Bubu

I hated Nono, so I was very surprised to hear that Bubu is their sister restaurant!

I love that Pac Heights is being filled with high quality spots, Bubu is the perfect addition. Tucked in the corner next to Tacobar and across the street from Johnny's doughnuts, this spot is small and unassuming.

I really can't get over the $5 happy hour menu offered for an early or late night dinner. The rolls were tasty and very generous in size. We tried the gyoza, truffle hamachi, spicy scallop, spicy salmon, unagi avocado, hamachi and walu nigiri. We had quite the spread, 2 beers, and sake for under $60. Now that is a damn happy hour!

Not only was the fish fresh, well prepared, and a great price, we had the best service, and that's priceless. Definitely worth checking out if in the area.

I recently dined at this fantastic sushi restaurant, and it was an exceptional experience from start to finish! The ambiance is modern yet inviting, with sleek decor and a tranquil atmosphere that sets the perfect scene for enjoying a meal.

The sushi here is absolutely top-notch. Each piece is crafted with the utmost care and attention to detail. The fish is incredibly fresh, and the flavors are both delicate and bold, making each bite a delightful experience. The nigiri practically melts in your mouth, and the rolls are creatively assembled with an excellent balance of ingredients. I particularly enjoyed the spicy tuna roll and the salmon sashimi, which were both superb.

The service is impeccable, with attentive and friendly staff who go out of their way to ensure you have a memorable dining experience. They are knowledgeable about the menu and happy to provide recommendations. Whether you're a sushi aficionado or new to Japanese cuisine, this sushi place is sure to impress. Highly recommended for anyone seeking delicious, high-quality sushi in a wonderful setting!

Came here for happy hour and made a reservation for 4:45 pm based on guidance from the restaurant's yelp page.

Upon arrival, we had waited in line only to be ignored. We eventually walked in to try to check in with one of the servers and they told us they don't take reservations during happy hour and to just wait. He was extremely dismissive, so I walked back in line to wait.

15 minutes went by and I tried waving down another server to ask what the estimated wait time was and he waved me off with his hand and walked away.

Super disappointed by the customer service at Bubu as I was really looking forward to their happy hour. Hopefully they can improve!

Raising my review to 4 stars! We went back to Bubu again for happy hour, after a very lukewarm experience last time. I was glad to see they had made some positive changes to their menu.

$5 for 2 hand rolls - All were pretty simple, but still a great deal.

They had HH deals on drinks and other appetizers as well, so we also ordered a hot sake, takoyaki, chicken karage, and truffle wagyu edamame. Everything was pretty tasty.

The service was a bit faster this time, but they still hardly ever checked in on us. The edamame was brought out after we had already finished the rest of our food. While it was packed with flavor, we ended up just eating that alone, so it was quite salty.

Still rooting for this place and looking forward to our next visit. :)

We went back to Bubu for their 8:30-9:30 happy hour before watching a movie and it looks like they changed their happy hour a little bit, and for us we liked the change.

When we visited a couple months, they did $5 rolls, but now it's 2 hand rolls for $5! Honestly I think this is a way better deal, more value and to top it all off, they were all good too! There's like 6 different types to choose from.

We ended up ordering 6 hand rolls, 2 beers, 1 sake, gyoza, and edamame, all from the $5 happy hour menu, and we got out of there spending around $50 for dinner. Honestly we could've skipped the beer and sake, and we could've spent $15 less. This is easily one of the best happy hours I've been to when you factor in the high quality food and such an affordable price

Came for the 4:30-5:30pm happy hour deal (also from 8:30-9:30pm), which is $5 for things like handrolls, apps, and drinks! Apparently the menu changes frequently, but it seems like the handrolls are pretty consistent and the most worth it item in my opinion. You can get 2 decently filled handrolls for $5! I thought the albacore tataki and spicy butterfish crispy bubu were okay. Service was quite slow, but there's basically only 1 server for the whole place so he was doing his best!

Nice quality fish, tasted very fresh with good texture. The spicy scallop hand roll was a happy hour menu and delicious. More spicy than I expected but in a good way. Balanced out by the avocado. If you come for happy hour be sure to come on time as it got very busy Wednesday night when we visited. Good for small groups our couples.

I walked past BUBU a week ago and noticed a happy hour menu that was $2 for everything on it, so I couldn't wait to come and try it. By the time my bf and I came on Friday, the happy hour menu was changed to $5 which was still good, though a bit disappointing. They have happy hour both from 4:30-5:30pm and 8:30-9:30pm.

We got there around 8:10pm and waited about 15 minutes before being seated. It's a smaller spot, with around 5 tables and a handful of seats at the bar. We ordered 3 orders of the HH omakase nigiri, HH takoyaki, 5 pc nigiri sampler, 10 pc sashimi sampler, seaweed salad, super rainbow roll, and HH house hot sake and sapporo to wash everything down.

The HH omakase nigiri was salmon, albacore, and butterfish. All the fish for the nigiri and sashimi tasted fresh, with our favorites being the butterfish and hamachi. The super rainbow roll was probably our favorite thing that we ordered - the pieces of sushi are placed cut-side down and topped with a huge piece of fish on top. The scallop on the super rainbow roll was the best bite of the evening!

We ended up getting an order of scallop nigiri after that bite, but the way the scallop was cut for the nigiri made it not as good for some reason. I could skip the seaweed salad and takoyaki next time.

Service was attentive and friendly, and the atmosphere was intimate yet relaxed. Presentation was beautiful, and I liked that along with the fresh grated wasabi and ginger, we also received thinly sliced cucumber for palate cleansers. The bill came out to $135 after tip, which was a good deal for everything we got. I'd definitely come back for HH again, and there are definitely some interesting appetizer options I'd like to try next time!

On Saturday night my husband and I ordered few items for delivery.
We ordered through Uber:
- uni toro o-roll (very good)
- salmon avocado roll (good)
- rainbow roll (very good)
- 10 pc sashimi sampler (good and fresh)
- 5 pc sushi classic (very good)
- 2 pc nigiri (sake toro, albacore - bot good)
In general I enjoyed the food, very simple (that I like) but very good. Also the delivery choice went well.

I love Bubu! Same owner as great Izakaya skewer spot around the corner Nono. Bubu is the best new neighborhood spot in Pac Heights - cute hole in the wall / unpretentious vibes and reasonable prices with really good quality. I enjoy sushi often (ranging from pricier Robin and Juni, to more low key spots) and Bubu is now one of my top favs in the city.

The rolls, nigiri and omakase are great, and it's worth checking out their happy hour deals (4:30-5:30 and 8:30-9:30pm.... note that last call to order is around 9/9:15pm). HH deals ft. handrolls (2 for $5) and the "crispy Bubu" spice tuna or spicy hibachi on crispy rice. Don't sleep on the chicken gyoza dumplings.

Our fav server Jason is always friendly and accommodating -- we sit outside with the pup and he brings water for her.

Can't say enough great things about Bubu! So glad they're in the neighborhood! Spread the word - we want new small businesses to thrive again