Happy New Year! I hope you all had a wonderful new years. I spent it up in Healdsburg where I had a more low key NYE and lots of wine. For my first post of the year, I wanted to write about a food experience I’ve been wanting to have for a couple months. Earlier this week I got the chance to eat at The Shota, a new omakase experience located in downtown San Francisco.
Every month I go through the “New Businesses” section of Yelp hoping I’ll find some hidden gems before they get too popular. I always love finding new Japanese places especially, so I was super excited to find this place in December. The one thing about omakases is that they’re definitely in the fine dining category of Japanese food, so it’s always hard finding a partner for these things who is willing to pay the higher than average prices. I finally convinced my girlfriends to go for our annual Valentines Day dinner, but I was so excited about this place I convinced one of my foodie friends to go with me this week, so I could try it sooner.
Getting to know Chef Ingi “Shota” Son
The Shota is a small restaurant with only 8 seats at a bar where the chef prepares the meal right in front of you. Personally, this is my favorite way to have sushi. Seeing the chef thinly slice all those pieces of fish and then putting it together with the rice and wasabi is just pure magic. We were lucky enough to have Chef Shota prepare our meal for us, and I was seated right in front of him! Because of our proximity to him, I took this chance to ask him any and every question I could. I learned that he has been making sushi for 10 years (crazy!) and he first came to the US 6 years ago. After spending some time in LA and then culinary school in Las Vegas, he came to the Bay Area 3 years ago with the goal of opening this place. His passion clearly comes through in not only his story but also in his food. He told us that the 3 dots in the restaurant’s logo represent rice, fish, and his love.
Those Unique Touches
My experience here had so many unique tidbits that made it special. To start off with, they let me and my friend choose our own chopsticks! I chose the pink ones of course because girl power! They also had a wide selection of sakes, beers, and even tea! I read that they do a tea pairing here thats prepared by a tea sommelier (say what??) which I would’ve totally gotten, but I think it only happens on the weekend. Because I came here on a weekday, I got the sencha which is a green tea.
Now to the Food!!!
Okay now to the food! The menu consisted of 15 courses. There were so many good ones it’s hard to pick out my favorites. The first one that really caught my tastebuds was the first course. We first started out with a foie gras sandwich with yuzu persimmon marmalade and 2 Japanese crackers as the “bread”. I think this was an interesting intro to the meal because foie gras is typically very heavy. And usually it’s more traditional to start out with lighter dishes and progress to heavier dishes. This dish was really good. It was creamy and the freshness from the yuzu balances out the heaviness of the foie gras extremely well.
My Favorite Nigiri
We had a ton of nigiri obviously and all of them were amazing, but if I had to choose one I would have for the rest of my life, it would be the golden eye snapper which was seared and seasoned with soy sauce. I absolutely love this treatment of the fish. I asked the chef why he seared the fish, and he said that since it’s a fatty fish, searing the fish gives it a sweetness. Well I’m all for that!
The Dish of the Night
THE DISH of the night for me was hands down absolutely the Black Cod dish. It was marinated in a miso sake marinade and then fried to finish it off. It was then paired with Japanese mushrooms, cauliflower puree, and fried quinoa. WOW. THIS DISH WAS TO DIE FOR. I literally said that twice while I was eating it. The cod just melts in your mouth and that sweetness from the marinade really comes through. If I died in that moment, I would have died a happy and well fed person. Other highlights of the night were the lean tuna, uni of course, and the hamachi dish (which is an experience in itself).
If I had to critique one thing about the place is the awkward ambiance. The restaurant has a very sleek and modern vibe right down to the music. The music was a mixture of EDM like club music which sort of distracted from this epic symphony of flavors we were experiencing. I felt like that didn’t complement the food experience we were having.
All in all, would I come back here? ABSOLUTELY Do I already have a reservation to come back? HELL YEA Would I recommend it to everyone I know? YOU CAN BET ON THAT.
Restaurant Information
The Shota
115 Sansome Street
San Francisco, CA 94104
628-224-2074
$150 for omakase
Accommodates all dietary restrictions except veganism and vegetarianism.
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by Becca Du