Best of SF: Ozumo Contemporary Japanese Cuisine

Posted: January 11th, 2012 | Author: LumDimSum | Filed under: A Day In My Life, Travel | Tags: Alan Wong, California, Chef's Osusume Course, Contemporary Japanese Cuisine, Hatsune Restaurant Group, Ozumo, sake, San Francisco | No Comments »

After knowing and loving the Hatsune Restaurant Group for 5+ years, I’ve officially become a sushi snob.  Not any California roll will do any longer, I have a more sensitive palette to fresh sashimi, and I’ve developed an attraction to more exotic seafood tastes. From authentic Japanese to contemporary Japanese fusion, the entire spectrum of Japanese cuisine remains at the top of my list for favorite cuisines. And traveling together with a passionate Japanese restaurant entrepreneur, we were on the hunt for the best Japanese restaurants in California.

During the few days we were in San Francisco, Ozumo Contemporary Japanese Restaurant was a restaurant we booked well in advance knowing how packed they get.  One of the most expensive sushi restaurants in downtown SF, Ozumo is located just near Pier 14 with beautiful views overlooking the Bay Bridge. The design is sleek and sophisticated with a 30-person sushi bar, a traditional robata grill and a sake lounge surrounded by walls of tall sake bottles.

The menu is extensive and broken down into several sections – favorites, soups, salads, sushi/sashimi, robata, tempura and a Chef’s Osusume Course (USD$125 per person) for those who are not sure what to order and would prefer to sit back and enjoy a personalized coursed meal prepared by Ozumo’s Executive Chef.

I would recommend the Osusume course if you come alone or in a party smaller than 3, but with a group of 6 and an expert orderer of Japanese cuisine (Hatsune owner Alan Wong), I also got to sit back and enjoy as the dishes kept coming out. Normally I like to list off the meal’s highlights, but every dish that was served from something as simple as their seaweed salad platter was original in both preparation and presentation and really stood out as being exceptional.

I’ve never had a seaweed salad served in this way – with three types of Hokkaido fresh seaweed in a pile of veggies and dressing. The sashimi and sushi were all super fresh and melted in our mouth – especially the o-toro tuna sashimi. And the broth of their specialty Shabu-Shabu (hot pot) was so rich with flavor that we ended up soaking all our rice in the broth just to drink up more of that good flavor.  It was ridiculously good.

And if I had to pick a favorite dish of our meal, I would pick the Yamabuki dish – fresh uni and mushrooms in a brown rice risotto. Phenomenal.

LumDimSum Snapshots of Ozumo’s Cuisine:

Kaiso Seaweed Salad (USD$12): Three varieties of Hokkaido seaweed tossed in a sanbai-su vinaigrette and umi-shiso  dressing

O-toro Tuna and Hotate Scallop Sashimi Platter

Yamabuki (USD$12):Fresh uni, shimeji and shiitake mushrooms in a healthy Genmai brown rice risotto

Sekiwake Roll (USD$14):Spicy Tuna Roll with tobiko, tempura flakes, salmon, hamachi and peanut sauce

Bucho Roll (USD$15): Tempura Shrimp Roll with crabmeat, avocado, tobiko
and yuzu aioli

Ozumo Roll (USD$17): Grilled unagi and cucumber topped with snow crab, 
tuna, avocado and spicy sauce

Burikama (USD $23): Roasted yellowtail collar with a sunomono salad and daikon-ponzu dipping sauce

Assorted Nigiri Platter: Uni (Sea Urchin), Hamachi (Yellowtail), Foie Gras

Shacho’s Shabu-Shabu (USD$43): Washu rib-eye with a daikon radish ponzu dipping sauce, swished through a simmering  pot of aka miso dashi broth

Ozumo Contemporary Japanese Cuisine Contact Details:

• Address: 161 Steuart Street San Francisco, CA 94105 (but they have 3 restaurant locations in total – SF, Oakland and Santa Monica)

• Tel: (415) 882.1333 

• Website: Click here.

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