Nara Restaurant & Sake Bar

This place is amazing! Came here for Valentine's Day and sat at the bar and it was the best decision we could have made. At the bar, we got to meet the chefs who were really friendly and interact with their serving staff who were really friendly as well. We ordered the 14 piece Omakase, their Valentine day special ribs and their ginger creme brûlée. The fish was great, all pieces felt fresh, but the ribs were the stand out of the night. The flavor and fall-off-the-bone texture of the ribs were so good we ate the entire plate. And the creme brûlée has a subtle taste of ginger and made for an elevated creme brûlée tasting experience.Overall highly recommend this place! The ambiance, food, and staff make this place a restaurant we ate for sure coming back to.

Had a great dinner - we tried the sushi rolls - the Pacific Forest, the Big Boss and Special K. Fav was the Pacific Forest. We are always a sucker for salmon and lemon slices. The truffle brownie was nice to try. Lemon soju 12 dollars during happy hour. Not bad.

Salmon Taco- Nice appetizer for the start of our meal. Crunchy shell and soft salmon. Underneath the salmon is an avocado mix that pairs well (not noted on menu). Very mildly spicy. 14 Sashimi Omakase- we ordered the 7 piece but they accidentally gave us 14. They only charged us 7 piece price due to their mistake which was really nice of them. All the cuts tasted great and didn't feel like it was sitting for a long time. Chirashi- a nice simple chirashi bowl that tasted as you would expect. A nice surprise with the miso soup it came with as it was not noted in the menu. Same as the sashimi in terms of fish quality. Nice surprise they had chu toro in their chirashi as this is usually not a fish i find in many chirashi bowls Tuna Special- one of the two specials of the night. Two nigri Kama tuna cheek (supposedly fattier than o toro per the server) and a Hand roll of chopped o toro marinated in house soy sauce. Overall very tasty. I definitely taste the fattiness of the nigri. Though I would argue I have had o toro that tasted fattier. Overall a nice experience. Limited parking around the area. Not too busy in on a weekday evening but you can make reservations. Happy hour from 5-7pm which is why we got the salmon tacos. Good quality sushi all around and a nice spot to go to if craving for some nice sushi.

TLDR : Great sushi, nice ambience quick and wonderful serviceTried Nara for an early dinner and were luckily on time for the happy hour menu which made it even better!The hand rolls, Mr tako balls and the tea are great. The sizzling roll was good but the mochi was outstanding!

I've frequented Nara a couple times but went back for an anniversary dinner with the same high expectations. The sushi is still good but not the same. My 2 favorites were the worst tasting now:Don't get the Special K or the Hamachi truffle appetizer anymore. There was so much soy sauce I couldn't even taste the fish. Also, skip the calamari.I will say everything else was good. I was a super big fan of the flaming roll and the soft shell crab. Those were still up to par as the Nara I remembered!

Thanks to Jenny who provided us with warm and friendly service throughout the night! I brought my parents here and got the 14-piece sashimi omakase, the 6-piece tuna flight, and 6-piece belly flight. We also got the jumbo chicken yakitori (which was devoured before I got a picture). I enjoyed the red snapper and salmon the most out of all the fish. Generally the sashimi was fresh and flavorful. I was afraid we wouldn't have enough to eat, but the sashimi slices were generously cut and very filling. We came at 5pm on a Sunday, so we were the only party there.

Happy hour is from 5-7pm with oysters, hand rolls, and a few other appetizers. Great selection of fish! The interior is great, the ambiance is nice, slightly dark, but creates a great atmosphere. Ordered 2 hand rolls ($5 during happy hour), hamachi with truffle ($24, added an extra piece, so 6 in total), sake bomb ($19). The service was great, very responsive and provided suggestion for the extra piece of hamachi truffle, so an even split between two people. The hamachi truffle is delicious. Although there's a jalapeño, it is not spicy. The fish really just melts in your mouth. The truffle sauce pairs well, this appetizer is great even for non fish lovers. Putting the fish on the spoon is a smart idea, no need to put extra sauce, all in one bite. Sake bomb, 8 piece maki, decent pieces as well. The potato crunch on the sake bomb is really addicting. Anyways, the salmon was fresh, super tasty. Although it says topped with spicy seared salmon, I don't think it was spicy at all. Hand rolls is a great size, there is only two options available during happy hour: tuna and salmon. Good ratio of fish and rice, plenty of fish!

Nara Restaurant & Sake Bar in the Lower Haight neighborhood of San Francisco is serving a variety Japanese appetizers, sashimi, nigiri, and specialty sushi rolls with a level of respect and Japanese hospitality. AMBIANCEModern, casual SERVICEStaff are attentive and really want to make sure I enjoyed my food and had a pleasant experience. They welcome guests on arrival and there's Japanese camaraderie.FOOD4/5 SPECIAL 'K': Soft yellowtail and avocado topped with seared butterfish and pickled jalapeños with a musky, citrusy truffle ponzu sauce. None of the flavors were overpowering in one direction, and it seems intentional. Being a fan of bold flavors, I could have used a bit more of the truffle ponzu sauce.

Wonderful experience, great service, and delicious food. The omakase is incredibly good especially the chu-toro. The O-toro was one of the best nigiri's I ever had. Jenny was a great help in choosing what was good. My girlfriend loved the sake bomb

I've been here several times and the quality of food and service is always top notch. Great for a date night or when friends/family are in town! Jina was our server and was excellent.