Ranzan — Restaurant in Redwood City

Kaiseiki Dreams 💯

4.5 Stars

I first made reservations at Ranzan in Redwood City over two years ago. Shortly before our dinner, the pandemic shut down indoor dining and our dinner was not meant to be.

But because of that reservation, I was on Ranzan’s mailing list and among the first to know of their take-out offerings. Those take-out offerings, in particular their saba sushi, became my favorite pandemic takeout item and I was lucky to order many times

Flash forward to today with indoor dining at full capacity and strict takeout only a memory for many, I had an opportunity to return to Ranzan

Ranzan specializes in Kaiseiki or a style of Japanese dining featuring numerous, small intricate dishes and popular in cities like Kyoto

Hidden on an unassuming street in downtown, Ranzan features the full Kaiseiki experience in ways that made me reminisce about both ryokan and Kaiseiki dinners I had in Japan

The space is quiet and serene with high ceilings and the service is warm and friendly with the servers in full kimono both polite and happy to answer questions about every dish

Having tried all of Ranzan’s takeout offerings, I wasn’t sure what to expect but I can happily share that my meal exceeded my expectations and is one of my best meals this year

The food is not only beautiful but a labor of love with numerous dishes featuring touches and additions that all amplify and enhance the excellent flavors

Everyone loves the A5 Miyazaki Wagyu and fresh sashimi but I found joy in even the simpler items like corn soup, potato dumpling and asparagus jelly

For those with a special occasion or who wish to be reminded of Japan, Ranzan is very special indeed. Wakuriya and the former Kaygetsu are the best known Kaiseiki restaurants in the Bay Area, but I’d now firmly put Ranzan on that list too

📷 Takao May Menu $228/pp / Asparagus Jelly / Dry Aged Cucumber and Karasumi / Fried Baby Sweetfish, Green vegetables with tofu sauce, Nagaimo and okura / Corn soup / Sashimi ~ Kochi, Hamo, Shimaaji / Potato Dumpling / Ginger Sorbet / A5 Wagyu / Uni So-men / Chawanmushi English Peas / Abalone Soup / Anago tempura / Mozuku with agar jelly and scallops / Hagama rice with octopus / Miso soup with Eggplant and scallions / Minazuki

📍Ranzan...

An amazing introduction to Kaiseki dinners in the Bay Area. Couldn't have asked for a better birthday celebration. :)

Ranzan is a Kaiseki style dinner with a few different options for the amount of food / premium options. We ended up opting for Kibune option which was their 2nd tier out of 4. It was super delicious although we did struggle to get to the finish line because our stomachs weren't ready for the amount of food we were getting. XD

Some of our favorite dishes from our particular menu included: *Wagyu sirloin steak with Japanese sansho pepper: So good. Perfectly cooked. Melted in our mouths. *Corn tofu: Just a personal preference but I really, really dug this clever play on classic tofu. Loved the texture and thought it tasted amazing. *Squash soup: This was their play on the traditional miso - loved it (and love all things squash in general). *Unagi donburi: Perfect portion (this was one of the later dishes, so my +1 and I were struggling a bit at this point) and super delicious. The unagi was so flavorful with a lovely slightly sweet sauce and breadcrumb like balls. *Yes, there were a couple dishes we weren't as fond of, but still loved the way they were presented and the ideas behind them!

*The pacing of the food does come out at a pretty even cadence with service being so on point.. My +1 and I got deep into our talks and sometimes fell a little behind with some of the dishes overlapping as we were still chatting but we were usually able to catch up! *The presentation was amazing and super deliberate. Loved the little touches and appreciated too the small birthday surprises at the end. Super cute. *As some other have noted, at least as of August 2023, the restaurant returns your deposit directly to you. *The ambiance of Ranzan is so soothing and relaxing. Easy to have conversations. Super minimalist.

Also, I took a rideshare getting to the restaurant so didn't notice parking as much, but my +1 did park a couple blocks away.

Cheers to the kind staff / servers! Super lovely...

This was our second time at Ranzan. It was such an amazing experience, again, that I had to give it credit.

We’ve been lucky enough to try many fine dining places in the Bay Area such as Benu, Saison, Gary Danko, French Laundry, Hiroshi, Yoshizumi sushi, Birdsong, Chez TJ, etc. I say that because this is easily in my top three! It is also far and away the best fine dining value in the Bay. They offer 4 set meal options. Each set is slightly larger than the last. Last time we tried the largest set menu and it was an amazing meal; each course was unique and different and made you go “wow.” The sets are built so that each course is prepared in a different way such as grilled, simmered, fried, raw, etc. I love a meal where I taste a variety of things. This was a very large quantity of food, be prepared by only eating a light lunch earlier in the day if you order set #4 out of 4!

We came back this time and tried set menu #2 out of 4 (Kibune). I liked the portion size of this meal. Again, delicious variety of courses! Japanese Kaiseki is different than Japanese sushi omakase because the courses are a mix of preparations (cooked, soup, raw, etc.) and I like the variety. My wife commented that this place rivals the fine dining Kaiseki places we had in Japan. Anyways, if you’re looking to “get your feet wet” with a superbly valued fine dining experience or want to experience an amazing Japanese Kaiseki meal, Ranzan in Redwood City is difficult to beat!

As a side note, I noticed they were full on the booking site Tock. I called and they gave me a reservation. They also mentioned that you can’t make same day reservations via Tock. I suggest you call if you can’t find a reservation online, especially same-day since they’ll do their best to get...