Dine Date: Saturday, April 30, 2011 @ 7:00PM
Address: 22 Peace Plz Ste 510 San Francisco, CA 94115
SushiYo! Quicksheet:

Look and Feel:	Small, clean, legit looking mom n’ pop place. Well lit from the large window during daylight hours. Ambiance was pretty dead. Felt like we had to whisper to avoid disturbing the next table, which is within a short arm’s reach.
Service/Staff:	Decent. One old lady handling the service, but there were hardly any other customers to wait on at the time.
Sushi:	Strange and disappointing. Some cuts did not taste very fresh. Other cuts were on the chewy side. Wasabi is in everything, even in things that you wouldn’t expect, like California rolls. The wasabi they use is stronger than usual, and having it be put in everything was the deal breaker.
Price:	High to overpriced.
Sushi Highlights:	Ankimo, Toro, Anago
Sushi Downfalls:	California Roll, Spicy Hotate Roll, Hamachi, Kampachi, Uni
Recommendation:	No, unless you like hot wasabi in EVERYTHING.

Review of Ino Sushi :
Is it just me or is this place is hard to find.  I walked pass it twice and was literally standing within 10 steps of the place looking at the mall map and didn’t realize it.  This is because there’s no windows to this place where you can see people eating.  The entrance is also depressed in from the main wall and the sign with the name of the place is pretty small.  It’s located next to the mall restrooms on the 2nd floor.

Upon entering, an old grandma looking woman comes out of the kitchen.  Ah, this place is like a mom n’ pop place already.  She goes to set up our table in the small dining area, which consists of basically four tables and the sushi bar area.  Behind the bar, the sushi chef was a man with a shaved head.  Large bottles of sake lined the back wall along with a prominent calligraphy scroll in the middle.  Ok, this place looks legit!

The old grandma seated us and promptly told us that there was a $20 minimum for credit card charges. Huh? $20 minimum? Heck, a mere few pieces of fish and you’ve already broken that minimum. Do people really come in here and order two pieces of fish and that’s it?

So let’s order the sushi yo!

A look at the order spread.

Ankimo and toro. This is my first time trying monk fish liver. It was interesting and pretty good. I imagine this is the same consistency as foie gras. The toro was melty good, as is most toro.

Maguro and hirame. Both were average.

Uni. On the fishy side and not very creamy. Certainly uni has a subtle pungent flavor, but this was a bit more than I’d like.

Spicy hotate and California roll. I usually expect rice on the outside rolls, so it’s always surprising when they make it the standard way (rice inside). I suppose it’s more home-style. There is wasabi in everything ordered at this place, even the rolls. Wasabi in my California roll? Seriously?! Wasabi in the already spicy hotate roll? Give me a break! There’s wasabi on the side for a reason, don’t force it upon the customers!

Hamachi, Kampachi, Anago. The hamachi was chewy and poorly cut (uneven, skin hanging off it). This was the first time I tried kampachi, and it wasn’t anything special. It was a the tougher side, but at least not as chewy as the hamachi was. This was also my first time trying anago, and it was pretty good. It is a lot softer than regular unagi.

As mentioned earlier, the wasabi they use is stronger than usual restaurant wasabi. It is like how the wasabi from the tube has a sharper spiciness. It was in every piece of sushi, which distracts from being able to taste the fish as it is. This was a big turn off and the biggest downfall for Ino.

Here’s the additional info about this dining experience for those of you who have read this far:

Category	Rating	Analysis
Parking Availability:		Ok. Japantown garage, affordable.
Wait Time To Be Seated:		Fast. The old lady just had to setup the table and she seems to want customers to wait in the foyer until it is setup (napkin, chopstick, etc.). As mentioned, this place is small but was not packed on a Saturday night, so I doubt it's ever packed.
Accommodations:		Ok. Tables are pretty close to each other, so be prepared to bump elbows if you have someone sitting next to you.
Cleanliness:		Good.
Hotness of Wait Staff:		None, just an old lady.
Other Patrons:		Non-touristy, mostly 30s-40s middle age couples. Soft spoken mature upper middle class looking people. There weren't many people but just the time we were there, it was a mixed crowd (Caucasian, Asian, Black). There was a Korean father and daughter sitting next to us that were the most noticeable.
Wait Time To Order:		Fast. There were no other customers.
Wait Time To Be Served Upon Ordering:		Average to fast. Maybe because there were very few customers.
Chopsticks:		Fully covered in branded paper. Typical, wooden, disposable.
Dishware:		Poor, just the small soy sauce platelets provided. The sushi was served in decent plates.
Rice Quality:		Ok, no complaints here.
Soy Sauce Quality:		Typical.
Wasabi Quality:		Spicier than normal restaurants, like the kind you get out of a tube.
Water Quality:		Did not get water.
Tea Quality:		Ok, comes too hot to drink right away though.
Restrooms:		Mall restrooms only. Did not use.
Wait Staff Check In:		Poor. Waitress did not check in on us. Had to call her to refill our tea.
Paying Process:		They don't accept American Express. Our bill also came with a single total, not itemized, so I have no idea what some of the market prices were (or if it was calculated correctly).