sushi in boats

[Jennifer]

Okay, the whole concept sort of turns me off, but I have a special situation. I am taking my 5-year-old son to sushi (we made a deal -- I'll buy him a new Transformer if he'll taste sushi) and the boats suddenly seemed like an brilliant idea.
Except my preliminary research into the subject does not look very appetizing. I've read bad things about dried up sushi floating around and around in a moat. Does anyone have any suggestions in either Marin or San Francisco?
Isobune? Fune Ya? Floating Sushi Boat?
Thanks.

[zouknfood]

Don't know much about Marin and SF, but if you are able to make it down to Sunnyvale, there is an amazing sushi boat place.The fish is fresh and the variety amazing!The price is reasonable too! It is close to the Sunnyvale Caltrain station so if you don't intent to do some driving, you can always hop on the train.

Sushi Maru
308 Town and Country Village,
Sunnycale, CA 94086
408-530-8464

[Foodrat]

Isobune in J-town (SF) used to be pretty good (and fresh, turnover was high) a few years back - don't know about these days. Decent prices, too. I remember enjoying their unagi hand rolls and the scallop salad thing.

[NW]

Isobune also has a place in Rockridge on College (same block as Zachary's). While it's not a super high-end place, it's definitely in the mix for me and my family when it comes to going out for sushi.

Prices are very reasonable, and I typically am very satisfied with the freshness and quality of the fish. The chefs are very friendly and will make whatever you like fresh, if you don't see something you want or if something looks like it's been on the river for a few miles :)

[Ruth Lafler]

That's my experience with Isobune as well -- if the fish floating by doesn't look good, you don't have to take it!

My housemate raised her son on Isobune sushi and he loves it to the extent that he actually requested it for his birthday dinner a few years back. One plus is that the kid can pick something because it looks interesting without being prejudiced by knowing that it's something "yucky."

[Jim H.]

The sushi boat place at Geary and Mason is pretty good...very heavy turnover so fish is fresh.

[Guapino]

Wherever you end up, sit where you can watch the chefs and see what they are putting out -- that way, you can take what is freshest when it is put in the river.

[Jupiter]

this doesn't insure freshness, as some of the sushi boat places will pre cut all the fist and then just grab from a pile of dried out fish and slap it on the rice.
blech

[Jupiter]

i hit send to fast....
i also meant to say, that the suggestion is a good one, but just keep your eye on wether they are cutting the fish fresh from the block, or whether they are pulling from the pre-cut pile.

[KK]

As stated by the first response by zouknfood, Sushi Maru is really hands down the best sushi boat restaurant in the Bay Area that I'm aware of. Sunnyvale is definitely out of range from SF or Marin unless you are willing to drive all the way down south.

The sushi boat concept works great for families and the visual factor is fun for kids, plus the cost is generally lower than that at a sushi restaurant, but it pretty much stops there once you hit a quality barrier. Generally it is very hard to find a good sushi boat restaurant. They may do a variety of things, but presentation is most of the time not their forte.

If the boat concept is not terribly important to you versus quality and presentation, I think what you want to look for is a place that not just serves fresh and tasty fish and sushi and rolls, but also are the chefs creative enough to go the extra mile and decorate a fancy roll to really look the part, for examnple are there "eyes" and "antennae" on the caterpillar roll, or pointy ears/wing tip on the dragon roll, or even custom make something for your son (rather than being inflexible), to make the overall dining experience more fun.

[coralv]

My kid lives for Sushi Boat in japantown.
He pounds Ikura(salmon roe) ,eats the lollypop shaped like sushi and is happy. I wish he didn't know about it b/c it is not very good,and he only likes to go there. I say pick your fave place,sit at the counter,ask the chef to help you,and good luck!

[cedichou]

I've had a nice dinner at warakabune, across the street from no-name.
If you are concerned about stuff looping around too long, remember you can always order from the chef directly. It's still a sushi counter, boats or not.

[ff6k]

Made the mistake of attempting dinner at warakabune last Saturday night with a friend who had never experienced the sushi boat phenomenon. Gimmicks aside, there is no excuse for sushi that bad. We were there towards the end of the evening and watched the dregs just float around and around unclaimed with no further offerings from either of the (Hongkong Chinese) sushi chefs. Yuck!

[Jennifer]

Thanks for all the suggestions. We tried to go to a "sushi boat" place called Sushitomo on Geary way out in the avenues last night, based mostly on the convenient location. But the name has changed to Cocoro -- and it no longer has boats! Very lovely service, good fish, pleasant experience. Though maybe if there had been boats my son would have decided he liked sushi. . .
Up next for the kid: Korean bbq.

[MSK]

Tenkyu in downtown San Rafael. When the restaurant is busy, there's good turnover on the boats. When it's not, you can place an order and ask them to set it on the boats for delivery.

Had a good experience at Sushi Boat at Smith Ranch Rd (San Rafael near the regency theater) years and years ago (although I remember it being pricey) but cannot vouch for it now.

[karl schweighofer]

I had lunch today at Isobune in downtown Burlingame. The fish was very fresh, and I saw some things I had never seen before (good things). I've been eating this stuff for many years, in some pretty nice (and not so nice) places. It has changed my mind about the "boat" experience. My friend who lives near downtown says the place is always packed at night.

Link: http://www.isobuneburlingame.com/burl...

[lintygmom]

Warakabune at 15th and Church was our reliable, not-to-expensive sushi place in the City with quite good sushi and amiable service and a wide variety of people. Lots of inari and other non-raw fish things to try as well as potato croquets, chicken wings (on sushi plate of two wings but watch out they come out hot!), etc.

Every kid I took there LOVED it. And sometimes the owner's kids are there.

[jerseyno]

i know this thread is a beet old, but I have a favorite place in San Rafael area just called Sushi Boat (simple enough). It's out of the city and nice, but in a weird location, by Regency theatre. It's off the Lucas Valley Ranch Road exit from 101. Check it out, really nice sushi. I think it's this one sushiboatofmarin.com

[cycle10]

Warakabune on church @ 15th has boats. I'd go around 6-7p cus then people are gobbling up the dishes on the boat so there aren't any lingering raw fish. If there are dish(es) that are getting eaten, the chefs will just take em off the boats and replace them with something they just made.
My mother wouldn't let me eat sushi until i was around 15 or 16... something about kids shouldn't eat sushi... I don't have kids so I'm not sure what exactly that's about, but some friends have kids and have the same policy.

[BernalKC]

Warakabune got slammed up above. I was going to post that my experience there was at least OK, and that if you're looking for boat experience, its worth considering. Now that the thread is revived and there's room for the comment down here near the bottom, I'll offer my tepid recommendation.

I see no reason to ban sushi with kids. Tons of my kids peers have loved sushi from and early age and eat as much as they can get their hands on. My kids came to the party late, but only because they were picky and not because we steered them away. Good sushi is totally healthy food and there is nothing wrong with kids eating healthy food. Sounds like a misbegotten fear of raw fish to me.