I know, it’s an unusual name. To be fair, I didn’t even know what they were called. All I knew was there was this very strange, tiny Japanese place near our house that looked like it was primarily a takeaway place. But the menu looked a bit on the spendy side, so it probably wasn’t appropriate for lunch. But one night, we were across the street having a few drinks, and lo and behold! They were open! So we went to check them out, and we decided sushi sounded great (which is pretty common for us actually). It also turns out they have a very small, standing room only dining area, so we decided to just hang out and eat there. We also decided on the Chef’s omakase, which turns out to be just some miso soup, seaweed, rice and a whole lot of fish!
The miso soup was just okay and not really anything special. But I was shocked to see the amazing pile of fish that was brought to our table. It also came with chirashi rice (which is seasoned white rice), and it was really delicious. The majority of the fish was also really fantastic, and it came with a little bit of uni on top, so I was really pleasantly surprised by the whole meal. Of course, it was around $39 for everything, which isn’t cheap, but seems to be an average price for sashimi in the bay area these days, so it didn’t feel like we were spending a whole lot more than other restaurants, especially for the quality of the fish.
I’d definitely go back, but probably not on a regular basis. It turned out to be a great place to stop and have some amazing sushi after a few drinks out with friends, and it is close enough to home that, in theory, I could grab something for takeaway and bring it home without the fish sitting out for too long. The Grubbies apparently decided to try to bring the Tokyo fish experience to San Francisco, and I have to say congratulations for that as they definitely provide a great meal!
Score: 4.5/5
Recommendation: All the fish! ALL OF IT!
The Grubbies
123 2nd St
San Francisco, CA 94105
