We’re based in Japan, but we can tell when a restaurant has good sake on their menu, and our online sleuthing led us to a few places we would drop by if we were in San Francisco. Please note that none of these businesses are affiliated with us; we simply did some looking around for the good stuff.
True Sake
This is the only shop on the list. True Sake is purportedly America’s first dedicated sake store, and they have an extensive selection of over 300 different types of Japanese sake. They opened in 2002, and it looks like they’ve stayed in business for a reason! There are way too many to choose from, but let’s suppose that we’d pick up three. Our first would be one of the Choryo Yoshinosugi series of taruzake because we think taruzake goes a little under the radar, and, if you like fresh, woodsy flavors, it’s delicious! We would also go for Kamoshibito Kuheiji and maybe something from Nabeshima. Honestly, they have a fantastic selection for an American store, and we would be in a state of choice paralysis!
Sakesan Sushi and Bistro
Sakesan is offering up a modern dining experience with a diverse menu of sushi and tasty-looking morsels like karaage and tempura. As far as their sake menu goes, we would go for Dassai, Hakkaisan, and Heaven. Although we haven’t tried it, Heaven appears to be a US-market sake brewed by Niizawa brewery, the same folks who make Hakurakusei, so we would want to give it a try!
Mogura
Mogura is a sake bar that serves yakitori, karaage, and other Japanese fare. Their sake menu doesn’t look to be exhaustive, but they have Hakkaisan, Dassai, and Kubota — plus karaoke — so we would certainly be down to go here!
Okaeri Japanese Bistro
A lovely, modern, wood-furnished spot for Japanese food, Okaeri has a pretty long sake list! We would go for Akabu, Kamokinshu, Kid, Akishika, Koueigiku, and… maybe the entire menu is all killer no filler. What a place! We would love to visit.
https://eathomeskillet.com/index.html
Akiko’s Restaurant
A place with angelic-looking sushi! It seems the sake rotates here seasonally. Even though we couldn’t find a sake list, the pictures we’ve found online seem to indicate that Akiko’s from time to time carries Dewazakura, Kokuryu, Masumi, and Tamagawa. We would trust their taste.
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