Restaurant Website:
http://www.myizakaya.comGoogle Maps Link: http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&client=firefox-a&ie=UTF8&q=nombe+san+francisco&fb=1&gl=us&hq=nombe&hnear=san+francisco&cid=0,0,991014118131577965&ei=VeVYS6OEE8ejlAftuoHzAw&ved=0CBAQnwIwAw&ll=37.759791,-122.418594&spn=0.006412,0.012789&z=16&iwloc=A
Japanophiles and savvy Missionites fill the two-part dining room of this unlikely izakaya restaurant that has the remnants of its former trappings: The space used to be a café, complete with a black-and-white checkered tiled floor, that then became a taqueria. Sidle up to the bar, revel in the funky space and focus on the great food.
Eats:What's on your menu.: <p><span style="font-size: small;">Nicolaus Balla, the former chef of O Izakaya Lounge, has spent time cooking in Japan and it shows. Roasted beets are tossed with nothing more than a tingle of freshly grated wasabi and a salad of fried calamari is mixed with fresh mizuna. Balla is also doing traditional yakimono, grilled skewers of everything from chicken skin to chicken thigh with ume and shiso. Don’t forget to look to the specials, which might include a perfectly balanced dish local halibut sashimi on thinly sliced fennel, with hijiki seaweed, grapefruit and sesame seeds. The restaurant is open until 2 am on weekends, serving ramen, which paired with a beer, makes the ideal midnight snack.</span></p>
