Mijoté, A New French-Style Bistro From A Natural Wine World-Acclaimed Chef, Opens April 10 in The Mission

San Francisco’s new French-style bistro Mijoté surprise-announced its opening date and released reservations on Friday, with plans to open its doors on April 10. Chef Kosuke Tada announced the takeover of the former Sasaki space in the Mission just last month, and since then he’s been preparing a menu of simple, ingredient-forward dishes, honed from years of working in France with chefs whose restaurants have earned Michelin stars. He’s previously worked with chef Paul Bert — Tada worked as head chef at “contemporary bistro” Le 6 Paul Bert — and as sous chef under chef David Toutain, whose Paris restaurant David Toutain has earned two Michelin stars.

The Mijoté menu will constantly change and be dictated by the seasons, Tada says, and he’ll be culling his ingredients from the Berkeley and Lake Merritt farmers markets, name-checking Dirty Girl Produce, Full Belly Farms, and Blue House Farm as some favorite purveyors of vegetables and fruits he hopes to use at Mijoté. Expect simple preparations of vegetables based in French-style food, but employing many different types of cooking techniques, Tada says. “I don’t want to change much with the ingredients,” Tada says, speaking with Eater SF. “If I have a nice carrot, I want to serve a nice carrot. It’s not complicated cooking — I’m thinking a maximum of three ingredients on the plate then just making something with a different flavor.”

Tada recently served Mijoté’s food at Broc Cellars’ spring release party Sunday, where he served Blue House Farm carrots in a mandarin dip with spiced, sliced almonds; a salmon ceviche served with cauliflower and mandolined slices of pear dressed in salsa verde; squid ragout with spiced rice, as well as grilled skirt steak in a pepper sauce. (An overheard conversation at the party led one person to say they were “bewitched” by the carrot dish.)

Dianne de Guzman

Dianne de Guzman

To start, Mijoté will serve a four-course menu for $82, starting with an amuse bouche, followed by an appetizer, seasonal vegetable dish, a main course, and dessert. For the beverages, Tada is focusing on natural wines, perhaps a carryover from his time running his pop-up, Bistro Kosuke, for five years at natural wine bar Ordinaire in Oakland. He’s looking to serve natural wines from Italy, France, and California, mentioning La Onda and Zumo by name. “I love natural wine,” Tada says. “I feel it’s the same philosophy as my cooking — organic ingredients.”

Tada is currently applying for a parklet permit, and with it he hopes to have a space with “wine bar vibes” where customers can order pâté or snacks a la carte from the bar, to be served outdoors with a glass of wine from the wine menu. After working as a chef in his native Japan, where he learned to cook alongside his grandma (the “best chef in the world”) and in France for nine years, Tada says he thinks California is the only place he could pull off a concept like his. “I was homesick for France [when my wife and I first moved here],” Tada says. “But when I met these wine industry people, the winemakers, I feel like, ‘Oh, maybe this is my place. I feel more it’s my hometown than France.”

Mijoté

Mijoté

Mijoté

Mijoté (2400 Harrison Street) debuts Sunday, April 10 and will be open 5-9 p.m. Friday through Tuesday.