I am impressed by the food and drinks at Izakaya Mayumi. The restaurant quietly opened on September 4th, 2019, with very little fanfare. It occupies the spot that was formerly Nobuyuki. There is not much known about the Chef and Owner, but what the server shared with me is that he is a colleague of Nobu who was the Chef/Owner of Nobuyuki. They both worked at Takara, a Japanese restaurant in the East Wing of San Francisco Japan Town. Takara is a decent place, but not outstanding, so it is great to see the young Chef express his own personal point of view for izakaya. His version of izakaya is modern and it is an elevated take on izakaya dishes that left me impressed. Additionally, the prices are reasonable by San Francisco standards.
The restaurant has not been remodeled from the Nobuyuki days, only the artwork on the wall is changed. The sushi counter is now replaced with a counter seat showcasing the various nihonshu and shochu offerings. It is a small restaurant, seating about 30 people. I did not have trouble getting a seat without reservations, but I think that will change as more word gets out.
There are two food menu to note. One is their standard menu and also a specials menu posted on the back wall on a chalkboard. I love looking at the specials menu in general, as you can get limited edition items and what’s fresh for the day. The main menu is broken out into the following:
- Appetizer
- Meat
- Fish
- Grilled
- Fried
- After Sake
Being izakaya, they have a wonderful nihonshu (sake) menu that pairs great with all the dishes.
I usually like to get a bit of everything and with a large family, it is pretty easy for us to sample a large range from the menu. From the appetizer section we have had the following:
- Sazae Aemono – spicy whelk
- Ika Natto – squid with fermented soybean
- Tako wasabi – raw octopus with pickled wasabi seams.
Each of the small bites of seafood was fresh and distinct in taste. I loved the ika, as it had a nice refreshing crunch. They go well with the nihonshu I ordered, maybe too well as I ended getting a couple.
I couldn’t resist the wagyu motsu nikomi from the specials menu. I love offal dishes like motsu which is beef or pork intestine. The beef version here is one of the best versions I have had. It’s clean with a clear and flavorful broth and paired with onions, fried garlic, and cabbage. We ended ordering another as our whole family loved it.
So far the seafood courses I had here are amazing. Each of the items is executed well with a great overall presentation. The fish selection was each very fresh, some of the best I had in any izakaya in the Bay Area. We ordered the following:
- Negitoro taru taru – chopped fatty bluefin tuna and green onion “paste” in a bamboo container and paired with nori, negaimo, and pickles. This is a fun hands-on dish where you make your own maki (hand roll)
- Oysters topped with tobiko, quail egg, green onions, and ponzu sauce
- Snapper Carpaccio – thinly sliced red napper, green onions, chili powder, and ponzu sauce. The snapper was sliced expertly, giving it a translucent and appetizing appearance.
- Aburi shimesaba – torched mackerel sashimi. This one is so good, I had it both times I was here, and look forward to it again
The meat dishes here are also great. I loved the wagyu tataki, where the high-quality American wagyu is seared and sliced thinly. It is paired with grated ginger, fried garlic chips, red onions, and ponzu sauce. The wagyu nigiri was interesting. It was the same beef tataki, but topped with Santa Barbara uni and put onto of sushi rice. I would probably skip this next time, mainly because it did not make sense to get both beef dishes and pricey for $8/piece for what it was.
From the grilled and fried sections, we have tried several dishes so far:
- mentai cheese tamagoyaki – Japanese dashi omelet stuffed with mentaiko and cheese. We really liked this dish as the omelet was soft and silky that made a nice contrast to the spicy cod roe and cheese
- Corn tempura – I would skip this dish as te deep-fried corn didn’t have much taste and mostly batter
- chicken skin skewer- needed to be a bit hotter as it lost all its heat.
- agedashi tofu – this was really good. the batter is so light, but the kudzu sauce was perfect as it coated the soft fried tofu perfectly.
The “after sake” portion of the menu is to help with sobering up for those that drink during the other courses. It is also a perfect way to finish the meal for those that do not drink. We had the following so far:
- Ikura (salmon roe) Ochazuke and sake (salmon) Ochazuke – their version reminded me of a lot of Kappou Gomi’s version (I miss that restaurant so much). Here we have a triangle-shaped rice ball that is paired with tea broth that you pour over the rice. They give you condiments such as green onions, rice puffs, konbu tsukudani, and wasabi.
- Mini shoyu ramen – I liked the broth but it had too much pepper. I would advise them when ordering to tone down the pepper as that’s all you end up tasting, but otherwise, it’s a decent bowl
As noted, so far I have not had to make reservations and be able to drop in, even on a Friday night at 6:30 pm. The restaurant was half full at the time but by 8 pm it filled up, but it is a small place. If they keep the quality and the price point, I expect them to be a hot destination. Personally, I can not wait to go back for more of their great dishes.
Restaurant Information:
Address: 2221 Clement St, San Francisco, CA 94121
Hours: Closed Tuesday, otherwise 5:30 pm – 9:30 pm
Phone: 415-742-4159
Takes Reservations by phone or Yelp