looking for an alternative to sushi joints like kirala (with their long lines but yummy eats)?
bonsai is a japanese restaurant with sushi (& other items for the non-siushi lover- like teriyaki chicken & fish) that has amazingly fresh selections, friendly staff, and not enough patrons currently.
the economy affects small family-run businesses most of all, and i would hate to see an east bay diamond-in-the-rough like bonsai become the latest victim of george w bush's economy.
bonsai is on shattuck at 43rd street in oakland.
Posted by daniland at February 27, 2004 09:55 PM | TrackBackLike my esteemed colleague, I prefer to support smaller neighborhood establishments. Unlike my colleague, I don't recommend Bonsai particularly, and it's a pity 'cause it's a short walk from my house. I was incredibly disappointed when I went soon after it opened, and then about a yr later I went back, thinking that maybe by then they'd have ironed out the choppy service and inaccurate menu (which failed to mention that some of the more expensive options were deep fried, a big factor for me in whether to order the sushi or not). Their food is mediocre, and I'd rather pay a little extra for Kirala and get there early to avoid the crowd. I occasionally got to Bonsai, but usually when someone from the City who's never been there wants to go b/c it's close. They've got the floaty boat thing, and some of the pieces will have a hard glaze from going around a few times too many. Maybe that's the nigiri equivalent of deep frying.
Bonsai won't kill you, and I'm still waiting for decent sushi in the 45th/Tele area.
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dani replies: wow. you & i have very diff. experiences there. i think it is because i sit at the sushi bar (not at a table, i would never sit at a table at a sushi joint), so that i can talk to the chefs about what is fresh.
yes, bonsai has the floaty-boat thing, but again, i NEVER get stuff off of the boats. that stuff is for the yokels who think sushi is trendy & order nothing but california rolls. bleh!
i know the sushi chefs by name (a task that is most important in order to get not only good service, but good food), and they know i tip well. when things are really good, the chef & i will exchange stories & i will buy him a beer.
most of "the good stuff" isn't on the regular menu- the way it is at most sushi places. so i never order the deep fried ick- (again that's for people who are actually scared of the real thing- and most sushi places sadly have to cater to them to stay afloat (pun intended)- even in the bay area. i always ask- "what's good today?" and get a large "in the know" smile.
i had the WORST service experience in my life at kirala- i actually *left crying* at how mean they were. (& i am a former server who always takes the waitron's side & tips well- so if i thought they were that bad...well, then they were downright evil.) i notice at kirala that they tend to dote on people wearing expensive clothing & look like they can spend lots of cash. regular folk wait longer for a seat, their food, and get forced grimaces when requesting something (you know, basic service things).
while kirala has the best variety of fresh sushi, i avoid them like the plague & steer people away from them whenever i can. i hate elistist snobs- and that's just what i see in the owners fo that establishment.
Word, word, word on that! They neglected to bring my dining partner and I wasabi and ginger and then laughed it off without an apology. The hostess was impolite and kept glancing over at our table. I felt the snob vibe immediately when I went in there. Kirala, food good, service boo!
Posted by: Ashlea at May 26, 2004 02:28 PMDoesn't matter much because Bonsai is closing down and another Japanese restaurant run by the same chef/management is opening there.
Posted by: Jason at August 3, 2004 12:50 PMpersonally i like bonsai, though most of my friends prefer koryo, which is in the koryo shopping center directly across telegraph from bonsai. while bonsai is always empty, koryo is usually busy--thanks to being open super late, i believe as late as 2 a.m. on weeknights. they are owned by the same people as the drunken fish on piedmont, but are less expensive and the atmosphere less trendy.
Posted by: maria at September 15, 2004 09:56 AMBonsai is indeed closed, some place called "Sai Sai" is there now.
When I looked in, it did not look like the same sushi chef. The guy in the middle looked a lot younger.
They also do not offer much in the bento line (or it was expensive, I forget which). And they got rid of the great tree-trunk tables and cool geodes.
Disappointing. I liked Bonsai.
Posted by: Merle at September 28, 2004 11:46 AMi personally didnt like bonsai at all, but gave sai sai a try and its realllly good. a bit cheaper than koryo across the street, great service, everything about it was good.
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