So this is a great internet find.
Originally, I only saw notice about Tadaima, which is a to go type that serves sando, onigiri, lattes and the like.
Right next door is Okaeri, which is a full sit down restaurant and I've been drooling since I found out.
For a hot day, I started with a Yuzu soda. Wish our restaurants would serve that too.
This is one pretty appetizer plate. It has: Spanish mackerel, Yuzu Miso Chilean seabags on taro chip, Uniga and egg with caviar on top, and Seaweed ika tempura & daikon.
Let's go through the 10 pcs of nigiri:
We started with Shima Aji (striped jack fish) - their wasabi was a tad strong that over powered the flavors.
Akami Bluefin Tuna - super yummy.
Madai (Japanese Red Sea Bream) with miso
Abruri Saba - sea mackerel
Artic Chaar with pickle kelp.
Engawa + Flounder - definitely never had Engawa before, it's a fin muscle which has lots of collagen, and chewy.
Black snapper with ginger on top.
Kamasu - Japanese Barracuda
King Salmon Belly - this is the most memorable one for me it literally melted in my mouth.
Fatty Tuna with Uni from Santa Barbara - you can taste the texture goes down easy, but the after taste is strong here.
Additions we asked for:
Uni (sea urchin) from Hokkaido because we can. They are pretty sharp and goes down well, no after taste on this one.
Tamago - egg-y goodness. Just needed something as a palette cleanser.
As promised, seafood chawamushi - it was very delicious, but by then I was pretty full. But it has Hokkaido scallop and truffle oil. So you smelled alot of it before you even taken a bite.
We were super lucky that we got squeezed into dinner. That was better than the yakitori dinner for sure by 10 folds. We were also lucky to get a seat at the bar and watch the chefs in action. They brought us our food very quickly and definitely see how it's made and chat about what we're eating, how they get it, and if the dishes are popular or not. Overall, it's a great experience, the food, the atmosphere, and the service from the chefs were awesome.
Okaeri Japanese Bistro
3515 20th Street
San Francisco, CA 94110
415-655-9588
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