Tokyo Fish Market

I own a small catering business called Ali Cats Catering, specializing in local, sustainable, organic food, and I go here whenever people request fish or traditional Japanese/​Asian/​etc. So, today Lee helped me and I couldn’t have been more impressed. He let me ask him a million questions, walked me around the store giving me tips, inspiring me with new recipe ideas and what not. Wonderful fish, many sustainable options for those conscious of the problem of overfishing, amazing variety, they even have organic mushrooms in many different varieties, not just button… exceptional service and I’m never disappointed. A+

With my neighborhood sushi grade raw fish store mysteriously shutting down — TFM is my new goto spot for bulk sushi fish.
Awesome fish selection is but a tip of the iceberg, the place offers quite a bit more and way better than a more mainstream market like nijiya.
One cool thing here is a wide variety of imported Japanese beers.
Trust

Plenty of Japanese foods with great varieties.
Inside of this shop is a bit smelly because of fishes, but I will definitely visit again.

As a sushi chef, I like come to this place and exploring what the sea has brought us.
This market sells sushi grade seafood. The seafood mongers are knowledgeable and enthusiastic about fish.
This place can be expensive so I highly recommend you come here with a plan. Know how how many people you are going to feed and let the team know. They will recommend a few pieces and the correct amount.
They also sell natural wasabi and seaweed.
On top of that they have a large selection of cooked and prepared food that is ready to eat.
But even more! They have a supermarket that sells everything you will need to prepare a Japanese meal… Including fresh and organic produce like shiso leaves, lemons, avocados, and staple foods like beer and rice.
Adjoining the market is a Japanese gift shot. Where you can buy cool Japanese knick knacks.
And on some weekends they have a pop up tent where you can buy hot ramen.
I will be back! Hungrier for more.

I hate Berkeley. It’s no secret. Everybody knows it. It’s dirty, the streets are tiny, and there’s no parking anywhere. So if you ever see me in Berkeley, odds are I’m either driving to or from the Tokyo Fish Market.
The parking lot is absolutely tiny. As in tiny. I doubt more than 10 cars can park in the lot at any given time. However, every time I’ve been here, I’ve found parking immediately or another car was leaving its spot moments before I arrived. No complaints here.
Tokyo Fish Market is pretty much what you’d expect from a classy, upscale, Asian seafood market. There’s a small section for fresh produce and a few aisles of assorted Japanese goodies. I’ve even found Sakura Green Tea Kit Kat’s here at a very reasonable price! I certainly had to grab a few and give them out as little presents at work.
But what makes this place a 5 star establishment, in my eyes (or tummy), is the great selection of high quality seafood — especially sushi grade fish. As much as I love to eat sushi, great quality sushi can become expensive. So my best solution was to make my own sushi.
I’ve been here a handful of times now with the intention of buying exceptional quality ingredients to make sushi. The selection of sushi grade fish is nice. I’ve had the pleasure of trying to Toro (prized fatty tuna belly, both local and imported from Japan Hamachi (yellowtail), and the Maguro (tuna). I’ve also been fortunate enough to try their uni, ikura, salmon, and Bluefin Tuna. Everything has been exceptional.
If you’re planning on making your own sushi, you should certainly come here. They offer pickled ginger by the pound as well as all different kinds of roe. I’ve even seen genuine wasabi root, but for $ 125 per pound, I’ve had to hold off. Also, they sell pre-​made sushi rice for $ 2 per container, which is great because really, who has the time, right?
I must admit that the best part about this place is the customer service. Each time I’ve purchased fish, the mongers have been knowledgeable, friendly, and willing to answer the thousand questions you may have. They’ve been kind enough to explain the difference between toro and otoro, and I’ve even been given pointers on how to cut my fish for nigiri and for maki. And when you buy seafood, they generously give you bags of ice to help transport your newly acquired treasures.
I highly recommend this place to anyone who enjoys eating and preparing the freshest of seafood. The last time I was there, I also saw Kumamoto and Shigoku oysters for about $ 1.50 per piece. I’ll have to try the oysters here at some point, but I’m currently very, very, very pleased with my oyster monger.
Thank you, Tokyo Fish Market for being great. I only ever have 2 reasons to visit Berkeley and you’re one of them. To find out the other reason why I ever visit Berkeley, be sure to check out my other reviews.

They had gluten free Red Boat Fish Sauce. Miso Paste, Ume Plum Vinegar. I bought some Wild Fresh Day Boat Sea Scallops. I wish they had more wild fish available and less farmed.

Word of mouth and traffic helped me decide on stopping by. The parking is nearly terrible, even with the second lot. The grocery store is small but the items are well worth the hustle and bustle.
Whatever you’re looking for, you’ll find here. Fresh fish, candy, special crackers/​cookies, it’s all here. I picked up the regular and spicy poke, salmon collar, and an assortment of fish. Took it all home and loved the poke! Helped with my homesickness and pleased my mom.
There’s also another building outside that also sells Japanese goods as well. Items like bento boxes, bowls, plates, and other accessories. I didn’t get anything there but was worth the look.

What? I never wrote a review for Tokyo Fish Market? Okay, it is way long overdue! As the name implies, they have great fresh fish including sashimi quality fish and sushi and bento boxes to go. In addition, they have almost any Japanese snacks you want and products that you need to make an authentic Japanese meal at home.
I have been coming to this little market for years mainly because it was my go-​to market in the East Bay for Hawai‘i products without having to cross any bridges. They carry a small selection like Hawaiian Sun drinks, frozen kalua pork, saimin, portuguese sausage, lau laus and Zippy’s Chili. They also get weekly shipments of Hawaiian regular and strawberry papayas. Because of the tropical storms and near miss hurricanes this year that soaked the islands and brought high winds, a % of papaya trees ended up being a casualty so the price has increased about 25% this year. Short of a hopping on a plane, this is still the best place to get fresh papayas in the East Bay so I normally order a case that comes in 8 or 10 for the holidays that Paul from produce remembers me now. If you get a case, there is a 10% discount.

Pescadería, almacen y minimercado japones a la vez. Probé unos pulpitos con salsa muy ricos. Los dias sabados afuera tienen un puesto de ramen, con 3 variedades, también recomendable (u$ 9).
Por lo que vi hasta ahora, la mejor pescadería de Berkeley.

This pace is such an amazing find! My friend and I got:
A box of Mochi (8 pieces)
Spicy poke
3 onigiris
2 bottles of tea
A block of tamago
10 slices of tuna sashimi
8 slices of yellowtail sashimi
And 10 slices of another raw fish that I can’t remember the name of
If we had ordered all this at a restaurant, I don’t doubt the bill would have easily been $ 80+. When we went to Tokyo Fish Market, the bill was only $ 40. It’s such an amazing deal for sashimi-​loving college students who are trying to guard their wallet!
And not only is the food here cheap, but it’s also really good. The sushi was made fresh, and the sashimi was sliced fresh as well (you can actually watch them make the dishes and just grab the freshest option.) This was definitely a great buy, and I’ll be back for all my japanese food needs from now on!

I love this place! Best spot to buy seafood and sashimi. They have a large variety of fish. But the best thing i like about this place is they sell live oysters! They have couple kinds to choose from. They used to shuck them for you but i guess health regulations doesnt let them do that anymore. So you need to go home and shuck it yourself. I bought it couple times and out of the 3 times only one is bad. Pricing is decent for oysters.
I also like the sashimi they have prepped in cute little containers with the wasabi! Best on — the — go sashimi snack ever! Lots of stuff other places dont have and definatly not as fresh as tokyo fish market! Staff were also friendly and helpful!

The honey and I come here every weekend to grab groceries for the upcoming week. The produce and seafood is always fresh and the place is nice and clean. We love the friendly and informative staff. When we are unsure of how we should prepare things we can always count on the folks behind the seafood counter for some great ideas. Shoutout to Will for taking care of us for the 4 or so years we have been customers.
Side note: Some days you can enjoy a bowl of ramen right outside their doors if you happen to come when Ippo Ramen does.

Cute little shop with fish that ranges from $ 10 to $ 50 per pound.
I came to get a couple food items to go: okaka onigiri, salmon nigiri and hamachi/​avocado maki. The last two items were $ 7 each which was a great deal considering the quality of the fish!
There’s a long bench right outside where you can eat. Parking is tight and traffic on San Pablo can be nuts.

The perfect place for all your Japanese grocery needs. It’s not as big as Mitsuwa or Nijiya in South Bay, but it serves its purpose — selling you Japanese-​related food. They sell fresh fish, and sushi and in general, varieties of the same kind of food, for example varieties of furikake. They have ikura and various other fish eggs in tiny containers. They also carry Kirin’s Royal Milk Tea in bottles, which is rarely seen in 99 Ranch Market anymore.

We were making a day trip to Berkeley and decided to stop by for a look. Once we were here, we decided to skip the original plan, buy some fish and head straight back home. Basically, we drove a total of two hours just to buy some fish here!
Parking. The lot looks small, but there is a sign to tell you where the additional parking is located. We didn’t know and missed that sign since we didn’t drive through the main lot. We ended up paying for street parking.
The loot. We got salmon, hamachi, bluefin, otoro, uni, and wasabi tobiko (also picked up sushi rice). The fish total was about $ 50. The salmon and hamachi was a tad bit fishy. The bluefin and otoro were sooo goood. The uni had a slight bitter taste, but it was definitely super fresh.
I was able to make 2 chirashi plates and 26 nigiri pieces. After buying additional ingredients (green onion, wasabi, ginger, lemon, onion, ginger etc.), total ended up being about $ 35/​per person. If we had dined out, it would definitely cost us more.
If you’re planning a sushi night at home, definitely hit this place up for its quality and variety!

Came here a couple of days ago and fell in love. What a hole in the wall awesome find.
I picked up some fish here to make some poke at home. I ended up leaving with hamachi and salmon. Great, sushi grade quality. No fishiness whatsoever.
They have a wide variety of seafood for any occasion. If you need any Japanese products, quail eggs, tobiko, this is the place to go to out here in the east bay.
There is also a wall full of different types of sake. I didn’t scope that area but definitely will at my next visit.
For fish, soba, and a couple of veggies, I left paying $ 20. Awesome deal. My go to place now when I feel like making some sort of sushi or sashimi at home.

Don’t tell me you’re going to Whole Foods for sushi. Obviously you need to go here!
When I have the time, I love swinging by here for a bite to eat. Fresh sashimi that’s reasonably priced! I also like grabbing one of their rice triangles (forgetting the word at the moment), and a small bowl of seaweed salad or any other poke that is available.
Other than readily available foods, they have a small selection of vegetables and a nice area for even for more fresh seafood. They also sell those cutesy Hawaiian or Japanese snacks! Kinda makes me feel like I stepped into an ABC store, but at least it’s on the mainland haha.

Parking can be a drag, especially if you are lured into the small lot in front of the market, but this place is a gem, and street parking or the overflow lot around the corner (off of Gilman) usually can accomodate.
I don’t think that I can add much to what has already been written, but there are two things that worth mentioning:
1. If you want prepared food, most specifically, you will want to come earlier in the day. My experience with the selection of prepared foods has been that in the morning, early afternoon I tend to find a lot more selection that in the late afternoon.
2. They have a great selection of Japanese candies that are so much fun to sample.
Wonderful staff as well.

It’s my favorite place to get DIY sushi material! I usually order by the quarter pounds of sashimi grade fish. I regularly get their salmon, tako, hamachi, and tuna sashimi. They also have prepared sashimi squid (an under-​appreciated favorite!) that you can pick up in the freezer section.
For ~$ 20 amount of fish, I’ve made enough sushi to feed 5+ ppl. Also, if you like oysters, this is a good place to get them for quite cheap. Mind you, shucking oysters is pretty hard if you’ve never done it before and if you don’t own proper equipment. Please do yourself a favor and buy a proper oyster knife. (Don’t use a real knife /​butter knife… you can hurt yourself that way.) If you’re not sure what kind of oyster flavor you’d like, you can nicely ask about the different oysters and the store associates will shuck a few different oysters for you to sample.
One thing to note– the market’s private lot is tiny. Unless I am feeling lucky that day, I street park along San Pablo and Harrison. As long as you’re willing to walk fifteen extra steps by street parking, you shouldn’t have problem with parking.
TL, DR– BUY SASHIMI GRADE FISH & OTHER SEAFOOD HERE!

CUTEST market EVER! I came here on a Saturday early afternoon with two others. We were lucky that we got a parking spot right in front of the market!
The front entrance itself is already unlike other places in this area. It simply says «Tokyo Fish Market», but it has a Japanese architecture design to it, with bamboo and wood. Upon entrance, you feel like you are in a different neighborhood!
The location is small, but it is super clean and super organized. The front entrance is where all the bags of rice are (SUPER high quality from Japan) and the different mochi gift boxes (or you could eat them yourself).
The main «gem» of this place is how fresh their different fish cuts are! They have a huge selection in the back, and it doesn’t smell at all, for some odd reason. My friend comes here quite often to pick up fresh fish for his obsession (and my) with sashimi.
The aisles consist of different sauces (barrel-​aged Sriracha?!) in addition to fresh fruits, vegetables, MATCHA powder (YESSS) and much more! They have a section just for the kids to play around with, if you come here with a child.
They also have a small gift shop right outside the entrance! This gift shop is HUGE and the lady definitely knows what she is talking about. Most times I feel like people who work at gift shops are there to swipe your credit card, but this young lady was helpful in advising us about the matcha whisks.
As well, this gift shop as a lot of electronic devices (Zojirushi rice cookers, Zojirushi thermos, etcetera) in addition to traditional tea pots/​tea ceremonial items. They have a small section with cute little trinkets, and they sell their own t-​shirts that say «Tokyo Fish Market» or something similar.
Overall, I wish I have more time to explore this place! It has so many hidden treasures and definitely sets it apart from traditional grocery stores. I guess my question is… when will you start a bakery section?!

Sad to say I was let down. I was super excited to get some fresh fish to make poke, but the quality of the fish was shocking for a place that touts itself as a première fish market. The ahi smelled fishier than I’m used to, and the sashimi salmon was… odd. A darker orange, and nowhere near as firm as I would like for sashimi – it actually got kind of mushy when I dressed it. It hasn’t made me sick or anything, but the taste and texture of the fish was far off from the fish I’ve gotten from Berkeley Bowl and even the Korean market in Oakland. Cute shop, and there’s still a ton of Japanese goodies to buy here, but I wouldn’t come back for the sashimi.
–edit–
tried the leftover today and it was super fishy, and now I’ve got a killer stomachache. Go elsewhere for your sashimi!