Shido

For a decently priced restaurant with decent quality, I love that there’s never a wait here. I’m always craving sushi and Shido is the best fall back option to satisfy my craving immediately.

Didn’t Buck Tavern close down a while ago? That was former supervisor Chris Daly’s watering hole that never did become the next Cheers. The space had been vacant for a couple of years probably because that block of Van Ness has never seen much pedestrian traffic beyond local office workers and batallions of homeless with their shopping carts. Frankly I don’t see how this relatively new Chinese family-​run Japanese restaurant will change things much as what I had wasn’t that memorable despite a fairly extensive menu of predictable Japanese fare, the most prominent component being a very long sushi and maki list (photo:
).
Indeed there was presumably sushi chef Wilson Ma and his young assistant ready to greet me at the counter on a quiet Wednesday evening. When confronted with a lengthy list like that and a display of fresh fish ready to be sliced (photo:
), I go with the familiar, the $ 12 Rainbow Roll that reflected a sampling of seven of those fish (photo:
). Perhaps a bit more decorative than others I’ve had, it was fresh enough even though I was not particularly blown away by it. It was pretty much what I expected. As a chaser, I ordered the $ 8 Ankimo (Monkfish Liver) with Ponzu (photo:
). It was tasty but an awfully small plate, just four slices and out.
I have to say the one outright failure was the $ 6 Yakibuta Kushiyaki, two skewers of roast pork bites alternating with onions, sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds and heavily lacquered with an overly sweet teriyaki sauce (photo:
). The pork was overcooked which hardly made the dish digestible. If he asked me, my suggestion to Ma is to focus on the sushi and jettison the rest as I think the excessive inclusion of expected Japanese plates dilutes their quality considerably. I also think they need to figure out some particular draw to get people to come to such an isolated spot like all the ankimo you can eat in fifteen minutes for a buck.
FOOD — 3 stars… passable sushi, subpar kushiyaki
AMBIANCE — 3.5 stars… certainly spacious enough in here though this place feels really isolated despite its proximity to Van Ness
SERVICE — 2.5 stars… didn’t feel the love except for the initial enthusiasm when I walked though the door
TOTAL — 3 stars… a sharper focus in the menu would make me consider a return visit

We came on a Saturday night and the restaurant was fairly empty probably because the establishment is pretty new.
We had a rather amusing waiter who gave us rather honest opinions about the food. When asked about the ramen, he said «not authentic, but tastes good.» We ended up passing on the ramen.
The sushi was fresh and the tempura udon was piping hot. They were also very generous with their tempura.
We also ordered the ankimo appetizer which was rather bland. Probably would pass on that.
While we had a good time there, I probably wouldnt return again.

Sushi was of average quality for SF. Some were very good (ocean trout), some were quite disappointing (otoro).

Good teriyaki sauce, good service! Tempura was a little blah but sushi rolls were yum! The atmosphere left much to be desired and it was awkward the 3 parties of ppl in the small restaurant were squeezed right next to each other… Was introduced to sake Jell-​O shots which were super good! Overall a good experience!

Kind of a random spot to have a sushi place, but it’s actually pretty good! We got bento box with salmon teriyaki, tempura appetizer and a couple rolls that were all fresh and tasty. The Unilocal checkin for free miso and california roll is totally worth it too!

My coworkers and I finally have a new spot to eat. This area really lacks lunch options and I’m glad this place opened up. They’ve been getting really busy lately and it’s hard to order to go on the phone lately. You get busy signals around the lunch madness. I’m glad they’re getting busy so I hope they stay. I’ve ate lunch inside here too and it’s spacious and the wait staff is pretty good handling the crowd. There’s always big groups eating here so I come around 1pm when it’s not so busy and the crowds are practically done eating.
What I like to get here is the Chicken Katsu Lunch Bento Box special that run under $ 15 with a drink. The price is decent for this area and for the amount you get, because if you go closer toward the Twitter building you’ll find lunch closer to $ 20 with a drink. The other day I decided to try their Salmon Don and it was pretty damn good. I’ll definitely add that to my lunch choices.

I went to Shido for the first (and last) time tonight. While the place was almost completely empty at 8PM, I found the rolls surprisingly good! The dynamite roll and the nigiri were pretty great and they put a good pile of fish on the rice wish is pretty nice, and the salmon was slimy and tasty. The cut seemed amateurish as every piece was different sizes but hey, but who cares? Definitely not me. What I care about though is to not throw up a $ 40 meal and that was definitely a failure. A section of the rainbow roll definitely had some non fresh fish that I spitted out shortly after a couple chews into it. Like I never could bever, I had a sense of the taste of dead raccoon meat which has been rotting in a swampy landfill. 20 minutes after, I had to throw up the delicious meal in an alley. Crossing my fingers to not have food poisoning tomorrow. 5 stars, will go again.

This is a relatively new Japanese restaurant that opened up near my work. Since it’s opening, I’ve been here several times for lunch dates and co-​worker bdays. The service is good and the owner (manager?) is super sweet and humble! I’d agree with the other reviewers that said this place is very clean and the food fresh.
My go-​to item is the Aji-​Fry Lunch Bento, that includes 2 fried fish with tail on, california roll, salad, miso soup, and rice. I’ve also tried their special scallop roll that’s pretty much set ablaze as it arrives to your table. Fancy and yummy.
As for price, I’d say it’s comparable to your average Japanese restaurants.

I really enjoyed this place! My girl friends and I were meeting for a dinner before we went our separate way for the holidays. I was originally going to go to Sushi Zone and they had a sign on the door that said closed due to illness. We Unilocaled this place which was about 3 blocks down the street.
My friends and I ordered 2 appetizers calamari and chicken kara age. Both of the appetizers did not disappoint. We also ordered the dragon roll, spicy tuna, salmon roll, rainbow roll, and the scallop lovers roll. All the rolls were fresh and authentic. The scallop lover roll came lit on fire and had this awesome charcoal flavor from the seared preparation.
The place was surprisingly empty which was great because we were able to chill and talk without yelling over each other. It had a normal décor, so this isn’t one of the over the top themed sushi places. The restaurant closed at 9pm and they didn’t pressure us to finish as we left around 9:30pm. The server was really helpful and the food came out really quickly. I would definitely come back, it was a chill atmosphere with great sushi!

New place in the Van Ness/​Mission/​SOMA (whatever that area is). It’s clean and actually super spacious, so a pleasant dining experience for affordable prices. Great for if you’re craving sushi and live nearby.
The first time we went the service was kind of a disaster though (chirashi bowl for one person in our party came about 25 – 30 mintues after the rest of our food did, and we didn’t wait so that sucked for him, didn’t bring out a roll that I had ordered, had to cancel after repeatedly asking the waitress), so the +4 stars is really because we took a chance and went back a couple of days (!) later. Were really craving affordable Japanese without traveling across the other side of SF and breaking the bank so gave it another shot.
Second time the service was extremely attentive, and quick. The bento box is a really great deal so I like to stick with that plus some type of sushi roll/​nigiri. BF gets the chirashi bowl which is a great deal — fish was yummy and fresh!
Thanks for redeeming yourself Shido, we’ll be back!

wandered in because I was hungry, and I stopped my bicycle on the curb, and there was Shido!
The door was open, looked fine, so I figured I will give it a try.
had a couple rolls and nigiri and a beer.
fish was fresh & well executed, came out quick.
Price was fair, and smiles all around.
Surprised it was not crowded, but I guess there are 50 other sushi joints in the area.
I will come back to Shido, it was nice!

Super delicious sushi and friendly staff. You can’t really beat that when you have both at a sushi restaurant! Must try! No wait time! Please try to Über or take the Metro (Van Ness Station) there… ZERO parking spots in the area! Sadly, this place doesn’t come with free Edamame or miso soup… #hmm
My friend and I came here on a Tuesday night for dinner before going to an Indie show at Slim’s. The place is so clean and spacious! Love it! Maybe because it was a Tuesday night, so the place was empty. The whole time we were there, there were only three tables and a Forever Alone guy eating at the sushi bar. So, maybe that’s why the waitress was so attentive (?).
Food: Super yummy! Their fish is super fresh! Well, we actually tried to order fresh oysters but they didn’t have any! #tears Besides that, the food is just amazingggg beans! (See pictures below)

Visited Shido last night and it was surprisingly very quiet when we walked in. I was expecting waiting lines based on the high rating reviews — guess it would be more crowded during lunch break on weekdays. The atmosphere was very nice and the interior design was very soothing and elegant.
My friend and I got Rainbow Roll, Salmon Lover and Amaebi Nigiri. I would say both maki rolls were average, they were smaller than I expected. Consider Shido’s location, I guess I can see the balance between the price and cost. Not much sauce over taking sushi rolls’ favor which is rare, I like that I finally can get sushi rolls out from the same-​all-​over-​again sauces like anywhere else. Amaebi was sweet and fresh.
I haven’t dined at Japanese restaurants in the city for a while — I wonder if the costumers have to ask servers to refill for hot tea now? Although I read the note on the menu: «We serve water upon request», I felt funky when I don’t get hot tea refill. I mean, our server was nice and the restaurant was pretty empty.
Interesting location, average sushi rolls, nothing special. Menu design was clean and legible, nothing crazy going on and you won’t get lost in the menu.

Walked past this place a couple days ago and decided to try them out for dinner. Nice, modern design. The waitress was friendly and attentive. She did have to come back after I ordered and tell me she forgot to ask what I wanted to drink and forgot to tell me about the specials but it’s a new restaurant so ok.
Ordered the Sashimi Special and the fried oyster appetizer — which was awesome! The sashimi was alright– pretty standard. Price point was about average for the city.
Would definitely come back.

This place is disgusting. The venue was completely empty for 7:30 dinner on a Wednesday. Swarming with fruit flies– 3 of them at the table at one time. Walked in to see the chef tasting food with his hands and go back to cooking without washing. Fish was ok but rice was poorly seasoned and overly mushy. Calamari was a joke, called «baby squid» but came out like deep fried onion rings, probably not even made in house. Waited 15 mins for the check with only 2 other parties in the restaurant, wait staff is clueless.

I had the fried oyster appetizer and the beef teriyaki bento with tempura and let me just say … IT WAS SO GOOD ! The beef was grilled rib eye which was extremely flavorful and tender and the tempura was crunchy with just the right amount of batter. The appetizer was amazing I had to order a second plate!!! The oysters were big and juicy and the batter was perfect, it came it juicy and hot I even burned my tongue a bit but it was well worth! The staff were extremely nice and accommodating very friendly service the owners were especially nice, greeting all the guests. I would definitely recommend my friends to come and 100% will come back.

This restaurant just opened about a week ago and it is pretty nice. The staff there are friendly, the food is delicious and really filling, and the restaurant is very clean. There’s a sushi bar which is busy, but spot on.
The menu lists a variety of sushi, sashimi, grilled salmon, bento boxes, salads, rib-​eyed beef, steak, soups, and cute desserts like mochi and ice cream. We had a group of five and ordered deep fried oysters as an appetizer twice, because it was that good. There’s also the «Jalapeño Bomb» that’s on the secret menu, but it is SO GOOD! Deep fried jalapeños with cheese filled with sour cream inside, and a special sauce.
This place is more affordable and reasonably priced than other sushi places. The dinner combinations (dinner combinations) are HUGE ($ 14 – 20) depending on the order, and in addition, it comes with miso soup, a choice of 6 pieces of California roll or 5 pieces of sashimi, and something else I forgot.
It is very worth to try it out. A nice family owned business always makes me feel like I’m at home. I’ll definitely come here again.

Stumbled across a brand new spot on Market. Very comfortable atmosphere and friendly service. Full menu of sushi and sashimi. Beer and wine with nice choice of Sake. The prices are good for The City.
I started my meal with Kampachi and a Asahi dry. Followed by a Hamachi Kama. Awesome flavors !
This was a very pleasant experience. I have this spot bookmarked!

3.5 STARS
Grand opening today, Shido took over the old divey, Buck Tavern.
Working a block away, I was hoping this can be my new go to for take out.
The menu is extensive with over 5 pages: apps, salads, tempura, kushiyaki (grilled skewers), teriyaki, katsu, donburi, sashimi martinis, chirashi, omakase, maki, nigiri, jive ass rolls, noodle soups, etc. It’s overwhelming IMO. Prices for nigiri and rolls are comparable to neighboring competitors but other items like the entrees are 20−30% higher. For example, Lunch Entrees (11 am — 3 pm) — Chicken Teriyaki w/​rice is $ 13 which is too high for the area.
Those with food allergies beware, the menu wasn’t very descriptive and certain menu items came with ingredients not listed and/​or missing.
Shido is Chinese-​owned but a step above neighboring The One Sushi & Lounge and Zhao Restaurant and a step below O-​Toro, Domo, and Sushi Zone. It’s decent for the area but not a destination restaurant.
We ordered the following:
*Shrimp & Veggie Tempura App ($ 11):
The shrimp had great layers of airy crunch but the batter on the veggies absorbed too much oil and was a bit undercooked (needed higher oil temp).
*Kushiyaki Lamb Chops, miso saikyo ($ 11):
The lamb chops were grilled to a well done but tender and juicy. As per the menu, I was expecting a miso glaze, not a teriyaki sauce which was a bummer.
*Sake Nigiri ($ 5):
Fresh, decent quality but didn’t taste much vinegar in the shari.
*Salmon Lover Roll ($ 12):
Name is misleading because we were basically served a Lion King Roll: CA roll topped with salmon, baked then topped with spicy mayo. I was anticipating raw salmon as the menu didn’t indicate cooked fish. Our waiter was nice enough to replace the cooked salmon with raw salmon. Menu says it comes with cucumbers, scallions, and tobiko but they were all absent. Not a big deal.
*Beef Teriyaki & Sashimi Combo ($ 18):
Better value than the lunch special which is $ 16 for just the beef. Steak was cooked to a rare. Better quality than your middle of the road Japanese resto. Sashimi (sake, maguro, walu) was cut very thin and some cuts were jagged. They hid the jagged ends underneath other slices of sashimi so it wasn’t apparent until you picked it up. I know this is being hella nitpicky but we eat Japanese food almost weekly and it’s all about the knife skills.
Staff was very nice but expect slow service until they smooth out their opening kinks. Lunch took close to 90 minutes.
Seating for ~50 people with another 8 – 10 people at the sushi bar.
There’s street parking in the alley and a parking lot with a daily/​nightly flat fee.
Beware of poop towers as you step out. It’s San Francisco after all!