Ginto Izakaya Japonaise

It was one of those days where I just couldn’t decide what to eat. I wandered up and down Geary Street between Union Square and here looking for something to catch my eye. Fortunately I saw a good Google review and decide to try it. It was busy and I had to wait. After all of that it was well worth it. I had the chicken teriyaki bowl with the spicy mayonnaise sauce, and it was outstanding. Really really good for a bowl. Combination of different tastes. Affordable. I would absolutely come back again

2019/7/10 update: I wasn't impressed with the sushi at first but today was really good. The hirame was a bit dull but everything else was tasty. The uni could have been a smidge sweeter but for the price I should be happy to get uni at all. Their negi toro is really good! I've been craving it and theirs hit the spot. They're not kidding about the spice though - too hot for me. As always, their grilled fish is amazing - never overcooked and grilled perfectly. French Laundry could learn from them. Their portobello fries are wonderfully crispy and juicy with just enough salt. I wish I had room for the karaage but not today. Sadly the genmaicha ice cream has been discontinued, despite remaining on the menu. Someday I'll make it to SF for dinner so I can get the salmon ikura mushroom kamameshi! 2016/8/19 note: The homemade genmaicha ice cream is delicious! It's hard to find genmaicha to begin with, and this delicate, creamy ice cream was very satisfying. The weekly special was stewed hamburg set; tasty and nostalgic but the beef itself was a bit dry. It's so nice to have a consistently delicious, convenient restaurant that isn't a pain to get into, particularly one with reliable fish. It's a bonus that it's an authentic Japanese option. My parents only eat here and R&G Lounge as they're super picky about food and salt levels. Always delicious: Appetizers: - Portobello fries: nicely crispy, juicy and flavorful. The accompanying sauce is rich but I don't usually need the additional flavor. They're so good my parents always get 2 orders so they don't have to share them. - Signature tofu: always sad when this sells out. Some might complain about the $8.50 price tag, but if you love tofu, this creamy dish is amazing, with an unusual texture. (Note: contains dairy apparently) Anyone who goes today - I just got the last 2 so unless they make more quickly you are out of luck. Main dishes: - Salmon, salmon roe and mushroom claypot: I love this delicately flavored dish! I want to order it every time but the size of the dish requires at least two people to eat it. Consistently delicious and very authentic. I'm addicted to this. - All the grilled fish options: probably the most consistently delicious fish I've had in the Bay Area (oh, how I miss Tokyo). Never over-cooked. Sometimes the grilled fish bones are a little undercooked, but the miso flavoring is always on point. I tend to order the cod, the grilled bones, and the fish collar options. - Love the Japanese rice. As expected of a Japanese restaurant, they do their rice properly. - I like the Almond Orgeat Lemonade - interestingly creamy I don't drink, but I enjoy buying Japanese whisky for my husband, and the Japanese whisky selection here is the most extensive I've seen outside of a whisky bar in Japan. My husband likes Hibiki best - pricy though! The sashimi here is pretty good. I found the rolls average - not quite up to the standard of the other food. Misses: - Yakitori, etc.: oddly enough for an izakaya, I wasn't impressed by any of the skewered options I tried; all pretty average. Surprising in contrast to the excellent dishes I mentioned above. - Foie gras options: underwhelming - Oyster shot: ok; I wasn't wowed by the oyster, but I'm definitely not an expert on oysters. I have not tried the stewed beef tendon yet - they are out of it sometimes. I also want to try the ramen but timing works against me as I usually come here for lunch. The lunch bentos are a quality deal and seem to dwindle away by 2. Except during conventions, it's usually pretty easy to get a table here day or night. They're particularly empty on weekends, which worries me. I need them to stay open so I can get my kamameshi/tofu/karaage/ice cream fix! Staff are nice and usually attentive. Sometimes there are mixups but they are pretty good overall - better than a lot of more expensive restaurants in SF (again, I miss Tokyo).

I miss yakitori. Since I moved to the bay, I hadn't gone to any until two weeks ago when my friend suggested that we met here. I thanked her for her great taste in food and atmosphere. It is right in Financial District and has a vast space. However, it wasn't packed. We took advantage of their Happy Hour Menu and ordered more from their regular menu. I also recruited my half Japanese, half Chinese friend to come verify the taste of this place as he was never here either. We had so much food at the end and every dish we got was delicious! For starters, we had their "Tuna Pizza", which is essentially spicy tuna on top of grilled crispy sushi rice. It is very tasty. We also had the tacoyaki balls and they are delicious with a good balance of taco and mixture. The Crunch Roll is also very good with the Japanese bread crumb. We got the Karage chicken and they are alright. I wish they gave us some sort of digging sauce or mayo. For entrée, we ordered a few skewers such as a lamb chop, beef tongue and asparagus. I really enjoyed the beef tongue and the lamb chop and wish there were more of the lamb chop as it literally is 1 chop. If you are in search of yakitori in downtown SF, check out Ginto as it is quite authentic.

First time I came here I got the chicken karaage rice bowl which was very good. Nice and crispy and the sauce was not too drenched like some other restaurants have it. The rice was also nice and sticky how Japanese rice is. This time I got the premium sashimi platter. Although it was good it took a while for the dish to come out. In fact my colleagues were pretty much done eating theirs when I got mine. Luckily, I eat fast so I was able to catch up. They didn't have any Uni so they substitute it with something else which was a little disappointing but they did mention that when taking my order. All the cuts were good and the Toro was quite soft. It was a little stringy because of the tendon but over it was pretty good. I wouldn't mind going back to try their other dishes as they all seem to be decent. Perhaps I'll try the skewers next time.

"This place is awesome. Why have we never been here?" That's what I asked after dinner at Ginto. The restaurant itself feels huge, thanks to its high ceilings and open layout; as soon as you go past the bar and into the dining area, you can see all the way to the kitchen, with the back wall punctuated by three enormous masks (one of which has creepy glowing eyes). The food was all excellent, but my favorites were the anago tempura and the spicy tuna pizza, the latter of which is a good deal at happy hour. The Velvety Eoll was delicious, and so were the steak dinner and the fish carpaccio. The drink menu is extensive, which should please fans of all liquor varieties, from whiskey to wine. The service is great and the place has an awesome happy hour (2-6:30P.M.). In fact, the only issue I feel people might have with this restaurant is the bill at the end of the meal. It's on pricier side, but not too surprising given the type of food and the location. Do give it a shot!