Takoba

Such fresh sushi! Tiny hole in the wall located in the upstairs of John Collins bar. Menu is short as well, but the fish is delicious and the rolls inventive and tasty. Obsessed!

This place is the epitome of a hidden gem. You literally have to find this place before you can even sit down. It is a sushi restaurant located inside a bar. I don’t know who thought that was a good idea, but I am not complaining. Since you have to enter into the bar then take stairs up to it, I would not recommend any large parties because they are like 10 seats up there.
I think we ordered every roll just to try them out. They were pretty good, but nothing too out of the ordinary. If you are expecting some crazy and different rolls, this isn’t the place for you. It is more of a simple and tradition type of food setting. The service is really quick for both drinks and food. If you order an alcoholic beverage it is made downstairs so the server can bring it to you instead of waiting in a hectic bar line.
This place would be a great place to go for a quick snack and drink before you meet up with your friends for a real dinner. It is a cool spot, but I wouldn’t recommend it for date night because the music from the bar is really loud and I could barely hear myself speaking.

THis is a strange tiny sushi bar up the stairs inside the bar Jon Collins. The sushi is tasty, the staff is friendly. But their menu is very limited, basically same 6 or so ingredients assorted into rolls, nigiri, sashimi. It’s good but very limited. I’d recommend, but be aware it’s not a broad offering.

Pretty good for the ingredients they use to put into the rolls and the taste of them.
However for the price of the rolls, this would be more like a before-​real-​dinner kind of place to fill your sushi crave or impress your date before moving on to a real dinner that can fill you up.
Also given it’s at the mezzanine level of Jon Colins, seats are limited so groups larger than 3 are no recommended IMO.

My friends and I stumbled upon this tiny place, and were so pleased we did! It’s the second floor of a bar and super intimate. Can only fit about 15 – 20 people. We had a 30 minute wait so walked down the stairs and got a drink from the bar there. Worth the wait! Small menu but each roll was delicious. Friendly staff as well. I recommend! A cute find in SF.

Very cozy and fancy place. Service was a little slow but they were packed so it was understandable. The rolls are delicious, I especially enjoyed the tequila soaked salmon.
Quite pricy, however. Would recommend if you’re looking for something professional and legit, not when you’re starving.

I cry every time I eat at Takoba. The sashimi and nigri is so fresh. The flavors are unique and on point. Tequila soaked roll is great. the roll with little crunchy popped rice adds a great texture and then the roll with the espresso sauce!
MY GOD! Best Sushi in SF for Enjoyment!

Your first mission if you choose to accept it is to find this place. :P
Takoba is truly a hidden gem of SF. Hidden in a small room on the second floor of a bar in a narrow side street, this restaurant is not easy to find. It’s really small with something around 20 seats spread across two counter-​like seatings and one table.
I recommend the sushi rolls here, but then again, that’s like half the menu. I’ve tried five rolls split amongst a friend and I, and they were all unique in their own way. My highest recommendation goes to The Minna in the end. The unagi is cooked perfectly with a nice barbecue taste to it.

I used to not eat raw fish, but this place changed me. The fish actually melts in your mouth, or at least it did on the night I went. The only complaint I’d have is that it can get kind of crowded — all the seating is on barstools. But it’s a pretty cool space, tucked up upstairs inside John Collins lounge!

Great service, very fresh and tasty rolls, above a swanky bar– a winning combo. Truly a hidden gem in SoMa… a must try. Wednesday nights have all day Happy Hour, while playing classic tunes

Great little whole in the wall restaurant with a small but fascinating menu. Filled with enticing options and tons of variety. I tried the John Collin’s roll which great. Friends ordered the Takabo and the Special Xtra, which were both very good, but I preferred mine. Also ordered a California hand roll, which was by far the best hand roll I’ve ever had. Prices are reasonable and it’s a cozy environment so go check it out.

We came with our family and I’m so happy we did. The spot is small so prepare to wait if there’s a lot of people or just get there early. The service is awesome, everyone is so nice and the food comes out really fast. They do try to accommodate you if you have special requests but trust them cause everything is so good. I loved the miso soup and the sushi was beautiful. I tend to hate fish smells but when they were taking the fish out it smelled like ocean water, which made me know the fish was super fresh.
When you walk into John Colin’s just go upstairs and enjoy!

I’ve been to John Collins a few times now, and I had no idea there was a sushi restaurant upstairs!
Tucked inside of John Collins (you won’t find it on the street!), Takoba serves only sushi and sashimi, but they do it well!
Ordered the John Collins and a salmon handroll, and was not disappointed.
The rolls are on the small side — 5 pieces, but the quality was amazing.
If you’re looking for a bite to eat in a cute venue, Takoba is a great option!

«The files are INSIDE the computer?» –Zoolander
«The sushi joint is INSIDE of the bar?» –me
What we have here, ladies and gentlemen, is some serious biz on biz action. Takoba is tucked away, hiding upstairs *in* John Colins Lounge.
With only 23 reviews, Unilocal Detroit and I felt like we had stumbled upon a secret sushi jackpot. Cha-​ching!
I mean, 23 reviews for a five-​star spot in SF? Get outta town. (I mean, that means Unilocal’s got us living even better than the locals if you really think about it…)
As other reviewers have noted, the sushi is fresh. The rolls are delicious, well-​composed and without all that fry and aioli. The salmon sashimi practically melted in my mouth.
Attentive service and a lovely atmosphere despite the space being slightly small.
Five stars, would return. This is some damn fine sushi, people!

This spot is the definition of hole in the wall, nestled inside John Collins is Takoba! A lot of sushi places that I’ve been to value sauce over substance, but every roll I ordered here had generous amounts of fish, great flavor, and a tasteful amount of sauce.
I ordered the Minna, the Midori, and the Red Crab. My favorite was definitely the Minna which had a little kick of spice and eel layered on top. What made this roll so special was the way the eel was prepared. Instead being drenched in teriyaki sauce, there was only a drizzle which added to the eel flavor. The Midori was also pretty good, but the Red Crab was a little misleading. It’s basically a really good glorified California Roll. All in all delicious!

open for a year and only 18 reviews?
hands down. best sushi we’ve had this year. fresh, fine and delicious. the menu is very limited, but that’s what makes them good. sashimi tasted so fresh and the rolls were amazing. $ 60 dinner for two and we actually left hungry because we had somewhere to be. could have easily spent well over $ 100 and be completely satisfied.
there are about 20 or so seats here — maybe less? i’m committed to coming here once a month until the entire city discovers it and ruins my life. by then, i’d hope they expand or take reservations.

I would have never guessed that there was a tiny sushi bar above a bar, but I’m glad we came upon it because it was delicious! We ordered 2 rolls — John Colins and the Takoba and they were both really the good! The rice was perfectly cooked and the fish was super fresh! The only downside is that the rolls are relatively small and the prices are relatively high. Quality over quantity!
Overall, it’s a cute area to enjoy really fresh and delicious sushi!

Best friend and I used to think there were no good sushi spots near work in the city — but they proved us wrong. This is my new favorite place ever!
They have a pretty small menu but it’s not like the restaurant is big either — there are only 20 seats. But their main source of income seems to be the bar downstairs — John Colins. We went between 6:00 — 6:30pm and there was basically nobody else there. So we were taken care of pretty well by the full staff.
I like how they have interesting rolls, like the John Colins (tequila cured salmon and other stuff) and the Special Xtra (something, something, and Blue Bottle Coffee sauce), that aren’t super pricey — $ 13. I imagined that rolls like that in the heart of expensive SF would rob you of one paycheck. But this was amazing. Sadly, like all sushi rolls, pure bliss for 5 minutes and then disappointment when it’s all gone because no free refills on the deliciousness.
Also, with our bill, they gave us a «gift certificate» kinda thing for a free John Colins roll with purchase of another roll, which is AMAZING! I’ve already decided that I WILL be returning very soon to claim that John Colins roll and to try another roll — won’t take too long to try all their rolls anyway.

Tucked above like a hidden attack, Takoba has unique décor, friendly staff, and a decent amount of seating for a small space.
We were quickly greeted by the waitress as we arrived to the top of the stairs. In the small space, there is a sushi bar to our left, a long wooden table in the middle that separates extra bar seating in front of large framed windows. I like that the décor was simple and followed the «beachy» theme that the bar John Collins captures.
We came in for dinner around 7pm and there was no one there. It was quite loud because of the bar, but we sat closely around the edge of the middle table and enjoyed each others company. The waitress was very attentive and asked us numerous times if we were ready to order or if we needed anything else from the sushi bar.
We ordered three rolls and sashimi: John Colin’s, Minna, Midori and tuna sashimi all which I felt were unique in their own way. The Minna was my favorite for the flavored unagi on top. We also ordered (2) Kirins each that was delivered to us from the bar. If you want to escape from the bar scene and enjoy sushi but still want to enjoy a cup of joy, then this is a the right place to be.

Hidden sushi bar on a side-​street, inside of a divey-​looking bar. Pretty cool.
Not many tables either — get here early.
Service was nice, décor was OK. The food is where this place shines. We had the red crab roll (excellent), the takoba roll (excellent) and the poke roll (really excellent).
Really great sushi. Come check it out.