San Francisco restaurateurs Chef Ray Lee and Chef Tommy Cleary — Lee of the Omakase restaurant Akikos and Cleary of the yakitori spot Hina Yakitori — are preparing to debut a new dining concept late next month, according to SF Eater.
While the name of the upcoming restaurant hasn’t been announced yet, it’s opening at 431 Bush Street, taking over Akikos’s former space in Union Square — where it will soon be neighbored by the cocktail bars Harlan Records and Pagan Idol, the bakery Posh Bagel, and the pub The Irish Bank.
The official menu hasn’t been shared, but the Journal reports that, during test dinners, dishes included tsukune (a chicken meatball glazed in a savory sauce served alongside an egg yolk), kawa (a chicken skin skewer), and grilled octopus.
For readers who aren’t familiar with Chef Ray Lee’s existing eatery, Akikos was founded in 1987 and, according to its website, was the first omakase restaurant in San Francisco. The high-end dining concept delivers a nine-course tasting menu that features dry-aged fish, “sourced from local purveyors and Tokyo’s famed Toyosu Fish Market,” and a “robust, handcrafted spirits program.”
Cleary’s concept, Hina Yakitori, now operates as a pop-up; however, it began as a casual yakitori eatery that debuted in Oakland in 2016, and then relocated to San Francisco in 2019, before it shuttered in 2023.
An exact opening date has not been shared. Follow What Now San Francisco on Facebook to stay up to date on upcoming restaurant openings in the Bay Area.
