#food/drink Some personal reviews of omakase in San Francisco ## KEN ==252 Divisadero St, San Francisco, CA 94117== ==*$225 per person*== https://www.ken-sf.com/ KEN is named after the chef, who is hilariously funny and is really good at making an experience out of omakase. He's incredibly sweet, a great conversationalist, and is very detailed and meticulous about his craft. The setting is very intimate and seats 6 people per time block. Ken's omakase menu is nine course consisting of small bites, sashimi, two sushi dishes, steamed dish, hand roll, rice dish, soup, and a dessert. If you like sake, Chef Ken also has a bunch of varieties and is willing to help you find the perfect cup for your taste and allows you to try a few before you settle on one. Chef Ken also doesn't focus on one exclusive type of preparation and will prepare things both traditionally and to his unique style of preparation. He will also ask you your preferred amounts of wasabi per bite, in case you hate the taste of wasabi like me. Overall it was a great experience and I would totally recommend going to KEN. ## Kibatsu ==400 Haight St, San Francisco, CA 94117== ==*$158 per person*== http://kibatsusushi.com/menu Kibatsu is more of a Japanese restaurant and izakaya than formal omakase place. But they also have an excellent and worth it omakase menu that had a surprising amount of courses. When I went, they didn't let me know how many courses it would actually be. But I was surprised by a variety of dishes -- sashimi, small plates, wagyu, nigiri, and even an incredibly interesting dessert, which was black sesame or matcha ice cream with a piece of wagyu on top. While the setting isn't as intimate as a typical omakase place, it was still an incredible experience and I highly suggest Kibatsu as a casual omakase spot. Their selection of fish was from Toyosu Market in Japan and it's a real no-frills experience here. ## The Shota ==115 Sansome St, San Francisco, CA 94104== https://www.theshotasf.com/ I'm thankful and lucky enough that I have an amazing friend willing to pay for the experience for me. The Shota is my very first one star Michelin *omakase* restaurant and the experience was honestly amazing. The specialty sakes are very much worth the price and taste absolutely delicious. I got the oze x rosé which was really light and sweet for a sake. Every course was AMAZING and the chefs are kind enough to show each fish they'll cut up and serve for the night, which all came from Toyose market in Japan. The ambiance was impeccable - the seats are spread out far enough that you aren't intruding on the conversations of people next to you, and the restaurant played classy jazzy piano renditions of songs from Super Smash Bros, Kingdom Hearts, and Demon Slayer. I felt like a Shazam while my friend who had no interest in this type of media thought the music was excellent. The fish is excellently presented and seasoned, and they're prepared both traditionally and seasoned uniquely. I just eat honestly but a lot of these tastes I haven't tried before. The yellowtail for example I thought tasted like a dessert, and an amadai to me tasted as if it was prepared like a barbecue. Half of the omakase was entirely dedicated to tuna as well, and the experience started lean but progressively went on more fatty. The longer I dined at The Shota the more I loved the experience. The only thought that I have is that it's best to make a reservation not in the wintertime. The last dessert course of fruits is seasonal, and I was offered a prepared mandarin and strawberry jelly, but during the spring it seems that they prepare pineberries (white strawberries by appearance, but are crossbred strawberries and pineapples), which I've always wanted to try! ## Sushi Sato ==1122 Post St, San Francisco, CA 94109== https://www.satosushisf.com/ Sushi Sato is a pretty solid place for no-frills reasonably affordable $95 and fairly traditional omakase. There's a 8 piece nigiri course, a small refreshing gelatin carpaccio-style dish, 3 spoons of uni and ikura hand rolls, and a panna cotta dessert. Sushi Sato is a good place for casual omakase in larger groups since they serve you the omakase to the table. There was not many people there on a Thursday but the ambiance is still quite nice and it's in a decent area of the city. Not really much else to say though, just solid fish and I liked it! ## Oma SF Station ==1737 Post St #337, San Francisco, CA 94109== https://omasfstation.com/ I tried the cheapest omakase option here which was a $95 course. Oma SF station is surprisingly located within the Japantown mall and is tucked away in a little corner. For the most part, the ambiance is surprisingly fine despite just being solidly out in the mall, but since it's next to a freight elevator occasionally workers will pass by noisily. It was a 1:30 course that was also fairly no-frills. The tsubame course that day had a lot of smoked fish options and the 8-piece nigiri course was split in-between by a sashimi course. It wasn't particularly remarkable but the option wasn't bad either and I left feeling not too full or bloated. ## Hinata ==810 Van Ness Ave, San Francisco, CA 94109== https://www.hinatasf.com/ Hinata's $98 omakase course is a really excellent bang for your buck in terms of the quality of the fish and how many courses you have. I'd also recommend getting the $24 supplement with it because it's a good price for A5 wagyu, otoro, and uni. 18 kinds of sushi for $98 goes to about $5 per piece, which is really solid! The refreshing appetizers between bites were also excellent, as was their dessert. It's also a really good casual omakase place since they serve you omakase to the table, but the only thing is that the time between courses is quite long.