Cristan Molinelli-Ruberto

Sushi Koshō is one of numerous restaurants providing a plethora of cuisine in The Barlow in Sebastopol, joining the likes of Acre Pizza and Fern Bar along the main thoroughfare — McKinley Street.

Sushi Koshō offers decently priced and quality meals and a comfortable patio for socializing, but the inconsistent food quality was disappointing given Sonoma County’s reputation as a worldwide foodie destination.

Sushi Koshō is one of numerous restaurants providing a plethora of cuisine in The Barlow in Sebastopol, joining the likes of Acre Pizza and Fern Bar along the main thoroughfare — McKinley Street.

Sushi Koshō offered a two-course lunch for $30 during Sonoma County’s Restaurant Week. The first course was a choice between miso soup and chilled spinach.

The miso soup included the standard silky tofu cubes and slippery seaweed pieces, with crunchy and bright green onion strewn about. An interesting addition, Beech mushrooms, floated on top of the earthy broth.

The soup was a light start to lunch, and the mushroom addition was honorable but certainly not needed. The mushrooms deviated too much from what we usually expect when ordering straight-up miso soup at a restaurant. Some things in life are just made to be simple.

The second course featured a choice between six pieces of nigiri and a tuna roll or sweet chili tofu. Notably, Sushi Koshō offered a vegetarian main dish, a pleasant surprise given that it can be hard to find fine-dining menus that do not require a million accommodations for our veggie-forward friends. But the nigiri set looked too good to pass up.

Six pieces of nigiri, featuring fresh salmon, tuna and hamachi, were carefully placed on a wooden plank

alongside a simple tuna roll. Paired with a small amount of pickled ginger and wasabi, this proved to be the ideal light lunch on a sunny afternoon. Perhaps other foodies thought so, too, as three patrons quickly filled the open back patio.

The wasabi was inconsistently hidden under the tuna roll, which could lead to a near-death experience for an unsuspecting diner. However, the fish was fresh enough to melt in one’s mouth. The soy sauce added the much-needed touch of umami, and the ginger provided a zingy palette cleanser at the very end.

Sushi Koshō is a safe bet for high-quality and quick sushi in Sonoma County. If Santa Rosa Junior College students are in the area, it is worth a visit, but they shouldn’t go out of their way in between classes for their sushi craving.

Gallery • 5 Photos

Cristan Molinelli-Ruberto

For the second course on the lunch menu, Sushi Kosho offered tuna rolls, along with six pieces of nigiri on Sonoma County Restaurant Week from Feb. 24 - March 2, 2025.