Icon

Nisei

$50 and over

Japanese

Make a reservation

2 people

Nov 30, 2024

7:00 PM

Booked 4 times today

Experiences are available.

Good for special occasions
Innovative
Good for business meals

Nisei presents a contemporary approach to Japanese American cuisine by combining deep Japanese flavors, refined cooking technique, and Northern California's finest ingredients. The restaurant is a personal reflection of Chef David Yoshimura's unique experience as a Michelin starred chef and second generation Japanese American, or Nisei.

Nisei can accommodate most severe allergies with advance notice, however due to the nature of the tasting menu format, we can not meet all dietary restrictions or aversions. In order to maintain the spirit of our cuisine, the following items can not be removed: Salt, sugar, soy sauce, and egg cooked into items.

All Experience prices below reflect a 20% Service Fee and 8.63% SF Sales Tax applied to the base price of each experience. This Service Fee goes towards paying our employees a livable wage as well as providing health insurance.

Why they're an Icon

Executive chef: David Yoshimura

MICHELIN 1 Star
2024
MICHELIN 1 Star
2023

From the OpenTable editors: Come to Chef David Yoshimura’s MICHELIN-starred spot for one of the city’s most innovative tasting menus. He expertly fuses Japanese techniques with Northern California ingredients to create bold, modern dishes that could include anago (salt-water eel) with fiddleheads or crispy kakuni (pork belly) with snap peas and ramps, paired with clever wines and sake for a singular dining experience.

Additional information

Dining style
Fine Dining
Price
$50 and over
Cuisines
Japanese, Contemporary Asian, Japanese Speciality
Hours of operation
Dinner Wed–Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
Phone number
(415) 827-6898
Website
http://www.restaurantnisei.com/
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Dress code
Smart Casual
Private party facilities
For parties of 6 or more, we offer seating in our private Kimono Room. For inquiries regarding groups of 12 or more, or if you desire a tailored private dining experience, kindly click the link below, and we will promptly get in touch with you to curate a memorable evening.https://www.restaurantnisei.com/privatedining

Location
2316 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109-1822
Award-winning
1. MICHELIN 1 Star 2024
2. MICHELIN 1 Star 2023
Neighborhood
Russian Hill
Cross street
Polk Street
Parking details
Street Parking
Additional
Beer, BYO Wine, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Non-Smoking, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Experiences

Day in the Life of Chef David Yoshimura
$521.42 per person
Prepaid
Multiple dates available
Experience a day in the life of a restaurant owner with Chef David. Start the day off with a visit to the Farmers' Market, sourcing ingredients and planning the menu for the evening. Return to the restaurant and put on an apron where you'll be cooking along side the professional chefs at Nisei. After a day's work, enjoy the fruits of your labor with a sit down & enjoy a complementary full tasting menu from Nisei to you. We also encourage you to invite a guest to dinner to be able to share the dining experience. Ticket is good for one person only !
Kimono Room Private Dining Experience
$501.88 per person
Prepaid
Multiple dates available
Treat yourself to a private and intimate dining experience with Nisei's Tasting menu, exclusively available in our Private Dining Room. Gather your family and friends, or host your next business event in a setting that's both elegant and comfortable, while enjoying a delightful feast that showcases the best of Nisei's cuisine. Perfect for groups of 6 to 12 guests, our Private Dining Room offers the ideal ambiance for a memorable dining experience. For larger groups or more customized events, please contact us at events@restaurantnisei.com and let us help you create an unforgettable experience.
Champagne Pairing Night
$716.96 per person
Prepaid
Dec 13, 2024 only
6:00 PM
Join us for a festive one-night only pairing event, exclusively pouring Champagne from a few of our favorite grower-producers. We will be popping exceptional bottles from several renowned vignerons- David Leclapart, Colette Bonnet, and Christophe Mignon are a few on the list for the evening. Alongside the engaging selection of bubbles, we will be bringing back a few favorite dishes from Nisei menus of the past, and the ticket is inclusive of a full caviar service course.

What 73 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Reviews can only be made by diners who have eaten at this restaurant

4.8

4.8 based on recent ratings

4.8Food
5Service
4.9Ambience
4.4Value

Noise • Moderate

Loved For

San Francisco Bay Area
Japanese
San Francisco
Best Ambiance
San Francisco
Innovative
San Francisco
Good for special occasions
San Francisco
Japanese

Review summary

AI-generated from verified diner reviews

Nisei is a standout destination for culinary artistry, offering a "wonderful experience" with "exceptional" service and "creative" Japanese fusion cuisine. Guests rave about the "beautifully" presented dishes and the intimate, art gallery-like ambiance. Chef David Yoshimura's innovative menu promises a "memorable" dining journey, perfect for special occasions.

73 Reviews

R
Ray
Pittsburgh
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined 5 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Fantastic. The team elevates multiple common, more humble Japanese dishes while retaining their warmth. Ochazuke, omurice, Dungeness crab and miso soup are my favorites. The last dessert dish with pear is also excellent
Is this helpful?
OT
OpenTable Diner
San Francisco
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined 5 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
We had such a wonderful time celebrating my boyfriend’s birthday. Our servers were very nice & warm. I love that they have conversations with us and chime in from time to time. It definitely gave a very homey feel compared to all the other Michelin experiences that we have gone to where our servers don’t tend to make convo’s with the guest. Overall, it was amazing. The food was beautiful!
Is this helpful?
AY
AmandaY
Austin
2 reviews
vip
5.0
2 reviews
Dined 6 days ago
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Our experience at Nisei was phenomenal. It was our last night of our honeymoon, and the team and Chef David ensured that everything was an incredible experience from the moment we walked in. The food was so delicious, beautifully plated, and many times very surprising. The team recommended a sake for us to try to ensure it met our taste expectations before purchasing it. The entire experience lasted about 3 hours, and we left there ready to plan our anniversary trip back to San Francisco just to enjoy Nisei again. We wholeheartedly recommend Nisei to anyone looking for an amazing culinary adventure.
1 person found this helpful
OT
OpenTable Diner
Mexico City
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 11, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
We celebrated our anniversary and we had an espectacular experience. We enjoyed everything and the staff amazing
Is this helpful?
T
Tiffany
San Francisco
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on November 10, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 4
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
From the moment you walk through the doors, you're met with a beautiful modern room that is perfectly decorated with Japanese flower arrangements. The persimmons hanging down from one of the tables is stunning. Every server seemed to be doing a perfectly choreographed dance, as they moved across each table delivering beverages, different courses, or simply providing new utensils. Definitely an experience that I won't forget. The little bites were small in size but big in flavor. They were all perfectly plated with such attention to detail. My favorite dish, one that the chef wasn't sure about, was the omurice. I joked that I was having a "Ratatouille" moment with that first bite. Being taken back to childhood and just eating a bowl of rice for lunch. Everyone was so knowledgeable and so very friendly. Natalie, our main server was so sweet and such a blast to be around. She even knew the brand of the drinkware!
Is this helpful?
J
Jonathan
San Francisco
2 reviews
vip
1.0
2 reviews
Dined on October 27, 2024
1. Overall 1
2. Food 2
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 3
“20% service fee is not inclusive of gratuity” - what is someone supposed to do? Tip another 20% on top of that? The server said explicitly it was not gratuity. Never going back.
1 person found this helpful
T
Tracy
WA
1 review
5.0
1 review
Dined on October 14, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
We would highly recommend Nisei for a special occasion. Exceptional food and service. Every dish was a piece of art.
Is this helpful?
F
Francisco
Mexico City
2 reviews
5.0
2 reviews
Dined on September 30, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
Sublime service and excellent food - great experience overall.
Is this helpful?
M
Michael
New York City
7 reviews
vip
5.0
7 reviews
Dined on September 29, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 5
What an amazing experience, we sat at the counter and could see the team preparing our courses, the staff was amazingly attentive and the Chef presented a few courses himself.
Is this helpful?
A
Adnan
Chicago
11 reviews
vip
5.0
11 reviews
Dined on September 28, 2024
1. Overall 5
2. Food 5
3. Service 5
4. Ambience 4
An amazing well curated seasonal tasting menu. Chef David Yoshimura delivers a great creativity menu with homage to several elements of his background as a chef. The cocktail program is equally creative with one of the strongest NA programs I’ve seen.
Is this helpful?

FAQs

Nisei is rated 4.8 stars by 73 OpenTable diners.

Yes, you can generally book this restaurant by choosing the date, time and party size on OpenTable.

Make a reservation

2 people

Nov 30, 2024

7:00 PM

Booked 4 times today

Experiences are available.

2316 Polk St, San Francisco, CA 94109-1822

Additional information

Award-winning
1. MICHELIN 1 Star 2024
2. MICHELIN 1 Star 2023
Cross street
Polk Street
Neighborhood
Russian Hill
Hours of operation
Dinner Wed–Sun 5:00 pm–9:00 pm
Price
$50 and over
Cuisines
Japanese, Contemporary Asian, Japanese Speciality
Dining style
Fine Dining
Dress code
Smart Casual
Parking details
Street Parking
Payment options
AMEX, Discover, Mastercard, Visa
Additional
Beer, BYO Wine, Cocktails, Corkage Fee, Counter Seating, Full Bar, Gender Neutral Restroom, Non-Smoking, Wheelchair Access, Wine

Website
http://www.restaurantnisei.com/
Phone number
(415) 827-6898
Private party facilities
For parties of 6 or more, we offer seating in our private Kimono Room. For inquiries regarding groups of 12 or more, or if you desire a tailored private dining experience, kindly click the link below, and we will promptly get in touch with you to curate a memorable evening.https://www.restaurantnisei.com/privatedining

Nisei

Make a reservation

Why they're an Icon

MICHELIN 1 Star

MICHELIN 1 Star

Additional information

Experiences

Day in the Life of Chef David Yoshimura

Kimono Room Private Dining Experience

Champagne Pairing Night

Menu

What 73 people are saying

Overall ratings and reviews

Loved For

Review summary

FAQs

How is Nisei restaurant rated?

Is Nisei currently accepting reservations?

Make a reservation

Additional information