Tired of the poor college kids' good old pal, Cup of Noodles, but still want ramen? Well, Kushi Tsuru is the place to go! Kushi Tsuru is a
small casual Japanese
restaurant located in our very own Japantown! I know what you’re thinking,
“What? Japantown? But it’s so expensive!” That’s where you’re wrong. I’m just
like you, someone who is on a budget and wants to eat good food.
If you’re not sure of what dish to try, do not worry, Kushi Tsuru has two displays of the food: one small display of some of the bentou’s, Japanese lunch box, and three shelves of food display right across the front of the restaurant.
The dishes on the displays are labeled, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t listed in the menu. You can always take a couple of minutes to look at the display before deciding whether to try this restaurant or not. Now, let’s talk décor, menu, and atmosphere.
If you’re not sure of what dish to try, do not worry, Kushi Tsuru has two displays of the food: one small display of some of the bentou’s, Japanese lunch box, and three shelves of food display right across the front of the restaurant.
The dishes on the displays are labeled, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t listed in the menu. You can always take a couple of minutes to look at the display before deciding whether to try this restaurant or not. Now, let’s talk décor, menu, and atmosphere.
Just as I set a foot of the entrance, I was able to notice
that soy sauce smell. I looked up and the man at the cashier area greeted me
with a bow. I replied with a bow to be polite. He immediately said “We have a
table,” when I looked at him. That was interesting because I didn’t have to
ask. When I walked inside, I was directed with a polite gester to one of the
wooden tables. The table I was sitting at was, in my opinion, the best seat in
the house because I was at a window seat, where I was able to see the stores in
the bridge and Nipponya. To go along with the semi-traditional Japanese
restaurant theme, the seats are benches with a thick cushion for comfortable
sitting. I’ll admit, the inside of Kushi Tsuru can get a little bit warm, like
70 degrees, but the waiters do open the window. The décor inside the restaurant
is more amazing than the view outside. The restaurant does have that Japanese
dark lighting setting going on. The colors on the walls ties in with the
lighting. The wall colors are red, yellow and white. But the main color scheme
of the restaurant, including the uniforms and curtains, is red and black. For the atmosphere,
as soon as I walked in, I felt pretty relaxed because of the Japanese
instrumental music playing in the restaurant and the restaurant wasn’t as loud
as I expected. I actually expected to hear conversations from the other side
but I could only hear light clashing of the dishes every few minutes. I found
no problems talking to my group of friends I came in with. The volume in the
restaurant is just perfect. It is at that level where you don’t need to raise
your voice to speak and nobody would be able to hear your conversation. Now,
let’s talk service.
The waitresses at Kushi Tsuru are polite. On a scale of
one meaning rude, to five meaning polite and nice, I give the service there a
five because as soon as I walked to the table, the waitress gave me the menu
and oriented it so the front page faced me and not her. Afterwards, she took
the teapot and filled my teacup with light green tea. The green tea at Kushi
Tsuru isn’t as strong as I am used to, but I love it. The green tea they served
was filtered so the leaves were left out. Along with the green tea, each of the
tables has one small bottle of Kikkoman brand soy sauce, the same ones anybody
would see at a Chinese restaurant or a Vietnamese restaurant. Yes, the soy
sauce bottle with two openings on the side.
Right next to the soy sauce bottle, there’s a small bottle of spices. It
took me about ten minutes to figure out what to order because the menu included
pictures of some items. The prices ranged from $3 (Edamame) to $10.50 (Bentou’s
or Udon). I took those nine minutes to look at the pictures because the food
looked so appetizing. Once I ordered my food, in about two minutes, the
waitress brought me a spoon, disposable chopsticks, and other things that go
along with the dishes I ordered. After the food has arrived and you are
eating the food, the waitresses actually go around the restaurant and ask the
customers if you’re doing okay. I was
actually surprised because I never see that anywhere else. Now
let’s talk about the number one thing, you have been waiting for. No, not the
prices, the food.
As you can see in the picture, the chef even added a thick slice of tomato, orange and three half slices of cucumber. Fried gyoza means oil right? It is true, but what the chef did with these cute little half moons shaped appetizers was that he placed a long strip of white paper under the sauce, gyozas, and fruit to absorb the access oil from the gyozas. As for the taste, I felt like I was eating peppery tortilla chips with meat in the middle. These potstickers have more peppery flavor than salty, which is why the chef provided a small dish of soy sauce to balance the palate. The potstickers are so crispy that you get that loud chip like crunch yet, the juice of the meat inside the potstickers. For just five dollars, all of the fried goodness can be yours.
The ramen didn’t take long to come at all. I waited about ten minutes for it. When the waitress brought the ramen to our table, she actually had to hand it to me because I was across the table, I didn’t mind but, I was afraid of burning my hands from holding it. However, my hands were fine. The ramen was hot but it wasn’t hot enough for me to shout “Ah! It burns!” It was the perfect temperature, like ready to eat without blowing on it temperature. I will say this once and only once, Kushi Tsuru’s ramen blows Cup of Noodle’s version of the ramen out of the water. Why, you ask? The ramen from my shouyu ramen ($8), soy sauce ramen, are like long yellow curly locks, just like how your hair would look like after curling it with a curling iron. But the Cup of Noodle’s noodles are like hair after it has been braided and pulled apart. Next, the soup, since I ordered the shouyu ramen, I had the soy broth. The soup is salty but not salty enough to make you want to drink five cups of water. I am assuming the soup is diluted. I would guess the water to shouyu ratio is: 2:1. The soup is just like the soup used for soba and somen. The chef topped this dish with: bamboo shoots; bean sprouts; one piece of naruto fishcake; one piece of cha-shu (pork); green onions and one piece of seaweed. This ramen was nothing like I’ve had before. You have that balance of bland and salty, yet this big bowl gives your tongue a blast of flavor from the two pieces of meat, soup and of course the noodles. Cup of Noodles can’t give you that because you can taste the MSG, monosodium glutamate, but for the ramen, you can taste the broth. Another difference is that this shouyu ramen can and will fill you up. When I was eating this giant bowl of ramen goodness, I was getting full about half way through. But I did manage to finish this super filling dish. If you try this dish, don’t be afraid to finish the soup.
Overall, I like
this small Japanese restaurant. They accept credit cards, debit card is fine. Lucky
for you, Kushi Tsuru is not in some far away land. Kushi Tsuru can be easily
reached after taking the 28L and 38L. After getting off of the Laguna bus stop,
simply: cross the street and walk to the Miyako Mall’s hall of restaurants.
Kushi Tsuru should be the last restaurant on your left before you reach the
bridge. Don’t feel like taking the bus? No problem. Japantown has a big garage.
Yes, street parking is possible. Just make sure you have coins to pay for it. Need parking
validation for the garage? No problem, Kushi Tsuru can stamp your parking
ticket. The environment is very relaxing, if you count in the décor and the
dark lighting, you got yourself the perfect place for a date with that special
person. The food there is not only, delicious, the price are appropriate for
anybody with a budget. I would recommend this restaurant. On a scale of one,
meaning I’ll never come back again, to ten (I will come back with friends), I’d
give this restaurant a ten because, it is a good place for big groups. If you have
to wait in line, yes there are no reservations, do not fret, the waiting time
can be as short as ten minutes. Don’t feel like standing while waiting? No
problem. Kushi Tsuru has a small waiting area at the door for people who are
waiting for a table. That was my second time eating at that restaurant, but both
times I left with a smile and a full stomach.
ADDRESS:
1737 Post St
(Between Buchanan
St & Webster St)
San Francisco, CA
94115
BUSINESS
HOURS:
Mon-Thu 11:30 am – 9:00pm
Fri-Sat 11:30 am - 9:30 pm
Sun 11:30am-9:00pm
GOOD FOR:
Lunch
Dinner
Additional Info
and Pictures Provided by:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/kushi-tsuru-san-francisco
