Zentarou Sushi and Sake Bar

Oh my gosh, this is one of those meals that just left me buzzing all over and feeling grateful for life on earth. I got the chef's choice sushi tasting for lunch and it was for sure one of the best I have ever had in SF, some of the best sushi I've had anywhere without paying the eye watering prices very high end places will run. It's a beautiful space inside with wood slat details and misty mountain ink paintings on the walls, and the folks working were so friendly - the hostess gave me some great advice on choosing from their excellent sake menu! The fish is indeed as others say - so fresh, cut masterfully, and presented in sushi that was just delightful. The tasting spread was a wonderful sequence of flavors and contrasts and I will be thinking about it and smiling all week long. I don't have any photos to share because I put my phone away and focused 100% on enjoying the experience - come here, and do the same. Like any great omakase this place is a celebration of the bounty of the seas and the craftsmanship of great sushi chefs. Come celebrate it all, delight in life, feel the joy instilled by a truly splendid meal...and do it all for under a hundred bucks!

Disappointing Experience at Zentarou Sushi & Sake Bar My family and I visited Zentarou Sushi & Sake Bar after a hike near Golden Gate Park, hoping for a satisfying meal. While the hostess greeted us warmly and we were seated promptly, the experience quickly went downhill. Our server gave off an unwelcoming vibe, making us feel judged rather than valued as customers. The atmosphere turned sour, and it felt like serving us was a burden.I'm not a sushi fan, so I opted for the chicken katsu--it was a letdown. Plain, breaded chicken with zero flavor, it was the worst I've ever had. My mom's homemade katsu puts it to shame. I asked for sriracha to salvage it, but the server gave me the cold shoulder. My family, who ordered sushi, noted the portions were smaller than what they're used to elsewhere. Even simple requests--like a spoon for my miso soup--went ignored, and the server never checked on us.We spent a decent amount on our meal, but neither the food nor the service justified it. You're better off at L&L for tastier, cheaper chicken and friendlier vibes. Better off going to a different Sushi spot . Service: 4/10. Food: 6/10. Save your money and skip this spot.

This is for DELIVERY ONLY!We have eaten at the restaurant before and had a great experience, nice staff and ambiance, with a great selection of our favorite Japanese sushi and sashimi -- see photos below. It's pricy for what you get but very fresh. HOWEVER we just ordered the Yume No Don ($69.00) -- Supreme Chirashi -- and the menu says it has amaebi, Japanese hotate, hokkaido uni, ikura, salmon toro, toro, negitoro, and unagi.What we got was a sliver of uni, a tiny raw shrimp and fried head, a few ikura (salmon eggs), a small piece of salmon toro, NO hotate, NO toro, NO unagi, NO negitoro. They substituted some other basic fish that was so-so. I called the restaurant and they refunded half the price on that dish, which we appreciated, but we would rather have had what the menu promised.

I ordered 2 rolls for pick up, the snow on the beach and doragon roll. Honestly really underwhelming. Total of 16 pieces of sushi (8 per roll) and paid $40+ for it. In the takeout bag, there was no soy sauce or wasabi provided. Felt ripped off...Only the snow on the beach roll had some flavor. They torched the hamachi so you can taste the smokiness but honestly couldn't tell it was hamachi. The shrimp tempura in the doragon roll was not crunchy and covered in sauce so thats all you could taste.

I'm happy to see a new, quality Japanese restaurant in the inner sunset. They have an extensive menu with lots of different tasting menu and lunch sets options.We visited for lunch on a Monday during the Christmas holiday break. The restaurant was about one third full, and we were seated immediately.We ordered the Zentarou box (9 mini chirashi bowls) and chawanmushi. The Zentarou box was great, beautifully presented, though a little bulky/large so it was awkward to eat. But food was delicious, fresh, and flavorful. My favorites were albacore, ankimo in a yuzu soy sauce, and tempura eel. The chawanmushi was delicious and smooth and had a piece of meaty lobster, some tender mushrooms, and salty ikura.Service was very friendly and the restaurant was very clean and spacious with minimalistic decor. Located on 9th Ave between Irving and Judah, it's a convenient location but also terrible parking and traffic flow.

I think overall this place is great. I just get spoiled from the other omakase spots that have more quantity while maintaining the same high caliber quality and all for an affordable omakase.We ordered the supreme omakase because it was a screw lets treat ourselves kind of night.If you have allergies, just try to be vocal about it. I mentioned it 3 times and they asked 3 times and I clearly told them it was only 2 things and nothing else, and they still served an item that I was allergic to. Which is fine and totally not demoting this place for that - just trying to relay to y'all to be crystal clear as much as you can.The entire staff is friendly and service is on point. This place is also nice for if you wana have an adult hang out but you can bring the kids too. And let them be rambunctious but in their seat lol. It can be loud in here in a good way. Just trying to paint the picture.To go over the omakase, it was ALL very delicious. I can't emphasize that enough. But for $136 a person? I just can't give it a 5-star rating. It reminded me of another sushi spot in the City because they had a similar omakase (Sasa Japanese). Like they had a similar sakizuke and chawan-mushi. Recapping - I wouldn't say $136 is worth it here and you can get that same value elsewhere and also be full. I will say that it was delicious! If y'all wana do omakase and don't wana drive into the city, I'd say maybe its worth it? But Japantown and other spots that have this same caliber is less than 15min away and you can save like $40-50. It just wasn't filling for me but again - prefacing that I'm completely spoiled from my regular sushi/sashimi spot.

Lovely meal and experience at Zentarou! We walked right in on a Friday night around 545pm and the restaurant slowly filled up over the course of our meal. The staff was so kind to my one year old, immediately brought out training chopsticks and water in a plastic cup for him, but was very sweet engaging with my boy!We weren't super hungry so we got the crispy rice with tuna (crispy bites), an order of medai (butterfish) nigiri and tamago nigiri, and the crispy unagi roll to share. Everything was fantastic although I probably wouldn't have gotten the crispy unagi roll in hindsight had I known it was also crispy rice like the appetizer! We were seriously blown away by the crispy bites app and nigiri's! So tasty!This is not a cheap sushi restaurant... The fish was very high quality, with amazing texture and flavor, so the value is definitely there. The sashimi/nigiri menu was impressive and I can't wait to return to try more- will likely do an omakase!

Love it !!!!!! First time visiting here on Christmas Day and I can't wait to go back :)Zentarou roll was amazing as well as the protein which had no rice and I love that. Aloha was great but I'm not a big fan of fried food so I probably opt out from this one next time.Talking about all the nigiri we ordered,,, so fresh!Last but not least, Uni flight OMG to die for Service was prompted and all the decorations looked so nice. Parking could be challenging so give yourself extra time for that.

Great lunch sushi place! Their lunch specials are reasonably priced and I really enjoyed the 7 piece nigiri lunch. It also came with salad and miso soup!The ambiance is also nice and the service was great. We walked in at last call (around 2:35 pm) and were able to stay a bit past closing time.I'll try out their rolls and more dishes next time as well!

What a splendid omakase experience! My husband and I randomly decided to stop by one day and it was definitely worth it! The regular omakase was finely crafted, each piece of fish massaged just right and the nigiri was seasoned lightly such that no addition soy sauce was necessary. Everything was fresh. The chawanmushi (steamed egg) and first broth, seaweed appetizer were also top notch and each had the authentic original flavor of the natural ingredients. Service was very attentive and prompt. The decor was unpretentious and comfortable. Love this place and highly recommend dining in!