Sushi-Ran - Japanese, Sausalito

107 Caledonia St, Sausalito CA 94965
(415) 332-3620
Parking: street parking
Hours: Lunch - Mon to Fri 11:45 am to 2:30pm, Dinner - Mon to Saturday 5:30 to 11pm, Sunday 5pm to 10:30pm
http://www.sushiran.com/

Last Visited: October 4, 2009

Food: 5 stars
Atmosphere: 4 to 5 stars
Service: 3 to 4 stars
Price: $$ to $$$$

Sushi Ran has an outstanding reputation in the San Francisco Bay Area.  It received a Michelin star in 2006.  Numerous people have told me to try it - Alison, James, and more have all said great things about it. This Monday evening, we decided to try it out with friends A&S (who were great company because they were very adventurous – as usual).

The Sausalito location is great with one side being the restaurant with sushi bar and the building next door decorated with the same style being the wine bar. I asked the host what the difference between the two locations was and he indicated that some of the specials are not available on the wine bar side, so of course, we selected to sit within the restaurant. We came when it opened and found it to be a fairly relaxed atmosphere. Jazz played on the sound system, and the light colored wood surroundings with simple stoneware on display as well as painted calligraphy gave the restaurant a very authentic Asian feel. One thing I found interesting was the diverse wait staff. There were Japanese people at the sushi bar, a few Japanese waitresses, and of course, the owner, but for the most part, a little bit of every part of the world seemed to be represented by the wait staff.

Sushi Ran owner Yoshi Tome is present in his restaurant – even on a Monday evening. Executive chef Scott Whitman seems to be more behind the scenes, but his artistic and flavorful presentations are apparent on the table. More information about these two are available on the Sushi Ran website. The restaurant has been given multiple distinctions and honors, and the food certainly shows why.

When you arrive, you are promptly shown to your table if you have made reservations. The tables are simply decorated with a small clay teapot for soy sauce that sits on a square dish, a decorative blue and white soy sauce dish, a white cloth napkin, and a pair of chopsticks at each setting enveloped by a green Sushi Ran paper cover. After sitting down with your menus, you receive a warm steamed towel on a bamboo rack. The menu offers chef’s specialties, omikase (similar to a tasting menu of sushi – chef’s choice) platters, cooked items, nigiri sushi, desserts, teas, and more. We picked a selection from each of these areas.

- Miso Soup – Large bowls of flavorful miso soup contain firm tofu and fresh chopped scallions. Good and nice temperature (hot). $3

- Seaweed Salad – Seaweed is seasoned with sesame oil, a light touch of chili oil, and sprinkled with toasted white sesame seeds. It is served in a square decorative bowl next to daikon radish. Daikon radish is cut fine and sprinkled with toasted black sesame. The seaweed salad had a nice flavor throughout and excellent crunch. The daikon acts as a good palate cleanser between bites or between dishes as well as providing a texture contrast. Fresh and delicious. $8

- Kobe Beef Carpaccio – This is a must have dish. A white rectangular dish painted with spicy sauce is covered with a single layer of super thin slices of Kobe beef. Shaved slices of marinated onion are placed in the center of the raw meat and topped with arugula leaves and a few daikon sprouts. The onions and arugula are lightly dressed in a savory vinegar/black pepper vinaigrette. Olive oil is lightly drizzled on the plate. The Kobe beef melts in your mouth. The onions and arugula accent the raw meat and the flavors marry nicely. The photo below shows this dish in the background. Absolutely a must have. $13.50

- Grilled Calamari Tentacles – Nine tentacles from a large calamari are grilled and served pointing outward from a body of light orange aioli on a white plate with rounded edges. Think asterisk and you’ll know what it looks like. The aioli is sprinkled with finely chopped scallions and toasted sesame seeds. The grilled calamari is brown in color and the contrast on the plate makes the presentation stand out. The aioli is very full flavored with hints of mustard and just a little kick. Smooth and flavorful, it would make for an excellent dip for other items as well. A fun presentation and a strong flavor. The people at our table enjoyed trying other items with the aioli – such as the arugula and the daikon radish to soak up the flavor. Good. $4.50

- Tempura Vegetables – Of all the dishes, I found this one to be my second to least favorite. The seven tempura vegetables are served leaning against the dipping sauce bowl. Although the color is lightly golden as it should be, the vegetables were asparagus, carrot, yam, broccoli, shitake mushroom, and lettuce. If you just read the previous sentence and raised an eyebrow, you know exactly what went wrong. Lettuce and broccoli are not authentic tempura vegetables. Several items to note – the other tempura vegetables were very good – crispy not soggy. All of the vegetables were deep-fried well with the exception of the zucchini which was slightly overdone on one end. The lettuce couldn’t be tasted – what was nice about the lettuce was that it remained green without burning and was more of a showpiece than anything else since you really couldn’t taste the lettuce at all. The broccoli – well, it’s still broccoli and not a tempura vegetable, at least not in my mind. Other tempura options are prawns and French beans. $7

- Unajyu (Water Eel) – This is one of the chef’s specialties. Five pieces of eel are placed over picked yellow daikon, pickled green cucumbers, and pickled carrots. All of this is placed over rice that contains teriyaki sauce and the ingredients are contained in a pretty box. The box is brought to the table and the lid is uncovered once it arrives to reveal the goodies inside. I had expected a different type of eel since in the past, I have had excellent water eel that looked completely different. This one looked a lot like unagi – toasted and brown. The overall flavor was nice and the fish was flaky. The vegetables gave the flavor an added zing. The rice is abundant and this dish could easily fill you up by itself. It’s great for sharing. $13

Nigiri Sushi- Maguro – Deep red fresh tuna is placed over rice. Very clean and fresh flavors. Very good. $8

- Sake – Marinated salmon is placed over rice with a bitter green in between. Another very nice, clean, fresh flavor. The fish melts in your mouth and the bitter green adds a distinctness to it that draws out the sake flavor. Very good. $7.50

- Unagi – The unagi pieces were large, and softer than the water eel. The unagi comes out warm and flaky also. You can see that the presentation is exceptional. Very nice. $8

- Spicy Tuna Roll – The spicy tuna roll contains crisp cucumber and fresh pink fish. This tuna is not nearly as red as that for the maguro nigiri sushi. I had cleansed my palate with ginger, but the roll still lacked spiciness. I tried a second piece and found the flavor remained the same. Fair. It had fresh flavor, but lacked spiciness. I also verified with the waiter that it was a spicy tuna roll, and he confirmed. I wouldn’t order this one again despite its freshness. $9

Sandy described the evening’s dishes with one word – “Exquisite.” I would agree that the presentation and flavors are indeed exquisitely done. The dishes are served one by one, although sometimes there’s not enough time between plates, but that’s still okay since many are cold dishes. In general, portions are quite large for sushi. Presentation is a major focus, and each plate is a work of art. They are absolutely delicious and the fish is high quality and very fresh. As the evening continued, the restaurant soon filled up and the music is overshadowed by the buzz of the other patrons. There is also a tendency to feel that the room is a bit crowded since the tables are spaced fairly close together. We were near one especially loud table which required us to raise our voices a bit, but overall, the evening was splendid. Service can be a bit sparse at times, but they did a great job with filling water glasses and removing plates. If you try to ask your server a question as they walk by, you may notice that they aren’t paying attention because they’re scanning the room for something else, but this was a minor offense since the noise level prevents one from hearing well. Also, the other offense was made when I left. When the four of us left the restaurant, the host only said goodbye to the male in our party. I felt he should have acknowledged all of us. There is room for improvement in the area of service and in the spiciness of the spicy tuna roll.

For my second visit, I sat at the sushi bar. It’s important that when you make reservations, you clearly state that you want to sit at the sushi bar in order to get a spot. What’s nice about sitting at the sushi bar is that you find out right away what is and isn’t available. If you’re eating on a budget, one of the pitfalls of this is that they make the dish and then tell you that it’s a different version of the fish you requested – for example, I ordered regular maguro and was given hon-maguro. This version was also very tasty and still tuna, but also more expensive, so be wary of this. Service at the sushi bar is not as social as I would have liked it to be, but it’s still courteous. They’re much more chatty with the regulars.

Nigiri Sushi
- Hon-Maguro (Blue Fin Tuna) – Two very red and fresh tasting pieces of hon-maguro are placed on top of rice. It’s brushed with the chef’s soy sauce. Very good. $9.50

- Hamaichi – The regular hamaichi was also very fresh, but not as tender as the wild one. $8.50

- Wild hamaichi – The wild hamaichi is darker than the regular and also brushed in the chef’s soy sauce. It’s much more tender than the regular version and has a clean flavor. Very good. Market price.

- Sake - Wild salmon – The wild salmon is a little more orange than regular and is also a bit more tender than regular. Very good. $9.50

- Toro (fatty tuna) – Although the toro was still tender, I would opt for the hon-maguro or perhaps another fish. The part of the fat was not so tender because I ended up having a more difficult time chewing it. In relative terms, for the price you pay, you’re better off trying the hon-maguro instead. Okay. $15.50

- Japanese Barracuda – Though I didn’t try it, my friend likened it to ambrosia. It’s on my must try list for next time.

- Umi Masu (Tasmanian ocean trout) - This isn't something I see often on sushi menus, but it turned out to be very good. $8.50

- Mirugai (long neck clam) - I've really come to enjoy ordering this every time I get sushi - if fresh, it's slightly crisp in texture which can be very lovely. Great. $8.50

I again ordered the Kobe Beef Carpaccio and it was still very delicious. It wasn’t as novel as the first time, but still wonderful.

- Omakase sashimi – I didn’t have this dish, but my friend did. The plating is gorgeous and the fish is very good. Although, the aji was chopped into very tiny pieces and served in a mound which was unusual. $33

- Miso Glazed Black Cod - Small pieces of melt in your mouth cod is served over bloomsdale spinach. While it's currently moved to the entree section and is now served over noodles, when I had it, it was just cod over spinach. The pieces were super delicious and flavorful - the glaze complemented the fish so well. However, the portion was tiny - I could probably eat three of these and still have room for other food. If you have the mindset that you're getting a tasting and not an entree, you'll feel better about the portion and price. This is one of those dishes you would love to be able to make at home and have all of the time. $20.50

- Trio of Custards – Coconut Caramelized Banana, Espresso, Orange Ginger – The trio of custards is good, but not what I expected. For the coconut caramelized banana, the custard could have passed for vanilla. The two banana slices on top were indeed caramelized, but they overpower the coconut flavor which is so light in the first place. The espresso custard is not as soft as the first, but still very creamy. It has a full flavor and I would recommend eating the custards in the order listed above, otherwise it’s very overpowering compared to the first. I liked the flavor intensity of the espresso custard. The orange ginger had the best texture in that the creaminess was not overpowering, but it had little orange flavor and was topped with what seemed to be a chocolate custard. The ginger flavor is present but not strong. Good. $6

- Chocolate Bombe - (which isn’t available every night as I have personally experienced) is one of the best desserts – highly recommended by the sushi chef who was also disappointed to hear that it wasn’t available. It's rich creamy chocolate ice cream covered in a chocolate shell. Delicious.

Service at the sushi bar is very fast in terms of refilling tea and clearing plates, but as the evening continues, it’s difficult to get the servers’ attention. They’re incredibly busy and aren’t as available.

Note that the sushi bar side has a much wider menu selection, including a wider sushi selection. The wine bar side is open half an hour earlier, so if you’re hungry, you can start there and move to the other side later.

Sushi Ran offers a wonderful eye catching and delicious experience for dinner. I would strongly suggest making reservations. Very good food in a nice setting, with the specialty being fresh fish and creative dishes. Prices have jumped up by anywhere from $1.50 to $4 in the last three years - in some cases, this is reasonable, but in general, it's a very expensive meal. I would love to come more often, but the cost is a bit prohibitive even though the quality is excellent. It's still worth it for a special occasion. I will definitely return.