Onsen
Spa · Tenderloin
466 Eddy St, San Francisco, CA 94109
Highlights
Health-minded Japanese small plates, tea & sake in a serene spa cafe
Health-minded Japanese small plates, tea & sake in a serene spa cafe
"Onsen, a Japanese-style bathhouse in the Tenderloin, started spa services back up in 2024 after being closed for four years. It’s now the restaurant’s turn for a comeback. Though its previous menu of Japanese dishes are no more (at least for now), the restaurant hosts a rotating lineup of pop-ups for tasting menus every weekend. And yes, you can have a soak before dinner." - julia chen 1, patrick wong
"Onsen, a Japanese-style bathhouse in the Tenderloin, started spa services back up in 2024 after being closed for four years. It’s now the restaurant’s turn for a comeback. Though its previous menu of Japanese dishes are no more (at least for now), the restaurant hosts a rotating lineup of pop-ups for tasting menus every weekend. And yes, you can have a soak before dinner. We haven’t been here yet, but want you to know this spot exists. RESERVE A TABLE WITH RESERVE A TABLE" - Patrick Wong
"A combo Japanese-style bathhouse and restaurant has returned after a pandemic-induced shutdown and will again serve dinner, with ownership announcing in an Instagram post a summer of pop-ups. Installations include newcomer Dostee, traveling operation Aku’s BBQ, tried-and-true Claws of Mantis and more; dinners run from July 19 through August 31, with two soaks and seatings per night. Before closing for COVID restrictions the operation was described as an "only-in-San Francisco kind of phenomenon;" former San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic Michael Bauer penned a positive review in 2017, and the spot was a top-100 restaurant pick for the paper in both 2017 and 2018. General manager Adam Wren told the Chronicle he’d reopen the bathhouse in late 2024. Upcoming combined meals and bathhouse experiences start at $110 for parties no larger than four." - Paolo Bicchieri
"Being healthy is just as much a state of mind as anything, and while hammering down a plate of fries and thinking the word “health” over and over probably won’t cut it, going to Onsen will definitely help get you in the right headspace. Aside from this Japanese place making some great food that’s also pretty healthy, like lamb skewers, mushroom dumplings, and poke, it’s also partially a bathhouse. So if the food isn’t doing it, you can treat a trip here as a spa day too." - taylor abrams, will kamensky
"Forget dinner and a movie — at sanctuary-like Onsen, treat yourself to a hot bath and dinner instead. After relaxing in the facility’s waterfall hot pool and invigorating your pores in the steam room and pink Himalayan salt sauna, tuck into delicate bites like tangy trout poke with lime tamari or a few skewers of local sardine with a dusting of togarashi. Chef George Meza’s cuisine is vegetable-forward with carefully additions of fish and proteins, grounded in local, seasonal sourcing; opt for a custom sake flight for a holistically well-rounded experience." - Vox Creative
