Rintaro,

82 14th St, San Francisco, CA 94103, United States

"The food was good to great, the sashimi, chicken skewers, and panna cotta were fantastic. Some of the dishes were mediocre though, such as the chicken katsu, the roe entree, and the daikon/sweet potato/fish cake dish. The service was alright. We had a reservation for 7:15 pm and arrived at 7:15 pm but were sat at 7:40 pm. We ordered the set dining menu and as soon as we were served the dessert, we were handed the check and told that the next guests were waiting on our table to be done. I must say I didn’t appreciate that comment, given we were sat a whole 25 minutes after we were supposed to be sat. All in all a decent experience at Rintaro, but not one that lived up to the hype and the cost."

"Simple, but elegant. If you enjoy the simple and pure flavors that Japanese cuisine specializes in, this is the place for you. Dishes were not complex, but the flavors felt elevated by the great preparation and ingredient quality. The overall taste was delicious all the same. For a party of 4, we ordered 8 dishes. Everything was spectacular in taste despite fairly simple ingredient lists compared to restaurants of the same price point. Noteworthy dishes are the sashimi, and the udon. The seafood quality is incredible, especially the yellowtail. While the carbonara udon was small, the taste was unique and delicious. The price seems quite high for the serving sizes as the tapa size dishes are priced almost at full meal sizes of surrounding restaurants. This was surprising especially for the skewers. As it was recommended to order 10 dishes per table, it seems a little high. I'm not sure if the ambience and service makes the pricing justifiable but it was a good enough experience and tasting menu to rate 5/5 for Japanese food in San Francisco. This is one place where all the izakaya food felt very intentionally prepared, with no negative elements or difference in quality between different dishes."

"It’s a really cute restaurant with indoor and covered yard. Food is in relatively small portions so it’s recommended to order multiple and share. The rice and noodles dishes are all pretty good, but nothing stood out. They also didn’t have oden for that day which was a huge bummer."

"My dinner companion was running a bit late. The hostess was kind enough to help with sake selection while I waited for my friend to arrive. The place is deceptively bigger than it looks from the outside. It was one of those rare hot evening in SF. The meal was perfect as it want too heavy. We ordered 5 plates and shared. It was so good that I’m going back again with others."