Sasa Japanese restaurant

Sometimes I find it difficult to find quality places to eat in touristy areas. I'm guessing that places in these kinds of areas traditionally don't have to worry about quality as much because income isn't solely reliant on repeat customers. Sasa is definitely not one of those places.

The food was really fresh and looked vibrant. Inside is pretty simple and elegant. Didn't need a reservation for weeknight dinner but it did fill up later in the evening. A little bit more upscale compared to most other places in Japantown, but you are paying for fantastic quality.

I do eat a lot of sushi and I've been to quite a few places out in SF / East Bay... Sasa is my ATF (all time favorite!)

Their portions are perfect, high quality, fresh fish, they have snow crab with agedashi tofu as an app, it's all so flavorful and the service is amazing every time we go.

This is definitely one spot we will never get tired of!! Highly recommend making reservations, they are almost always booked!

Food:
Hamachi truffle: 5/5
Loved it. It was very good as an appetizer. I was absolutely obsessed with it. Definitely feels like an upscale version of poke nachos
Creamy salmon roll: 5/5 this roll was really good. Very flavorful and tasty. Definitely recommend this roll.
Creamy scallop roll: 4/5
This one was good but I've definitely had creamer creamy scallops. It was still pretty tasty but I just wish it was more creamy.
Service:
The servers were very nice and efficient.

Ambiance:
The ambiance was very nice. It was kind of noisy so it was hard to hear my friend. It was pretty busy. I would recommend making a reservation ahead of time.

Delicious spot in Japantown with fresh fish, fast service and most importantly delicious nigiri. Their hot teas are amazing. It's located inside the Japan Center Mall and it's a gem. Will definitely be coming back to experience Japanese vibes

Really good sushi I've had in a while. Chirashi box is a must try. We didn't go for the premium option but really enjoyed what we got. They name all the items in the box but it's hard to remember. Great way to try new fish!

They don't have a lot of rolls on the menu but even their most basic rolls seem to have a unique kick / taste elevated like the spicy tuna roll. Creamy salmon was my favorite.

We tried the sake as well and were able to split one order conveniently. While we have a reservation, we ended up getting seated in the bar area.

Would love to come back!

I really loved my experiences going to Sasa in Japantown. Its conveniently located near the Daiso and it's a type of restaurant that you definitely have to make reservations for. I've only gone for dinner time because their lunch hours are a bit too short, but I've enjoyed the sushi and Sasa Gozen. Ambiance is also very comfortable and kept clean. Service is also very friendly.

In my last couple visits I've had the Sushi Tasting ($60), Sashimi Tasting 12 Piece ($56), Mystery Chirashi Don ($56 for 9 Mini), Creamy Salmon Roll ($20), Unagi Kabayaki ($32), Tempura ($15), Negitoro Maki ($14), and Edamame ($5). I loved all of my choices, but the Chirashi Don was the most visually pleasing, but also the best value. All the fish were prepared perfectly and some pieces really had a nice citrus taste as well.

My last visit I was a little dissapointed that they ran out of avocados for their rolls and were also sold out of Sasa Gozen during lunch time because that is less than ideal inventory management, but honestly a lot of their menu is so good that I overlook this and I still had a good experience overall.

The Unagi Kabayaki is incredible value with what you get with it. You get the Unagi don, Chawanmushi, tempura, salad, and miso soup. Their tempura is honestly some of the best tempura I've had also. So crispy, but they don't overdo it with the batter and they pick the perfect vegetables for it also.

I can go on and on about how much I like every dish and the great customer service, but this is definitely a restauraunt that is a must try whenever you are visiting Japantown and in my opinion is the best option for sushi in the area.

The first place I decided to have fresh, raw fish from since coming from Japan in October 2023.

(Yes I ate so well in Japan that I had to let myself grieve all the Japanese fresh fish I ate before eating it in America)

Made reservations through the Yelp app and was seated at the sushi bar. This gem is located in Japantown so parking is what it is - street or garage. I'd plan ahead for parking.

We each ordered the 9 piece chirashi mystery box. This was SO worth. All 9 dishes were fresh and had such good quality and chew to the fish. I'm so happy that this was my transition into American prepared fish! They explain what each dish so don't worry, you're not left in the dark. It's a mini and presented all at once omakase! ;) Not to mention I think this is total bang for your buck!

Overall would highly recommend. The boyf immediately says "We're coming back here" the minute we walked out the restaurant.

Being in Japantown, we had pretty high hopes about Sasa. It is located on the second floor right above Daiso and the interior is beautiful- gives off a modern serene feel. We made reservations for the first seating at dinner and was promptly seated.

Part of the lower rating was due to the lack of menu items. Apparently the weekend lunch was very busy so a lot of the items had sold out- no sasa gozen, no hamachi kama, and no avocado for their sushi rolls. I ended up getting the tempura, chicken karaage, and creamy scallop roll.

I have to say the scallop roll was very good- nice creamy and sweet flavor. The tempura and chicken karaage was ok but I can only handle so much fried food. My husband had the omakase and did the supplement upgrade- everything was good but did not seem to be worth the price tag and nothing that stood out.

I visited Sasa located in the Japan Center East Mall, and it was amazing! Definitely of the better Japanese dining experiences I've had in my life. I recommend ordering from their sushi tasting menu, as they have lots of premium quality fish that is worth trying. I ordered the 9 mini chirashi bowl mystery box, for which the chef selects 9 different items for your meal (omakase style). The sea urchin and scallop were two of my favorites!

If I come back I'll probably want to try their actual omakase next time! Here's everything I ordered:

Mystery Box 9 Chirashi Bowl including Scallop, Sea Urchin, Salmon, Hamachi, Wagyu - $56 (considering most traditional omakase experiences cost more than this I thought this was a good deal!)

Kaisen Futomaki Roll - Tuna, Salmon, Hamachi, Scallop, White Fish, Ikura, Tamago, and Avocado ($20)

Agedashi Tofu ($12)

Green Tea

Made a reservation for Wednesday night right when the restaurant opened ( 5:30 ) - I highly recommend making a reservation because there was a line when we got there and thankfully we had a reservation. The servers were inviting, polite and very knowledgeable.

On to the drinks - we had a bottle of unfiltered sake and a Sapporo. Standard run of the mill. The unfiltered selection was so so - although did the job.

On to the food - we had amaebi, uni and 3 rolls. The amaebi and uni were super fresh which were expected. The amaebi was sweet and touched with a light spritz of citrus. The uni was like a burst of ocean water and not too powerful. The snow crab roll lacked presentation, but was super tasty - the light miso taste definitely complimented the salt from the crab meat. 49er was standard - not too much to say about it. The toku dragon roll took the prize - very tasty. The protein was fresh and the smoky tone of the unagi was definitely a treat - I would eat 2 orders of this.

All in all - pleasant experience, great food and great location. Why not a 5? I'm not yearning to come back.