In Pictures: The Secret's Out with Tekka

Tekka Japanese Restaurant in San Francisco is the City's best-kept Japanese secret. It takes an enterprising treasure hunter to search out Tekka. It is in an area with extraordinary limited parking and is a tiny box-of-a restaurant with no identifying signage, and tattered and weathered facade. Inside the restaurant is the hidden treasure: the grandparently figures and "Mom and Pop" team of Nobu and Yoshimi, and a homey, warm, comforting, and "cozy" area (some may say "cramped") with seating for at max, 10 to 12 patrons. If you can't find the restaurant itself, look for the line that starts forming at 6:30 p.m.--the restaurant itself opens at 7:00 p.m..

Tekka is a unique place, with ocean-fresh and vibrant-flavored seafood that literally transports you directly to the noisy, bustling, and neon-lighted streets of Japan. There are also some unique and atypical attributes about Tekka. A list of stringent rules adorn the wall and window, with such rules as "No to go. . . . No forks, no soda. . . . No complaining." There is a small television that plays Wheel of Fortune and Dancing with the Stars in the background. And, the most idiosyncratic characteristic about Tekka is the glistening, melt-in-your mouth sashimi and sushi that is unbelievably not in Japan, but in San Francisco.

Here is a photo essay of the array of sushi and hot entree options offered by Tekka. The pictures should give you an idea of how delicious and attractive the sushi and the food at Tekka is. We only ordered one hot entree, and that was fresh shiitake mushrooms stir-fried with sliced asparagus spears.

So what do you think? Gorgeous huh? Let me let you in on a secret: it was delicious too.