(650) 872-2218
Parking: small private parking lot, street parking, public parking lot close by
Hours: Tues-Sun 5pm to Midnight
Last Visited: August 11, 2013
Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$
I first heard about Amami through Rayfil's social media post of Amami's oyster special and nigiri sushi which had an amazingly large portion of fish. I had been asking people for sushi recommendations in the South San Francisco and San Bruno area, and this was the first time I had heard a peep out of anyone about a good place, so of course I had to check it out.
Enter the restaurant and the waiting area takes up about a quarter of the room. Behind the sushi bar and above the hostess stand are large televisions playing everything from Food Network programs to America's Got Talent (at least that was what was on during this evening). Pop music plays on the sound system. The sushi bar serves mostly parties of 3 or less and the tables seem to be reserved for parties of four or more. I arrived about 5:45pm on a Sunday night and put my name on the waiting list for two. We were quoted over an hour wait, and that was pretty accurate - the place had just filled up and there were about four parties of two before ours. While I tried to circumvent the wait by trying to order take-out, I was quoted an hour wait for that too. A tip for you if you decide to go - make reservations. Even if you make a reservation, there is still a wait time of about 20 minutes.
- Oyster Special - 2 servings come with each order. A soup spoon holds a small oyster, salmon roe, tobiko, uni, quail egg, and green onion. Enjoy it all in one bite and you'll get the flavors of the sea - the fresh oyster, the saltiness from the roe, and the silkiness of the uni. The quail egg is creamy and smooth and the green onion gives it just a little crunch and kick. This is definitely worth trying. If the presentation had been a little neater and had the two servings looked more alike, it would have gotten a solid four stars. $8
- Sushi Regular - 7 pieces of sushi are served with a California Roll and miso soup. The miso soup is on the sweeter side than what I usually get at other sushi places and it contained sliced mushrooms, green onions, tofu, and seaweed. The sushi included hamaichi, salmon, two types of tuna, and mackerel. All the fish was very fresh and the portions were quite large, but the fish tended to be quite wet - the excess moisture seemed to make the flavor of the fish slightly less intense and sweet - almost diluted. It's still good, but if you're accustomed to dry pieces or slightly denser texture, then you may find this isn't quite as authentic.
- Sushi Deluxe - 9 pieces of sushi are served with a rock n' roll and miso soup. The same varieties of fish that are in the Sushi Regular are included here also. The additional sushi was scallop and shrimp. We also received one bonus piece of fish as well.While a ten piece omakase is available, by the time we were seated, they had run out. Other offerings include udon noodles, tonkatsu,ramen, teriyaki and many rolls. Based upon the way the miso soup was served with additional ingredients (many Chinese people often comment on how miso soup doesn't have anything in it), and the way that they serve their dishes (larger portions versus high end presentation), it feels like Amami is catering to the Chinese audience.
Chef owner Alan is friendly and works quickly preparing nigiri and sashimi behind the sushi bar. Formerly with Sushi Raw in San Francisco, you can see how he has taken some of his roots with him in terms of how he generously serves fish portions. His younger brother makes most of the rolls. We noticed that Chef Alan frequently gives away extras - extra piece of fish here and there, especially as things run out - for example, there was no more ocean trout available for the party of three whom ordered it, so he asked them if they wanted to order something else and gave them a complimentary third piece of nigiri when they made their second choice. Uni also ran out this evening, and it was barely 8pm. A few things would make this restaurant even better. While it's high on value, Amami needs to work on cleanliness. I feel comfortable about the fish preparation because you just can't serve bad fish and manage to survive without any bashing. However, after waiting an hour in their waiting area and seeing the wrappers and toothpicks on the floor less than an hour into service, I can see that there is room for improvement. It was pretty apparent that the toothpicks had spilled some time ago as you could see some peeking out from under the host stand. When I was at the bar, I also noticed some chopstick wrappers that had been stuck between the refrigerator and edge of the bar. Last, but certainly not least are the curtains covering the kitchen opening - they're desperately in need of being washed. Just cleaning up these few items would really help people feel more comfortable with the cleanliness of the entire operations.
Overall, Amami offers a good variety of dishes, large portions for a reasonable price, and the quality is ok. However, if you're a traditional sushi enthusiast, it may not meet your standards.
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