Hinata Brings Pedigreed Sushi to the Tenderloin This Week

Another omakase spot is making its debut this week. Hinata joins the ranks of Ju-ni, Ijji, Hashiri, and other pedigreed sushi restaurants that debuted in San Francisco in 2016. It soft opens Wednesday, December 7, from chefs Gavin Leung and Weida Chen, who bring experience from Zushi Puzzle and Sushi Ran, respectively.

Leung also worked under Tokyo-trained sushi chef Jiro Lin (who is now at Hamano) when he ran the Saison pop-up, and Chen worked at hot newcomer Ijji, as well as assisted Sushi Ran's executive chef Takatoshi Toshi when he placed third at the Global Sushi Challenge in Tokyo.

The $78 omakase — inexpensive for SF sushi standards — is available at the 12-seat bar and includes a salad, three pieces of sashimi, 12 pieces of sushi, and tamago or soup, plus dessert. Leung and Chen are especially excited about their umami soy sauce, which is a dark soy sauce brewed with sweet cooking sake, kelp, and bonito flakes in a two-week aging process. As is custom in SF, most of the fish is from Tokyo’s famed Tsukiji Market, with about ten percent sourced locally.

If omakase isn’t your thing, there are an additional 16 seats at tables, from which you can order a la carte or omakase. Beer, wine, and sake are also on offer. You can see the full menu below.

Hinata — which means “sunny place” in Japanese — starts with just the 12-seat bar and two two-top tables available during the soft open, with reservation times for 5:30 to 5:45 and 8:15 to 8:30 p.m. After soft open, the entire restaurant will be open for dinner on Tuesdays through Sundays from 5:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. Reservations are available here.

• Pedigreed Sushi Chefs Branch Out With Omakase-Style Spot on Van Ness [ESF]
• Hinata [Official Site]