Blowfish Sushi Is Closed for Good…and It Really Blows

Blowfish Sushi to Die For is now a thing of the past, another devastating hit to an era when all things bizarre and beautiful trumped the ordinary and bland.

It was a nod to the lavish and strange, to the almost uncomfortable collision of worlds where culinary delicacies were cheekily showcased in the form of six-shot barrels. Pulsing music, strobing lights and big screen anime drew in raw-reluctant 90’s crowds and converted masses to ikura popping sushi hounds. Blowfish Sushi to Die For just got what it meant to thrive in the city that San Francisco once was, when it was a hub of creatives who understood that mastery was anything but without an element of playfulness.

But just as eccentrics are quickly fading from the city’s landscape, so go the whimsical and weird haunts that tickled their fancies and their taste buds. As Blowfish served up their last sushi roll, they became yet another character killed off in the tale of a metropolis morphing to the whims of a less-interesting elite.

The sign on the door at 2170 Bryant St. is a soul-crushing farewell from the owners, who will now “focus on their future endeavors” in the more broth, less bump ramen craze. You’ll still find the same people behind the scenes at Hell’s Ramen in the Mission or at either of the two Iza Ramen locations in the city, but what you won’t find is the techno party in the bento box that made Blowfish so special.

Blowfish Sushi to Die For sign in San Francisco, Calif. Photo courtesy of Katerina S./Yelp

So, we say goodbye to another San Francisco classic that gave the city teeth once upon a time, to the days when oyster shooter Russian roulette was served alongside salmon rolls sprinkled with Monterey Jack and guzzled down with stringy cocktails. And if you don’t know what any of that really means, you’re probably new here.

Rest in Peace, Blowfish. Domo arigatou!