Store Trek is a regular Voice feature
profiling
new stores and businesses in Noe Valley. This month, we
introduce a sushi bar
on 24th Street whose name in Japanese means “monkey.”
Saru Sushi owner and chef Billy Kong
arrives early at his 24th
Street restaurant to start preparing his fresh fish and
traditional sauces.
Photo by Pamela Gerard
Saru Sushi Bar
3856 24th Street near Vicksburg
415-400-4510 www.akaisarusf.com
When Billy Kong opened Saru Sushi Bar, he knew he
didn’t want it
to look like a traditional sushi restaurant.
“When the customer first walks in those
restaurants, they’re kind
of afraid to sit at the counter,” says Kong, who noticed this
behavior while
working at Sushi Sam in San Mateo and at Hotel Nikko’s Anzu
Restaurant in
downtown San Francisco. “I want a warm, cozy restaurant.”
Kong shed the traditional garb—a Japanese happi
coat—and installed
wood cabinetry to convey a less formal atmosphere. He and his
fellow sushi
chefs wear casual button-front shirts to let customers know
they don’t need to
dress up, he says.
Saru Sushi, located at 3856 24th St. in the
former home of Tamasei
Sushi, may have abandoned the traditional look but not the
classic preparation.
The restaurant makes its own ponzu, miso, fish, and unagi
sauces with great
devotion to detail. Kong says unagi takes 10 to 13 hours to
prepare the
Japanese way, and his fish marinates for two hours in the
house miso sauce.
Even learning the traditional methods takes time,
says Kong, who
is originally from Hong Kong. While at Sushi Sam, he says he
spent three months
learning to make miso soup because there weren’t any written
recipes. “You have
to mix it by taste,” he says.
Customers won’t find chicken or beef teriyaki on
the menu because
Saru Sushi concentrates on the seafood. “I try to carry much
more fish than
other restaurants,” Kong says.
There are 40 kinds of fish and shellfish, many
served in
combination. The “N.V. Roll” features deep-fried prawn, eel,
snow crab, and
masago (capelin roe) with avocado and a sweet soy glaze ($11).
For $14, you can
taste a hamachi (yellowtail) truffle with truffle oil, ponzu,
garlic chips, and
scallions. Veggie rolls come in cucumber, avocado, asparagus,
shitake, inari,
pickled radish, sweet potato, and ume shiso ($5).
Appetizers, salads, soups, sashimi, nigiri, daily
and weekly
specials, and nine kinds of sake round out the menu.
“I’m still learning about this neighborhood, what
people really
want,” says Kong, who opened in Noe Valley, he says, because
of its mix of
young families and professionals. “Even though they like fish,
what kind of
fish do they like? Oily fish? Blue-skin fish?”
After eight months of renovation to fix slanted
and broken floors,
the restaurant now sports a stylish modern decor and seating
for 24—at the
sushi bar, at three small tables up front, and at a table for
eight in the back
room (where a painted prehistoric figure dominates the scene).
Kong didn’t expect a packed restaurant when he
opened his doors on
Feb. 1. “We overwhelmed ourselves with takeout,” he says. Due
to the rush, Saru
Sushi has stopped filling takeout orders on Thursday, Friday,
and Saturday
nights.
“We want to focus on the customers who come in,”
says Kong. “We
want to make sure someone who comes in enjoys it. It’s what
they deserve.”
Saru Sushi does not take reservations, but you
can call ahead to
be put on the waiting list. The restaurant is open Tuesday
through Sunday.
Lunch is from noon to 2 p.m. Dinner hours are 5:30 to 9:30
p.m. (5:30 to 10:30
p.m. on Friday and Saturday).
