Best Neighborhood Gem Restaurants in Japantown

It’s always a treat dining here. One of my friends have not been here for a couple of years and he says, the food was as good as the first time he ate there. Consistent all throughout. We had a last minute change the day prior from originally reservation for 5 but increased to 10 people and they were able to accommodate us.

Everything was great except the food quality. The eggplant parm was way too salty, the linguine and clams was starchy and unflavororal. I brought an out of town team here based on ratings and unfortunately we were all underwhelmed. Waiter was amazing and sweet.

The Progress never disappoints. We sat at the bar for a pre birthday celebration and had the best time. First, if you get to have the pleasure of Brent the bartender and server was outstanding in every sense. While making tons of cocktails, he was able to guide us through the menu and pick the best choices for our meal - all with a beautiful grin. The food is above excellent, imaginative, well prepared and presented. Service staff is efficient and just the right amount of friendly. A definite go to!

We sat outside and it was quiet and the heaters kept us warm. Delicious food, a nicely priced glass of wine (for San Francisco) and excellent recommendations and service from the wait staff

The food quality at Octavia is very high. The chefs really know what they’re doing. We had a pre-fixe menu for Christmas Eve dinner and they accommodated dietary restrictions with advanced notice. They actually called a few days in advance of the reservation to confirm the dietary restrictions which was really nice. We had 9 courses I think and they were all delicious. My favorites were the soup and the pasta dishes. The service was also very good, the servers were very attending and accommodating. There was one dish I didn’t eat much of because it had radicchio in it which I don’t like, and our server offered to have the kitchen make me a replacement dish with a different lettuce instead. The only negative of Octavia is that it feels very cramped. The space is small and they squeeze in a lot of tables so you’re sitting basically on top of other diners and it’s a little awkward. Everything else was great though. I would definitely recommend Octavia as a good place for special occasions or bringing out of town visitors.