Welcome: Hinata, A Great New Addition To The SF Sushi Scene

This isn’t your typical Omakase restaurant.

The sushi chefs are young, the decor is sleek + modern, the vibes are laid-back, and they’re playing “Gangsta’s Paradise” in the background.

Most high-end sushi restaurants in the city costs 150+ per person. As much as I’d love to be spending that much to feed my sushi addiction- times are tough- ya feel me?

And most traditional sushi restaurants are super stuffy. Like, where the sushi chefs yell at you when you snap a photo and take too long to eat the nigiri (story of my life).

Hinata goes against the grain. They’ve only been open a few months and they’re killing it. Their Omakase starts at $78 (cheap by SF standards), and the quality of fish is comparable to any high-end sushi joint in the city. Not to mention, my palate is refined since I just came back from a month long sushi bender in Japan.

The Deets:

The menu features 18 courses: 3 different appetizers, 13 nigiri, 1 soup, 1 dessert.

There are only 12 seats at the bar with two seatings a night: 5:30pm and 8:30pm. They have a few tables, but definitely ask to be seated at the bar so you can watch the chefs prepare your dinner a piece at the time.

Menu highlights:

Since the menu changes every night, I won’t bore you with too many details of my meal. Some menu highlights include: crystal sea salt and lemon zest on Hotate (scallops), Spanish mackerel- smoked in house, Ocean trout- poached in hot water for a few seconds to lightly cook the outside.

To sum it all up:

If you’re looking for a fun date night spot, Hinata does a great job by adding a modern vibe to Omakase, yet still keeping traditional Japanese roots. The quality of fish is on-par with other high caliber restaurants in SF, at a very affordable price (for now). Be sure to make a reservation before their prices go up.

Here are more pics from the meal:

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