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Elegant table beautifully lit by sunlight - Nisei, San Francisco, CA
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Nisei

$50 and over
Japanese

Make a booking

2 people
23:30
Booked 5 times today
Experiences are available.
  • Good for special occasions
  • Innovative
  • Great for fine wines
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

  • Award icon

    MICHELIN 1 Star

    2024

  • Award icon

    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
  • Area
    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

  • Fall Reservations at Nisei

    US$311.56 per person

    Prepaid

    Multiple dates available
    The tasting menu at Nisei features the pinnacle of Japanese American cuisine and is a personal expression of Chef David Yoshimura. Nisei combines the finest ingredients of Northern California and Japan to create a truly unforgettable experience. Guests can expect 13 courses with over 18 bites total, with options for supplements. Please allow at least 3 hours for the dining experience. The price of this experience reflects a 20% Service Fee and 8.63% SF Sales Tax. This Service Fee goes towards paying our employees a livable wage as well as providing health insurance.
    Fall Reservations at Nisei photo

  • New Year's Eve at Nisei

    US$384.55 per person

    Prepaid

    31 Dec 2024 only
    Join us on December 31st for Nisei's annual New Year's Eve Dinner. Experience an elevated menu showcasing luxurious ingredients, crafted to welcome in 2025 in true Nisei style. Enhance your evening with an optional luxury beverage pairing, thoughtfully designed to complement the meal. We can't wait to celebrate with you!
    New Year's Eve at Nisei photo

  • Champagne Pairing Night

    US$716.96 per person

    Prepaid

    13 Dec 2024 only
    18:00
    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.
    Champagne Pairing Night photo

Menu

View menu on restaurant's website

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
  • 4.9Service
  • 4.9Ambience
  • 4.4Value

Noise • Moderate

Diners' Choice Awards

  • San Francisco Bay Area

    Japanese

  • San Francisco

    Best Ambience

  • 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

  1. Ray

    Pittsburgh

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined 2 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?

  2. OpenTable Diner

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 2 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?

  3. AmandaY

    Austin

    2 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined 3 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

  4. OpenTable Diner

    Mexico City

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on 11 November 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?

  5. Tiffany

    San Francisco

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on 10 November 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?

  6. Jonathan

    San Francisco

    2 reviews

    vip
    1.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 27 October 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

  7. Tracy

    WA

    1 review

    5.0

    1 review

    Dined on 14 October 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?

  8. Francisco

    Mexico City

    2 reviews

    5.0

    2 reviews

    Dined on 30 September 2024

    1. Overall 5
    2. Food 5
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 5
    Sublime service and excellent food - great experience overall.

    Is this helpful?

  9. Michael

    New York City

    7 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    7 reviews

    Dined on 29 September 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?

  10. Adnan

    Chicago

    11 reviews

    vip
    5.0

    11 reviews

    Dined on 28 September 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 booking

2 people
23:30
Booked 5 times today
Experiences are available.
Google Map for Nisei

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
  • Area
    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
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