{"id":505945,"date":"2026-10-24T00:34:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T00:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/505945\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T00:34:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T00:34:09","slug":"sushi-salon-offers-bragworthy-bites-of-fish","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/505945\/","title":{"rendered":"Sushi Salon Offers Bragworthy Bites of Fish"},"content":{"rendered":"

Joji Nonaka and Anna Osawa took their sushi pop-up to permanent status in 2023, opening Sushi Salon<\/a> in Oakland. Nonaka and Osawa both hail from Alameda\u2019s Utzutzu<\/a>, and before that, Nonaka also worked at Delage<\/a> in Oakland and (now closed) Ichi Sushi in San Francisco.<\/p>\n

Much of the fish at Sushi Salon comes from fish broker Hasegawa Hiroki, who is based out of Kanagawa Prefecture in Japan. He\u2019s renowned for his \u201cfish connoisseurship\u201d and won the Innovation Award at the Gault & Millau guide\u2019s 2024 awards<\/a> in Japan. He typically only deals fish to chefs in Asia; in fact, Sushi Salon is the only U.S. restaurant that he works with. Hiroki deals in sustainable and lesser-used fish, often providing seafood that isn\u2019t typical at other sushi restaurants.<\/p>\n

In addition to the carefully sourced fish, Sushi Salon uses akazu, or red vinegar, from Iio Jozo, a legendary vinegar brewery that\u2019s been open since 1893. Iio Jozo won its own award from Gault & Millau in 2026, earning the Tradition Award given to \u201cartisans or chefs who preserve the traditional culture nurtured by the land,\u201d Savor Japan<\/a> writes. In Nonaka\u2019s hands, this translates to an unforgettable meal made of carefully sourced ingredients.<\/p>\n

The cozy seven-seat sushi restaurant measures out to just 500 square feet, but it\u2019s the perfect size for watching Nonaka carefully slice through fish or grate wasabi roots, leaves still attached. The space is light and bright, with modern tiles on the walls and a light wood counter. Nonaka is center stage and readily available for questions about each bite, offering bits of information on each course and the origin of the fish. Otherwise, the space is largely unadorned, keeping the focus on Nonaka and Osawa \u2014 who makes the dessert and helps diners navigate the sake selections \u2014 and those beautiful bites of sushi.<\/p>\n

I think sake fans will be pleased by the options, with sake from Japan and a few from the United States. The restaurant offers both a \u201cclassic\u201d sake pairing ($85) and a domestic sake flight ($48) from stateside brands. I was intrigued by a junmai daiginjo from New York-based Brooklyn Kura and ordered a glass ($20), and most options stay below $20 on the whole. For nonalcoholic options, the restaurant serves hot and iced tea options, plus three organic sodas, including a house spiced pineapple shrub soda.<\/p>\n

True sake nerds might want to pay attention to the items designated as \u201cLimited.\u201d During my visit, these selections included two hiyaoroshi sakes<\/a> from Heiwa Kid and Shichida.<\/p>\n

For the sushi enthusiast looking for an exceptional place to treat themself, Sushi Salon is an easy bet. Not only does the restaurant offer an easygoing environment to enjoy sushi in, but Nonaka\u2019s skills, Osawa\u2019s hospitality, and the high-quality ingredients will likely make the meal great. It\u2019ll be a pricey night, to be sure, but one that is worth it if you\u2019re looking for a new sushi experience.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Joji Nonaka and Anna Osawa took their sushi pop-up to permanent status in 2023, opening Sushi Salon in…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":505946,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[28829,143,145,144],"class_list":["post-505945","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-oakland","tag-dining-reports","tag-oakland","tag-oakland-headlines","tag-oakland-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505945","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=505945"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/505945\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/505946"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=505945"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=505945"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=505945"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}