Sushi Yoshizumi

Akira Yoshizumi made rice for two years in New York before he was trusted with fish.2 He seasons his own with akazu, an aged red vinegar, and sea salt. Rice is the most important part of sushi, he says.2

Why go

The style is Edomae, and Yoshizumi went back to Japan to learn it properly.3 He trained under Sugiyama Toshiaki, the master who taught Masayoshi Takayama of Masa.2 Fish comes in from Toyosu in Tokyo.5 Some of it he picks himself, in the morning, at a purveyor's warehouse in South San Francisco. Other kitchens take a delivery.2

Back at the counter he cleans it and marinates it. Then he lays it side by side in a cedar box under the bar. Aging runs anywhere from two days to three weeks depending on the fish, and the call on when a piece is ready is his alone.2

Order this / avoid

You do not order: the omakase is the whole menu, it runs 15 to 22 courses, and no paper menu comes with it.1
The guide's inspector names soy-glazed tako, a chawanmushi with squid and snapper, and grilled cod with finger lime and wasabi as the kind of thing the omakase runs to.3
Soleil Ho was served kinki steamed in sake, grilled smelt with the heads and tails off, Hokkaido uni on vinegared rice, akagai, and a block of tamagoyaki to finish.1
In season: firefly squid, gizzard shad and monkfish liver come round here.5
Eat each piece as it lands. Yoshizumi says the temperature and the texture are best straight away and a piece left sitting dries out.2
Avoid: hunting for a torch or a truffle. The restaurant says it first, on its own booking page: You will not find fusion elements, theatrical presentations, torched toppings, truffles, or caviar here.8

What locals & experts say

Soleil Ho, then restaurant critic at the San Francisco Chronicle, reviewing the room in February 2020: The fish at Yoshizumi is so fresh, with a clarity that's refreshing and almost rebellious if you're used to sensational rolls and gold flake-dusted wagyu.1
The MICHELIN inspector, on the guide's own venue page: Reservations may be hard to secure, but rest assured that it is completely worth the effort.3
Trevor Felch, in 7x7's guide to San Mateo: One of the Bay Area's most spectacular omakase dinners6
Kerry Chan Laddaran, writing for the Daily Journal in San Mateo in February 2016, weeks after the star: she found a storefront with no sign and no notice of the award, just a framed sheet of hours and a bio of the chef hanging on the glass door.2

Good to know

Price: $325 a head plus a 22% service charge, which the restaurant keeps and which is not a tip. That figure is Adrienne Mitchel's, reported in June 2025.7 8
Booking: through Tock, released in dated batches, and a reservation takes two guests at most. The restaurant takes no buyouts and no private parties.8
Corkage: $100 a bottle for the first two, $150 from the third, and $50 more on anything already on the list.8
The star: the Daily Journal reported one in February 2016, months after the room opened.2 The guide's 2026 California selection names Wakuriya as San Mateo's only starred restaurant and does not name this one.4
Closed: Monday and Tuesday.3

Verdict

must-visit — Peninsula omakase counters have doubled in number since 2024, and this room shares the top of the price bracket with Sushi Shin.