Sushi of Gari
“- Omakase's usually offer around ten nigiri and a hand roll, and can range in price from $45 to $100+.”
“the toro with daikon radish, raw kumamoto oyster were also excellent, but didn't blow me away.”
“One of the top 3 sushi places I've had in my life (others were Yasuda and Zushi Puzzle in SF).”
Sushi of Gari
Takes Reservations: Yes
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
8 reviews
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Great service, but to me it was another typical sushi restaurant. I must say though , the quality is one of the better spots in the city
Excellent sushi and excellent service. I've visited all Sushi of Gari locations and had equally great experiences at each. The fish is very high quality and the sushi rice is quite flavorful. My biggest issue is that the prices are equal to Sushi Yasuda yet Yasuda is in a completely different class. I really enjoyed my meals at Gari but now having been to Yasuda I can't see myself eating at Gari again.
I have been here twice. One time I sat at the bar and had the omakasse, another time I sat at a table and ordered from the menu. My favorite piece of sushi here is the salmon with tomato. Most of the pieces I've had were very creative, fresh and delicious. This place has no ambiance, it is very bare bones and casual, but food is great. Very cramped small space and expensive, but I will return.
Somehow I believe that if you are going to offer Omakase with rushed and initially rude service in an underwhelming divish and dated sidestreet hole-in-the-wallish kinda place then I expect spectacular sushi. What five other of my friends and I received at Sushi of Gari was a spectacularly underwhelming experience. The sushi was good but at $200 a person the sushi wasn't good enough. Neither was the manager's insistence that he put seven people in a six person table and when our seventh friend didn't show the manager demanded that six of us be seated a a recently vacated four top. We protested. After an embarrassing, polite but firm 15 minute exchange the manager yielded. But not before my friend threatened to inform the owners of the five star hotel whose concierge referred Sushi of Gari to him, about the restaurant manager's lack of hospitality.
We were ready to walk. We didn't because the final couple of our party had driven from Jersey and were parked. Nevertheless, we had our line in the sand and the manager didn't cross it. Admittedly the restaurant is small. However, several tables were available and there were no people waiting. Nor could we discern that they were being reserved with the exception of our table. I made a mental note at the time we left, that there were at least a couple of tables available throughout our time dining at Sushi of Gari.
Please know however that my rating is based on the lack of imagination and lack of value that we received from the Omakase, combined with our peculiar and inhospitable experience. Perhaps the sushi chef was off that day or perhaps we couldn't shake the proverbial bad taste in our mouths from our experience with the manager? I'm not going to learn for some time–if ever–what it may have been.
PS I deliberately held-off writing this review for a few weeks to see if my feelings about the restaurant would subside but no such luck.
Omakase is like a ballet – it is beautifully staged, every course is a dance of plating, light, taste and smell – one after another, flowing flawlessly, making your eyes light up from seeing pure art on a plate and your mouth water from taste of perfection.
Sushi of Gari is tooted as non-traditional omakase, but evolving tradition into something more definitely working in their favor here.
We had early reservations before heading for Armory exhibition, so we had plenty of time to relax and enjoy it. No rush, no pressure, flawless service.
Place is tiny. You squeeze in between entrance door and hostess barrier – and quickly ushered to your table. Decor is simple, but details stand out – their logo on chopsticks and rest stone is adorable.
We ordered sushi & sashimi omakase – and I am glad we did, it was wonderful to try a bit of everything.
Snapper & salad was an eye candy – light airy colored fish, topped with greens & crisp lotus. Just surreal – and delicious.
I love, love, love salmon any day for it rich & buttery taste – and both salmon belly with shiso & salmon with roasted tomato was simply orgasmic. That roasted tomato was just perfectly seasoned and complimented salmon so well!
Main course – freshly seared foie gras topped with daikon & balsamic reduction. Paired with warm plum wine, this was most amazing course. Melt in your mouth dreamy rich goodness… My memory flashed back to Paris to another place & time when I tasted foie gras just as amazing as this. Flavors, plating & preparation is exquisite.
Absolutely one of the greatest. Go for it.
Sushi here is perfection! Everything is so fresh and service was great from start to finish. Wasn't sure which sake to get so waiter let me taste different ones. My friends had the sushi special which was very unique. I had the tuna of gari special which was delish! The seared tuna was not as fresh as the others but was still good. For someone like me who's not used to trying new types of sushi I liked everything on my plate. Will def come back for more. Enjoy
After hearing so many amazing things about Gari's innovative use of toppings on their sushi, I finally got to give it a try. I know there are purists out there who don't think these toppings should be on their sushi, but you gotta give this a try.
For apps we had Edamame Beans and the Tuna Avocado. The edamame beans had the perfect amount of salt and stayed hot the entire time. The Tuna Avocado was the real treat, spicy for sure but didn't ruin the cubes of tuna and avocado.
I love tuna so the Tuna of Gari ($55) was a no brainer for me. All 8 pieces were some of the tastiest items of food I've ever had. The flavors were all very unique and it definitely didn't taste like "just tuna" after each one. Even the spicy tuna roll was awesome and unique.
I was pretty full but still wanted to give the Red Snapper and Octopus nigri a try. So glad I did. Both were chewy but I like that!
My omakase meal for two including about 15 pieces came up to $297 before tax and tip. The reason why I am giving Sushi of Gari three stars is as such: while the toppings are creative and surprising, more often than not they overwhelm the fish and the rice end up just being a mushy glob in my mouth.
I would say that the downside to this restaurant is that there's no set tasting menu and that you tell the chefs when you just want one or two more pieces. This means that they are not able to take you through a carefully composed journey from start to beginning like the thoughtfully crafted omakase at Cagen or the value-for-money omakase at Kura. While the omakase at Sushi Yasuda was also based on the chef's judgement of how full/hungry you are, at least the fish got to shine and your tastebuds weren't bombarded by pickled radish or vegemite-tasting sauces.
I would say that things started going downhill after the tenth piece. It was a tuna nigiri topped with mealy tofu and spicy sesame oil, and the entire composition was just so mushy with the tofu. I like tofu but not like this. The second to last fish was a piece of tuna nigiri topped with a juicy radish and what tasted like balsamic vinaigrette – the entire thing was way too mush for me.
My favorite pieces came in the beginning: a beautifully elongated piece of unshelled crab leg on rice, buttery uni, ebi with a pickle of jalapeño and plum.
The salmon tomato piece that everyone raves about? Came a little too hot, and too much mush in my mouth for me.
I think my displeasure with my experience came from a) the excessive futzing with perfectly good fish and b) the lack of a thoughtfully crafted flow from start to finish. I think if these factors are less important to you, you'd probably enjoy Sushi of Gari but I'm going to keep looking. Meanwhile, Cagen remains at the top of my list.