Nisei looks to usher in a new era of Japanese fine dining in S.F. Here’s a first look inside

San Francisco’s Japanese fine dining scene is entering a new era with next week’s arrival of Restaurant Nisei.

Opening Aug. 18 in the former La Folie space at 2316 Polk St., Restaurant Nisei will see chef David Yoshimura present modern Japanese dishes across 12 courses for $157. Formerly the chef de cuisine at San Francisco’s Michelin-starred Californios, Yoshimura is applying an American tasting menu format to traditional Japanese flavors. He’s also avoiding sushi, which currently dominates high-end Japanese restaurant experiences in the city.

Next door is Bar Iris, a cocktail lounge decked out with midcentury modern furniture and an emphasis on Japanese whiskey. Yoshimura hopes it’ll debut the same day as the restaurant.

Reservations for Nisei are available on Tock, and the restaurant is requiring proof of vaccination to enter.

The dining room at Restaurant Nisei in San Francisco features handmade oak tables and a black-and-white color scheme.

The dining room at Restaurant Nisei in San Francisco features handmade oak tables and a black-and-white color scheme.

Kristen Murakoshi/Special to The Chronicle

Nisei debuted as a pop-up about two years ago. Yoshimura served 10-course Japanese tasting menus and then, during the early months of the pandemic, stunning bento boxes for takeout from Mister Jiu’s. Regardless of the format, Yoshimura says his food is based on the principles of washoku cuisine, which he describes as Japanese soul food. Washoku is based on rice, soup and a variety of side dishes that altogether reflect seasonality, balanced flavors and traditional techniques.

That said, diners can expect perfectly composed bites with luxury ingredients at Nisei.

The first tasting menu will start with a trio of small dishes: sashimi, a croquette and a pancake.

A Japanese croquette topped with Hokkaido uni is one of Restaurant Nisei's first bites on the tasting menu.

A Japanese croquette topped with Hokkaido uni is one of Restaurant Nisei’s first bites on the tasting menu.

Kristen Murakoshi/Special to The Chronicle

The croquette is a classic Japanese potato version, breaded in panko and fried. It’s topped with Hokkaido uni, a smoked Jimmy Nardello pepper relish and a sprig of ice lettuce, grown in the restaurant’s rooftop herb garden. It’s served on a bed of uncooked Japanese rice inside a masu, a wooden square box normally used for drinking sake.

The pancake is a mini dorayaki, stuffed with banana and topped with caviar and chives. Dorayaki, usually filled with red bean paste, is a popular snack in convenience stores in Japan.

“Dorayaki is always relatively sweet, so I thought, why not make a savory one with caviar?” Yoshimura said.

A banana-filled dorayaki is topped with caviar and chives at Restaurant Nisei in San Francisco.

A banana-filled dorayaki is topped with caviar and chives at Restaurant Nisei in San Francisco.

Kristen Murakoshi/Special to The Chronicle

Yoshimura outfitted the kitchen with a small Japanese grill that uses binchotan, white log-shaped charcoal prized for its ability to get blazing hot and maintain heat. He says diners can expect two or three dishes on the tasting menu to always come from the grill.

When Nisei opens next week, one of those grilled courses will be unagi paired with grilled shishitos. The eel comes from the United States’ only unagi farm, American Unagi in Maine, and gets glazed in a tare sauce made from the eel’s bones.

One of Restaurant Nisei's yakitori offerings: unagi glazed with unagi no tare (eel sauce), shishito peppers and spring onions.

One of Restaurant Nisei’s yakitori offerings: unagi glazed with unagi no tare (eel sauce), shishito peppers and spring onions.

Kristen Murakoshi/Special to The Chronicle

Often a humble comfort food, Japanese curry will get an elegant presentation. Yoshimura makes a black curry — newly opened Dela Curo in Oakland is credited as the first Bay Area restaurant to make this style — that’s made with 30 ingredients and tastes a little on the sweet side, thanks to apples and bananas. The sauce is topped with sweetbreads fried in the style of karaage, Japanese fried chicken.

All of these dishes will be served in a sleek, dark dining room with soaring ceilings and soft carpeting. La Folie’s many mirrors, billowing curtains and gold have been replaced with a minimalist, Zen-inspired aesthetic and black paint, as envisioned by designer and Californios co-owner Carolyn Cantu. The 30-seat dining room includes new floors, handmade oak tables, a long white banquette and black velvet chairs.

Four bar stools are set up like a chef’s counter, looking straight into the kitchen where cooks can be seen fanning the binchotan grill. There’s also a 25-seat private dining room with a cozier vibe that’s lined with books and bottles of wine. General managers Ian Cobb (Harbor House Inn) and Mayanka Somiah (Quince) used to work with Yoshimura at Californios, and they’re collaborating on wine pairings.

Evening light streams through the window of Restaurant Nisei's intimate cocktail lounge, Bar Iris, in San Francisco.

Evening light streams through the window of Restaurant Nisei’s intimate cocktail lounge, Bar Iris, in San Francisco.

Kristen Murakoshi/Special to The Chronicle

Over at Bar Iris, the adjacent lounge managed by Ilya Romanov (Niku Steakhouse), Japanese-influenced cocktails will be served in an elegant setting — also designed by Cantu. The space looks like a logical progression from Nisei’s dark-hued simplicity, with comfy chairs and a midcentury modern living room feel. It can seat about 20 people inside, plus a large parklet can accommodate 30 more.

Cocktails will change seasonally, with the first six leaning summery and refreshing. Across the board, they highlight Japanese spirits, Japanese ingredients like yuzu and get served in Japanese glassware.