Noodle in a Haystack has been one of San Francisco’s hardest reservations to get, but after four years of serving elevated Japanese dishes, the owners called it quits Sunday as they shift their gaze to a future fast-casual concept.
Co-owners Clint and Yoko Tan quietly closed their fine dining restaurant on May 31. After years of strain brought on by running the restaurant without full-time employees, owners Clint and Yoko Tan decided it was the time was right to move on.
“It was more of a slow burn,” Clint told SFGATE by email. “… Yoko and I have been cooking on our heels for the last five years, and theres a limit to how long … we could keep this up, especially with a 12 seat restaurant, with the economics, inflation never being on your side.”
“We just ran bootstrapped just like we started when we were a pop-up,” he added.
The closure was first reported by the San Francisco Chronicle. (The Chronicle and SFGATE are both owned by Hearst but have separate newsrooms.)
Noodle in a Haystack started as a 2015 Daly City pop-up and then moved into a permanent location in San Francisco’s Inner Richmond in 2022, opening with a $125 tasting menu before closing with a $306 prix fixe ramen menu. The sought-after 12-seat restaurant quickly earned accolades within its first year, landing a coveted spot in the Michelin Guide’s 2023 California list and the New York Times list of America’s Best Restaurants of 2023. According to Clint, around 15,000 customers had added themselves to the restaurant’s wait list by the time the restaurant closed for good.
The couple is now pivoting to a new fast-casual concept called Mazé, which they expect to open at Thrive City by the end of the year. The forthcoming restaurant will have an emphasis on mazémen dishes, which are brothless mixed noodles. The Tans expect to serve four to five mazémen dishes that are inspired by the tasting menus at Noodle in a Haystack. Guests can also expect Japanese konbini-style fried chicken and fluffy, nama-style doughnuts that are made with imported Japanese flour, the Chronicle reports. Unlike Noodle in a Haystack, prices at Mazé will be easier on the wallet, with prices ranging between $16 to $25.
Mazé will join the roster of recently opened restaurants at Thrive City, which is a mixed-use development surrounding San Francisco’s Chase Center. Dining options include Fikscue, Che Fico and giant sports bar Splash.
Clint said the couple is excited about the move from fine dining to more affordable dishes, which he said would be more sustainable and allow them to explore ideas they could “never entertain while doing the tasting menu.”
“We’re excited for the future,” Clint said. “There are so many possibilities after being able to close the original location.”