Ariake

I have been eating at Ariake for years and Jin is a gem. I'm updating my review from a few years ago, having returned many times since my one disappointing experience. He was clearly working out the kinks in a new delivery program, and it was a one-off bad night.

The fish here is fresh, varied, beautifully prepared and reasonably priced. The service is superb, cordial and consistent.

I've eaten sushi all over the world, and I'll put Jin's freshness, cuts and variety against anyone's. Kudos!

Food is just ok. Sashimi is fresh but it's not worth as price.
Service ( sorry, I can't say it's bad. However, one for server was mean and never gave us menu or water while we sat down). We just wanted to tip the one really treat us well.
Ambiance: Just good for couple or adults hangout there.

Came here for dinner on a Friday night with a party of 3 and was luckily seated immediately. The inside of the restaurant reminds me of a classic local Japanese restaurant which was really cute.

I ordered the love chirashi bowl for dinner and it came with miso soup which was nice! I think overall the food was decent, decent meaning the fish was fine, but nothing special or particularly good about it. (Which is why I'm giving 4 stars). The portion size was really good though which is a plus, but the prices are not cheap ($40 for the chirashi bowl). I think if it was a little cheaper for less food or slightly better quality fish I would have definitely given 5 stars. But overall solid place and nice servers!

Cute hole in the wall with standard Japanese fare and reasonable prices!

The softshell crab is a bit dry, perhaps from it being deep fried. The amount of crab underneath the breading is a bit sparse.

The monk fish liver is tender and a little chewy, as per usual for liver. The texture is a bit crumblier than I expected. However, the flavor is delicious; sweet, sour, and salty.

The Ariake roll was rather unusual; the wetness of the seaweed with the rice doesn't provide much textural contrast, so it's all a mushy bite. The fish is fresh, but also a bit muted.

The Sweetheart roll was good! The slices of fish were thick and fresh. The flavors are all rather light and delicate; the focus is more on ingredients, rather than flavors.

The eel and cucumber roll was yummy; the eel was sweet and savory, very flavorful. The cucumber added a nice crunch and snappiness to the otherwise soft bite.

Overall, this is a good spot to try.

Amazing food !!
W shave been a few times and it's always top quality, great service
Love that place !

Awesome little spot near the house. Good price and very fresh fish and oysters. My new go to spot mid week

My favorite sushi restaurant of all time! My boyfriend and I go here for special occasions, mostly because we overeat since the food is so good.
Best service, so nice and funny, and super fast. It's such a great neighborhood place that everyone loves.

From the reviews and menu, Ariake looks like a great place for sushi. Because I was solo, I opted for a bento box and appreciated that you could select any two items for that. It turned out to be one of the better bento boxes I had. The food was presented so beautifully, I wish I had posted a picture.

I chose the mackerel and California roll. Everything was very tasty. The portion sizes were big and I left quite satisfied.

The service was friendly and super attentive.

Uni and tamago (freshly made, not prepackaged) were spot on.

Caterpillar roll was not good at all.

Huge variety of different fresh fishes, etc.

I didn't try the cooked food and my friends who go all the time, stay with the fresh sushi, etc.

The sushi rice was ok, but at least it is sushi rice and not cooked rice only.

We were in SF for some personal business and I decided to surprise my wife to stop by one of our stumping ground regular place.
As it turns out, Ariake had been in business for 25 years and we were one of the first customers ever since 1999.
No fail, it's the same old great selection of fresh and great fish, highest quality as always. Chin san has always been great friend and chef whenever we are there. The misses were not there but service(by the older son) were still top notch.
Some pics for your pleasure.

Stopped by here on a Friday for early dinner and took a seat by the bar. The inside is very small, with only 5-6 tables huddled close together and another 8-10 seats at the bar. Chirashi is my go-to at any new sushi place and Ariake had 4 different ones to choose from, each with more premium items. I opted for the Hope Chirashi, one step up from the simplest option. It was packed full with 9 types of fish plus tamago, daikon, and pickled veggies. The fish was so fresh and clean tasting, some of the best I've ever had in the bay area. for $35 it was a great deal for the portion and quality. The ambiance was lovely and serene and the serve was extraordinarily friendly and efficient. Will definitely be coming back for more next time in Richmond