Ozumu, SF

Ozumo is a Japanese restaurant located right near my office that I've somehow walked by more times that I could possibly count (as, literally, my offices are located on either side of it, and I go back and forth between the buildings daily).  It has been open for ages (ok, since 2001, but, that is ages in the neighborhood!).  They have a sister establishment down in San Jose.  It has won awards.  It has a solid reputation.  And yet ... I never visited, until May and June 2022.  I honestly don't know why.  I think because I knew it was pretty pricy, and, although decent quality, not the best sushi in town?  And same with the wagyu - they definitely have premium cuts, but, Alexander's is still my goto for high end beef.  

Anyway, I finally visited, once just to get takeout, and once with a coworker for Happy Hour.  Happy Hour is a nice deal - modestly priced dishes, large happy hour menu, and walk-in seating at tables in the sizable lounge, at the bar, or outside.  Service was attentive, food and drinks were both ready quite quickly, and really it does seem like a solid, but $$, choice.

Drinks

Ozumo has a large drink selection, full of Japanese whiskies, sake, beer, etc, along with a number of special cocktails, and basic wine and spirits.  The Happy Hour menu has a decent selection of all of the above, but I opted for a cocktail from the full cocktail menu instead.

Yakuza. $17.

"Legent whiskey, amaro nonimo, cynar 70, muddled grape, candied grapefruit peel."

I was really craving a strong, whiskey cocktail.  And that is exactly what I got.  This was booze forward, with good bitters, and not really much sweetness.  Really, exactly what I wanted.  I'm not sure if there was actually muddled grape as I didn't taste it distinctly, but, my drink did come garnished with a grape.

Overall, a well balanced cocktail that entirely matched my mood.  I'd get it again if I was in the mood for a whiskey cocktail.

****.

Savory

The menu at Ozumo is broken down into distinct sections, featuring appetizers, sushi, vegetables, and entree style cooked seafood and high end beef.  We skipped the later, as our visit was during Happy Hour, and we mostly just were eating light.

Starters

As a Japanese restaurant, Ozumo has all the expected appetizers (miso soup, edamame, seaweed salad, agadashi tofu, gyoza, tempura), plus a few other more interesting items.  Some are available at a reduced price or portion size on the Happy Hour menu.

Our starter came very quickly after ordering.

TUNA TARTARE ($9 during Happy Hour).

"Spicy tuna tartare with taro chips." 

My dining companion wanted one of the spicy tuna options on the menu (there is this tartare, a version perched on top of crispy rice, and of course standard rolls).  I quickly voiced my vote for the tartare, not because I cared about the tuna, but, for the taro chips.  <3 taro chips!

The taro chips were exactly what I wanted them to be, crispy, well, taro chips.  Nice to scoop up the tartar, but also just tasty to eat on their own, or, as I did, with the sesame cream from the asparagus.  I don't think they were house made, but tasted fresh enough.

The tartare was a bit boring. It said "spicy tuna", but, this was not traditional spicy tuna laden with mayo and spicy sauce (which is fine) but I still am not quite sure where the spicy really was supposed to be.  It was really just ... tuna tartare?  Good knife cuts of little cubes of tuna, fresh tasting, but, certainly no element of spice that I found.  I liked the little pop from tobiko on top.

A version of this is available on the dinner menu as well, for $22, and it has an avocado layer.  Since I'm allergic, clearly the Happy Hour version was a better match for me.  The $9 price during Happy Hour was decent for the portion.

***.

Yasai (Vegetable)

The veggie section of the menu at Ozumu all sounds fantastic.  Roasted king trumpet mushrooms (my favorite kind of mushroom) with brown butter miso that people rave about.  Robata griled eggplant with great toppings.  Seasonal robata grilled asparagus (with furikake!!).  Even the potatoes with togarashi and nori pesto sound good, and people rave about.  So even though I was at a sushi plan, it was the vegetables that I was most eager to eat.

Several of these were available on the Happy Hour menu, so we took advantage of the reduced pricing.  These dishes arrived moments after the starter.

ASPARAGUS/ASUPARAGASU $14 ($8 during Happy Hour).

"Robata grilled asparagus with wadaman black sesame & furikake."

My first pick, seasonal asparagus.  Let's just say I was going through an asparagus phase.  It started right when asparagus came into season in San Francisco (like when I had it at Boulevard), and was furthered when I went to Munich and white asparagus was *everywhere* (like the version I had at Buffet Kull Bar).  I came back, still wanted all the asparagus, like a few days prior at One Market.  So when I saw this on the menu, it was a no brainer.

The asparagus was nicely grilled, quite visible grill marks.  Mostly only tips, which I thought was a bit sad ... where did the rest go?  I hope it was used in rolls or something ...  It was a thin style, fairly standard asparagus, not quite as glorious as the larger pieces highlighted at other places.

The black sesame cream on the side was quite tasty, very flavorful, and, well, creamy.  I didn't necessarily think it went all that well with the asparagus exactly, but it was very tasty, and I gladly used leftover taro chips to polish it off.  It was sprinkled quite generously with furikake, my all time favorite condiment, so, I was quite pleased with that.

Overall, the asparagus was fine but average, sesame sauce tasty, but not the most cohesive dish, I likely wouldn't get it again.

***+.

Kinoko. $14. ($7 during Happy Hour).

"Roasted king trumpet mushrooms with brown butter miso & chives."

Next up, perhaps the most raved about dish on the menu (besides the black cod).  Yup, the mushrooms.  Not just any mushrooms, large, earthy, king trumpets, which, I do love in general, but, what people love about these is the brown butter miso.

The mushrooms were cooked well, slightly chewy, quite savory and meaty.  And absolutely infused wiht the brown butter miso.  Soooo much flavor, and sooo much added fat from this sauce.  The mushrooms tasted decadent, which, I can honestly say is not something I've ever said about mushrooms before.  

They were tasty, absolutely, but I also found a bit odd as a standalone dish ... I, uh, wanted some mashed potatoes to go with them.  I know, odd craving, but it is what made sense in my head.

***+.

Sushi Bar

Of course, Ozumu is known for the sushi.  They have a pretty large range of traditional sushi available as nigiri or sashimi, classic rolls, and then a bunch of house special rolls with a slew of ingredients.

We ordered a few basic pieces.  These followed our other dishes by a few minutes, but all of our food arrived in a 10 minute time span.

Sashimi: Hamachi ($15) Wild Salmon ($14).

My dining companion opted for a few pieces of nigiri.  I think this was the hamachi and wild salmon (several types of salmon are available).  

It came very attractively presented, the salmon perched on top of a half an orange, and plentiful garnish.

He didn't seem into all the garnishes, which I gladly enjoyed - a little bit of assorted seaweed salad, lots of thinly spiraled diakon, fresh crisp shiso leaf, pickled radish.  I made a nice little salad out of the garnishes, and enjoyed with my nigiri.

Nigiri: Unagi $13, Local Uni $24, Ikura $12.

For my sushi, I opted for unagi and uni.  Both local uni and Japanese were available, the later more expensive of course.  My companion also ordered the ikura.

The nigiri was good.  Not particularly notable really.  The unagi lightly sauced, sadly not very warm.  Uni was 3 lobes per piece, no funk whatsoever to it, creamy.  Sushi rice well formed.  The only accompaniment on this platter was ginger and wasabi, but of which I utilized.

I enjoyed my pieces, but I can't say they were particularly better than any decent sushi restaurant.

***+.

Desserts

Ozumo has a fairly interesting dessert menu.  Of course they have some kind of crowd pleasing warm chocolate cake, and the requisite Japanese mochi ice cream, but they also have a chocolate fondue (with fruit, etc to dunk in), a posset (yay pudding! but, eh, mandarin), and, what I had my eyes on, a Japanese style cheesecake.  Yup, fluffy, light souffle cheesecake!

I didn't get this to dine in, as I got it during a different visit, and just got it as takeout.

Hakata Cheesecake. $12.

"Japanese souffle cheesecake with yuzu & strawberries."

While I did shay away slightly from the yuzu (just not a citrus dessert girl), I still couldn't resist, as I like cheesecake, but also, light and fluffy Japanese style cheesecake isn't as easy to come by.

My petite round cheesecake came topped with yuzu curd, fresh sliced strawberries, chiffon basil, and had a little container on the side (strawberry syrup?) to pour over.

The cheesecake was light and fluffy, just like a Japanese style cheesecake should be.  Very mild cream cheese flavor, definitely dominated by bright citrus notes.  The yuzu curd on top further accented the tangy citrus flavors.  For me, the citrus level was too high as I prefer other flavors, but, if you like citrus, I think this would be a delight.  The strawberry on top was fresh and flavorful, and a nice component to balance the richer cheesecake.

The cheesecake was crustless, and, although I don't love standard cheesecake crusts, I did find myself wanting for a bit of crunch or other texture.  A nut based crust perhaps?  Or a little crumble?  The syrup was sweet and fruity, and I appreciated to balance out the stronger citrus flavor.

Overall, a nicely made item, but not the flavor I'd go for normally.

This serving size was small (for a restaurant) but actually a perfect amount of one person to eat.  If you planned to share though, it might be a bit too small.  Price was a touch high, but also, appropriate for the quality of item.

***+.

Matcha Ice Cream $6.

Ozumo makes their own ice cream, and the day I went they had two flavors: whiskey banana and matcha.  While the former sounded interesting, I don't tend to love banana, so I went with the matcha.  It was served with a little chocolate "soil" in the cup.

The ice cream was good - very strong green tea flavor, reasonably creamy.  $6 for a small scoop felt a bit high, but, it did seem to be pretty legit in the matcha department.

***+.