Kiss Seafood

You could literally walk right past Kiss Seafood and not realize you had missed it.  The tiny, hole in the wall seats only 12-15 people, but is a true example of the essence of Japanese cooking and is a wonderful dining experience.

The restaurant is located in Japantown, with five seats at the sushi bar and 2-3 tables.  If you take five steps, you could probably walk from one end of the restaurant to the kitchen.  Because of the size of the place and normal dining time needed, it is a very difficult reservation to come by.  Don’t be put off when you call for a reservation and might be declined.  I actually called and was initially denied, but the restaurant took my number and called me back and told me to come by, that they could fit me in.  There is some hesitation in accepting walk-ins because of the space and because the dinner will normally take a little longer than many in the city.

Chef Naka-san cooks for the entire restaurant and takes orders for those sitting at the counter; there is only one server taking orders and serving food for the remainder of the restaurant. The menu is filled with an assortment of authentic Japanese items, including daily specials that are written in Japanese. Be sure to ask exactly what these are.  Seemingly, the most popular two items on the menu are the two omakase items; one a regular omakase and one the chef’s special.  Omakase literally means chef’s choice; in this case, the chef prepares 5-6 dishes which best exemplifies his kitchen.  

Naka-san preparing a dish

I decided on the chef’s special omakase and was ready for a feast.  By the way, the sake and beer list, while on the small side, are filled with many excellent choices.  At many sushi spots, it is seen as custom to buy the sushi chef a glass of sake; but at Kiss, order Naka-san an Asahi Black, his drink of choice.  I settled on a glass of sake and was ready for the meal that was to come.

The meal started with a small appetizer, a root salad with dried fish. Then it was on to the first course: a sampling of cooked octopus, ikura (salmon roe) and daikon (radish).  Each had it’s own unique taste and texture; the octopus was slightly tough, the ikura was strong, but not as fishy as many I have tasted and the daikon was crunchy and flavorful.  A nice starter.

Fresh selection of fish

Next was an assorted plate of sashimi.  The fish here is very fresh.  In fact, it is some of the best fish I have had in San Francisco.

Course number three featured both a Japanese crab in it’s shell soaked in a Japanese broth.  The dashi (broth) is amazing.  You can really tell that the chef takes a lot of time in preparing it each day.  It is not too strong or salty and just has the perfect taste.  The crab was excellent, perfectly cooked and prepared.

Chawan Mushi

Next was my favorite dish.  The chawan mushi, which is a soup with a number of different ingredients, such as vegetables, mushroom and fish along with an egg custard.  I had never had anything like this but it was wonderfully aromatic.  The mushrooms, vegetables and fish never overpowered the dashi, rather acting as a change in consistency.  The egg custard was the perfect complement.  And the presentation with the wooden spoon and beautiful bowl it was served in topped off the wonderful dish.

Nigiri

The fifth dish was another assorted plate, this time with different pieces of nigiri.  Again, the fish was wonderfully prepared, sushi rice was excellent and a very good variety of fish was presented.

Finally, the final course was a bowl of miso soup.  Again, the dashi was perfect and this served as a nice ending to the meal.

Overall, the presentation of the dishes was excellent.  There was never a long wait for a dish, which is a difficult thing considering that Naka-san was in charge of cooking for the entire restaurant.  The service was terrific throughout the evening and each dish was explained before serving.  I really enjoyed the variety of the dishes presented and the different tastes and textures of each one.

A word of caution, like many Japanese restaurants, Kiss Seafood is fairly expensive.  And reservations are very much recommended.  But it is a terrific dining experience that should be tried by everyone who loves Japanese food.

Kiss Seafood is located at 1700 Bush Street.  The restaurant is open for dinner Tuesday-Saturday from 5:30-9:30 p.m.

Phone: (415)474-2866

Prices: 

Appetizers and soups: $3.50-9.50

Special Plates: $18-38

Omakase: $42

Chef’s Special Omakase: $60