Sun Moon Studio
Restaurant · Ralph Bunche ·
Producer-driven tasting menu with precise, personality-forward dishes
Producer-driven tasting menu with precise, personality-forward dishes
"With just four tables and a Michelin star earned in June 2025, reservations here are rarer than gold, but the tasting menu–only experience ($180 plus a 20 percent service charge) from chefs Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu is worth the trouble. Dishes draw on their time at Blue Hill at Stone Barns, Per Se, Benu, and Pomet and have recently included an egg custard tart with bonito topped with trout roe; Cape Cod bay scallops with persimmon and radish dressed in nori oil; and Wolfe Ranch quail with red kabocha, cabbage, and porcini, served with a chestnut croissant on the side. A $100 beverage pairing is available, though you can pick your own accompaniments, and it’s worth ordering the house umeshu—made by the chefs and served on the rocks or as a spritz—one of several long-term projects hinted at by the onggi jars and hoshigaki lining the room. Despite the accolades, the vibe isn’t Michelin-starred stuffiness; it feels like an after-hours dinner party at a friend’s restaurant, with Cooper, Hsu, and their small-but-mighty team introducing dishes and talking about drinks without pretension, a mellow approach other diners seemed to appreciate. You can’t order an extra chestnut croissant to-go (even though you’ll want to), but a modest retail shelf carries their chile garlic oil ($17) alongside Fossa tea chocolates, Taiwanese Fu Wan chocolate bars, Taiwanese Yun Hai dried fruit, and teas from Té Company. For a shot at a seat, the restaurant is open Thursday through Sunday and releases reservations on OpenTable six weeks in advance at 12 p.m. PST; if nothing’s available, hit “Notify Me.”" - Dianne de Guzman
"Dining at Sun Moon Studio is an intimate, booked-out experience in an airy loft where Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu present about 12 earnest courses: Taiwanese-sausage–in-brioche bites, rosy pork from a top Northern California farm, miso butter, and Santa Barbara uni over Hodo Foods tofu—an experiment-driven, collaborative tasting that feels like being invited into a carefully honed culinary project." - ByThe Bon Appétit Staff
"The intimate environment of Sun Moon Studio’s four-table restaurant keeps the spotlight on the food from chefs Sarah Cooper and Alan Hsu. The chefs, who notably met at Blue Hill at Stone Barns in New York, work closely together in a two-person team, and they work with seasonal Bay Area produce to produce dishes such as their Dungeness crab with yuzu kosho butter served atop tofu, which the guide highlighted in its writeup. (1 star)" - Eater Staff
"Maintaining a slightly clandestine air, this Oakland spot with a handful of seats showcases the shared vision of Chefs Alan Hsu and Sarah Cooper through a mercurial seasonal tasting menu that celebrates Californian ingredients — from squab and rockfish to wild mushrooms and citrus — in a pared-down, technically precise style. Dishes like Dungeness crab with yuzu kosho butter perched over silken tofu shine alongside baked items such as savory egg tarts with salmon roe and steamed brioche buns enclosing Taiwanese sausage." - The MICHELIN Guide
"A slightly clandestine air still prevails outside this inconspicuous little spot, but the secret is out: the handful of seats inside are hotly in demand. Chefs Alan Hsu and Sarah Cooper have both worked in some of the country's most celebrated kitchens, but here channel their talents on a more intimate scale. Their shared vision emerges in a mercurial seasonal tasting menu that dutifully celebrates the wealth of Californian ingredients, spanning squab to rockfish and wild mushrooms to citrus. The style is pared down and technically precise, letting products shine while adding a spark of personality, as in Dungeness crab with yuzu kosho butter, perched over silken tofu. Baked items like savory egg tarts with salmon roe, or steamed brioche buns enclosing Taiwanese sausage, are highlights." - Michelin Inspector