Diners' Choice: Japanese restaurants in San Francisco Bay Area

OpenTable

Updated June 05, 2025

Looking for restaurants with the best overall Japanese cuisine in San Francisco Bay Area? You’re in the right place. Each month OpenTable analyzes more than 400,000 new diner reviews. We sort the results by category to help you discover new favorites. It's a great partnership: you reserve, eat, and review. We listen...and deliver the results for all to benefit. Enjoy!

808 Zone

5.0

5 (24)

$50 and over

Japanese

Foster City

About the restaurant

Getting tired of the same omakase experience? Too intimidated to even go to our first one? 808 Zone may be the perfect place for you!
With a contemporary kaiseki meets omakase fused with western inspiration and unexpected flavor combinations experience, your taste buds are surely to thank you for delighting them with something unique and different. Every dish aims to bring something innovative to the table while highlighting the freshness and beauty of the ingredients themselves.

Top review

kevin

Dined on Jun 7, 2025

Amazing experience. Very unique and experimental omakase. Would highly recommend.

Hashiri Bettei Kaiseki Aoki

4.8

4.8 (27)

$50 and over

Japanese

Saratoga

About the restaurant

We, Hashiri Bettei Kaiseki Aoki, deliver the experience of “kaiseki ryori,” a type of Japanese fine dining which historically developed to be served in the Japanese tea room. The tea room, as a space, symbolizes the home of the Japanese tea ceremony, a simple yet transformative experience offering a pause in time to appreciate the seemingly small experience of sharing tea. As such, we’ve designed both the architecture and the experience, to condense an infinite expanse into an extremely small space.

The space is designed sans distracting elements. Lighting will be subtle and architectural details are clean yet warm. Designed to allow dishes to remain the focal point of the experience, our space represents the endless potential for an intimate dining experience that continues to linger on pallet and in mind well after the end.

Top review

KannikaVIP

Dined on Apr 12, 2025

I enjoyed this traditional omakase. You can expect excellent and fresh quality in the ingredients they use and I appreciate that there were vegetables too. I’m usually still hungry after eating at an omakase but their portions were spot on for me and I left with a full stomach. I found the portions for wagyu beef to be generous, around 2 oz if I were to eyeball. Overall, I hope to come back!

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Experience

Chef's Tasting Kaiseki Experience

Sushi Hakko

4.9

4.9 (301)

$50 and over

Japanese

Marina / Cow Hollow / Presidio

About the restaurant

**Welcome to Sushi Hakko on Union St. + Fillmore St.**
We'd like to offer our tasting menu that's reflecting Chef Alex Kim and his team's pursuit of top notch sushi experience. Our approach is a harmonious crossover of authentic Edo-mae style with Western skill. From fish to rice, cooking rice to garnish prep - a true synergy of not only Californian but Japan.

**Sushi Bar Experience**
For the best experience of our tasting menu, we'd recommend the sushi bar seating, where chef will serve and explain the dish by dish, piece by piece with an extensive information of the skills and ingredients.

**Regular Tables**
Our regular tables are also available for the tasting menu and you can make a reservation at any time slot to your convenience.

*Large Group*
For any party of 7 or more, please kindly call us at 415.814.2886 or email at sushihakko@gmail.com. We will get back to you asap.

All parties will be subject to a 20% service charge.

We look forward to serving you soon.

Top review

Ryan

Dined 5 days ago

An unforgettable sushi experience for any sushi enjoyer!

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Experience

Sushi Hakko Bar Experience

Experience

Sushi Hakko Table Experiences

Hakashi Japanese Sushi Bar & Grill

4.9

4.9 (79)

$30 and under

Japanese

SOMA

About the restaurant

Located in the heart of San Francisco, Hakashi Japanese Sushi Bar & Grill is a chef driven restaurant that is committed to only using the finest and seasonal fish, vegetables, rice and ‘made from scratch’ sauces.

Our cuisine is simple and delicate. Our Chef, Julio, learned from his master, Norihiko Suzuki, from Fukushima Japan. Chef Julio is excellent at inspiring and hand crafting every dish from Omakese to Nigiri to Sashimi. He is also great at customizing arrangements for special occasions to achieve something that is truly a reflection of honoring the traditional Japanese Cuisine.

Come visit Hakashi Japanese Bar & Grill for an unforgettable dining experience. For Friday and Saturday reservations, please call the restaurant directly.

Top review

Julia

Dined on May 29, 2025

Favorite restaurant, the flavors are something you won’t find anywhere else and leave you craving for more.

Blue Sakana - Blackhawk (Formerly Blue Gingko - Blackhawk)

4.7

4.7 (153)

$30 and under

Japanese

San Ramon

About the restaurant

Come to unwind, stay for the unexpected

Blue Sakana is an Izakaya style restaurant with share plates where friends can go to have a drink and unwind after a long day. Chef and owner, JD prepares Japanese influenced dishes from around the world consisting of an eclectic mix of local and seasonal meat, noodle, sashimi, and traditional sushi specialties, with an emphasis on a unique variety of fresh seafood.

The staff welcomes you into their house and offers up comfort, hospitality and fun. Blue Sakana Blackhawk features an outdoor patio and a full bar, stocked with an extensive selection of sake, where our team happily introduce diners to the world of sake.

Top review

Jordan

Dined on Jun 15, 2025

We love the restaurant, we would love it even more if the music is a bit louder :)

Kenzo Napa

4.9

4.9 (522)

$50 and over

Japanese

Napa

About the restaurant

Kenzo Napa, presented by proprietors Kenzo and Natsuko Tsujimoto, is an exceptional, authentic Japanese restaurant featuring a traditional prix fixe kaiseki menu designed by Chef Kenji Miyaishi, located in downtown Napa.

OpenTable allows reservations only 30 days in advance. For long-range planning: reservations@kenzonapa.com. Note that less than 24 hours' notice for cancellation will result in a $200 cancellation fee.

The fusion of Japanese tradition with innovative techniques and presentation is sure to transform all perceptions of Japanese cuisine. Edomae sushi and kaiseki delicacies are created with seafood selections flown in from acclaimed markets in Japan. Every dish is expertly paired with the Kenzo Estate wine collection as an option, along with a selection of fine wines, Japanese sakes and beer in a peaceful environment where the focus is on chef preparation and cuisine.

Kenzo is the proud recipient of 7 consecutive Michelin Star awards, noted for sake and wine lists.

Top review

Jessica

Dined 7 days ago

INCREDIBLE! Our server was so welcoming and kind. He made our 15 year old wedding anniversary memorable and special. Food was very thoughtful and creative— it was so nice to hear the background and history of how each course was cultivated.

AKIKOS

4.8

4.8 (1623)

$50 and over

Japanese

SOMA

About the restaurant

Located in the vibrant East Cut neighborhood, just a 15-minute walk from the Ferry Building, our diverse and sustainability-driven menu offers a contemporary interpretation of the traditional Omakase experience. We blend innovative takes on Japanese cuisine with local, seasonal ingredients and fish sourced from Tokyo’s renowned Toyosu Fish Market. Signature dishes, such as our Shokupan—grilled milk bread topped with toro and golden Kaluga caviar—and the aged, soy-cured bluefin tuna nigiri, showcase a harmonious fusion of premium seafood and thoughtfully curated ingredients, presented with creative flair.
Please note, we currently offer Omakase experiences exclusively for lunch and dinner, with no à la carte options available. For guests seeking to enhance their experience, additional nigiri selections are available a la carte from our nama menu after the tasting. The Omakase lunch experience is priced at $150 per guest, and the Omakase dinner experience is priced at $255 per guest.

Top review

RonaldVIP

Dined on Jun 13, 2025

Excellent food and service. I come for lunch e dry few months and it’s always a superlative experience.

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4.8

4.8 (103)

$31 to $50

Japanese

Marina / Cow Hollow / Presidio

About the restaurant

Come enjoy fresh sushi and Japanese fare at our beautiful location in the Marina District of San Francisco.

Top review

Kayla

Dined on Jun 10, 2025

everything was really good! I just noticed we were shorted on somethings that we noticed other tables got but other than that! so good

Kimono Restaurant

4.7

4.7 (661)

$31 to $50

Japanese

Benicia

About the restaurant

Kimono welcomes you to a great experience and fresh sushi, seafood, and steak. Where we take customer service seriously and make every visit remarkable.

Top review

Dave

Dined 5 days ago

There children fried rice is getting skimpy. Three people ordered it, the cook didn’t even put a. half a breast in it, It looked like a 1/4 of a brest.

Bar Shoji

4.8

4.8 (28)

$31 to $50

Japanese

SOMA

About the restaurant

Bar Shoji focuses on Japanese-inspired craft cocktails, as well as a great selection of premium sake and wine.
We also offer bar bites with Japanese-inspired flavors to accompany each cocktail. Guests must be 21+ to enter.

We bring the Japanese practice of omotenashi into our service, ensuring a delicious, intimate , and hospitable experience.

*Reservations are limited to 90 minutes per seating, this allows for all guests to enjoy the Bar Shoji experience. We are only able to wait up to 15 min after your reservation time. Thank you for understanding.

We look forward to having you join us soon!

All inquiries can be sent to hello@shojisf.com

Top review

Calvin

Dined 2 days ago

Great and appealing aesthetic looking bar while staying minimalist with friendly and nice staff members. Overall a great experience for first time party.

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