Reviews

Based on 20 reviews

jackshigh

Stylish but Expensive

The design is dynamite and the lounge scene is hopping on the usual hot days. The cuisine is solid, interesting but feels a bit overpriced. Give it a try!

posted at 04/16/06

bgildroy

Classy Bar Scene

My wife & I found this place by accident after dinner at Chez Spencer. We sat at the bar and did not eat so I cant comment on food. Design of the place is remarkable and rivals the top bars of London or New York. The crowd was very classy, sophisticated and the scene seemed busy but not crazy crowded were it was not comfortable. The barman that served us was probably one of the top best in this city. He was either european or spanish and he smiled all the time, talked calmly, chatted us about whiskey and amazingly got my wife to try a Japanese whiskey that she liked 'she does not drink whiskey.' He asked us to come back for the food and we will take him on his offer.

posted at 04/22/06

dominmatrix

get there before it's discovered

My wife and i recently went to Nihon for our anniversary and we were treated impeccably from start-to-finish. I kicked things off with an exotic version of a whiskey sour with Suntory whiskey, green tea liqore and pineapple. It was quite tasty. The food was flawless. I highly recommend the fried crab roll and the 25 piece omakase. One of the featured fishes that night was Escolar and it was memorable. I've been to Blowfish and Sushi Groove on numerous occasions and Nihon is their equal and then some.

Tables are close together, so be prepared to a shared ambient dining experience with your neighbors.

Our server was delightful and gave us champagne on the house at the end of our meal.

posted at 05/27/06

winediva

two of my favorite things!

The person who decided to join a fantastic whiskey list with sushi is a genius.

The whiskey list is thorough, with selections from Japan as well. The staff is knowledgeable on the offerings.

The sushi is non-traditional with some of the more Americanized rolls being the best. Try their version of a spider roll and the hamburger roll (not as pedestrian as it sounds).

The atmosphere is relaxing and the service is attentive, but not hovering.

posted at 06/29/06

jeremyislame

Sushi and Whiskey! Are You kidding me?? Gotta love it!

This place was great.... good service (cute to boot) good food.... great selection of scotch, whiskey, sake...... they even offer liquor locker service for those bottles on the menu pricing up to $1500! :)
I highly reccomend it for a date, birthday or business dinner.

posted at 07/25/06

idreamofjeannie

Make a Reservation...

It was too good to go undiscovered, so you actually do need a reservation here now... but it is definitely worth the trouble. Creative food, very fresh, great bartenders (drinks were spot-on all night), and cool ambiance. The crowd's pretty hip, but most seem to be there with friends and not just cruising the pick-up scene... it actually makes a big difference in the vibe. 6 drinks, 5 or 6 plates of food - around $100. For the quality we got, it was definitely worth it.

posted at 08/30/06

alesia_star

Fun to check-out

We visited Nihon early on a Saturday night. The seats in the bar weren't full, which was a nice surprise. The drink menu was interesting with some twists on favorites like mojitos with sake. For being a whiskey bar, they were all out of Makers Mark. I'd think there would be better planning. The bartender was really really slow. He took his sweet time and the drinks were good but everyone was waiting a long time to order and settle their tabs. The inside is very inviting and warm and I love the couches and low tables. I wonder if anyone has ordered the $160,000 bottle of whiskey on the menu?

posted at 10/24/06

mariel1112

Terrible service, underhanded pricing, do not book private room

The service here is terrible. If you plan on going there for a party, do not book the room. Not realizing that this place is half empty on a Sat. night, I booked a room which was completely un-necessary and overpriced. The manager was not upfront about bottle pricing (certain bottles count towards the minimum, whle others do not) and the waitress was terrible. I had people waiting over 30 minutes for her to bring in the initial drinks. She was so slow, they started going downstairs to the bar to buy their own drinks. Not to mention, the bar forced me to buy an extra bottle due to the shady pricing.

posted at 11/13/06

shoeluvah

Nihon is for (whiskey) lovers!

Great ambience, friendly staff, hip but not snobby, incredible food and whiskey selection. Order the kobe beef stew and yamizake whiskey. Mmmmmmmm

posted at 12/04/06

lotsoffoos

BAD SERVICE + PRICEY DRINKS + OVERATED = NOT WORTH GOING

this place is all show and nothing to back it up. sure they got every whiskey / scotch in the world but why would you pay for it? and why be treated like dirt by the barkeep and waitresses??? do yourself a favor and spend your money somewhere else.

posted at 12/19/06

ttola

Mature & Not for all people !

I'm taken by this place in terms of atmosphere, whiskey selection & service. Staff are very good and barkeeper was willing to taste me on some of the whiskies which is unheard of in bars.
This place is not for the avearge people who like to budget when they go out & from the bad notes I read on few past reviews, I noticed that spending was often time what bothered them! many dive bars are the answer to that & I would not agree that service is bad.. are you kidding me ? maybe bad if you were a smart A & fell on your head drunk boys ? check it out it is an owsome place... Food is excellent & sachimi is very fresh.. they seem to know their stuff

posted at 12/22/06

prophotographer

Terrible Sushi & Over-hyped - I will not go back

I've never written a review before but last night has inspired me. I took my boyfriend to Nihon for his birthday as he LOVES whiskey and Japanese food. We had amazing whiskeys and my champagne cocktail was nice. The service was slow but very friendly. Here is the thing, our food was tasteless and poorly constructed. Upon contact, every single roll we ordered FELL APART. Not only that, it had no flavor. And considering our strong drinks, we needed something of equal strength to match. The food is overpriced, the drinks were insanely overpriced. I will never go back. Not only this, I will tell everyone I know not to go.***When we got home I made myself a piece of toast***

posted at 02/10/07

april20012000

Poor, Poor, Poor cuisine & cocktails

I took my boyfriend for a romantic dinner. The reviews are mixed, but wanted to give it a chance. That was a huge mistake, but we made the best of it. The cuisine was lousy and they own another sushi location. Management needs to work with the kitchen crew to improve dramatically. The prices are way over priced for both the cuisine and cocktails. The place isn't one of the high demand sushi lounges, in the city. We're better off with places like Tokyo Go-Go, Blowfish, or even Deep Sushi. The ambiance isn't bad, but its not great either. I'm confused by some of the reviews. I'm betting that its coming from the owner, friends and staff members. I don't reccomend this establishment for the bar, ambiance, location and food quality. If so, please post your review and let everyone else know.

posted at 02/22/07

ttotat

Expensive Drinking But Very Classy

Unlike many lounges in the city Nihon seems to have done it correct. Its design is faboulous similar to many hot spots in London or New York and even though the space is not large they manged to take adavantage of every small part in it. Now their whisky list is for ceratin the lragest in any place Ive seen. Check the cabinet next to bar.. bottles that are 40 or 50 year olds.. waoo.. I was very happy with service and couple of appetizers i tried. I will be back.

posted at 02/28/07

bankgeek

A Place For Upper Society

Ive been to Nihon few times that I must admit by now that I know few of the servers & the manger.
I told some of my coworkers to visit with me and was surprised that one told me that they got some "not so good" reviews here. Being surprised, I read them & I thought I should add my 2 cents even though I never write reviews since I disagree with most.
Most people complaints are due to them simply being cheap. Many people likes to hang out & go to great places but they are either cheap or dont have the money to party. It is a fact that Nihon is not cheap "drink wise' but I cant remmebr where you can get a cocktail now for less than $10 and thats what you seem to pay at Nihon, even though I always bought bottles there. The food is darn fresh "sachimi" I know as unlike most, I can afford to eat out & I know whats good & whats fresh.
I must advise those who budget to hang around few of the cheap mission bars and simply leave Nihon to people like us. People like us I mean are those who work hard, make good money & wants to hang in places with excllent service, they know you by name & take care of you. Plaese stay away if you cannot afford it.

posted at 03/18/07

cariieyo

A True Classic

This is a well run venue. It is a must see for anyone curious to know what a specialty whisky venue looks like. Over 250 whiskies... What a selection. I enjoyed the setting which is sophisticated, classy, not over bearing. Service was good, food excellent both on the cooked items and the raw sachimi...

I was impressed with thier generous whiky pour of 2oz. Most places pour 1 1/2 ozs and even though pricing looks expensive I think not realy. I'm a whisky lover and whisky is expensive unless its Jack or Jim beam or cutty sark what you drink.

When you go ask to be seated upstaires.. I liked it m ore than the bottom floor. You can actually see the whole operation. Good spot that is here to stay...

posted at 04/01/07

phields

What is all the fuss?

I did not enjoy my experience here. The bartender barely spoke any English, poured me the wrong drink, refused to take it back, rude and not friendly at all.

The place was too loud to have any conversation and the service at the tables were slow.

It's sleek and trendy but not a fun place to go. There are plenty of other swanky places to see and be seen.

posted at 04/18/07

nyc45

Nothing special

The service leaves room for improvement, although knowledgeable but hardly attentive server was able to answer all our questions she was not seen by us after the food started arriving. The food runners were in disarray; they have chosen to bring dishes out one by one, which is counterproductive and considering that the kitchen is on the first flour could be tiresome.
The dishes are extremely delicate: toro carpacio with hints of truffle oil and lemon melts away on your tongue even deep fried tempura of shitaki mushrooms stuffed with hamachi is amazingly airy. Traditional rolls are accented with spicy jalapeno aioli, which too overpowering.

posted at 05/17/07

zanetheory

Why did people rate this place so high?

I went to this restaurant because people gave it such great review, but it wasn't even that great nor was the food spectacular. I really wouldn't recommend this restaurant to anyone that is trying to dine somewhere nice with friends or spouses. But they do have a huge whiskey menu if that's what your into.

posted at 07/13/07

speakeasy32

Very good food...service could improve.

I realize we all have different tastes and not everyone is going to like the same things, but I've gone here five plus times and the food is always excellent. I like it better than Sushi Groove, Ozumo, Mas Saki, etc. I love the spicy tuna. Most rolls that I have tried are excellent and are always fresh. Everyone I have taken here (friends from out of town) have liked it.

The reason it is not 5 stars is because the service can be slow at times and the waitresses don't always check on you that often. The bartender downstairs can be slow too. That has been pretty consistent with all the times that I've been there.

Overall, I think most people would like the food here. Those people complaining about small portions don't have a clue. Just as the review says it is izakaya cuisine so they serve in small portions.

It can be pricy on certain items so if you are looking for a cheaper dinner, this may not be the place for you. Good mix of folks from Mission hipsters to white collar workers. I hang out with both types so it suits me just fine.

Hope this helps.

posted at 12/06/07

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