Saito
Sushi restaurant · Minato ·
Exacting sushi craftsmanship, subtle balance, fresh seafood, aged tuna
Exacting sushi craftsmanship, subtle balance, fresh seafood, aged tuna
"Chef Takahashi Saito leads this 3 Michelin star restaurant, offering delicacies such as bonito sashimi and kuruma-ebi shrimp in a highly exclusive setting." - Travel + Leisure Editors
"Rank: #57"
"Stepping in off Post Street, I found an unexpectedly minimalist but warm space that will house Sushi Sato, which opens next Tuesday, November 2; it’s the first of three Japanese restaurants wrapping around a corner in the Tenderloin and is the Mins group’s biggest concept yet. Executive Chef Alex Kim, who comes from Sushi Hon and Sushi Hakko, crafted an omakase-focused menu with a fish buyer in Tokyo who texts him every day at 3 a.m. from Toyosu market to confirm selections; he also combines Japanese and Californian ingredients, from sushi rice grown in the Sacramento Delta to fatty tuna from Baja California and uni from Santa Barbara. Chef’s Tastings run $40–$55 for six to ten pieces, while the Sato’s Tasting is $80 and adds starters, sides, and desserts, and there’s also a full a la carte menu so you can sip cocktails and snack on toro tartare or fatty tuna and sea urchin piled on crispy rice crackers. Beverage director Derek Li — who joined the group after crafting drinks at Izakaya Hon and previously at the Cold Drinks Bar at China Live — is starting with six cocktails (expanding to 16) that lean on Japanese spirits and ingredients like black and green teas, shiso, and peppers; the Rakuen features Kikori whiskey infused with oolong, coconut, and housemade pistachio syrup, and the Sakura highball refreshes Tori whiskey with a floral sakura cordial. The bar will offer some 80 types of whiskey with ambitions to grow to 150, including a Yamakazi 18 year and Nikka 21 year. Designer Ron Stanford of Step 3 Studio “stripped it to the studs” to create warm minimalism — exposed brick, polished wood floors, deep blue paint, backlit whiskey bottles, a long cream-porcelain-topped bar with open iron shelves and hypnotic light fixtures, two front-window tables, and Baltic birch slatted screens that separate a lounge with low couches for whiskey sipping and the occasional live DJ — and the space is a respectable 2,500 square feet on its own with below-ground production space that could brew sake." - Becky Duffett
"Takahashi Saito is a master of subtlety and balance. The bonito sashimi is always outstanding, as is the tender simmered octopus. Mild red vinegar and the perfect amount of salt give punch to the shari rice, which is never too big or too packed together. The kuruma-ebi shrimp is a plump and juicy specimen that we could eat all the time." - Melinda Joe
"A three-Michelin-starred Tokyo sushi establishment helmed by chef Takashi Saito, widely regarded as one of the world’s best sushi chefs; known for its exacting standards and for serving as an influential training ground for prominent younger chefs." - Terri Ciccone