5701 Geary Blvd, San Francisco CA 94121
(415) 387-8561
Parking: street parking
Hours: M-Th 11:30am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 10pm; Fri 11:30am to 3pm, 5:30pm to 11pm; Sat 11:30am to 11pm; Sun 11:30am to 10pm
http://www.sakanabune.com/
Last Visited: July 17, 2004
Food: 3 stars
Atmosphere: 3 to 4 stars
Service: 3 stars
Price: $ to $$$
Upon entering Sakana Bune, you’ll be greeted in Japanese by the waitresses. The sushi bar is the main attraction in the restaurant with approximately 26 seats around the bar. Each wood chair faces the bar which is oval in shape. Wood sushi boats linked by small chains between one another move on top of the water counter clockwise and you can watch the individual sushi plates on each boat pass by. The area that the sushi boats float across is covered by glass sneeze guards, and within the oval, you can see the five sushi chefs preparing rolls and sushi.
The restaurant is bright with windows on two walls bringing in natural lighting. The room is light in color with a clean and fresh look created by the light colored wood tables and chairs. Tables that accommodate six people or more are near the front of the restaurant and the wall away from the sushi bar.
Sakana Bune offers a variety of rice bowls, udon, tonkatsu type dishes, and other entrees. However, their sushi is the main feature. Each boat contains four dishes. Each dish contains two pieces of sushi and is priced at 1.00, 1.50, and 1.95 for special sushi. The price of each item is indicated by the type of dish it is placed on. Each pattern on the dish corresponds with a specific price. It’s an excellent bargain and great for beginner sushi connoisseurs since it allows you to try so many offerings. As the boat floats by, you can select as many dishes as you want.
Special house rolls, typically made from multiple items or with ‘deluxe’ ingredients, are also offered at reasonable prices. You may find some of these special rolls on the sushi boats as well, but you’re not guaranteed to find them there.
- Deep Fried Sea Bass – Six pieces of sea bass are breaded in panko crumbs and deep fried until golden brown. The sea bass is served with a sweet and salty dipping sauce. The pieces are nicely presented on a colorful plate. The outer shell is crisp and light, and the sea bass is sweet and succulent. Very good. $5.95
- Mussels on the half shell with spicy sauce – Two mussels are topped with cheese and spicy sauce. The dish is either baked or torched to allow the cheese topping the mussels to turn a golden brown and for the mussels to be heated through. A nice combination of ingredients leading to a new flavor seldom seen at other restaurants. Very original. Another variation served here is chopped mussels and zucchini in the same sauce and cooked the same way. $1.95
- Hiyashi Wakame (seaweed salad) – Green seaweed salad tops sushi rice and is held together by a seaweed wrapper. Two pieces. The seaweed salad had been infused with sesame oil to produce a refreshing and delicate flavor. Good. $1
- Sake (salmon) – Salmon sashimi slices top sushi rice. Two pieces. Good clean flavor. $1.50
- Tai (red snapper) – Red snapper sashimi slices top sushi rice. Two pieces. More good clean flavor. $1.50
- Unagi (eel) – Cooked unagi tops sushi rice. The unagi slices could be larger, but at this price, it’s hard to complain. It’s not the best, but meets the average. $1.50
- California Rolls (seaweed, tuna, and bonito - dried fish flakes) – Each California roll dish comes with two California rolls. Plain California rolls are available, but they may also be topped with seaweed, tuna, bonito in the form of dried fish flakes, roe, or other items. Good. $1.50
From the side that I was sitting at, I couldn’t see how the sushi chefs got in and out of the bar area so I asked. Near the kitchen is a break in the counter where the sushi chefs crawl under the counter allowing them to get in and out of the area. Also, the boats move by operating jets – either one or two jets depending on how fast they want the boats to travel.
At the end of your meal, if you selected dishes from the sushi boats, the waitresses take your plates and tally the check by looking at the dish itself to determine the final bill.
Sakana Bune is a nice place to try out. I would recommend it for those who want to see what the dish will look like and don’t know what to get. It’s not the highest quality sushi, but certainly decent and at the least, entertaining.
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