Elephant Sushi

I have been wanting to try this place ever since a friend posted a picture of The Beastie Boys on her Facebook page. Been obsessing about The Beasties Boys for awhile now. Finally, I got my opportunity to go. I chose the Geary location because it was close to work. I walked in and boy is this place tiny! There’s only a sushi bar with seating for 11 people. So, yeah it was little cramp. I ordered Beastie Boys, White Out Roll, Walu and Monkfish Liver Nigiri. So, the first thing that comes out is the Hamachi Nigiri. I told the waitress I didn’t order this, but I will take it. It was delicious! The Walu and Monkfish was underwhelming. I won’t be ordering those two again. The White Out Roll was super good. Excellent texture and flavor. I couldn’t have chosen a better roll. Finally the BEASTIES BOYS. Ah yes… UNI. I get it now. Never really cared for uni in the past but damn the uni here was divine. And to add the quail egg on top and all the other good bits they put in it? Genius. I could’ve eaten another order or two but I had to be an adult and show some self control. Service was quick. Food was delish. I knocked off a star because there was a basic nigiri I was craving that I couldn’t get here. Tobiko and quail egg. I asked for it, but they couldn’t provide. Overall, I would go back and order the Beastie Boys and try other stuff off the menu. I’d even go back and order nothing but the Beastie Boys.

Fantastic! Melt in your mouth buttery fresh and interesting. Worth the wait! Worth every penny.

Seldom does a sushi restaurant do so much in such a small place.
To be sure: this is a tiny place. There is only a sushi bar and no tables. There are no more that 15 seats, total.
No reservations. Come in and add your name to the list. Have a drink next door and wait to get called. It could take a while.
The food is spectacular. Fresh fish, excellent flavors and an exotic flare. The owner has 3 restaurants but works in this one. This is the place to go for sushi. If you can get in.

i went there with my boyfriend. the place was small but i think the sushi is the best sushi i have so far in SF. The red and yellow sushi is my favorite. and they also have a good service. definitely will go again!!!

This location is smaller than the Hyde one but so cute and intimate! All bar seating so going with a large group probably is not a good idea. Had the omakase, spicy trio sashimi, muscle shooters, and the giants roll. Gotta say they were all phenomenal but muscle shooters were bomb! It’s a MUST try. You will leave with no ragrets, not even a single letter! (:
Oh, they don’t have the $ 2 sake bomb special here unlike the other location.

Amazingly fresh and delicious sushi prepared by super friendly dudes.
LOVED THIS PLACE!!!

Thumb up for the food! Tiny place but was really worth the trip and wait (30min) for dinner.

Ya Man, roll in now.
Beastie Boys? Nigiri, please.
Melts like butter, fish.

This place is a gem. Just went here for New Year’s Eve dinner and got seated within 20 min. There’s only room for 5 couples to sit in the space so once it becomes more popular I’m sure it’s going to be a crazy long wait.
Their host/​server is so friendly and he brought us hot sake and tea while we waited outside. When we got seated he offered up suggestions and the sushi chef gave us complimentary hamachi sashimi from the starter menu. It. Was. Freaking. Amazing.
We ordered spicy hamachi, ya man roll, white out, and then the spicy trio sashimi bowl. I’d recommend all of it!!! The spicy trio was a generous size and was an amazing starter to our rolls. We probably could have ordered one bowl each and been full but of course we had more!
Ya man was our favorite. Can’t get over the crispy garlic, oil, and sweet tangy ponzu. I’d order another one if I had room! The white roll was nice and buttery like it says and we also loved the fresh ginger they serve. It really tastes homemade with a strong kick in the face.
Overall I’d come back not just cause it was deliciously fresh and unique sushi without any gimmicks, but because of the friendly service. They really made us feel like we were friends at their place and everyone at the bar was even chatting about New Years plans. Hope Elephant Sushi does well!!! We’ll definitely be back!!!

Um this has been the best sushi place I’ve been to all year! The sushi was so fresh and delicious, and the music they were playing was fun! Yes it’s small but the host let us wait at the bar next door and personally went and got us when our spots were ready! Definitely 5+ stars! I Will be back!

The place is smaller than a Tokyo apartment but the food is worth the temporary claustrophobia. Items to order include the Ankimo nigiri, scallop and tuna roll, salmon roll, uni nigiri is oceany and rich. The prices aren’t much higher than Sanraku but the food and value are much better. Try it out and you’ll see for yourself.

This place is AMAZING! The servers were super nice and attentive. The food was beyond fresh and oh-​so tasty. You can really tell that attention has been paid to every little detail, including the house made ginger and soy sauce. And after everything the bill was very reasonable. I will be back soon and will absolutely recommend this place.

Definitely the best sushi I’ve had in San Francisco. The guy working the door was super nice, and had some awesome recommendations. The spot is small, and you’ll probably have to wait a bit. We did, but just popped across the street to Resolute for a glass of wine and got the phone call our table was ready before we even finished our first glass.
We were greeted with w free sampler of walu — amazing. Definitely try the whiteout roll. The walu carpaccio was incredible. We actually ordered something they were out of (understandably, it was 20 minutes before they closed on a Sunday). The chef came back with a great alternate, and gave us a free order of scallop sashimi!
Overall the experience was great. Glad to see more businesses like this opening up in the little nook of the loin.

What a treat, to be walking up Geary and see this spot, pop in, and find out it’s the third location of a local sushi spot that had just opened 4 or 5 days earlier. I’m wary of new places – typically there are lots of kinks to work out – but I was feeling sassy and decided to stop in and roll the dice.
The first thing you’ll notice is that it’s small. But like, GET OVER IT. Know what? Applebee’s and Chili’s are plenty big, so if you want room to lay down while you eat, definitely keep on walking and head to the burbs. If you want some place with personality, and a chance to get right up there and personal with your staff and fellow diners, this is the spot. Seriously, it’s not for everyone, so if you look in and see that it might be too small for you, don’t grab a seat and don’t have dinner.
It’s just the sushi bar. It’s not a place for a group. There aren’t tables, let alone large tables. Belly on up and grab a menu. I ordered the Whiteout roll, which is hamachi, avocado, a few tricks inside, and topped with butterfish that’s finished with a torch sear and garlic ponzu. I chased that down with a couple of pieces of walu nigiri. I mean, the fish selection was mostly soft, buttery fish. But that fish was definitely soft and buttery. The roll had a great mix of char (the burn, not the Arctic fish) and smooth flavor. And that walu, served with lemon juice, was soft and delicate and had the right taste and profile to make me so happy.
On the scale of authentic to cream cheese, this has found a nice little place in the middle. In fact, they’re striking a balance that’s kinda hard to achieve. This is not one of those secret places where the chef just gives you his vision of sushi and you eat it pure and clean. Yet it’s also not one of those places that’s a complete takeover of sushi, with rolls oozing sauces and all kinds of veggies and candy corns sticking out of them. No, it’s a place where the fish still reigns supreme, but there are other creative flavors used to enhance them. Both my selections were a perfect example of that. Perhaps sometimes they miss the mark? It’s bound to happen, but having a couple of other locations come before them helps me understand why, on their first week of business, they seemed to have it dialed in pretty well.

That was such a sad place.
Pros: The quality of food was truely excellent. Their fish was super fresh, good flavor and I wish I could just go back to taste.
Cons: The place is just too small and crowded. Server constantly passing though our back and bumping here and there. Our women server was SO annoying from the beginning. Whole time she was rushing our order and clean them up even though there were NO ONE waiting!
She even brought our bills before we asked for it. (I hate that) And It was nicely divided into 2 bills within our table which we didn’t even ask for it.
That place is not cheap. They charge pretty good amount for what it is. For that, I expect great food, comfortable setting AND great service. They were missing two of them.
I WOULD NEVER EVER GO BACK THERE. There are many many better places that we can have really nice meal for the amount we paid for. Oh btw, I was so pissed at the end becasue woman server spilled soy sauce all over my sweater at the end just to push my last button. I actually refused to pay. They still charged and gave me $ 20 cash. Pitty. What am I? Bum?
Awful after taste. Never again.

I have been waiting for this location to open up. And it finally did! This place is so unique on its own and I am so happy to come before the weights begin. Try to come ASAP before the wait is super long. The place only seats 12 in the entire place. So you can imagine how long the wait can be.
Try to mussel shooters. It’s so creative and really good. We also got the red and yellow roll, Yummy pocket, saki sashimi and hotate nigiri. Everything is so delicious that I can’t describe how satisfied I was leaving this place. The salmon melts in your mouth, however it does come slightly dressed in a sauce for a sashimi. The Yummy pocket is spicy and fresh. The service is great and the atmosphere/​music/​decoration is awesome. The ginger is fresh ginger, so no fake stuff here.
They call me by my name every time a dish is ready and handed directly to me from the chef fan girl status for this place. I Totally will be coming here all the time. Good sushi place right around the corner from my place.

Everything was so fresh and super delicious. We tried mussel shooter with quail egg from appetizing part, it melted in our mouths! Yes, it was that delicious. Other things we ordered from house specials and rolls were all very fresh and tasty. Staffs were super friendly and chefs were incredibly. They have 2 other locations, and both are really popular. U have to line up for dine. Seats are limited, so better rush! :)

Place is tiny. Literally a sushi bar that only fits 12 or so. You can only wait outside on the sidewalk if the place is filled inside.
I ordered salmon and hamachi nigiri and the white out roll.
Fish quality is good but rice that isn’t seasoned is my biggest pet peeve when it comes to sushi
If it’s empty and you like rolls go ahead try it.
Other then that pass amateur sushi hour all night another mediocre sushi spot added to SF surprised thy have 2 other locations.

I recently read an empowering article from a woman who decided that she was going to date herself. On Saturday nights, she would treat herself to a nice dinner at one of the hottest new restaurant in the city. The benefits of dining alone: you don’t have to depend on anyone, you can pick whatever restaurant you want to go to, and order whatever the phuck you want.
Sounds great to me except I have an irrational fear of dining alone. Remember that depressing [dinner alone] scene from «Forgetting Sarah Marshall»:
? Welp, I would need to romance the bottle before attempting that.
After some reassurance from friends that I wouldn’t look like a loser (yes, I know this is ridiculous but my middle name is self-​conscious) and googling random articles about eating alone, I worked up enough courage and decided I was going to hit up Elephant Sushi’s newest location in TL… alone for lunch.
However, the day of, my friend asked what I was doing. I told him where I was going and he said, he wanted to join so we can catch up.
I am SO glad that he came. Not because it saved me from dining alone but because I was able to sample a lot more things than I would have alone.
I’ve never been to the original and wildly popular Elephant Sushi location in Russian Hill (
) – I wrongly assumed it was sushi for yuppies. Their newest location (soft opened 12÷1÷15) in TL has a combo of both menus from their other locations. On the menu you will find fusiony apps and sashimi dishes, sashimi salad, sashimi bowls, sashimi, nigiri, and rolls. Online reports said there’s omakase; there’s only omakase for sashimi (16 pc — $ 40). Beer, wine, and sake only. There’s only 12 seats and there’s no reservations. I highly recommend coming alone or with one other person only. If you don’t want to wait hours for dinner (we were told there was a 3 hour wait last night), come during lunch.
I’m not a fan of fusiony Japanese sushi or rolls but Elephant Sushi is legit for Americanized Japanese sushi. They use high quality ingredients unlike your run-​of-​the-​mill Japanese restaurants in SF. The only drawback is they don’t have a large selection of fish because they serve only wild or sustainable seafood. They also pickle their own ginger, make their own low sodium soy, and use real wasabi root!
My friend and I ordered the following (everything was solid but below is a list from our favorite to least favorite items):
*Beastie Boys: Ankimo, uni, quail egg nigiri (2 pc — $ 12):
*Ya Man Roll: King salmon, avocado, scallion, fried red onion chips, pesto, ponzu ($ 13):
*Himalayan Trout: New Zealand ocean trout, green onion, Spanish chili, garlic ponzu, house basil oil ($ 16):
*Vodka Marinated Ankimo Nigiri (2 pc — $ 7):
*Basil Sake Nigiri (2 pc — $ 8):
*Hamachi Nigiri (2 pc — $ 7):
*Maguro Nigiri (2 pc — $ 8):
*Hamachi Truffle: Seared yellowtail, truffle oil, fried garlic chips, ponzu, scallion ($ 20):
We went a little crazy with the fatty omega-​3 fishes (salmon and ocean trout) but damn were they super fresh and buttery.
The Beastie Boys is a must order – a menage a trois of decadently creamy ankimo, sweetly briny uni, and silky yolk.
As much as I like authentic sushi, I get roll cravings from time to time and the Ya Man thoroughly satisfied it. Great combo of textures from the buttery salmon, avocado and onion chips. I like that Tamir (owner/​sushi chef) doesn’t use too much rice and doesn’t skimp on the neta topping; it covers the entire roll.
The Himalayan trout was beautifully presented and the silky pieces of sashimi were like a umami fish butter; great with sake.
The nigiris were all solid but the ankimo was my favorite. Like foie gras of the sea, the housemade ankimo that was marinated with vodka had a sinfully rich texture. The shari was nicely seasoned and compact so you can finish in one bite.
I love truffle but it overpowered the hamachi so I would skip the Hamachi Truffle next time.
Oh yah, I couldn’t get enough of their house pickled ginger as a palate cleanser:
. I almost finished half of a jar myself. =/​
Elephant Sushi is family owned and they take pride in ensuring that they don’t serve mediocre sushi which is why all their locations are tiny (one sushi chef only). Tamir and his wife (who runs the front of the house) were very hospitable, engaging, and attentive.
Minimalist ambiance with just a sushi counter so I can’t stress enough to don’t come with more than another person. There’s no space inside to wait.
Parking is much easier than their original location especially during lunch.
I’m a omakase whore so I hope Elephant Sushi considers adding omakase nigiri in the future. Kanpai!