9/4/2023 0 Comments Oma san franciscoThe word "an" means "modest cottage" in Japanese, and that's fitting for this space. Serving whatever is freshest and trending from Tokyo's Tsukiji Fish Market, An ups the ante a bit from its predecessor in this space (Ino) with omakase options, thoughtfully composed appetizer dishes, and a delicious, delicate seafood-dashi soup that closes out some meals. Situated in a tiny 25-seat space upstairs in the upper building at the Japantown mall, An is one of those intimate, semi-secret, very high quality sushi experiences you want to take a connoisseur to, to impress them. Jay BarmannĤ31 Bush (at Claude Lane) Photo courtesy of An Japanese Restaurant All the sushi is incredibly fresh, and there is also a regularly changing menu of grilled and fried items for the fish-averse. The nicer, specialty fish - things like kamasu (young barracuda) and tachiuo (ribbonfish) that you don’t see much outside Japan - is on a separate menu with prices starting at $12, or around $25 to $30 for a couple of sashimi slices. The omakase menu will run you around $150 per person (it changes based on market prices), but a la carte sushi is reasonable for downtown, with nigiri coming in at $4 to $7 per piece, with a 12-piece nigiri tasting for $39. This high-end yet low-key, 23-year-old Union Square spot has been thriving under the leadership of chef Alex Orejana, and it’s remained a staple of best-of lists for years. Believe it or not, that is still possible in this fancy eating town. And let’s face it: Sometimes all you want is a maki roll and a couple pieces of unagi on a Tuesday night, and you’d rather that didn’t cost more than $30 after tip. This updated list aims to give equal respect to both the extravagant and the modest. (In fairness, we’ve excluded them from this list because they don’t serve a menu of proper sushi.) And we’re now home to multiple excellent izakayas like Rintaro and Yuzuki where you’ll find beautiful sashimi alongside grilled and fried share plates. We are also a city that’s rife with humbler mom-and-pop sushi dens, many of which have been open for decades serving a fiercely loyal cadre of neighborhood regulars - most of them with prices that reflect long-term leases that were locked in years ago. With beverages and other add-ons, SF now boasts multiple Michelin-starred sushi spots where the bill can easily climb to $500 per person or more. But as with everything in New San Francisco, the bar has been raised in the sushi realm thanks to high-rolling sushi lovers who don’t blink at dropping $200 or $300 on a high-quality, Tokyo-level omakase experience. Japantown, for one, has been home to many renowned nigiri masters for decades. While for decades it was a cliché to hear recent émigrés from the East Coast bemoaning San Francisco’s lack of decent pizza or bagels - both of which have arrived in recent years, btw - good sushi was something we were never starved for.
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