We had intended on having lots of food and started off with the special, but we didn't even eat everything from that because it just wasn't to our liking. as you can see I even left my soup! It had a very sour taste. The sushi rice was too wet. I'm not sure why the older woman serving us was so upset and rude, but it just set off for the wrong tone, she was very angry for some reason? Since we were sharing, we wanted to eat slowly and we had lots of time, so we wanted to make a little event of it, but we didn't get very far. The food was OK - definitely a one and done for us. And since the lady server/ maybe business owner was so rude, We were glad to leave. The restaurant was pretty empty and quiet. read more

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Fun traditional Japanese restaurant in Chinatown called "sushi boat"..wanted bento box ..it's $20..tempura and chicken teriyaki ..first time here today ..walked by for many years read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

I couldn't say I was impressed with the place but I was certainly not fully disappointed. It was about okayish experience. The server though was rushing me to order - I don't know why - it was still 7 PM. Service was average. Ambience is actually awful. The place feels dirty. Not the kind of dirty you would imagine you just sense it's not clean. I wouldn't recommend, I won't go again. read more

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The service was AMAZING! The experience was so cool! I have never been to something like this and it was honestly the BEST sushi I have ever had! I was full but the way he kept putting out fresh sushi had me eating and eating! The price was about $80 for 3 very hungry adults to eat our fill and that price for the amazing experience and GREAT food is a steal! Can't wait to come back here! I love the little boats that go around! So cool! read more

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Omg delicious! The Green tea is as well. We were in Chinatown and looking for a lite bite. Sushi is always an option. Service was amazing as well. Sushi is fresh! Around this time, it's nice to hear the sounds of holiday music while enjoying good cultural food in the worlds best city! read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

Gung hay fat choy! It is a Cantonese phrase that means "wishing you great happiness and prosperity". We celebrated The Chinese New Year in heart of San Francisco Chinatown February 16, 2025 at Sushi Boat Restaurant. During this festival commemorating the "Year of the Snake" my wife and ai strolled down Grant Street's Annual Chinatown Festival with booths, shops and thousands of visitors from around the world. What made this weekend very special was the Chinese New Year parade with dancers, floats, fireworks, marching bands, drones and performers. Also, for the first time in 25 years the NBA All Stars Games was being held today in the city a few blocks away. After the street fair we decided we want sushi and being that it was nearly 5 pm the timing was perfect! The restaurant was on Grant Street and its revolving sushi boat theme was enticing. We grab an open seat and began "on boarding" our choices. There was a good variety of very fresh pieces. We selected salmon and tuna nigiri, a special California and other rolls. It's a fun place for a couple, a family or a group. Good hospitality, vwey clean and great ambiance! High recommend. read more

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Truly disappointed as a whole with this place. From the customer service, pricing, food and cleanliness of restaurant. The server which Im assuming is the manager and/or owner does a horrible job. Makes no eye contact and is super short when you ask her questions. Got seated and told her I wanted the $12.99 special they have outside posted on a sign... time to pay it was $31!! INSANE INSANE INSANE... i asked for a receipt and she just wrote $31 on a servers notepad and put it down, did not ever say thank you, look up at me or anything at all to represent customer service. I get it... you get what you pay for but paying a higher amount than posted with no taxes or receipts is crazy. The food is mediocre!!! No flavor and SMALL portions! My friend asked for chili sauce and was ignored... later we saw some in the kitchen. That being said to use the restroom you MUST pass by the kitchen and where they store ingredients for the food. HORRIBLE place 0/10 recommend. read more

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Fun place we stumbled upon. Even though the restaurant was empty, I saw the sushi chef carefully prepping the food to be on the floating sushi boats. Definitely recommend stopping by to sit at sushi bar to grab a quick couple of plates before doing more exploring in Chinatown. We sat at the sushi bar where there is a cute little stream of water circling around the sushi chef. The sushi itself is pretty good. The pricing varies on the "type/color" of plate you grab off the sushi boat. You do have to be a little quick when grabbing the sushi since (for obviously reasons) the chef won't like the sushi to sit out for a long time. Service was nice. There was a single, older lady waiting all the tables she was quick to answer questions and bring water. read more

Understaffed / Me and my friend (party of 2) We got a small wobbly chair, weren't given straws for our water, and some items were forgotten about in our meal (eg. I was missing a salad that if I didn't even ask for at checkout, wouldn't have come. Food was mid :( Seasoned way too salty and there were no other seasonings on the table, but soy sauce. I ordered the tempura entree and I didn't even finish it. read more

Avoid, avoid, avoid! Awful sushi that is super stale! The rice is dried up so you know everything is OLD. Service was awful too. In the end, we had to go up to pay and felt like they just made up some number since we didn't get an itemized bill or anything. We ate 4 plates and it came out to $22+. Some of the plates didn't even match the plates & price guide so beware, they may just be charging whatever (a 2-piece stale sushi roll was $6+? robbery!) It's Awful, awful, awful. Avoid this place! read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - dried up and stale sushi roll - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

In San Francisco with the wife visiting the kid who lives in SF. She had to work one afternoon so the wife and I walked from our hotel to Chinatown to cruise around and maybe get something to eat. Honestly, I was not expecting us to walk into a sushi place in Chinatown and have a meal. Especially a sushi bar that had sushi floating around on boats in front of you as you sat at the sushi bar. The reason I chose it was the sign outside that had a lunch special for 11.50 of miso soup, a couple rolls and some other stuff. Sounded like a great deal especially after spending so much money in SF for food. Crap, the wife and my breakfast yesterday morning was almost $100 with tip. $100?! Anyhoo, we walked in to grab this great deal. We sat at the bar and as the boats carrying all types of sushi, salads, tempura floated by, we thought we should go for it. We said hello to the sushi chef who prepared the items and put them on the boats for transport to unsuspecting customers. We chatted with him as we ordered our beers and settled in. We were ready to dig in and we were shown the "menu" of the offerings coming past our seats. The items were identified by the color/design of plates they were on. Each one being a different price point. It was pretty easy to identify the plates, thus the cost of each. The wife said she was not very hungry when we were walking in, but she sure took a liking to the sushi and was pulling plates off the boats as they went by. Mostly sushi, with some tempura. I did a variety including seaweed salad, Tamago (egg), sushi, hand rolls, other salads, etc.. Most of it was very good and tasted fresh. BTW, the act of getting the plates was a feat in itself. The boats move quickly and a couple times I almost sank the boat and my sushi would have gone overboard. Slow those dang boats down! The chef was very nice and kept letting us know when new items were being placed on the boats and that happened right before our seats so we were the first to see the new stuff. He asked if I liked octopus (tako) and I said absolutely. He said that he guessed that and handed me the plate and it was great tako, not chewy and not fishy tasting it was great! When we were done, I was a bit shocked by the number of plates the "not hungry" wife had piled up. She said that she was surprised that all of these were only $2 each. I asked her what she was talking about, most of her plates were the $5 or $6 items. She was shocked, as she thought that the size of the plates indicated the pricing, so she went nuts thinking all of her stuff was $3 each. Nope. Guess she did not notice that the different colored plates were all the same size. Different size plates? Oh, the guide (see pics) does show different size plates, but it is based on the color/design, not the size of the plates. So, our potential for two $11 plate lunches turned into another $100+ meal in San Francisco. It's all fun and games until someone does not pay attention to the pricing scheme! We had a blast, had some good food and enjoyed our time with the chef. Go. Eat Well. HAVE FUN! read more

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Did not eat there. But my 7 yo girl has a bathroom emergency and that was the closest restaurant we can find a bathroom. The lady charged us $2 cash to allow a child to use their bathroom. WTF. read more

We stopped by for a quick snack and it was tasty and efficient. I thought the quality of the sushi was nice. I appreciated the fact that this restaurant has floating sushi boats on water and not on a flat rotator boat, it adds to the classic ambiance. For 4 sushi boat plates and 1 sake bottle it was around $40. I'd go here again and encourage others to try this place. read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

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This place is very small but a convenient place to eat in Chinatown. Thought to give this place a try since we've walked by it so much on this trip! It's open later than most places. I wouldn't go here if you want quality fresh fish. It's a great place for the experience of sushi boat train. The service was fast but not top notch. read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Salmon nigiri - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

In the heart of ChinaTown. Came at 6pm, it was dead inside. They were very attentive, sushi that was revolving had been there a while and wasn't the freshest. They had Pepsi can that was at least cold and refreshing. The best thing they had was Gyoza, it was fresh made to order and homemade, that was my favorite thing. I didn't feel like I got too much, but my bill was $45. Probably wouldn't return again. read more

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After performing at the Autumn Moon Festival in Chinatown, I was really hungry. I saw this sushi place and looked at their menu. Everything on the menu looked really good, so I decided to eat there. The service was alright. They forgot my order so it took a while for it to come, but that's okay. The sushi itself is pretty good! I really liked the combination of the sushi rolls. Every single one of them was good. I love inari and seaweed salad so this was perfect. I also drank a miso soup and it was quite good as well. I like the amount of vegetarian options they have here. They have more rolls and I will definitely try them in the future. My parents and I really enjoyed the food here and we will most likely come back in the future. read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Vegetarian Combo C - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

Went in with my friend for dinner, we were really hungry after the Lunar New Year parade and were just looking for somewhere to eat. We were a party of 2. This was definitely a tourist trap. If you ever in Chinatown I recommend people to avoid this place. My friend and I wouldn't go here again. We should of looked at the reviews before entering the restaurant. The restaurant is very short-staffed, disorganized, although I feel bad for the workers because they had a lot of customers waiting to get a table and just eat. The staff looked overwhelmed and unprepared. The only good thing is that the chef (a man who was serving us food) was caring and nice to their customers. They use paper to write customer's orders down and they use a calculator to calculate the price of the food we ordered which is honestly very time consuming. I feel like its time for them to start using a handheld digital device used for rapid input, directly updating the kitchen and reducing, or eliminating, errors. I do understand about the crime rate and theft rate in San Francisco. But I feel like service needs improvement. They never really check in on their customers and ask about how their food quality is, they ignore their customers, they would mess up people's orders up LMAO, they don't give the customer's bill to pay on time, and they will beg you to tip. The restaurant is very small. We were given a small wobbly chair and table we were unable to change our seating. There are no restrooms available for customers, and the food is not very high quality. We weren't given straws for our water, and some items were forgotten about in our meal. My friend was missing a salad and if we hadn't even been ask to check out, we wouldn't have come. I liked their eggrolls they came in super hot and they weren't that bad but their Miso soup bowl came in very small had zero flavor, sushi wasn't high quality, tempura had too much breading, beef teriyaki rice bowl had small meat portions 5 thin slices of meat, too much rice and the meat was way too salty, there were no other seasonings or sauces available on the table, but soy sauce. My friend ordered the tempura entree and she didn't even finish it. read more

The sushi was really awful. It looked like it's been sitting in the boat all day. We also ordered a Ramin soup and it was all soggy when we let our waitress know what's going on. She said that they could not exchange it. I would not recommend this place ever read more

this was fun with kids. The food wasn't very high quality though. I would not go back. Sushi chef had his back to us the whole time. We ate and left. Would not return - so many better options with friendly service. Surly is fine - but make it fun surly - not just obnoxious surly. read more

Walked in unexpectedly. Great food, fresh and options everyone loved. Quick and friendly service too!

Many times i have been to a sushi boat restaurant and was disappointed. Although, here the food was prepared very nicely and the rolls were packed with delicious flavors and good quality sashimi. Their service was top tier and my water cup was never empty! Nice feel to the vibes in the restaurant, and friendly faces :) Will come back again ! read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Tempura - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

Who knew? "Not I," said Sharon. A good ass sushi spot in the heart of Chinatown? I thought it was only good for tourists. My friend at work suggested this spot after he came across it one day. This was 3 weeks ago. We kept making plans to go and it kept getting pushed to a later date. Well, one day was today and as we Ubered our way into Chinatown (uh, I was not gonna walk in my new Jordans!), we walked into the sushi boat restaurant and there was another couple in there and then us. We sat at the boats and most of them were empty because the sushi chef just started! So we were getting the FRESHLY made ones and damn, my first plate turned into six plates and $32 dollars later, I'm happy as a sushi boat! I don't know what I had except I had a couple of salmon sushis, two hand rolls with fried salmon skin (SLAMMIN!!!), seaweed salad (for NUTRITION) and a fried sinfully creamy sushi that was covered in sauce, I have no idea what it was except it felt so good! And was delicious! Love this spot and am definitely returning! read more

sushi made me sick to the point i was throwing up. AVOID AVOID AVOID. overpriced and BAD

My family looks out for my best interest. Let's eat here they say. Don't have to pull my arm. Real water under real sushi boats! Been missing that in San Francisco for a while. The price point was slightly high, but I eat sushi on the cheap. In all reality the price point is average for the San Francisco bay area. Sushi Boat Restaurant opened in May but it was a sushi boat spot before. We ordered tonkatsu while we were at the bar, it came really fast, worth noting that the place was really not that busy at 5:30 on a Friday night. The pandemic has sucked for business. Vi, our sushi chef was really nice, focused and intent on making all of the customers happy. We talked about the neighborhood and how the pandemic had changed things in china town. The sushi was certainly on par with every other sushi boat or conveyor belt restaurant. read more

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Oh, otteoke . Oh vey. What to do, where to start. Came here with the greatest intention of enjoying the campy and nostalgic feel of a classic late night SF sushi boat joint. Since these became extinct in the Western Addition (the water boat variety) I was in the mood for "not fancy" sushi. "Not fancy" sushi in my book means I wear elastic waist pants and don't put out for the bill to be paid. Bonus points for predictable pricing on ordinary items. Well bingo! They charge by the color of the plate so I don't even have to bring my brain out for this dine-out. What's not the love?! What's the worst that could happen? I'll tell you. The worst is that you call to see if they're still open and ask what time they close. The person on the phone says "it doesn't matter, we are open now." "And what time do you close?" "Just come now, it's okay. We are open." I arrive and am told to sit anywhere but they plop my menu down at a specific seat at the bar. I take my menu and re-position myself away from the cold door and from between the two couples. I find a nice spot at the end of the sushi bar and settle in. I am asked what to drink and order tea, asking if it is complimentary. Curt nod. I receive tepid tea. Some minutes later, the tourist group next to me ask the waitstaff if the tea is extra and are told it is. Grr. My cheap sweatpants night feels compromised already. The boats move fast here. I don't know why. The fish has nowhere to go and seem to have been running in circles for hours. They could slow the pace a bit, it's not like the three-hour old selections are going anywhere. (Ooh, I'm sounding catty meow!) I practice my lack of dexterity and pull what looks like a vegetable tempura handroll off the planks and onto my loading dock. The moment I felt the coldness of the soggy grease, I regretted my impulsive grab. One bite and I knew I would eat the price and save the calories as well as the potential food borne illness. Mind you, I have an iron stomach, but it is flu season after all. Next up I grab what I feel are my go-to's: tuna and yellowtail nigiri. The tuna was so dyed that the rice looked like it cheated on vinegar and slept with beets for the evening. There was like beet juice lipstick all over its collar, calling out the tuna. That, my friends, I rarely see anymore even when I do eat economical sushi. The yellowtail was stale, stiff, and after the tuna I didn't really trust its moral monogamy as a whole-based food either. Because I was just in a ruminating mood by now and listening to the tourists complain about everything around me in different American accents and global languages, and because the waitstaff disappeared, I pulled one more dish off a fast-speeding boat-- one I hoped wouldn't compromise my immune system. It was an avocado roll that was so browned it tasted like banana. I think it worked a longer shift than the one sushi chef managing dishes at the helm. Speaking of, he was moving diligently and consistently but there was nothing new on the boat trade route during my time there. Only once I asked for the bill did suddenly dishes come rolling out: avocado maki, two seaweed salads, fresher looking handrolls. Needless to say, I was p****d. When I work restaurants, we send that food as we get it done. When I dine at conveyor belt sushi, they send out item by item, not hoard a pile of them and send them out in a grand fleet of high-speeding boats. I know this one is long and ranty but remember, it's sweatpants (oops athleisurewear) night and I was looking forward to some cheap but edible sushi and going to bed without makeup on. So, I would be remiss not to mention: it is not cheap! 3 of my 4 small plates were priced at $5.95 and they didn't put the cheaper plates our until I had paid. The menu prices also don't reflect economical if you add sides of edamame, salad, apps, etc. I can get amazing quality handrolls and decadent spicy edamame at Happy Hour for under $5 across town; here it's $7. Also, service sucked. It's not Japanese-run (not that I'm a stickler for these things) but the difference is night and day and the interactions are curt, rushed, vague, and unfriendly. One customer asked if they could order an item and was told to "just check the boats." When the customer insisted the item wasn't there the waitstaff walked away, shrugging. All in all, the ambiance is unpleasant; the food itself was disappointing; the sushi chef was bafflingly slow; and the waitstaff is off-putting. The up charges and the prices do not even balance out for any exchange of fun tourist experience because the tourists around me looked pretty annoyed. It kind of feels like one of those places where everyone eats in silence or groups speak in passive aggressive language about how much money they're wasting. I think all of us were thinking of where we were going to get our Hobbitses second meal. The End. (Cue violins). read more

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Slappy sushi I love the revolving sushi, fun vibe and would recommend I freaking love the boats and the Christmas music read more

Stopped in for a bite to eat while we were in China Town San Francisco. The service and food were good read more

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We had a great time here. Nice selection to choose from. The price was very reasonable and we watched them make each selection. Had much fun! read more

The food is ok. Just be wary about picking something already on the boats. They might have been floating around a few times and might be dry. The ambiance is ok. The only complaint I have is about the old lady that serves you and gives you the check. Sometimes she will give you the wrong check and will push for 30% tip fee. read more

The service was not great, but the sushi chef was quite hospitable. I had sake and several sushi options. The have a spinning pre-made sushi bar- not sure how sanitary it was. Waitress was eating her own food with gloves on and the pest control folks showed up during the meal. read more

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There was quite a few people inside. I really enjoyed the sashimi. Wasn't a big fan of the rolls. The noodle were great in my opinion. I sat at the sushi bar was served with no issues. If you like small hole in the walls this is the place. They have small servings of there rolls floating around on the boats so you can try different things. I just but I didn't go that route. read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Revolving Sushi boat's - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

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This place is super cute! We stopped in craving sushi and it did not disappoint. I started with the Rainbow roll which is just an assortment of fish and then ordered the Unagi roll which is eel and cucumber. The presentation was beautiful and they were both delicious. The shrimp tempura unfortunately seemed very bland, but that's ok. The employees/owners were very nice and happy that we were there. One cool thing about this place is that in the center where the sushi chef is, there is a circular counter/bar area where you sit. There are little boats that go around the entire counter. If Covid19 wasn't a thing it would be really cool to have food in them for a family style all you can eat type deal. Anyway, if I am ever up in these parts again, I will definitely be back again. read more

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Not very fresh, but the only sushi that was along my path tonight. I'll most likely not come back. read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

Very bleach clean restrooms which was a pleasant surprise. Cute sushi boats (so hard to find floating sushi anymore.). Service eh, but it's on a lovely street. The Godzilla Roll was read more

I love good sushi and this wasn't it. The whole draw tonight was my kids wanted to go to a sushi boat restaurant. None of us were impressed. What came on the plates was not fresh. It looked like it was on the boats for hours. What I tasted from the boats had no flavor and concerned me. Instead of eating from the boats that everyone was coughing on, I ordered from the chef. The preparation was done mostly fresh, in front of me. When eating what was freshly prepared, it was ok. I didn't feel like there was much creative presentation nor any flavor. Lastly, for the $140 meal and no alcohol for 4, I was really disappointed. I don't recommend this business unless you are in a hurry to eat. There are plenty of seats - and plenty of reason why. The staff was really attentive. I suggest looking for another sushi experience, if you desire ambiance, flavor, and creativity. read more

We stopped by for a quick 4th of july bite to it! The waiters were really attentive and the food came out quick. The edamame came out cold which was a little unusual as I usually get it served hot other places. Everything went really well until we got our check we got asked about a tip. Which I found extremely annoying. While I do think that good service should be rewarded I don't think continuously poking your clients about it is a good look either. read more

Sushi Boat Restaurant - Miso - Sushi Bars Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Its empty and I can see why. 20 dollars for 8 pieces of complete frozen sushi. Even the egg/tamago was frozen.

Like button at a supermarket sushi. Little cold inside, and I don't just meet the temperature. You might say the silence is eerie. I wouldn't call it super unfriendly, but the emotional environment is empty. Almost robotic service. So I guess if you're looking for somewhere that is empty and serves cheap sushi at high prices? I would hope better from Chinatown, was disappointed. read more

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There food is amazing and the little boats are cute and you get to see all the food and grab what ever you want

It was the worst service I have ever come across with. The tip was included so they thought they can behave however they wanted. I would never come back or recommend anyone to go there. AWFUL!!!! read more