San Francisco Japanese Restaurant Reviews

Two Japanese Finds in New Chinatown (Clement St.)

Clement Okazu-Ya
914 Clement St. (10th Ave), 668-1638
11:30am-10pm, closed Tuesday.

This is a small place, seats up to 42, is plain but spotlessly clean. On three occasions we found the seafood excellent.

Four-course seafood dinners are $8.95 with choice of mahi mahi, swordfish, salmon, catfish, or $10.95 with choice of Chilean bass, orange roughy, or ahi tuna.

The dinner includes miso soup, rice, vegetables, ice cream, & green tea. Chicken, pork, and short-rib dinners are $6.95–8.95, and include soup, salad, rice, ice cream, and tea. Complete sushi and sashimi dinners are $9.50–12.95.

Maki sushi $2.25–4.95, Nigiri sushi (2 pcs) $2-3.75.

Donburi, served on a bowl of rice, with shrimp tempura $6.95, or pork cutlet $6.95, includes soup, green tea, and tsukemono.

Soft drinks 95 cents, Japanese beer (Sapporo, Asahi, Kirin, all excellent) $1.95 small, $3.50 large (lowest restaurant price in town), wine $2.95 glass (Chablis only), sake (served in traditional wooden cups) $1.75, $3, & $5.

click images to enlarge

Clement Okazu-Ya
Japanese Restaurant
entrance on Clement St.

Clement Okazu-Ya
interior seating

Mama San
312 8th Avenue (Clement St.), 221-9165
Mon-Sat 11:30-3:30pm & 4-9pm.

This restaurant was opened some years ago by a young Japanese woman who began her cooking career in her family’s restaurant in Japan, at age 15. The restaurant is tiny, and serves most guests at the counter, behind which she and her assistants do the cooking, in view of the diners. The entrance needs paint, looks rundown, but it is clean and cheery inside.

There are 18 lunch combinations, all full meals with salad, miso soup (excellent), vegetables, rice, ice cream, and green tea. Here are a few — pan-fried chicken with teriyaki sauce $6.50 lunch/$7.75 dinner, spicy garlic chicken $6.50/7.75, vegetables or chicken and egg over rice (Donvuri) $6.50/7.75, pork cutlet donburi $7.50/8.75.

Mama San Special — California roll, tekka roll, Kappa roll $7.50/8.75, chicken teriyaki +5 pcs sushi $7.50–8.75, and a Special Platter of 5pcs sushi and 9 slices sashimi.

There are also combination sushi and sashimi dinners, as well as both together, with salad, soup, & ice cream.

Finally, a large selection of sushi and sashimi, $1.75–2.75, 5 pcs Maki $2.75, $3.75 and up to $6.95, and 5 slices sashimi $4.25 & $4.75. Vegetarian sushi, 5 pcs Maki $2.75.

Sapporo beer $2.75 small, $5 large, soft drinks $1.

Parking: can be difficult in the Clement Street area, but there is a large coin-parking lot right next to Mama San. We've always managed to get a spot there.

Also see Japanese/Sushi Restaurants reviewed by Mr. Madison.

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Mama San
Japanese restaurant
entrance