Wako

Amazing. The best sushi I've had outside of Japan - period. It was like being transported to Japan for 2 hours. But note that getting this quality outside of Japan also means you have to fly in the fresh fish within hours from remote locations, and that's expensive... So be prepared to pay way way more than you'd be used to for locally sourced product in other places. It's expensive but you do get the real thing.

+2

Excellent omakase experience with with balanced flavors and beautifully presented. Chef and staff are incredible!

+5

True artistry! Phenomenal hospitality. Loved the buckwheat tea too.

We had the omakase #2 tasting menu. The overall experience was very positive. There were some creative choices with some of the nigiri. Despite the main attraction being the sushi, the seasonal dishes, soup, and appetizer plates were memorably delicious. Service from staff was good, but not particularly outstanding that you could not get at an ordinary restaurant. The chef was very personable and that enhanced the overall experience.

Wako is the perfect place to celebrate a special occasion or treat yourself. Their omakase is among the best in the city. The ingredients are fresh and seasonal, and the fish is always fresh, delicious, and sourced from around the globe. The presentation is beautiful and thoughtful. It’s a wonderful restaurant in every way.

On our last night in SF, my husband and I made reservations for dinner here, and are so thankful that we did! It concluded our vacation on a delightful note! The service was amazing. The servers are not only friendly, but very knowledgeable. Every bite was delicious, and the presentation and attention to detail really added to the experience. We will definitely be back when we have another trip to SF!!

Came here to celebrate my wife's birthday. The 10 piece sushi tasting is a good start, added a few more sushi like: snow crab, fatty tuna with carvia. We also ordered the baby squid and baby eel. Overall it's a great restaurant for special occasions.

+6

We had such a beautiful evening at Wako last night. I took my best friend there for her birthday and they accomodated every request we had. Very delicate and detail oriented. Lovely Omakase experience.

The lunch takeout is amazing!! The sushi tastes so fresh and high quality and the staff are so nice. I hope they expand it beyond just Thursday-Sunday. Can’t wait to try the omakase :)

Exquisite and beautiful presentation, freshly prepared with such a care. One of our favorite place in town.

This is as good as it gets outside Japan. All seafood was freshly shipped from across the ocean. The staff is highly professional as one would expect. Everything melts in your mouth. Expensive, but certainly worth visiting if you can afford it.

+6

FAV! cute ambiance, small intimate setting. Apart of the sushi, which was so fresh and delicious, I LOVED the chef. I'm so lucky to have been able to sit at the sushi bar and hear his stories and his little jokes about each piece in the set menu. Perfect place for a romantic date or a platonic date, which is exactly my sushi loving friend and I did at Wako!

+1

Good Sushi. Just the right balance of flavor and the original taste of ingredients. Also their Omakase is of great value. we tried： Sweet Shrimp with Sea Urchin： 5/5 Sweet shrimp never let me down. Chu Toro： 5/5 Beltfish：5/5 My favorite！OMG item of the meal. They gave the fish a bit of torch, which added another layer of taste. Kampachi: 5/5 Japanese Blue Fish: 5/5 Bonito: 3/5 Somehow the Bonito tasted pretty watery, I didn’t enjoy this one. For hand rolls, we tried the Red Snapper one. The roe in it was too salty … didn't enjoy it. (I almost want to go with 4 stars after this hand roll) We also had some small plates they are okay but nothing special. In general, if the food is good. I don’t care that much about service. But our waitress knocked over a tea cup, which surprised me a bit.

+2

This was the best sushi Omakase I've had. Period. It was worth all the decisions Ive made to get me into that seat eating the freshest and meatiest pieces with perfect preparation. This will haunt me until I come back a year later. I can only tell time by the anchor to this experience. What time is it? Oh just 3 days since I had the best sushi of my life. Chef was super friendly and even showed us his knife collection. Come hungry. Approx 2 hours for the full course.

We had such a wonderful time! The atmosphere was very friendly, and the chef was incredibly outgoing and engaging. He gave vivid, detailed explanations of each piece of sushi — including which part of the fish it came from and how it was prepared — which made the experience feel extra special and educational. One unique touch was the in-house special drink designed to transition between the appetizer and the sushi course — such a thoughtful detail! Since it was our birthday, the restaurant even surprised us with a hand-drawn birthday card. Super cute and such a lovely gesture! Constructive feedback: 1. It would be great if the reservation time could be extended to 2.5 hours. Things felt a little rushed toward the end. 2. It would also be nice to have a choice between water and hot tea as a default beverage option. Overall, a fantastic experience — we’d definitely come back!

We had a lovely anniversary dinner here. The omakase was very well constructed with a balance of hot and cold dishes that complemented each other really well. The sushi was clearly meticulously made and each dish was a delight to enjoy. Highly recommend the omakase and hot sake pairing!

My partner and I celebrated our 7-year anniversary at Wako and had an incredible experience - every bite we had was perfectly balanced and considered in the context of the meal. Everything was delicious but Chef Jin’s enthusiasm for the seasonal pike mackerel made me love it the most! Such obvious and deep respect for the food from everyone on staff, and the relaxed and cheerful vibe made it even better. We loved the staff and Chefs Jin and Ivan took care of us from the moment we stepped in the door - service was a true highlight. Friendly, funny, warm, and unpretentious, and everything you eat is explained super clearly and accessibly. Wako was the best meal I’ve had in several years, and we couldn’t have been happier to support a business run by such lovely people. Worth every penny. We’ll definitely be back!

First time trying omakase, so I don't have anythin to compare this to... but overall we really enjoyed the experience. Each piece was fresh and delicious. Everyone was very friendly and knowledgeable. There was lots of variety and flavors. I did lots of research based on friends' recommendations and local SF articles. Wako ranked highly for quality, value, and experience. Would definitely recommend.

Such a wonderful wonderful meal. Well paced, well executed, nice service, tasty food and more. Definitely the best omakase we've had in San Francisco this past year. The others were good, but this one was special, had the right amount of food and paced it nicely for 2 hours. Really loved hows they got the sushi two at a time, rather than too many pieces. They also noticed my wife not eating some of the rice, and reduced the amount of rice in the future pieces. Would strongly recommend this place, go here now :)

This is my favorite omakase place in all of San Francisco and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a reasonably priced omakase (~$125/person) with amazing service every time you go. I've been to Wako 5-6 times in the last 10 years, and I am never disappointed. They serve seasonal fish depending on the time of year that you visit. The chef's omakase comes with a starter, appetizer, 10 pieces of nigiri, a grilled dish, soup, and a house made dessert. You really can't find another omakase like this in the city. I think there are 2 options for either 9 or 11 piece chef omakase since the last time I visited. My favorite nigiri from Wako are the striped jack, ink squid with uni, and of course, the blue fin tune belly. The chefs are so nice and explain every cut of fish to you as they serve it. Be sure to make a reservation well in advance, as spots do fill up. Try to get a seat at the counter, so you can watch the chefs as they prepare the dishes. Parking can be a little tricky in this part of town, given how many restaurants, bars, and surrounding shops there are, so be sure to arrive a little early!

Great omakase experience at a reasonable price. The dishes are very innovative and delicious. We love the cod, fat tuna nigiri, uni, and the black seasome tofu dishes. These are so tasty and fresh. They also have a great sake collection. We had some light fruity and silky sake, and it was very delicious. The service was great and made us feel very well welcome. Reservations are highly recommended. It is a relatively small restaurant, and it gets very busy. Street parking is available for free after certain hours. Overall, we had a great omakase experience at Wako and will definitely come again when we visit SF next time.

Completely blew us away!! I’ve been a few times before but the most recent visit was definitely amazing. All the fish was prepared to perfection and the fish was so fresh. Love the 2 options of uni available. The anago took us by surprised and it was amazing! The dessert was also a hitter. Loved that it wasn’t too sweet. Definitely one of our go to sushi places now!

An amazing omakase experience in SF and reasonably priced. All the sushi was so fresh and paired well with the different flavors. Even their non-sushi dishes were wonderful and their ice dessert was amazing. Make a reservation because they’re very small and fill up quickly

I’ll start off by saying the chef was very knowledgeable and it was a great experience to sit right upfront and have the tasting menu. The dish was well thought out with the order of sushi that you eat. The ingredients itself are very fresh and pleasing to eat. Definitely the best sushi I’ve ever had. The only thing is, I wish the tasting menu was enough to fill you up. Atleast for me, I could’ve done with 3-4 more pieces. The tasting menu comes with 10. I would definitely eat here again and recommend that you try it if you’re interested.

We came for an anniversary and it was an great experience. We did the tasting menu ($98 for 10 pieces of sushi, each one better than the last). We also really liked the waygu sushi. Incredible attention to detail and really attentive service from Tomo (the chef) and the rest of the staff. Would strongly recommend

First time having Omakase, and the service was incredible! Everyone was so positive and lovely and the chef was extremely excited and you could tell he loved his work. The food was delicious and beautifully made. I'm no expert since it was my first Omakase but I'm told that their price is very reasonable for what you get.

Came here for my birthday dinner and was treated to an amazing meal! We were seated at the bar so we got the perfect view of the chef in action. Our dinner options was between a $95 or $135 omakase meal. The latter includes 15 pieces of sushi and a host of other small dishes. Being a sushi lover that we are, we chose the $135 option. Each piece of sushi was made perfectly and served immediately by the chef who recommends that you eat it without any additional condiment. Aside from the food, the service was excellent! They had three very attentive waitress for a room with no more than 20 customers. Overall, it was an absolutely divine meal and I would come back again without a doubt! So if you want to spoil someone with amazing sushi for a special occasion, or just to have an amazing meal. This is definitely a place to consider!

Lovely place. Authentic Japanese. Fish is mostly from Japan. Great service. They accommodated my allergies. Wonderful experience.

Wako is wonderful. A real gem of a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. We had an amazing omakase. Pricey but absolutely worth it. Our menu showed us all the places in Japan where each piece of fish was from. Jin was a master at making each piece of sashimi and sushi. Everything was incredibly fresh. And inventive. The best was when he pulled out a huge slab of tuna and cut our slices in front of us. Two different sides for two different types of toro. The interior was understated but beautifully modern. We just had an incredible experience!

Clemens Wan

This was the best sushi Omakase I've had. Period. It was worth all the decisions Ive made to get me into that seat eating the freshest and meatiest pieces with perfect preparation. This will haunt me until I come back a year later. I can only tell time by the anchor to this experience. What time is it? Oh just 3 days since I had the best sushi of my life. Chef was super friendly and even showed us his knife collection. Come hungry. Approx 2 hours for the full course.

Michael Kawamoto

We had a lovely anniversary dinner here. The omakase was very well constructed with a balance of hot and cold dishes that complemented each other really well. The sushi was clearly meticulously made and each dish was a delight to enjoy. Highly recommend the omakase and hot sake pairing!

Lucid he

We had such a wonderful time! The atmosphere was very friendly, and the chef was incredibly outgoing and engaging. He gave vivid, detailed explanations of each piece of sushi — including which part of the fish it came from and how it was prepared — which made the experience feel extra special and educational. One unique touch was the in-house special drink designed to transition between the appetizer and the sushi course — such a thoughtful detail! Since it was our birthday, the restaurant even surprised us with a hand-drawn birthday card. Super cute and such a lovely gesture! Constructive feedback: 1. It would be great if the reservation time could be extended to 2.5 hours. Things felt a little rushed toward the end. 2. It would also be nice to have a choice between water and hot tea as a default beverage option. Overall, a fantastic experience — we’d definitely come back!

Emily G

My partner and I celebrated our 7-year anniversary at Wako and had an incredible experience - every bite we had was perfectly balanced and considered in the context of the meal. Everything was delicious but Chef Jin’s enthusiasm for the seasonal pike mackerel made me love it the most! Such obvious and deep respect for the food from everyone on staff, and the relaxed and cheerful vibe made it even better. We loved the staff and Chefs Jin and Ivan took care of us from the moment we stepped in the door - service was a true highlight. Friendly, funny, warm, and unpretentious, and everything you eat is explained super clearly and accessibly. Wako was the best meal I’ve had in several years, and we couldn’t have been happier to support a business run by such lovely people. Worth every penny. We’ll definitely be back!

Taylor Au

First time trying omakase, so I don't have anythin to compare this to... but overall we really enjoyed the experience. Each piece was fresh and delicious. Everyone was very friendly and knowledgeable. There was lots of variety and flavors. I did lots of research based on friends' recommendations and local SF articles. Wako ranked highly for quality, value, and experience. Would definitely recommend.

Donald Lobo

Such a wonderful wonderful meal. Well paced, well executed, nice service, tasty food and more. Definitely the best omakase we've had in San Francisco this past year. The others were good, but this one was special, had the right amount of food and paced it nicely for 2 hours. Really loved hows they got the sushi two at a time, rather than too many pieces. They also noticed my wife not eating some of the rice, and reduced the amount of rice in the future pieces. Would strongly recommend this place, go here now :)

Marc Rillera

This is my favorite omakase place in all of San Francisco and I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a reasonably priced omakase (~$125/person) with amazing service every time you go. I've been to Wako 5-6 times in the last 10 years, and I am never disappointed. They serve seasonal fish depending on the time of year that you visit. The chef's omakase comes with a starter, appetizer, 10 pieces of nigiri, a grilled dish, soup, and a house made dessert. You really can't find another omakase like this in the city. I think there are 2 options for either 9 or 11 piece chef omakase since the last time I visited. My favorite nigiri from Wako are the striped jack, ink squid with uni, and of course, the blue fin tune belly. The chefs are so nice and explain every cut of fish to you as they serve it. Be sure to make a reservation well in advance, as spots do fill up. Try to get a seat at the counter, so you can watch the chefs as they prepare the dishes. Parking can be a little tricky in this part of town, given how many restaurants, bars, and surrounding shops there are, so be sure to arrive a little early!

Qh S

Great omakase experience at a reasonable price. The dishes are very innovative and delicious. We love the cod, fat tuna nigiri, uni, and the black seasome tofu dishes. These are so tasty and fresh. They also have a great sake collection. We had some light fruity and silky sake, and it was very delicious. The service was great and made us feel very well welcome. Reservations are highly recommended. It is a relatively small restaurant, and it gets very busy. Street parking is available for free after certain hours. Overall, we had a great omakase experience at Wako and will definitely come again when we visit SF next time.

kalola pakelika

Wako is wonderful. A real gem of a Japanese restaurant in San Francisco. We had an amazing omakase. Pricey but absolutely worth it. Our menu showed us all the places in Japan where each piece of fish was from. Jin was a master at making each piece of sashimi and sushi. Everything was incredibly fresh. And inventive. The best was when he pulled out a huge slab of tuna and cut our slices in front of us. Two different sides for two different types of toro. The interior was understated but beautifully modern. We just had an incredible experience!

Tracy Ta

Completely blew us away!! I’ve been a few times before but the most recent visit was definitely amazing. All the fish was prepared to perfection and the fish was so fresh. Love the 2 options of uni available. The anago took us by surprised and it was amazing! The dessert was also a hitter. Loved that it wasn’t too sweet. Definitely one of our go to sushi places now!

Amanda Hu

An amazing omakase experience in SF and reasonably priced. All the sushi was so fresh and paired well with the different flavors. Even their non-sushi dishes were wonderful and their ice dessert was amazing. Make a reservation because they’re very small and fill up quickly

Komlan A

I’ll start off by saying the chef was very knowledgeable and it was a great experience to sit right upfront and have the tasting menu. The dish was well thought out with the order of sushi that you eat. The ingredients itself are very fresh and pleasing to eat. Definitely the best sushi I’ve ever had. The only thing is, I wish the tasting menu was enough to fill you up. Atleast for me, I could’ve done with 3-4 more pieces. The tasting menu comes with 10. I would definitely eat here again and recommend that you try it if you’re interested.

Claire Buxton

The lunch takeout is amazing!! The sushi tastes so fresh and high quality and the staff are so nice. I hope they expand it beyond just Thursday-Sunday. Can’t wait to try the omakase :)

Diana Orlandi

We came for an anniversary and it was an great experience. We did the tasting menu ($98 for 10 pieces of sushi, each one better than the last). We also really liked the waygu sushi. Incredible attention to detail and really attentive service from Tomo (the chef) and the rest of the staff. Would strongly recommend

Jade Chen

First time having Omakase, and the service was incredible! Everyone was so positive and lovely and the chef was extremely excited and you could tell he loved his work. The food was delicious and beautifully made. I'm no expert since it was my first Omakase but I'm told that their price is very reasonable for what you get.

Alan W.

Came here for my birthday dinner and was treated to an amazing meal! We were seated at the bar so we got the perfect view of the chef in action. Our dinner options was between a $95 or $135 omakase meal. The latter includes 15 pieces of sushi and a host of other small dishes. Being a sushi lover that we are, we chose the $135 option. Each piece of sushi was made perfectly and served immediately by the chef who recommends that you eat it without any additional condiment. Aside from the food, the service was excellent! They had three very attentive waitress for a room with no more than 20 customers. Overall, it was an absolutely divine meal and I would come back again without a doubt! So if you want to spoil someone with amazing sushi for a special occasion, or just to have an amazing meal. This is definitely a place to consider!

Jenya Isaykina

Lovely place. Authentic Japanese. Fish is mostly from Japan. Great service. They accommodated my allergies. Wonderful experience.

Masterful Omakase from Wako with excellent cuts of fish, helpful and attentive servers, and dishes that were very small yet piqued my curiosity. But was it worth it? I'll let you be the judge. For three people, the total ended up being ~$500 and we were only allowed to be in the restaurant for 1 hour.

My partner took me here for a date night. We had the omakase. It was good, loved their presentation of their food. Their nigiri's were good, but we weren't blown away.

+1

Great omakase - loved that the chef was willing to share how he flavored each cut. A fun experience being able to chat with him. A few misses on service - we were seated in a tight corner even though a wider space was not seated the entire time we were there (possibly a no show but seemed odd) and their deposit on Resy not being taken off the bill is less standard and seems like an odd experience (I needed to check that it was refunded the day after our visit)

Amazing elegant sashimi box! During COVID they provide very simple menu, of course, the box is the best!! I really do miss sashimi, can not wait to order more and more !! The box filling with various sashimi and uni and roe, rice is good amount, I didn't left much, and the rice itself is yummy too!

+6

Amazing food, authentic and at the same time creative flavors and technique. Totally worth the start. The only reason why I gave Wako 4 stars is the cleanliness of the bathroom. Some may say that I'm being too picky but IMO when it comes to fine dining with a Michelin star badge it's fair to expect high standards throughout the experience and that part wasn't. The food was definitely up to the standard, it was hands down amazing.

Perfectly crafted sushi with fresh fish straight from Hokkaido and other regions of Japan. Every bite was meticulously flavourful. They had two options: (1) small tasting menu for $95 and (2) a long one with 15 pieces of sushi for $135. Quality is matching its well earned one star Michelin. I wish the chef was a little bit more inventive with his menu - given the price/value of the dishes.

+6

i thought i would be, but perhaps i’m not pretentious enough to enjoy a meal like this. we ordered the tasting menu, which crawled out from the kitchen at the lightning speed of a DMV line. it was like one piece of sushi every 8 minutes. the portions were small, very small; even when we ordered a few supplemental dishes we went home feeling a pessimistic half-empty. don’t get me wrong—the food was amazing! the fish was fresh, tender, the flavors were amazing, and the servers were incredibly knowledgeable. but i personally feel that a tasting experience meant to take the place of dinner should probably satisfy your hunger in addition to your palate.

+2

I’ve been to Wako before and had an excellent experience, but my most recent visit really fell short. A lot of the dishes were just okay, and some didn’t even feel particularly fresh. For a Michelin-starred omakase at this price point, I was also surprised to see the tuna was from Baja rather than Japan -something I hadn’t encountered before and honestly didn’t expect. Overall, nothing stood out as something I’d want to come back for. Given the number of outstanding omakase options in the city, this one was disappointing, and I wouldn’t return.

Jennifer H

I’ve been to Wako before and had an excellent experience, but my most recent visit really fell short. A lot of the dishes were just okay, and some didn’t even feel particularly fresh. For a Michelin-starred omakase at this price point, I was also surprised to see the tuna was from Baja rather than Japan -something I hadn’t encountered before and honestly didn’t expect. Overall, nothing stood out as something I’d want to come back for. Given the number of outstanding omakase options in the city, this one was disappointing, and I wouldn’t return.

It felt like a fusion because of some of the local ingredients and tastes. I can see they put thoughts on the flavors and the knife skills/cuttings are great. I wish they put a little bit more effort on the menu description and how the server presented the dishes. For an omakase, I expect more communications. Don’t just tell me “this is a tuna”, “this is an egg cake”. It’s obvious. I’d like a more detailed explanation of what I’m eating and why they are served. It’s missing a human touch & interaction for an omakase experience.

Food was phenomenal. Fish was fresh, some were buttery and melted in your mouth, and others were complimented well with the included toppings. Just an overall very thorough experience with the tasting menu. However, the service was subpar off the bat. I had higher expectations given the restaurant’s reputation, but the hostess/ server was quite rude. We were sat next to the door which was left open “for ventilation” but the wind was unbearably cold. When I asked if the door could be shut slightly I was told to “just wear a jacket”. I even requested to switch tables as an alternative but it was refused as well. Very disappointing to say the least given how wonderful the food was. Bottom line: There’s more to a culinary experience than just the food.

Si Cheng Zhou

It felt like a fusion because of some of the local ingredients and tastes. I can see they put thoughts on the flavors and the knife skills/cuttings are great. I wish they put a little bit more effort on the menu description and how the server presented the dishes. For an omakase, I expect more communications. Don’t just tell me “this is a tuna”, “this is an egg cake”. It’s obvious. I’d like a more detailed explanation of what I’m eating and why they are served. It’s missing a human touch & interaction for an omakase experience.

Service was terrible and rushed. I brought a friend here for their birthday, it was also their first omakase experience. Upon making our reservation, their policy on Tock stated there’s a two hour seating limit. However as we were eating they were trying to kick us out within an hour of our dinner service. Although it was their last reservation slot for the day, don’t offer reservations that late if you don’t want to stay late. Omakase was just below average. I felt like the price being charged didn’t reflect the quality and courses we received. We ordered a few additional menu items and nothing really stood out. I don’t recommend this place.

Skye

Service was terrible and rushed. I brought a friend here for their birthday, it was also their first omakase experience. Upon making our reservation, their policy on Tock stated there’s a two hour seating limit. However as we were eating they were trying to kick us out within an hour of our dinner service. Although it was their last reservation slot for the day, don’t offer reservations that late if you don’t want to stay late. Omakase was just below average. I felt like the price being charged didn’t reflect the quality and courses we received. We ordered a few additional menu items and nothing really stood out. I don’t recommend this place.