advantage of the happy hour menu which is a sweet deal. $4 hand rolls, a selection of $5 appetizers, and $5 sake and beer. Everything was delicious and the service was attentive. What more can you ask for? From the regular menu, we each ordered a "spoonful of happiness" and boy it was all that! It's really 3 separate items for $11. You get a shot of chilled sake. I took a sip. It was quite good and cleansed my palate. Then I followed it up with the spoonful of ankimo wrapped with whitefish with white truffle oil ponzu. My palate was swooning. Yum. I paused and took another sip of my chilled sake. Then I delved into the spoonful of uni, quail egg, and tobiko ponzu. That was even better than the previous spoonful. They call it a spooful of happiness. If it doesn't make you happy, I don't know what will. I loved it!!! From the happy hour menu, we got the following hand rolls: - dynamite (scallop) - spicy tuna - hamachi and avocado - salmon and avocado - crawfish We also got the artichoke as well as the fried tofu for appetizers. We topped it all off with a large hot sake and we were stuffed. The handrolls were incredibly good. I've always preferred sashimi over sushi or handrolls only because I tend to not like the rice that most restaurants use. Guess what? The rice Koo used for their handrolls were amazing. It was yummy goodness! Did I just say that about rice? Someone slap me!! I have a habit of scooping out the raw fish from sushi or handrolls because I hate the rice. I ate every grain of the rice on these handrolls. That says a lot considering I'm not a big fan of grains. It was incredibly good. Koo, I can't wait to come back. And yes, I will take advantage of happy hour again. I've heard the regular menu can generate a pricey bill. Our bill with gratuity and taxes came out to $83. read more

We came here on accident a year ago, intending to go to Ebisu but what a find! This cute neighborhood spot was perfect. The service was sweet and attentive, albeit it was pretty empty since it was a Sunday night. The shaking beef was delicious and the sashimi and sushi rolls were fresh and tasty. My second trip I really enjoyed the salmon and tuna with guacamole..sounded odd but was yummy. Some of the rolls have so much stuff you don't taste the fish but it was still quite good. The menu is unique without trying too hard. This is my favorite in SF for reasonably priced, fresh sushi and Japanese fusion. Too bad parking is impossible.. read more

Hubby and I were feeling for Japanese with a lil' fusion this night.. we decided to come here since the last time we ate here was 3 years ago. I originally wanted Kabuto =(. But thought okay lets give it a try again for it was one of our fav. (3 years ago).. Spoon Full of Happiness ~ I'm usually not the one to be observant but instead of three spoons of happiness, it's only two spoons. We asked and the waiter said it's always been two instead of three. NOT!! It used to be three spoons and two shots of saki. You take the first spoon in your mouth, then take a shot, take on another spoon, another shot and the last spoon. They were also out of the monk fish liver, out of the my favorite king crab dynamite. boo. Sashimi slices were even smaller than before. We left very disappointed and said to ourselves that this dinner is a bye bye to you Koo... read more

very fresh, delicious and good service. reservations is a must on saturday . read more

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