San Francisco: Taraval / Noriega Okazuya

First, the original Okazuya was a block or so down from the current Taraval one, and used to be 1/4 the size. My family has been eating there at least 12 years, since I was a kid. This place has the best fish in SF. The sashimi (maguro and sake are my two favorites) is phenomenal, and the grilled fish specials (try Chilean sea bass, or orange roughy) are out of this world. There is enough food on the grilled fish special to share between two people, as it comes with miso soup, salad, rice, delicious grilled veggies and bean sprouts, and ice cream. The gyoza is great, also try the creamy roll or the sushi nugget, tiger roll or cherry blossom roll for some of my personal favorites. Michael and his wife are the original owners, and Michael picks out the freshest, most gorgeous fish in the city every day. Also, they have reasonable lunch specials, served every day until 3pm, where you can get (among other, more traditional Japanese lunch selections) sashimi of your choice with rice and soup and ice cream for like, $8.00 (my favorite). This place is a treasure.

That being said, there are definitely some drawbacks. First, unlike when I was a kid, there is almost always a wait because everyone and their mom found out about it. Oh well, most restaurants in SF that are halfway decent have a line. However, at Okazuya, there is no waiting area, and it being in the Sunset, that leaves you to shiver on the sidewalk in the fog for the entire wait time. Second, the restaurant is LOUD, so this is a terrible place to take people who you actually want to converse with. Third, and maybe most crucially, the service is GOD AWFUL, unless you sit at the sushi bar and Michael or one of his esteemed sushi chefs waits on you. I don't know where they get their waitresses from, but be prepared to get everything at a different time, or not get some things, die of thirst or wasabi bombs because Okazuya, like many restaurants that serve spicy food, has water glasses the size of a thimble, which means you'll be burning and huffing for a good while before your waitress comes to give you some water. It may sound like I'm being harsh, but there are really a lot of staff, and the restaurant, while busy, is certainly not insane.

Also, my little brother swears that the food at the new one (Noriega) is inferior to the old one. I haven't agreed with him on this, but he is often right, and eats at Okazuya more than I do now anyway (being that I'm over 600 miles away).

Despite my grumbling, this place is one of my favorite Japanese Restaurants EVER, and I always recommend it. I should stop telling everyone about it so it won't be so busy! Go eat there for me, you won't be disappointed!