Kusakabe

What Kusakabe does

Kusakabe is a privately held, single-location omakase restaurant operating in San Francisco's Jackson Square / Financial District at 584 Washington Street. Founded in May 2014 by chef Mitsunori Kusakabe and operated under Sun Gathering International, LLC, the restaurant is the first in San Francisco to serve only an omakase (chef's choice) tasting menu. The core culinary proposition is "Sushi in Kaiseki Style," combining traditional Kyoto Kaiseki philosophy — including the tenets of Goshoku, Gomi, Gokan, Gohou (Five Colors, Five Tastes, Five Senses, Five Methods) — with diverse sushi preparations beyond the dominant Edomae style, such as Temari-zushi, Bo-zushi, Oshi-zushi, and Nare-zushi. Chef Kusakabe is a World Sushi Technical Competition winner and US representative, with a prior Michelin Star from a decade as executive chef at Sushi Ran.

The revenue model is exclusively prix fixe dining and beverage sales. The 18-course Full Omakase is priced at $210 per person and the 13-course Petite Omakase at $158 (Tue–Fri only), with optional Sake Pairing ($145–$195) and Wine Pairing ($110–$175) add-ons, plus à la carte items available after the omakase. Service charges of 20% apply to parties larger than three; additional fees include a $20 bar-seating priority fee, $10 per-slice cake cutting, and a $50 per-bottle corkage fee waived with on-list purchase. Distribution is direct-to-consumer via reservation only — by phone, Tock, or SevenRooms — with up to 26 guests across two fixed seatings (5pm and 8pm, Tuesday through Sunday). Gift cards are sold through Toast Tab.

Customer acquisition is earned-media driven rather than actively marketed. Press coverage includes SF Chronicle, OpenTable Top 100, Zagat Best 50, Yelp/Google highest-rated Japanese restaurant under $$$$ in the Bay Area, and a Michelin Star achieved five months after opening (October 2014). A 2015 presidential engagement generated additional visibility. Pricing power, brand equity, and chef credentials — rather than technology or scale — define the business model.

Name

Kusakabe

Legal name

Sun Gathering International, LLC

Website

https://kusakabe-sf.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Kusakabe is a single-location, Michelin-starred omakase restaurant in San Francisco's Financial District serving a prix fixe chef's-choice sushi experience to affluent individual diners on a reservation-only basis.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fine Dining Japanese Restaurant

NAICS

Full-Service Restaurants (722511)

SIC

Retail-Eating Places (5812)

akta.pro primary industry

Fine Dining Restaurants (THAFACAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Ethnic & Regional Cuisine Restaurants (THAFACAD)

Keywords

• Omakase sushi restaurant
• Fine dining japanese cuisine
• Kaiseki-style sushi
• Chef's choice tasting menu
• Sake wine pairing

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Supply Chain, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Omakase Tasting Menu: Prix fixe omakase dining experience. Full Omakase (18 courses) at $210 per person and Petite Omakase (13 courses) at $158 per person, available Tuesday through Friday. February 13th exclusively offers 18-course omakase. Revenue generated per seated guest.
2. Sake and Wine Pairing: Beverage pairing add-ons to omakase experience. Sake Pairing adds $195 (full) or $145 (petite). Wine Pairing adds $175 (full) or $110 (petite). Premium beverage accompaniment to enhance dining experience.
3. À la carte Additions: Additional sushi and items available after omakase course. Guests can repeat or add more items by asking sushi chef or server. Generates incremental revenue beyond base menu.
4. Beverage Sales: Drink menu featuring sake, wine, and other beverages. Corkage fee of $50 per 750ml bottle for guest-brought sake/wine not on drink list. Waived if purchasing from drink list.
5. Service Charges and Fees: 20% automatic service charge added for parties larger than 3 guests. Bar seating priority fee of $20 per guest when requested. Cake cutting fee of $10 per slice or $50 per cake.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Kusakabe is a single-location, omakase-only fine dining sushi restaurant in San Francisco's Financial District serving a prix fixe Full Omakase (18 courses, $210 per person) and Petite Omakase (13 courses, $158 per person), with optional sake or wine pairings. The cuisine, marketed as "Sushi in Kaiseki Style," fuses Kyoto Kaiseki traditions with diverse sushi preparation methods. The restaurant operates by reservation only via phone, Tock, or Sevenrooms, serving up to 26 guests across two nightly seatings.

Product overview

KUSAKABE is a premier omakase (chef's choice) restaurant in San Francisco, specializing in 'Sushi in Kaiseki Style' — a fusion of traditional Kyoto Kaiseki cuisine principles (seasonality, harmony, 'Goshoku, Gomi, Gokan, Gohou' - Five Colors, Five Tastes, Five Senses, Five Methods) with diverse sushi varieties beyond traditional Edomae style. The core offering consists of two omakase menu tiers: the full Omakase (18 courses, $210) and the Petite Omakase (13 courses, $158, available Tuesday-Friday). Guests can enhance their experience with add-on modules including Sake Pairing, Wine Pairing, and À la carte items. Additional offerings include Dessert and Gift Cards. The restaurant seats 26 guests maximum and operates on a prix fixe, reservation-only basis.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Full Omakase An 18-course chef's choice tasting menu featuring sushi prepared in Kaiseki style, showcasing sushi varieties beyond traditional Edomae. Priced at $210 per person and available Tuesday through Sunday. February 13th exclusively offers this tier.
• Petite Omakase A condensed 13-course version of the omakase experience, available Tuesday through Friday only, priced at $158 per person.
• Sake Pairing Premium sake pairing add-on curated to complement the omakase courses; adds $195 to the Full Omakase or $145 to the Petite Omakase.
• Wine Pairing Curated wine pairing add-on to complement the omakase courses; adds $175 to the Full Omakase or $110 to the Petite Omakase.
• À la carte Additions Additional sushi and dishes that guests may repeat or order after the omakase course, requested directly from the sushi chef or server.
• Dessert Dessert offerings presented at the end of the omakase dining experience.
• Gift Cards Physical and electronic gift cards providing restaurant credit, sold via Toast Tab and redeemable at the end of the meal when booked through Sevenrooms; not applicable to Tock prepayment.

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration3 records

Feature3 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights2 records

Direct peers

• Sushi Yasuda: Renowned NYC sushi restaurant offering traditional Edomae-style omakase in an intimate format. Comparable high-end chef-driven Japanese dining experience targeting the same affluent clientele as Kusakabe.
• Masa: NYC's premier omakase restaurant offering a $595+ tasting menu from Chef Masa Takayama. Comparable ultra-premium, reservation-only, chef-driven Japanese experience targeting the highest-spend segment of fine-dining customers.
• Kenzo: Japanese fine dining restaurant in Napa Valley offering kaiseki-style tasting menus at premium prices. Comparable upscale Japanese destination-dining concept serving similar affluent clientele in the broader Bay Area/Northern California market.
• Hashiri: High-end Japanese omakase restaurant located in San Francisco. Competes directly for the same customer base seeking premium chef-driven sushi experiences in the Bay Area.
• Sushi Nakazawa: High-end omakase restaurant in NYC led by chef Daisuke Nakazawa, offering a similar chef-curated sushi counter experience at premium prices. Comparable chef-driven, reservation-only omakase model in a major US metro.
• Sushi Ran: Michelin-starred Japanese restaurant in Sausalito where Chef Kusakabe served as executive chef for 10 years. Directly comparable omakase/sushi fine dining concept serving the same Bay Area affluent clientele, with similar pricing and reputation-driven demand.
• Shota: San Francisco Japanese kaiseki and omakase restaurant offering a similar chef-curated tasting menu experience with comparable pricing. Direct Bay Area competitor for the same affluent fine-dining Japanese cuisine segment.
• Akiko's Sushi Bar: Intimate San Francisco sushi restaurant offering omakase and sushi-focused experiences with chef counter seating. Directly comparable small-format, high-quality sushi concept targeting similar Bay Area fine-dining diners.
• Omakase: San Francisco omakase sushi restaurant with a small, intimate format similar to Kusakabe. Direct competitor offering premium chef-curated sushi experiences to the Bay Area fine-dining market.

Broad incumbents

• Nobu: Globally recognized upscale Japanese restaurant brand with locations worldwide. Overlaps with Kusakabe in serving affluent Japanese-fine-dining clientele but operates as a broader, scaled hospitality brand rather than a single chef-driven omakase concept.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/kusakabe_sf
• Facebookfacebook.com/kusakabe.sf
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kusakabe

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Kusakabe