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Japanese · Sushi · Omakase

YŪGEN — Omakase Sushi & Cinematic Fine Dining in San Francisco

Omakase in the key of stillness. An intimate omakase counter where the season, the light and the hand of the chef become one quiet ritual.

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Recognition

2024Two Michelin StarsMichelin Guide
2024World's 50 Best · No. 3150 Best Restaurants
2023Site of the DayAwwwards
2023Best Fine DiningEater SF
2022Chef of the YearJames Beard Foundation
The philosophy物語

A meal measured in stillness, not courses.

Yūgen (幽玄) — the profound, mysterious grace of the universe, felt but never fully seen. We built YŪGEN around that single idea — that the most beautiful things are felt at the edge of perception: the warmth of rice at body temperature, the hush before the first piece, the light softening over the counter as evening falls.

Every element — the hinoki wood, the concrete, the single seasonal branch — is chosen and then quietened, until only the essential remains.

Est.
2019
Seats
18
Courses
17
The empty hinoki sushi counter at dusk, lit by warm paper lanterns with a seasonal branch in a ceramic vase
旬The counter, at dusk
Macro of a marbled slice of aged salmon belly on dark slate
鮭Aged salmon belly
Hand-thrown matte ceramic cups and plates stacked on a concrete surface
器Hand-thrown ceramics
Chef Arata Mizuno, executive itamae, standing behind the hinoki counter in an indigo chef's jacket
板前

Arata Mizuno

Executive Chef · Itamae

The hand behind the counter板前

Twenty years learning to do less.

Trained in Kanazawa and Tokyo before the counters of Sukiyabashi, Chef Arata treats each service as a single conversation — reading the room, the season and the fish, then composing in real time. His cuts are quiet; his timing is not.

“I am not cooking for you. I am cooking with the day you walked in on.”

— James Beard — Chef of the Year— Trained under Jiro-lineage masters— Toyosu market, every dawn
Signature compositions特選

Dishes built over years

Full menu →
Bluefin toro nigiri topped with gold leaf and shiso on a black kintsugi plate with golden seams
金
✦ Chef's choiceGuest favourite

Kintsugi

$42
金継ぎ

Bluefin toro, gold leaf, smoked soy pearls and shiso.

Torched salmon belly nigiri with char marks, yuzu kosho and ikura roe
炭
Guest favourite

Ember & Yuzu

$34
炭と柚子

Torched salmon belly, yuzu kosho, crisp leek ash, ikura.

Spice level 2 of 3
A gunkan of vivid orange Hokkaido sea urchin wrapped in dark nori on slate
雲丹
Guest favourite

Hokkaido Uni

$16
雲丹

Sea urchin from Rausu, cold-brined nori, a whisper of wasabi.

In frame写真

Moments from the room

Full gallery →
A chef's blowtorch searing a piece of nigiri
炭Torched to order
The minimalist dining room with paper lanterns
席The room
Ceremonial matcha being whisked in a dark bowl
茶Matcha service
The dining room at night, lantern-lit
夜After dark
Hokkaido uni gunkan on nori
雲丹Uni, Rausu
Hand-thrown ceramics
器Ceramics
＠ Follow the season on Instagram
In their words声

Guests & critics

“The closest thing to meditation I have found in a restaurant. Two hours vanished; I remember every bite.”

The New York Times·Dining
The seasonal letter

Notes on what the season brings

A quiet letter a few times a year — new courses, private dinners and first access to seasonal seatings.

Good to know質問

Frequently asked

Reservations, dress code, dietary needs, and what to expect at the counter.

Counter seatings open on the 1st of each month for the following month and often fill within days. Tables and the garden window can usually be booked one to two weeks ahead. Same-day requests are welcome by phone.

Still have a question? Contact us or request a table.

Find us場所

Visit YŪGEN

Address

88 Ashgrove Lane
Hayes Valley, San Francisco CA 94102

Seatings

Tuesday – Thursday
Seatings 17:30 · 20:15
Friday – Saturday
Seatings 17:00 · 19:30 · 21:45
Sunday
Seatings 17:30 · 20:00
Monday
Closed
+1 (415) 555-0192reservations@yugen.dining
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