Pabu Izakaya San Francisco

The service and food at Pabu is always perfect, the rice, the fish ,and the tasty snacks are always a treat and full.of global and texture.

Definitely the best sushi/sashimi in town. My two lady friends and I shared a nice booth on a Friday evening and ordered both like there was no tomorrow. Head sushi master Yamamoto and his crew skillfully performed the honors. The chutoro was no doubt the highlight but everything that our waitress Katherin served us was fantastic, no different from the finest sushi joints in Japan. And the rice was of perfect texture and flavor. Captains Gabriel and Stuart were always on hand to insure wine glasses were filled because my companions not only ate alot of fish but drank like one too!!

The food and cocktails was fantastic. They accidentally served us shellfish (I am allergic, did not eat it) and were kind enough to compensate us for it.

Increíble comida! Todo fue excelente.

El único inconveniente al pedir una botella de vino y que la mantengan en la barra no es agradable, sobretodo cuando tienes que hacer un refill de vino.

Love the sake sommelier. He made the experience truly memorable.

the soft shell crab was incredible-
when I looked at the total price was surprised it seemed about $50 too much can I get a copy of the bill?

okay food, a bit pricy/small portioned, the sushi was nothing special and the skewers were expensive, very good cocktails

From the moment we entered until we left we felt appreciated. Staff is wonderful. Food is incredible. This restaurant never disappoints.

Great food and service.

Great experience, highly recommend it!

The food was excellent. Service was ok. Waiter fogot two orders but there was good backup support for him. We didn’t get lucky with table seating. Despite all the available cozy booths when we walked in, we got a banquet. The lighting was so bright along the wall it hurt my eyes. Then they sat the worst kid next to us that screamed when he didn’t have food shoveled into his mouth. He proceeded to dump water all over the waitstaff and floor. So yeah, very unlucky that night. I would imagine, otherwise, it would have been worth the nearly $100 per person.

The food was good but the service was okay. Except for the Somm. The staff pick up the plates too often… it’s like they get paid. By the plate they turn into get washed. Really annoying! They kept trying to take plates that still had good on them.

The food and service was amazing! We’ll definitely be back soon.

Food was just okay for the high pricing. Service was prompt but the waiter offered high priced additions without mentioning the price. Also not listed on the menu. So it was bit shocking to see a 70$ charge for small shaving of truffle :/ . Also super loud, felt bad brining my mom there. Would be better for friends or coworkers willing to spend $$$

No doubt the best sushi and raw fish in SF. Head Chef Yukinori Yamamoto is a true master and also fun to sit in front of too. My daughter and I truly enjoyed all of his delightful offerings, the nigiri perfectly sized and shaped, the sashimi so beautifully presented. I’ve experienced many sushi-ya in Tokyo and Yokohama where I grew up and he is the best of the best. Service at PABU is outstanding and last night Gabriel and Samantha really outperformed themselves even though the joint was packed. This restaurant displays superb teamwork and maybe that’s why it’s my favorite place to visit in the city.

Food was delicious but the service was so slow. We ordered a sake and beer, which we had to remind them to bring it and I felt the server seemed to always have an excuse, instead of being apologetic.

I made a reservation here for a special occasion. Before my guest and I arrived, the staff had selected a table and left a small gift for us.

The service is always impeccable here and the food is excellent - fresh, delicious, perfect presentation.

Food was so delicious and great price.

Still the best Japanese cuisine in SF!! Sat at the bar in front of head sushi chef Yukinori Yamamoto-San. Truly a remarkable talent and skilled master, he served my daughter and I the best of the best including bluefin maguro, hamachi, sake, sawara, kinmedai, kohada, Uni, ikura, tako and mirugai. My daughter also enjoyed the classic negitoro, Ken’s and Spider rolls. That’s all we had was PABU sushi plus the Milk Choco and Panna Cotta desserts…….and it was a pure heavenly experience made even better by the Belvedere tonics that the bartenders were cranking out. Outstanding professional service as usual by Floor Captain Gabriel and the rest of his staff. Truly a fantastic evening worth the UBER to/from Alameda to enjoy a wonderful restaurant with superb teamwork and coordination.

We have been to this restaurant multiple time. The food is consistently good

Fancy selection of stuff but too bad some of the stuff like bluefin tuna etc. were not available. Some sushi were pretty good but also many that are not to expectation. It was disappointing that our wagyu came cold, maybe they left out for too long instead of serving it when it is done? Anyway cool restaurant with nice decors. Good to come here for drinks but I wouldn't recommend meal. Staff was really nice and friendly though

Sushi Chef was top

Aaron and the rest of the bartenders are exceptional. All around great service from all staff and the food/drink is of course top shelf. Always an experience. Will continue to consistently return.

It was okay, we did a sampling of many dishes (created an omakase) and many of them were good. A few were very good (happy spoon sticks out) but the majority were just good, and not a great value for the price. This is in comparison to a few other high-end sushi places in SF, and I've had better sushi at some lower-end locales as well. The grill is a nice addition as you get some robata, which was also good. The inside is not intimate, very large in fact, but you can hear your partner fine. It is a bit noisy overall but not terrible.

Great Service! Even when our server was not present all other servers back filled and checked on diners needs without hesitation. Sushi quality was excellent. Interesting and diverse set of tasty offerings.

Great food, great atmosphere, great service; will definitely come back!

Excellent food. On the pricey side but a nice treat yo self kind of dinner to celebrate a special occasion or date night. A little difficult to find the entrance due to construction.

It was terrific service and exquisite food!

We had an incredible server while dining at Pabu Izakaya. The food and drink selection was impeccable as always but our service at the restaurant was what really made this a memorable experience! Aaron took excellent care of my friend and I as it was our first time traveling to San Fransisco. He went above and beyond as our server listing out excellent recommendations for food, drinks, and dessert. He even wrote us a list of places to visit while staying in SF. If you decide to dine at this wonderful establishment hopefully you get seated in Aaron’s section!

Really good food!!! Great staff as well

Great Food, Great service and a Vibrant atmosphere. We were very well attended to and It was a beautiful restaurant with wonderful food! Highly recommended!

Nice restaurant, but sushi quality was not good, don't recommend

Try this restaurant during the SF Restaurant Week. Very spacey and roomy. But the music is loud, it’s different than the Japanese restaurant style. Food is not good for this price. Sushi rice is loose, fish quality is not good and they don’t have their own special roll. Food just like other normal Japanese restaurant, no surprise for the price paying. Server service are excellent.

A nice place for friends to meetup or to celebrate a special occasion. Food is pretty nice, but for a more delicate and traditional Japanese cuisine you can find a better choice.

Only complaint is, service is really slow; maybe it was a Saturday, took 50 mins to bring out first course, it was fine afterwards until we get to dessert. That also took a LONG time for them to bring desserts out.

We had a wonderful dinner at Pabu Izakaya. We were celebrating our anniversary and the staff made us feel extra special from the momentt that we arrived, when they gave us a card that the entire staff had signed. The cocktails were unique and amazing - we loved the citrus and the bison cocktails. We originally chose Pabu when looking at the SF Restaurant Week menus, but we ended up ordering off of the normal menu as there were so many different things that we wanted to try! Our favorites were the Monterey Squid Okonomiyaki, Miso-marinated Black Cod, and the Tokyo Fried Chicken Kaarage.

Our server was excellent and was very patient with our numerous questions. Our dessert took a little longer, which didn't particularly bother us, but our server very kindly brought us each a glass of amaro while we waited, which felt above and beyond our expectations.

Overall we really enjoyed our meal at Pabu and will definitely be returning!

Wow!! Thank the Izakaya Gods that PABU survived the pandemic!! Been over 18 months since my last visit so my two sushi craving lady companions and I decided to try it out on a a Friday evening. Sat at our regular booth by the bar and Frederico our server and the floor staff did not disappoint with a spectacular omakase presentation that was timed perfectly for every course. Super job bro!! All our old favs like the Happy Spoon with Caviar, Pork Fried Rice, Ken’s Roll, Michael’s Negitoro, and of course the assorted sashimi and nigiri from their veteran itamai chefs were truly delicious in taste and presentation as before. The packed bar was cranking out my numerous Belvedere tonics with great efficiency and hats off to the back of the house for the superb yakitori platter and hamachi kama. So as a 62 yr old Nihon born, I say with full confidence that PABU still retains the crown as the BEST Japanese/Izakaya/Sushi in SF!! And don’t forget to cash out some Bitcoin!!

Great bartenders

Very expensive. The food was not worth the cost. The portions were small but in addition the food was just not at the level that matched what we paid.

Saki sommelier is absolutely amazing. His knowledge and recommendations are truly exceptional. And the service was spectacular. Our waitress was friendly and attentive without being overbearing. This is definitely one of the best dining experiences in Northern California.