Ju-Ni — Restaurant in San Francisco

The name of this little restaurant, which serves exclusively omakase and is located just off the bustling Divisadero avenue, comes from the Japanese term for "twelve," which is exactly the number of seats that are offered at the establishment. Because of its segmented L-shaped sushi bar, customers are certain to get individual attention from the restaurant's trio of chefs, who are often headed by the restaurant's chef and owner, Geoffrey Lee. They are a youthful and vivacious team, and they have developed this area with a clientele of other like young and vibrant professionals who are successful financially in mind. Take note of the spotlights positioned over the counter, which are ideal for taking Instagram photos of the food, as well as the well selected assortment of sake. Before moving on to an assortment of nigiri, meticulously procured directly from Japan and elegantly wrapped over well-seasoned rice, a dinner may begin with a sample of seasonal vegetables, such as tomatoes over edamame hummus. The sakura masu, which is served with a salt-cured cherry blossom leaf, the buttery Hokkaido scallop, and the distinctive ikura are the dishes that really stand out on the menu. The ikura is cured in soy sauce, sake, and honey, and it is topped with a grating of velvety frozen monkfish liver. Along the process, indulgent supplements may be added, such as charred A5 Wagyu steak and delicious uni. The dinner comes to a conclusion with a sweet and soft mochi that is dotted with adzuki bean paste. This is a surprisingly mild way to...

What a wonderful dinner experience this was!

My wife and I were able to snag last minute reservations Mother's Day weekend, probably due to a last minute cancellation, and boy did we luck out! Ju-Ni lived up to very high expectations.

The menu is simple, and the focus is on unbelievably fresh (usually raw) ingredients, and artful preparation. Each course was beautifully prepared, and tasted great. There wasn't a single bite that we didn't like.

We also loved our banter with the sushi chef. He started at an all-you-can-eat sushi bar in Florida, and made his way all the way up to becoming a Michelin-starred chef. Wow, what an amazing story!

Each chef is assigned 4 dinner guests, and so all night long, you've got a really great, intimate culinary experience with your chef.

We opted for the extended omakase ($125, plus an additional $49), and our menu was as follows:

1. Faro salad
2. Horsehair crab, miso butter, kelp
3. Striped jack with grated lime
4. Hokkaido scallop
5. Bluefin tuna
6. Golden eye snapper
7. Horse mackerel with grated ginger
8. Ocean trout belly marinated in white soy
9. Sunomono pickled cucumber
10. Baby firefly squid
11. Knife jaw fish with miso
12. Cured salmon roe with shaved monkfish liver. House specialty
13. Spanish mackerel with cured kelp
14. Bonito with grated daikon
15. Baby red snapper with finger lime
16. Braised unagi with gold flakes
17. Hokkaido uni
18. A5 Waygu. Melt in your mouth amazingness
19. Tomago
20. Fish consume with enoki mushroom
21. Matcha ice cream with...

I will say that I felt I got robbed.

Of all the omakase style restaurants that I’ve been to, this place was the first one not to included the best cuts of fish. For $225 per person, you would think o toro (fatty tuna), uni (sea urchin), or wagyu (Japanese steak), often considered the delicacies of any omakase menu, would be included. But the most expensive pieces were intentionally left off the menu and you had to pay extra.

I’m surprised they think people don’t care. It would be like ordering a pizza and having to pay extra for the dough. If you over charge, make sure to include the premium pieces!

They don’t provide carafes of sake, forcing you to get either an overpriced glass or a full bottle.

The sushi was good but wasn’t the best in sf. The garnishes didn’t tickle your palette or make you feel anything new. The one piece that I thought stood out was the ikura with ankimo.

The atmosphere is cozy but not warm. We sat at the corner of the bar and awkwardly looked at the people on the other side of the corner.

Bottom line: if you’re going to spend $700-1k for 2 people I would go elsewhere. They provide neither the best atmosphere and ambiance, the premium fish are an add-on, and they don’t include carafes. At every turn I felt disappointment in the experience and lack of thoughtfulness...