Tsunami Sushi – SoMa
301 King Street (@ 4th)
San Francisco , CA
(415) 284-0111
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VdV Rating: 3.5
Food: Japanese
Ambiance: Fancy & Scmancy
PRO: Sweet design, solid food, great happy hour, Hamachi Shitake!
CON: A few dishes seem over priced
We’ve been to Tsunami Sushi a few times now, and it has consistently been very good. We were here Friday night with our friend Candida, who needed some cheering up after almost having her Pug flattened by a SF Fire Truck a few minutes before. And that Pug’s face is flat enough as it is. 
This place is owned by the Dajani Group, who also own Tsunami in the Panhandle and Nihon Whiskey Lounge among others. So this isn’t their first rodeo, and it shows. This place has a great design – loft-like, modern and hip with a fair amount of authenticity. It blends in well with the neighborhood and actually adds some class to the endless rows of mainly ‘blah’ condos that are being built on top of each other. Plus they have some serious booze and people that know what to do with it. The mixologists here definitely get jiggy with it.
So we started off with what I think may be the largest bottle of Saké I’ve ever seen in my life. And hats off to our very cool server Janet, who confirmed with me not once, not twice, but three times if the 1.8L bottle of Wakatake Daiginjo was what I really wanted. She even brought the saké list over, pointed to it and asked me again. I think she recorded my voice acknowledging the fact. I mean, the damn bottle was so big a sherpa had to bring it to the table. Thing was the size of an oil drum…and set us back $163! I didn’t notice that little zinger until the bill came. That said, it was dee-lish. Wakatake is some of the best Saké around. Yee Haw!
So our fave dish here is the Hamachi Shitake ($12). You have to get this. If you just come in, grab a seat at the bar, a drink and this dish it’s worth coming. 
We had four orders! And it is exactly what the name implies, kittens. Tender Hamachi stuffed into Shitake Mushrooms. The blend of flavors and texture is awesome. If you get this and don’t like it, well then you are crazy. If this isn’t their signature dish it should be. It’s almost up their with Nobu 57′s Yellowtail with Jalepeño signature dish in our humble opinions.
They do some good rolls too, including the Phat Cat ($13), with Spicy Tuna and Unagi, and the Veggie Tiger Roll ($12). And the Sashimi, you ask? Yes, we are Hamachi fans. The Hamachi Sashimi ($16) was very fresh, and had excellent texture. The Toro Sashimi ($26) was too pricey but again fresh and tasty. Not worth 26 bones, but it was good.
So would I drive across town for Tsunami? Maybe not, there’s just too many good sushi spots in SF. But it is a great addition to the SoMa ‘hood so if you’re anywhere remotely close definitely swing by. Tell ‘em VinDivine sent ya!
VdV Rating: 3.5
Hours:
Mon-Sat 5p-1a
Tsunami Sushi
301 King Street (@ 4th)
San Francisco, CA
(415) 284-0111
