I had a good experience here the first time . The second time was a little disappointing. I wanted to give this place another try, so third time's the charm right? I was really excited about this place because the catch of the day fish selections were exciting and different from your typical sushi restaurant. But when the nigiri arrived.. the fish was a bit mushy and bland. The three different kinds of fish (tai, kinmadai, kohada) tasted the same and having had these nigiri before at my fav sushi joint of all time, I know what it could taste like if it were fresh. Eh. Did these more uncommon selections of fish just not sell to the masses? Was it sitting in their display case for a week? Sigh.. Even the uni was mediocre and fishy tasting.. it's the kind of uni a first timer puts in their mouth and can't fathom why people would eat something like that. For that price, I expect more. Maybe I happened to go on a bad day. read more

Their salmon sashimi is off the hook (hehe get it) but no really it was so buttery. Actually, all of their sashimi is pretty incredible. Their rolls, on the other hand, are overpriced for what they are. I'd say stick to the sashimi. If you're feeling adventurous, I'd recommend trying their spoons of happiness for a delicious flavor combination you won't ever forget. read more

Amazing Omakase! I would highly recommend sitting at the sushi bar which absolutely requires a reservation. Go right when they open for the best experience and make sure to buy the sushi chefs beers! read more

Koo offers a good variety of fish and the fish are pretty fresh. The Hokkaido uni is one of the best uni I have in bay area so far. The rice for the sushi are a little bit too dry and too hard. The sea eel is also too dry and too hard. read more

Koo - Sushi - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

GOOD SERVICE. GOOD SUSHI. GOOD JAPANESE AUTHENTICITY. Koo has the usual Sushi bar with several seats in front, and then has a separate fairly large dining room (for a sushi restaurant, but not in general). In many times in larger Sushi restaurants like this the quality goes down, but not at Koo. Koo is Japanese owned. The Sushi Chef and owner Kiyoshi Hayakawa who works with 2 assistants at the Sushi bar, and a friendly Japanese woman (I believe Kiyoshi's wife) who runs the dining room along with some assistants to serve the customers. I asked the waitress if I can order Omakase. She hesitated for a moment, not because she didn't know what I was talking about, but because she was surprised I knew what that means, so she asked if I would like Sashimi or Nigiri, and I said Nigiri, and she served me 8 pieces (every piece of Nigiri with a different type of sashimi) MORE FISH VARIETY. JUST THE WAY I LIKE IT! Then I ordered Tekka Maki and Tamago for my final piece, and the waitress was telling me how impressed was with my knowledge and choices. SO IF YOU'RE IN THE INNER SUNSET DISTRICT LOOKING FOR A GOOD SPACIOUS SUSHI RESTAURANT WITH AUTHENTIC JAPANESE SUSHI AND SPECIALTY ROLLS THEN KOO IS THE PLACE FOR YOU! read more

It was one of those commutes home on the N-Judah. Everyone got kicked off the train at the UCSF stop cuz of some problem with the power lines, and our train was being turned around. And it was raining. And then only a single car shuttle came to pick up all the passengers that had been packed on the 2-car train. I decided to just get dinner instead and the first restaurant I saw was Koo. I walked in wet from the rain, and totally pissed. It's a testament to this place that after my meal, I left in an awesome mood. The menu offering was perfect - a la carte everything - so I could mix sushi, entree, and sides without having ordered enough food for 4 people. I got the Negi Toro special, a Chicken Teriyaki plate, and a bowl of rice. The teriyaki was a bit too tough but the sushi was awesome. I'll have to come back with companions next time so we can try more. Update 4/13/06 - finally got together w/friends to try Koo in earnest, and was very VERY happy (especially cuz I had to make up for making them suffer w/me at Hamo-ko). Spoonful of Happiness, indeedy! Also thoroughly enjoyed their Dynamite Handroll (bbq scallops w/tobiko) read more

Spoon Full of Happiness - I want a bowl of it!!!! Amazing sushi specials. I was in heaven.....until the bill came. Well, the prices are actually reasonable, but I am just a glutton for great sushi. read more

I would go ahead and order most of the fish off of the catch of the day menu, which is where we had the tastiest fish (esp. the blue shrimp) excellent: red snapper (COTD) blue shrimp (COTD) grilled octopus miso-marinated black cod good: best roll tamago seaweed salad california roll okay: tekka maki yuzu creme brulee (it has a weird non-traditional texture because of the yuzu in it) read more

Had dinner here a week ago and was in heaven with every bite. The spoonful of happiness was exactly that.. Perfectly named.. Perfect bites. The Hamachi tar tar was also incredible. Throughout the meal, each bite of food was amazing. Not to be missed are the descriptions of the sake, "clean and elegant". The location is unassuming tucked into mostly residential and nothing super fancy. Staff was friendly. read more

Wanna go to Koo? Who? Koo. Who? Yeah I've passed by this place hundreds of time since it's right off the N-Judah. I didn't even know what it was and I can't even read the sign outside the restaurant. I went to eat here and discovered how fresh the sushi selection is. The tuna and salmon with the shrimp chips was unbelievably tasty. Best appetizer I've had. Anything you try here will delight your palette. Sake is good too. It's hard to find a good sushi place with good service. I thought their service was just as good as their food. The only thing about this place I didn't like were the prices and the food portion sizes. But this place is more about quality. read more

A little on the pricey side, but super delicious specialty rolls! I recommend asking your waiter for the most popular rolls and going with those, they are great! read more

Koo - 5 different rolls, all delicious! - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California

You would never believe that this place is in Inner Sunset. It's got great ambience and the sushi chefs are very nice. We sat at the bar because the place was packed on a Weds night at 8pm. Recently in the past year I gravitate towards the bar because I like the interaction with the chefs. Dinner started with a salmon and onion small bite. The negi-toro maki was excellent followed by the bonita tuna sashimi, very good too. We had the Rock and Roll and also the tempura hamichi and avocado roll. Both were delish. I have to come back and try more of the sashimi. :) read more

We walked into Koo at about 6:30pm on a Saturday night and even though there were obviously a lot of reservations booked they were able to squeeze us in. The restaurant is really small, with about 15 tables and a small sushi bar, so it was nice that they were so accommodating. We started our meal with Nigori sake and each of us got a spoonful of happiness - this is a must try in my opinion, with a perfect complement of flavors and textures; sweet, salty, umami, creamy and crisp - yum! We also had the seaweed salad, godzilla tofu and a few rolls to share. It was solid food - fresh, tasty and well-prepared - but, in all honesty, nothing quite compared to our first dish. One of my dining companions even ordered seconds of the spoonful as her dessert. If you are in the 'hood, definitely give this one a try! read more

Let me start off by saying I am a sushi snob. I am addicted to fresh fish. My first experience was taking my mom here for her birthday. We tried the spoonful of delight and that was AMAZING. I had such a pleasant experience there that I brought my other sushi snob friend to the place... and we went through tray after tray of sashimi and nigiri... and 2 bottles of nigori sake. Service is good. We were never ignored, nor where we overly bothered. I've always made reservations because I don't like to wait to eat. and I've never had a problem having to wait either. I think the bottom line of any sushi spot shouldn't depend on anything else but the quality of the food. Fish was the most fresh I've ever had. and the flavor palettes presented were DELISH. read more

Another place to add to my One Hit Wonder list. The only thing I enjoyed here was their sashimi. The fish was so fresh, probably the freshest I've ever had in San Francisco. Two thumbs up for the sashimi. My friends and I should have each ordered one for ourselves because the rest of the meal was disappointing. The rest of the dishes were either mediocre or borderline fail. I really wanted to like Koo but I was not impressed at all. We listened to the Yelp community and ordered the cod but the dish came out cold and tasted like bad milk. The sake in the sauce was terribly strong so the dish was hard to enjoy. We told the waitress and asked her about the dish but she didn't apologize about the cold fish or say much about the rotten taste. All three of us noticed something was off, so it wasn't just my tastebuds. We also tried the Azteca Roll. I knew it was going to be baked but I didn't expect the fish inside the roll to be cooked. The warm sushi roll threw me off. And lastly, the Tuna and Salmon Tartare was just okay. Probably not coming back here unless I was really craving premium sashimi. read more

Yummy! Ok this probably is one of the best sushi restaurants in the Bay Area. By sushi, I mean the actual fish. I did not order any rolls. I came here because of an article about "Best Sushi in the Bay" and Koo was listed. Came at 5pm on Saturday on a whim and I was aware they didn't open until 530. I called at 5 just to make sure we could be accommodated and someone actually picked up and made us a reservation for 3. They opened the doors right at 530 and seated us. Service was prompt. Waitresses did their jobs, not too talkative or friendly but that's not what I came for. We ordered sooo many things. Spoonfuls of Happiness - uni and ponzu was yummy and the monkfish liver was probably the best I've had. Came with a shot of sake but I did not partake in that. Miso soup- I don't recall seeing any bits of seaweed but they did use a different kind of green. Hamachi jalapeño- spicyish nonetheless good but very small appetizer. Beef tataki- a little on the salty side. Hamachi Kama- I didn't try because I'm not a big fan of cooked fish my boyfriend and his friend definitely mopped it clean. Eggplant miso- yummy with rice. Miso black cod- they serve it really wet and in a soup here. New to me, I prefer it the less soupy version but it was still good. Waygu nigiri- the best!!! Meat quality was amazing. Fresh catch of the day (nigiri): Uni (japan)- the pieces were very small but it was not skimpy. Texture was so smooth and delicious. Toro- sooo fatty I couldn't even handle it. Hahaha Negitoro roll- delish Hirame- delish Maguro- delish I forgot what else but here are some pictures. The fish quality was definitely fresh and the best I've had so far in the bay. read more

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After a horrible experience at Yoshi's we came over to Koo's for dinner. I came here on a recommendation from my sister and after my less than stellar experience at Kitaro's, I was super iffy on how good her taste buds actually were. We ordered 7 rolls: 1. California 2. Flying Kamikaze 3. Dragon 4. Best 5. Azteca 6. Tempura Shrimp 7. ???? In addition to that we had the Dynamite hand roll, a few sashimi pieces and two shrimp heads. The seafood was absolutely outstanding. I can see why they have such high reviews on yelp. Every single piece of fish was fresh and it's safe to say that this is one of if not THE best sushi restaurant that I have been to to date. The only downfall is that parking sucks big time. There is a great dim sum place down the street that I love but I rarely go to on account of the lack of parking. I will definitely come back here the next time I am in NorCal. read more

I'm almost tempted to give Koo a terrible review in hopes of throwing everybody off the scent of this amazing place! The perfect site for sushi when friends or family are visiting. All their offerings are tasty and unique, with beautiful presentation. We routinely fight over the last piece of Godzilla tofu and pepper-crusted seared tuna. Their Best Roll really is the best! Amazing service and intimate atmosphere. Although too expensive for an everyday dinner joint, every time we see our bill we think "oh, that's all?" It's just that damn good. Reservations are helpful. read more

Not really sure why this has three dollar signs for the price. It was pretty standard. I came here today with my sister. We ordered the tuna tartar on guacamole appetizer which came with shrimp chips, the azteca roll and the kamikaze roll (both of which were 2 of the priciest on the menu), and the sashimi combo which was 20 slices of fish and our bill came to about $65, pre-tip. It was a pretty damn filling meal. Originally, I had actually shied away from it because I thought it was going to be super expensive due to the yelp rating, but it was actually moderately priced, surprisingly. Had I not decided to indulge in an extra roll last minute or had the appetizer, I could have easily had a satisfying dinner for 25. read more

I found Koo very average and over priced. hamachi kama - it was fine, nothing special string beans - overly flavored both sweet and sour, and I'm NOT a fan of bland food fried tofu - wasn't hot beef tataki - overcooked Spoonful of happiness wasn't bad, $10 and it comes with a shot of sake too. Amaebi - my friend spat hers out as she didn't think it was fresh, somewhat chewy The rest of the sushi was ok. oh...and I asked for extra wasabi...that'll be $1. WHAT????? I don't care that it's the "real" wasabi. I've been to plenty Sushi restaurants that offer real wasabi and they don't charge extra for it! read more

Really wonderful food and service. I'd go to Koo far more often and give it 5 stars if fewer parents brought their vocal infants and toddlers there to dine. http://news.yahoo.com/who-knew/brat-bans-no-children-allowed-movement-growing-28600621.html read more

we went there for the first time tonight because over 500 people on yelp rate it 4 stars. But as a native japanese, I feel a bit responsible to be honest here. The sushi fish was not fresh...at all. And I know this place is geared towards American sushi lovers who like Salmon, Tuna and those large fusion roles such as dragon rolls and rainbow rolls.(not that there's anything wrong with that!) But still, even rainbow rolls can use fresh fish, right? I will be willing to try this place again though. Lots of times, if you sit at the counter and talk to the chef to see what's fresh at the time, you have different experience. But tonight, my Japanese husband and I sat at the table, we left the restaurant quite disappointed. ps. we liked the service though! read more

Definitely one of the best sushi restaurants I've been to. I ordered the Shichimi Crusted Tuna and the Dragon and Flying Kamikaze Rolls. The Shichimi Crusted Tuna was AMAZING. The fish was fresh and seared perfectly. The rolls were delicious too. Their dessert was not as impressive, however. The Mt. Fuji was a little too dense and heavy for my liking, though the green tea gelato was fairly good. read more

I love this place! I went in with high expectations (because of the reviews) ...expecting to be disappointed (because that always happens with places I search on yelp). The experience turned out to be great, so I was pleasantly surprised. The boyfriend and I came here with reservations on a Saturday night. We started off with the spoonful of happiness and I was hesitant because I didn't have previously tasty uni experiences. It turned out to be very good! My favorite was actually the spoon without the uni. Not because the uni/quail egg spoon wasn't tasty but the texture of the fish on the other spoon was amazing. These came with two shots of cold sake. I ordered some nigiri and hand rolls, which were fine. Boyfriend had the omakase and he loved it (except for one fish which he couldn't remember the name of). I was still a little hungry so we ordered the agedashi tofu. These were sooo good! The tofu is wrapped in mochi before fried. I've never had agedashi tofu this way and I really really enjoyed it. Will definitely be back! read more

Mmm, MMM! Was going to wait to write this until I could confirm the consistency of this place with a second visit, but I just couldn't resist being the 100th reviewer. :-) So four stars for now, but I'm thinkin this place is on the road to five. SUCH good sushi here. The Best Roll (asparagus tempura and avocado wrapped in thinly sliced salmon and lemon) really lives up to it's name--it's amazing. Tart and fresh and delish. I'm not usually a fan of sake sushi, but the lemon makes it totally doable for me. I was also pleasantly surprised by the shrimp tempura roll...it has asparagus in it, which (incredibly) mimics the texture of macadamia nuts--which are FANTASTIC in sushi (not sure why more places don't use them). The spciy tuna roll was also among the best that I've had--could've been a tad spicier IMHO, but the tuna was incredibly fresh and flavorful. Also had a cal roll, which was perfect in that it was made with real crab and minimal mayo. I don't eat a lot of raw fish, and I don't like eel or eel sauce (which is why I didn't fall in love with Red Box--it seems to focus a lot on eel), so I'm hard pressed to find a place with a really great selection and variety, yet I'm still picky about quality, flavor, and especially texture. In other words, I'm hard to please in the sushi restaurant area. But Koo managed to please me immensely, while still offering plenty of the stuff I don't go for. Not only that, but they also provide a decent and relaxed atmosphere, friendly service, and very reasonable prices. The breakdown for two: (generous) wakame salad, cal roll, best roll, tempura shrimp roll, spicy tuna roll, and 5 or so glasses of plum wine + tip & tax = $60 read more

Koo sushi is a great no fuss local sushi place for those nights that you want great sushi without all of the formalness of a full blown omakase meal. The fish here is great and tasty... now it won't be as good as expensive freshly flown from japan fish that you get at a $150 pp omakase but it is much better than sketchy local neighborhood joints. In addition, it is fairly reasonably priced. The spoon full of happiness is great and the sushi pieces were delicious. I had some of the rolls as well and they were good. The location is convenient for those who are close to the 9th and Irving area but parking is terrible for those who are not close to the area. Therefore, if you aren't close by, I would recommend taking an Uber or taking public transportation. Either way, if you live close to here, this is a perfect date spot :) read more

I really liked this place. The space is laid back and not stuff at all, and the servers are really Japanese (I'm half Japanese and have a thing for real Japanese people - ok so I guess I'm food racist!) Anyhow, the pieces of sushi are nicely sized and the specialty rolls were delish too! Just need to go back a few more times and it could be one of my faves in the city. Definintel a nice date spot too read more

Oh where oh where to begin... Their mouth full of happiness is LITERALLY a-mouth-full-of-happiness!! It was truly a mouth full of love. A complex textural wonder. That said the sashimi we ordered was of the best quality. So fresh and cut perfectly. The green tea was excellent, with a hint of "toasted-nuttiness" Prices were more than fair and the decor was relaxed yet sophisticated! Loved it!! read more

This place really surprised me. I've passed by it many times and had never eaten here, but I really enjoyed my dinner here a few weeks ago. Service was attentive and friendly, refilling water glasses and such without being over-bearing. We sat at the sushi bar, which I always enjoy because watching the chef's knife skills impresses me. I also like being able to check out the seafood before ordering. My date and I split everything we ordered...Wakame Salad, Uni, Hamachi/Avocado Handroll, Mackerel, and the most delicious Scallops I've ever had in my life. Everything was fresh and tasted great, and I can't wait to come back here again! Bonus points for having a happy hour menu (Sun-Thurs) on select rolls, salads, and drinks! read more

Koo not only has great, tasty rolls, but the service is great and the decor is really interesting (great hanging lamps!). My boyfriend thought the geishas on skis painting was pretty funny. In terms of rolls, I really enjoyed the Azteca roll and the U2 roll. They also have really fresh sashimi and the ankimo was one of the best I've had. The hamachi kama and the seaweed salad came in generous portion. I will definitely be dining here again. Yum! read more

A great Sushi Ran alternative that is IN the city! My benchmark is when little old Japanese couples are in the restaurant, you know it is a fabulous place. I took Mike L. here a while back when he first got his job with Google... yes, my review is very much outdated but I still think quite relevant! All of the rolls were fabulous - so fresh and so tasty. The place is small, but the wait staff was quite attentive and speedy. The only negative is trying to find parking in the Irving area - it can get quite tricky during dinner hours. Koo doesn't have the reputation of Sushi Ran, but I think it is just as nice (and delicious) and less pretentious. I'll be coming back - the next time I crave sushi and am in the company of sushi connoisseurs. read more

My friend took me here a few weeks ago and I've been craving this place ever since... too bad they were closed for the holidays. Extremely high quality and well balanced flavors. The spoonfuls of happiness, the Black Cod and the Tartar was scrumptious! I can't wait to go back! read more

This is the third time I've been here and I will definitely come back here again! I love the ambiance and the service has always been spectacular. I took my mother here for her birthday last week and we ordered the classic "Spoonful of Happiness" and she loved it. My mother continually commented on how soft and tender the fish was here and that she would definitely recommend this place to her friends. We also ordered the Sashimi Combo (12 pcs. - Maguro, Hamachi, Salmon & Albacore, 3pcs each) that came with Goma Ae (their spinach salad), as well as 2 sushi without rice (salmon roe and one other I forget now), and another 3 or 4 with rice (spicy tuna specialty roll, unagi, and a couple others). For another appetizer, we also ordered soft shell crawfish and that was delicious! The waiter was very kind to us and even gave my mother a birthday dessert which consisted of two mochis (one strawberry and one mango) along with two cookies. I couldn't find it on the menu but that dessert was incredibly yummy! And, of course, the dessert came with a candle! All in all, this place is great! A tad on the pricier side but if you're looking for a nice date place or a "special" occasion, this is it. In fact, there was also another lady there celebrating her birthday ON that day as well (as was my mother). I took off a star because I'm leaving room for the best of the best. And parking is not the greatest. My bill was about $110 withOUT any alcohol (except the sake that came with the Spoonful of Happiness - $13). We were both definitely satisfied after our meal. read more

Called for reservations on friday about 1 hr before hand and was able to sneak one in for 6:15. We decided to go straight for the Omakase @$71 which included: miso soup, cucumber salad, a spoonful of happiness, 6 pieces of sashimi and 7 pieces of nigiri. Spoonful of happiness was great which included a glass of sake. Fish was very fresh, good quality and most of fish are from japan. BTW it did get crowded midway during our dinner so make your reservations. read more

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I love Koo!!! The fish is always fresh & the service is always good. Also, they have a variety of small plates to share so that you are not limited to sushi and sashimi alone. Try the Japanese eggplant - soooo good! There are a couple smaller tables that are perfect for a date (ask for the corner table to the right, back at the window). read more

Ahh... I recently made a trip to Koo with some friends. When having sushi I usually set my expectations a little lower when I see that there's a heavy emphasis on decor* ("like not another Asian Fusion white washed place"). However, I was very surprised Koo delivered. Uni is usually my litmus test for a sushi joint and Koo hit it on the mark. The ankimo was also solid. All the fish I tried was very fresh and balanced. The Sake was great with fair amount of choices. Service could have been better though my friends said it usually wasn't as bad. I'd definitely go back... (*not that the decor is super 'luxe' it's tastefully done.) read more

I was excited about going to Koo after reading such fabulous reviews...but I came out pretty disappointed. I'll have to admit that the sushi was good, but it was nothing extraordinary. What I really didn't like was the service. The maitre'd seated and gave us menus when we walked in. Ok, so far, so good. We quickly decided what we wanted to eat, and then waited for our waitress.....and waited and waited. She never bothered to come and greet us or ask what we'd like to drink until we waved her down. And the restaurant wasn't even busy at this time!! We asked our waitress if Koo offers geoduck clam sashimi. I know it's called something different in Japanese, but we didn't know the term. Instead of trying to help us figure it out, our waitress said (in a curt tone): "What do you want?? I do not know what you're talking about." She was a pretentious you-know-what. The fun didn't stop there. After we placed our order, we waited about 25 minutes before our first dish came. It was 12 slices of sashimi - how long does it take to cut pieces of fish?! Our second and third dish arrived 5-10 minutes after that, which isn't bad, but we were already irritated. Overall: Good sushi, bad service. For these prices, I'd rather go to Taraval Okazu Ya, a great sushi place in the Sunset that is cheaper and has better service. read more

This is not a run of the mill sushi shop so for some unique combinations, this is highly recommended. Go for the Shichimi Crusted Tuna and Marinated Wild Mushroom because it come with a raspberry sauce or the Tokyo Crunch roll for the crunchy texture. read more

Thank you Kiyoshi and Suzuki!! I live in L.A., and I travel for business to San Francisco quite often. Kiyoshi and his crew make me feel like family and they never disappoint as far as the food is concerned. I like fresh, exotic fish! I like to be surprised with something new (which can be hard since I am a hard-core sushi addict for more than 15 years). I like the chef to choose for me. After several years of enjoying Koo, they still manage to surprise me. Last time I had Shirauo and Tairagui. I am not a fan of the happy spoon, or any of that other stuff that they offer, but I know Koo does this stuff very well also! Typical Sushi you can count on here: Kinme Dai Kamasu Seki-Aji Toro-of course Hamachi Toro Kampachi Just to name a few... I sometimes find excuses to get to S.F., just to go to Koo! So my Update, is really a Thank You! read more

Arrived at 5:30 for happy hour and end up ordering off the happy hour menu. The spoonful of happiness ($12) was a delight! The sashimi is super fresh and buttery. I will be back for more.. read more

Koo - Spoonful of happiness and sake...good times - Japanese Near Me - San Francisco, California