Came for the Wagyu, stayed for the sashimi.
Ozumo is situated in the heart of the financial district in San Francisco overlooking the Bay Bridge. The first thing that caught my attention was the beautiful fusion of a traditional Japanese Sushi restaurant with an upscale modern feel providing a vibrant fun ambiance, whilst still allowing for a more intimate dining experience. It provides a perfect setting for a date or a fun meal with friends.
We originally decided to try Ozumo for our date having read reviews about their Wagyu dishes, it's really difficult to find restaurants that serve highly rated quality A5 grade Wagyu dishes, so we were very excited... and boy did they deliver! Like their decor with their dishes was an incredible fusion of traditional dishes with a modern twist that just made the whole experience feel special and different from your standard normal high-quality restaurant outing. Having quite a few deliciously sounding appetizers on the menu we ultimately decided to try their Hanabi and Wagyu tarutaru dishes. The Hanabi was a fresh uplifting dish consisting of hamachi sashimi with avocado and chili-ginger ponzu, a beautiful dish with a nice citrus twist making it a perfect pairing with the heavier Wagyu tarutaru dish, which was served with Negi, smoked trout caviar & ao nori chips. The Wagyu tarutaru was a really nice take on a french traditional dish with a cool Japanese twist, the nori chips especially added some nice crispy texture that really took this dish to a new level. It was a great start to the meal and really made me curious about the main courses. What followed was an absolute delight for the senses, we started off with a Tonai San Sushi from the moriawase part of the menu, which consisted of 5 types of Nigiri with things like Wagyu, uni, lobster and more served with seaweed and soy wraps in a traditional Ganbu (battleship) shape. The transition from light to heavy meats, the quality of the ingredients, and the change in texture made this dish sublime, but what really made this dish stand out to me, even more, was that it was a really fun dish to eat with someone. It's such an interactive dish, where you both get to eat 5 unique bites and then talk about each bite, making conversation super easy and it really just elevated the whole experience for us. We then decided to try a sashimi sampler platter.... This was by far one of the most beautiful dishes I have ever seen. The attention to detail and the layout just blew me away and that was before I had even tried it! The selection of sashimi had all my favorites, including golden eye snapper, regular snapper, Spanish mackerel, Hamachi tuna, sweet Ebi shrimp, Hokkaido uni, salmon belly served with fresh wasabi with a sharkskin grater, which was a really fun touch. Honestly, this dish was almost too pretty to eat, it really was a work of art. The display was also a nice conversation starter with the waiter who told us that Ozumo has their whole fish delivered daily, which means that everything served will be prepared on-site and super fresh. This platter showcased that freshness perfectly. It literally was fresh fish that melts in your mouth. Having eaten some really delicious seafood and feeling pretty full we almost forgot the reason why we came here, the Wagyu beef! As such we decided to order one final main course before dessert. As our final dish we ordered an A5 grade Wagyu beef steak from their Robata section, it was served with Shitake mushrooms and an egg yolk ponzu. To add flavor they had also smoked the dish over charcoal mixed with green tea leaves. The marbling and seasoning of this dish were divine. It was incredibly moreish and despite not actually being hungry at this point I just couldn't get enough. The richness of the meat mixed with the ponzu made this a perfect final dish. In hindsight, I was really glad that we had accidentally had this dish after the sashimi platter, as it may have otherwise overpowered the more subtle flavors of the fish. So I highly recommend transitioning from seafood to Wagyu to maximize the enjoyment of both dishes and get the best of both worlds. We finished the meal by sharing a chocolate banana ice cream lava cake. I'm not normally much of a chocolate fan, especially not after a big meal, but I have to say that the banana ice cream was a stroke of genius and really paired extremely well with the chocolate lava cake. It was a great way to finish a truly epic meal. Overall I think having a meal at Ozumo's was a fantastic upper-end dining experience. The food was incredible, the atmosphere was fun, and the combination of Wagyu beef and super fresh seafood makes it a place where even people who enjoy different types of food can go and have a fantastic meal together. I would highly recommend it.
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