800 Van Ness Ave
San Francisco, CA 94109
(415) 775-5800
www.sushihanasf.com
{Click for photos}

“Em, I can’t move!” (referring to my gut buster)

I have a love hate relationship with all-you-can-eat sushi.
Love the fact that I can unbuckle my belt, let me sake belly loose, and order until the moon sets.

My hate relationship begins with the quality of the food. Starting out with the core of a great sushi, rice.

In Japan, sushi chefs train a few years just making the sushi rice.
Pour vinegar, flick of wrist to fan the rice, repeat over and over again.

Great sushi rice permeates a slight tart smell from the vinegar, salt, sugar, and seaweed flavor.

Walking past the neon light on Van Ness, the signs screams “EAT HERE, WE NEED YOUR BUSINESS!”

The high ceiling creating a spacious ambiance along with clean tables.

Not wasting a bit of time, we started the feast.

No need to think, point and order.
Stand outs includes eel nigiri and saba.

Nominal orders include yellow tail (poor quality cuts) along with the swamp roll (seaweed with spicy tuna). Tempura lacks definite crunch and the watered down miso soup detracted from the meal.

Caterpillar roll lacked the sweet punch. With thinly sliced onions, the snow white did not hit the right notes. Onions over powered the tuna while the creamy sauce did nothing to enhance the dish.

Save you bucks and goes elsewhere. For $23.95 (week nights), save your stomach and go for quality.

Don’t get me wrong, once a year, I crave this gluttony fest.
Try Sushi Hunter in North Beach for all-you-can eat. They provide great cuts of fish and great knife skills. Their sushi rice quality is much better.

My favorites still stand, Hime + Okina.