Omakase at Friends Only in San Francisco

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1. [Menu is at the end of the photos]

   I’d almost missed the restaurant when my Uber dropped me off across the street but fortunately, a glance at the interior helped me figure out that it was Friends Only. I had the 8:30PM reservation, a move I initially questioned but realized at the end of my meal that it was worth every minute. Dry aged fish was something I’d never had so I said, “Why not?”

   The intimacy of the spot with the ten seats was reminiscent of the old Akiko’s Restaurant location. Fine dining can feel stuffy or serious but all of that dissipated during my time joking with the fellow diners, Chef Waymond, and Quade the bartender about Lake Merritt’s sketchiness and the ice quality at the restaurant.

   I told Quade that I was allergic to alcohol (Asian glow) and the mocktails he made for me were a great addition to the meal. He created a couple different drinks: a yuzu soda with orange oil & a house made white sesame oil along with a refreshing vegetal sour incorporating cucumber and a slight salty taste, reminding me of the salted kumquat sodas I used to have as a kid.

   The dry aging process was such an interesting approach to enhancing the melding textures and flavors of the fish being served and I enjoyed every single bit to the end, especially for the fattier fish.