Minako's Organic Japanese Restaurant, Mission District, part 2

Minako, the owner recognizes me because I've been to her restaurant so many times. This time, she confessed to me and my first-timer friend that she was a little bit frazzled because most of the customers, contrary to the norm, were also first timers; she had to explain the system to them, they didn't get it, and thank you for not being a familiar face, she said. She then chided me for asking if the Hamachi Mint could be made gluten free. "We only have three things on the menu that can't be made gluten free!" She exclaimed.

She's a character no doubt, and it was nice to be appreciated as a regular customer. She brought us some yummy snacks-pickled cauliflower and some sort of fermented and spicey noodle like veggie things. Yum!

Are you wondering why do I keep coming back? First of all, she really gets gluten contamination. Also, there's something for everyone- besides being so gluten free and celiac friendly, she uses organic foods, and has many vegan options.

The main reason I go back is for the gluten free Chicken Katsu. I don't know if there is anywhere else you can get that. And her's is damn good. Her mom even makes the Katsu sauce from scratch, so that it is gluten free. This is another reason I love this place. It's a small family business and I love that she knows and appreciates her customers. Additionally this is probably also the only place with gluten free inari (tofu pocket stuffed with rice). They only use gluten free tamari there, that's all you'll find in the bottles on the table. The inari is made with this. While the inari there isn't as stellar as the chicken Katsu, its still great and I get it everytime.

The sushi at Minako's is not my favorite. Some of the rolls are huge, and hard to eat. The rice is brown rice, which, while very healthy, is not my favorite for sushi. However, I usually get the small sized spicy tuna roll - pretty darned good and still a rare treat since gluten contamination at sushi restaurants is such a problem.


I love Minako and her food! This is my favorite gluten-free and celiac friendly restaurant in San Francisco hands down. I will keep coming back over and over just like the majority of her customers!

Minako's Organic Japanese Restaurant, Mission District, San Francisco

For the gluten-free, this place is a gem! The main waitress, whose family runs the place totally "gets it" in regards to being 100% gluten-free. I went there with a party of four, me being the only gluten-free person. She gave me my own Wasabi and ginger dish, so that the others would not contaminate mine with their chop sticks because they were eating some non-gluten-free stuff (it's all gluten-free Tamari there though). It is so reassuring for those of us with Celiac disease when the waitstaff understand details like that. She explained to us that they have two tempura fryers to avoid contamination there, and she even told me Tobiko is not gluten free! I did not know that. It turns out Tobiko is usually processed with wheat starch.

The first time I went there, we mostly had sushi and I was not super impressed, not being a fan of brown rice in my sushi. The gluten free tempura was definitely a disappointment. However, at Minako's is the only gluten free inari I've found so far. So we went back. This time I ordered the gluten free Chicken Katsu and it was AMAZING. I can't wait to go back for more.

One thing that sucks about being gluten-free is that even though restaurants are getting better at coming up with gluten-free options, it's usually a regular menu item without the yummy sauce because the yummy sauce that really makes the dish has gluten in it. I'm pretty sure that this is the only place in San Francisco that has gluten-free Chicken Katsu with gluten-free sauce! YAY! I can't wait to go back for that.

Not only do they accommodate the gluten-free, but they are also very vegan friendly, all while offering plenty of options for those who eat the full spectrum off foods.

On a totally unimportant side note - their bathroom is super cute!