Sugoi Sushi (properly pronounced “Sue-Go-Ee”), as we foreshadowed a few weeks ago, just opened in the former Rice Broker/Spork space at 1058 Valencia. You may have heard about a condo tower that’s planned for the property, and the original reason why Spork closed was that a demolition sounded imminent. But, alas, this is San Francisco, and neighbors continue to fight the developer over his plans, so who knows when or if those condos will get built. In any event, the latest restaurant tenants are chef-owners Roy Louie and Cyrus Shen who are trying to put a modern, affordable spin on traditional Japanese fare at Sugoi.
Louie is a local sushi vet, having cooked at Akira Sushi Bar in San Rafael, Morpho Sushi in Cow Hollow, and Blowfish Sushi to Die For in the Mission/Potrero. Meanwhile Shen, who’s only 24, has trained for eight years as a sushi chef in Japan.
There’s a six-person sushi bar, and 55 seats in the restaurant, and they’re planning to reopen Spork’s back patio in the coming months. You can check out the menus here, as well as some photos. They’re doing some interesting stuff like a Summer Special Roll which is topped with halibut, cucumber, and crab; and a Valencia Roll with spicy hamachi, asparagus, shiso, and jalapeno. Also, they’re serving pork belly ramen for $10, and a spicy pork ramen for $12. They’ve got four wines by the glass, as well as a half dozen sakes, and a couple of beers.
Sugoi Sushi - 1058 Valencia Street between Hill Street and 22nd - 415-401-8442 - Open Monday through Thursday 5:30 p.m. to 10:30 p.m., Friday & Saturday 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
