On a whim I decided to eat at The House without reservations and on a very busy Broadway Ave Thursday night full of college students, young professionals, families, retirees and tourist enjoying a refreshing summery San Francisco night. We arrived at 8 pm and found parking in 30 mins. As expected the restaurant was packed and a group of people were waiting outside. We were told to return at 9 pm for a food paaarty of two at da House. Oh Yea.

If you're caught in the same situation, walk up one block, make a left and sip a caffe macchiato at Cafe Trieste (where Francis Ford Coppola wrote his script for The Godfather) while you are waiting.


The service at The House is professional, timed and detailed. My plates were refreshed when needed, they even take the wooden chopstick apart, water glass refilled constantly.








A plate of complimentary pickled cucumbers was graced at the table before we had a chance to glance at the menu. The sourly sweetness helped opened our appetite.









We started off with the famous $8.50 deep-fried salmon roll with Chinese hot mustard, it is famous because The House is credited to introducing this dish. The salmon is a thick log wrapped in nori and fried to a medium-well. The spicy mustard amped up the meaty piece of fish, and not to forget the freshness.



The server has the Daily Specials memorized to a tee with descriptive mouth-watering explanations. We ordered the Daily Special Lemon ponzu grilled scallops. The scallops is seared to a crispy caramelized sweetness, firm yet still soft. The dab of tobiko gave an extra saltiness to the lemon ponzu sauce. An incredible presentation, quality, taste and value for $12, the price would double if it was at a fancy restaurant.



Next was the $11 Roasted unagi with avocado sushi rice. The rice was sticky short grain mixed thoroughly to a even greenness from the avocado, a spark of wasabi in the rice.









The Sear’s Tower-like $12 Maine crab cake with pickled ginger remoulade arrived to the table ready to be devour. There was big pieces of crab mixed with a mayonnaise based sauce and fried to a crackly outer crust. The puddle of pickled ginger remoulade, yellow and green tobiko added more dimension of flavor. Again, the presentation set my eyes on fire.









The main dish of the night was the $17 Warm wasabi house noodles with angus flatiron steak. At this point I was getting full but once our server brought out the dish I was infatuated with the beautiful tones of red from my steak. The udon noodles were cooked perfectly with a very faint wasabi and hoisin base sauce. The dish is topped with a coleslaw salad, added crunch to the heavier dish of the night. The dish also included finely julienne strips of the cucumber's heart. (I realized the outer part of the cucumber was used for the pickled dish, no waste at the House.) Once again, the presentation really makes eating the dish more delightful.



Now, I understand the long lines at The House and the constant praise from my friends. The dishes are very reasonable priced, fresh, ample portions, and super friendly service.

The House
1230 Grant Ave
San Francisco, CA 94133
(415) 986-8612