Nijiya Market (San Francisco)
Nicole Krasinski of State Bird Provisions, who has won a James Beard Award, buys her sushi at this Japantown grocery. The case holds bento, cut rolls and sashimi.
Why go
Krasinski goes past the California roll to the pickled mackerel. She picks up umeboshi rice balls too. Then she takes the lot to Alamo Square, Lafayette or Alta Plaza.1
Nijiya runs twelve stores across California and Hawaii. The company opened its first in San Diego in 1986 and builds the range around seasonal produce and organics.3 The kitchen makes the sushi, bento and prepared foods on site each day.
Order this / avoid
- Order: a bento box, early.
- Order: the umeboshi rice balls, and the pickled mackerel if the case has it.
- Avoid: the late-afternoon case. Paolo Bicchieri's Eater map warns that the good ones sell out first.2
What locals & experts say
- Nicole Krasinski, of State Bird Provisions, in The San Francisco Standard, May 2024:
You can get a California roll or go really Japanese and get pickled mackerel. I get the umeboshi rice ball a lot too.
1 - Paolo Bicchieri, Eater SF, putting a grocery store on a sushi map: it is
one of the most affordable options for satisfying a sushi craving in the city.
2
Good to know
- Getting in: walk in.
- Where: 1737 Post Street, inside the Japan Center block.
Verdict
could-visit — Walk in. It is a supermarket, and nobody is going to make you a plate.