This place is great, the food I amazing. The people are great . I love going there with family and friends and enjoy some real delicious sushi. read more

Please, people. If this were a small town in the mid-west, Samurai might warrant rave reviews, but this is the Bay Area and we know better. The staff is very friendly and they try hard, but the menu is unimaginative and the food average on its best night. On an off night, the small staff is overwhelmed, the fish is tired, and the prepared food will leave you wondering how long it's been sitting around. There are better Japanese restaurants in Southern Marin, and lots more if you venture across the bridge. read more

We discovered this place the last time we went to Marin Theater Co. and it was fantastic. We had never had crispy California rolls before, This time, the place was mobbed when we arrived and we had to wait 15-20 min. for a table on a Thursday. Once seated, we were ignored for another 10-15 min. When a couple was seated at the table next to us and the waitress came right up to them and they said they were heading to the theater, she asked if they wanted to put their order in right away. We were incensed. We asked the bus person (who was the only one who seemed to know what he was doing) if there was a server assigned to our table and could he send them over. The waitress came over and apologized and took our order. When the food arrived, the waitress said the kitchen had gotten the order wrong and made Beef Teriyaki instead of chicken. We couldn't wait for them to get it right, so we accepted it. The beef was okay (I had to spit out two unchewable pieces), but not as good as the chicken we had before. Another table had to remind the waitress to bring a beverage she had forgotten. The word I heard most often from her while we were there was "sorry." We weren't offered any compensation for having to wait so long to be acknowledged or for the wrong order, so we left a "sorry" tip. If you're going to go here, arrive before 6 or after 7. Otherwise the place is packed and they're really not capable of handling the crowds. read more

Honestly, probably more like 3 1/2 if that were possible. We are regulars here with our children and very much appreciate the fresh fish, casual style, and reasonable (for Marin) prices. I recommend trying their specials as they are almost always amazing. Why the 3 1/2 stars? The service is disorganized, inattentive, and often forgetful. Oftentimes, you will see empty tables waiting a long time to be cleaned despite a line of people waiting at the door - this leads to frustration on the part of those who are waiting and a loss of business/money for the restaurant. They need to have at least one more server on Fri and Sat nights. Not sure if this is related to the waitstaff issue, but the wait times on Fri or Sat nights can be VERY long (45 min+ even when arriving by 5:45p) so call in advance to get a reservation. We would be so happy if the management could improve the quality of service through training and hiring an additional person. read more

I really enjoy the menu and I would like to give this place four stars, but unfortunately, the service leaves much to be desired. My water glass does not get refilled frequently enough, nor does the check arrive when I'm finished with my meal. Service counts, to me anyway, when it comes to giving a restaurant a good review, so I can't really recommend this place because they are lacking heavily in this area. Maybe the check not coming is a good thing. Perhaps Samurai wants me to dine for free? read more

Great meal. Delicious and bountiful. Very reasonable prices. Best place in Marin. Sashimi was melt in your mouth and nice presented.

Was the first time here. Great food, very fresh fish. Lion King role was amazing. No complains about service at all (different to previous previews). read more

We have been going here for years and there must be a new owner. The service was HORRIBLE!!!!!! the waitress was more interested in talking to her friends and kept disappearing. The busboy had to help us. My favorite dish of the past was shrimp tempura, which was always fresh. These tasted like cardboard and must have been frozen. VERY disappointed!!!!! read more

Darn, the first couple times I've been to this restaurant the food seemed good and the waiters/waitress there were friendly and attentive. The last few times I've dined there over the past few weeks the service have gone hill and the food was not fresh. I order the poke there and it's really a hit and miss. Sometimes it tastes fresh and other times it's inedible. I took some friends visiting from out of town and wanted to show off our local sushi restaurant so I brought them to Samurai. That day the bathroom was extra dirty, the hostess was quite unfriendly and some dishes were okay while other dishes no one at our table would touch after the first bite and the fish were full of gristle and inedible pieces. I felt embarrassed taking them there. I really wanted to support a local restaurant but wish they would get their restaurant in cleaner shape, and hire a welcoming and smart hostess. The food also needs to stay consistent. It has such potential as MV desperately needs a good sushi restaurant, but I won't be returning anytime soon. read more

The rolls are great, the sushi is definitely good, convenient location and great prices. They have made some changes so the service for pick up is a little quicker and sitting inside isn't so chaotic. The food is great and I love that they have rolls that you don't usually see. And I can get a ton of hamachi and fatty tuna which I'm a big fan of! read more

Maybe we hit it on an off night, but the sushi here was NOT good. The service was terrible - we ordered edamame beans and got them after we finished our dinner. The rolls and sashimi were like something you might buy pre-packaged in a grocery store. I will not be coming back here. read more

Not very tasty sushi. Great service however. I don't think I saw authentic Japanese chefs which might explain the lackluster taste. I will not go back. read more

I have gone to Samurai, off and on, for over 20 years. The last few times have been mediocre at best, but my last visit prompted me to write this review. When we walked in, the place was almost empty at 7:00 pm on a Wednesday night...not a great sign. My sushi was not bad, but my wife's meal of chicken, shrimp, rice, vegetable was simply awful. Everything on the plate was over cooked, tasteless and not worth eating. Our waiter disappeared after bringing the food and only returned when we beckoned him over, even though the restaurant was dead. We explained to him that the meal was not good and why and asked to exchange it for another choice. In his limited english, he told us that he was sorry...there was nothing they could do. He said that we had had the food too long to exchange it! This after he had disappeared for 10 minutes! He spoke with the manager who told us the same thing...what a waste of time and money. Needless to say, we will not be going back. read more

Samurai has become one of the best sushi places in Marin. The service can be inconsistent at times, but I really enjoy this place.

My GF and I are sushi lovers. She is from Marin and I have lived here 20 years, after passing this place over and over then reading good reviews we tried it. It is dirty, the fish is not quality an we are now home taking Pepto-Bismal as our stomachs are turned inside out. Do not eat here, there are too many good sushi restaurants in Marin best being Sushi Ran and Robatta if your on a budget. read more

Our neighbor dragged us here. Seriously, if you have ever dined at a fine sushi restaurant in SF, LA, or NYC do not even CONSIDER dining here. You will be horrified. Even the fallen Sushi Ran in Sausalito is better. Un-fresh seafood improperly served. Un-clean restaurant with unattractive interior. Awful service. The good reviews are likely from Marin County locals who don't know any better- not their fault. This is a subpar establishment. read more

From Tiffany at the front door to Brian behind the sushi bar, super friendly. Large portions, family friendly place

I wish they have zero or minus star for this app. This place doesn't even look at you or say hi to you when you walked in. We were waiting for about 15 minutes to be seated. We asked a host to seats us, she responded with an angry grandma attitude,Then another half an hour to order our food. Sushi was not as fresh as I expected. Will never go back, and I will warned all of my families and friends. read more

The spicy shiso-sake crunch is one of the best things I have ever eaten! All the sushi is really good and less expensive than some of the other places we go. read more

Delicious!!!! Dined on Friday night and the sushi was very fresh, we were quite impressed. We sampled a wide variety of classic items from the menu: the raw, sliced Chirashi selection was outstanding-the quality excellent. We also sampled some Tako, and were happily surprised at how tender and sweet it was (really some of the best we've tried (globally). The classic veggie tempura was yummy--piping hot, crunchy crisp batter around tender veggie spears, you gotta try the battered onion slices here -OMG. Service was outstanding, appropriately attentive. Invite some friends and have a great meal and a very reasonable tab. This is a place where everyone can get something from the menu that they will really enjoy without breaking the bank- A local gem for certain. read more

Took my 3 kids tonight for an early bird dinner and had an excellent meal for a good price. Server was very friendly and helpful; great kids menu; delicious rolls; incredible salmon sashimi. We will be back, and if it is as good as it was tonight, I will give it 5 stars! read more

This is not good sushi. Tried it twice after it re-opened earlier this year. The first time, we waited forever, and the food was just average. The second time was a very bad experience. The sushi was poorly cut, sloppily made and did not compare in terms of quality and taste to other sushi restaurants. The wait was again long. The prices were high and the place was buzzing with fruit flies. I would not recommend this restaurant and will never return unless they close and reopen under new management. read more

Calling Health inspectors! Simply revolting. Filthy premises, service atrocious, maybe it's time to get a computer. Fish (let's not tarnish sushi's name) tastes like ammonia--too bad they didn't use the same product to clean the bathrooms. Tap water as murky as the SF bay, Saturday's leftover wine warm served and spit out, and edamame was clearly steamed in the dishwasher. Never again. Saddest trip to Mill Valley ever. I expect more from you, Marin. Blech. read more

Great sushi, good pricing and most importantly for me - super kid friendly! That staff are all very nice across the board!!! I'm here once a week at least! read more

I think the food here is really good. It is not the best sushi I have had but definitely the best in Mill Valley. I'd say if you are a huge Nigiri fan this isn't the best place for you but if you like rolls they have plenty of options that are delicious such as the Dragon and Dynamite Roll. The Miso soup is pretty good too and I have ordered a big variety of things here and have never been disappointed. read more

so far the best place for sushi in Mill Valley and nearby in terms of quality, price and service

I have given the samurai a try twice now since it has changed ownership in the last few years. Both times were horrible. I grew up in Mill Valley and have been going to the Samurai under its original ownership for about 30 years, me and my family would meet her consistently on my birthday for at least the last 20 years up until a few years ago when ownership changed. The staff was always super consistent and friendly and the sushi was also super consistent and fresh, simple and very tasty. My experience at the new samurai was terrible, the staff were very unfriendly and very unorganized and slow. It took us 10 minutes just to get water. They were having a lot of trouble keeping orders straight with the sushi chefs and having out right arguments that all of us sitting at the bar had to witness. Very unprofessional. The new menu is very much your Americanized sushi, so many things mixed together and covered in sauce and sauce and more sauce. You could barely tell what kind of fish you were eating. Oh how I miss the old Samurai! read more

I just wanted to say that I have been coming to Samurai for a long time. I was in tonight and waited the same amount of time as Brad K whose review below was quite untruthful. I know this because I was sitting right by him when he was speaking to the manager about having to wait so long for a table. I simply have to point out that if you do not want to wait for table on a busy night at a restaurant then you always have the choice to go somewhere else .I wanted to wait and I knew that I would have to because they are very busy on the weekends. I overheard the conversation that he had with the manager and there was not a moment where she placed the blame on him I was a little annoyed because it interrupted my dinner as he was standing right in front of my table. I also want to let everybody out there know that sushi is NOT fast food it takes art and skill to make and is not like flipping a burger. Having said all this I did make a comment to the manager that I thought she handled the situation quite well and as it turns out Brad K. skipped out on his bill. I simply felt that I must clarify because I think that a lot of people leave reviews and do not tell the whole story. I mean if you go to a restaurant and you eat the food and you leave without paying what does that say about you. I will continue to come to Samurai and support them in every way. read more

had another great dinner at samurai tonight! the food is delicious, sushi melts in your mouth, and favors excellent. it was very busy so the service a bit slow but manageable as everyone there is so nice. prices are reasonable as well. would definitely recommend it my only hesitation in writing this review is that it will get busier and we'll have a longer wait next time. read more

our recent move to MV, and although having been to many of the haunts over the years, never been here. very pleased with the overall experience. they take pride in quality and prep and that is what counts most with the raw goods right, right! read more