I magine: soba noodles teeming in wagyu foam. Brown butter chawanmushi (savory Japanese custard) layered in fat-washed wagyu dashi. Or wagyu fat-laced salted chocolate chip cookies hot out of the oven.

I’m in and am guessing you are, too (unless you don’t eat beef — and if you do minimally, this is the place to do so thanks to the quality and the minimalism). These are just a few of the glories I’ve eaten at Gozu in SoMa from chef Marc Zimmerman and entrepreneur Benjamin Jorgensen since it opened November 2019. Each year I return to the singular chef’s counter surrounding a large binchotan grill with front row views of the goings on. This makes up the entirety of the main restaurant, with options for a Fireside Tasting Menu or Whisky Lounge Menu paired with a collection boasting over 180 whiskies.

Though centered around wagyu beef, this is no steakhouse. Every course contains wagyu in some unexpected form. Yes, this is sustainable dining, utilizing all parts, from rendered fat to bones. Gozu is an ode to the ultimate marbled steak with nary a steak on the menu. Don’t get me wrong: I adore the luxury of a cut of A5 wagyu, so marbled it can border on white. I’ve been blessed to have A5 and lower grades of wagyu literally hundreds of times, from varying regions of Japan to degrees of marbling, like at Alexander’s Steakhouse.

At Gozu, marrow and bones, shavings and bits of wagyu play with seafood, shine in sauces and foams, or less-common cuts and parts are grilled on a skewer over the binchotan, with produce farmed in both Japan and California. Currently, they’re sourcing snow beef from Chateau Uenae in Hokkaido, where only six animals are harvested at a time.

I’ve dined at Gozu multiple times since 2019, including their delightful Gozu-Chan robatayaki and highball garden “pivot” during peak pandemic in 2020, with their hospital-grade UV irradiation (via UV Guardian) installed the same year, upping indoor dining safety.

Each visit Zimmerman’s food has been a win, with textured and Japan-worthy courses feeling both traditional yet with forward-vision. In 2021, they brought on sommelier Jordan Abraham (formerly of Atelier Crenn, Mourad, Cotogna/Quince), further honing their wine, sake and whisk(e)y pairings.

On a recent July return, we settled in for their latest tasting menu, fresh off the news that in early 2023, they’re opening Yokai, a Japanese-inspired hi-fi bar and restaurant. There they will also employ the binchotan charcoal grill element with a meat and seafood-centric menu from former Alexander’s Steakhouse alum Jessie Lugo as chef de cuisine under Zimmerman. I’m excited they’ll have vintage McIntosh amps and a deep vinyl collection (both of which I have at home and relish at the special Le Fantastique in Hayes Valley), paired with Japanese whiskies, cocktails, brandies and gins.

Sipping Henriot Champagne Brut Souverain to start, a canape trio offered atypical treats like Japanese turtle and wagyu tongue in an aspic sphere (yes, please!), or a little fried spring roll filled with smoky oil beef tartare and chive mascarpone.

Kicking off with “caviar soba,” it’s not a soba buckwheat noodle dish, but one inspired by. Silken tofu is laced with buckwheat, wasabi and aromatic shiso flowers in wagyu shoyu (soy) foam, topped with Kaluga caviar. The wagyu is surprising, peeking out from a dish that at first feels about the tofu and caviar.

My husband (Dan, “The Renaissance Man”) and I opted for one wine/sake pairing and one whisk(e)y pairing for contrast. In early courses, Abraham brought out the likes of Ichiro’s Malt & Grain whisky (with its stone and tropical fruit, barley malt and black pepper notes) and zesty, lively Kamoshibito Kuheiji Junmai Daiginjo “Eau Du Désir” sake. Then it was the creamy-acidic hit of 2017 Meroi Friuli Colli Orientali Sauvignon Blanc from beloved region of Friuli, Italy, and floral, elegant Mars Asagi Madara 8 Years 2020 Limited Edition Japanese Blended Whisky.

Reveling in these yin-yang pairings, a Dungeness crab course is partnered with exquisite white asparagus from France’s Loire Valley and bitter greens salad. Teeming in lovage lettuce foam and buttermilk dressing, pickled mustard seeds and beef garum add swoon-worthy savory layers to the vegetal, of-the-sea dish.

English peas in brown butter chawanmushi (Japanese savory custard) offer a different take to past versions of Zimmerman’s standout chawanmushi. Now, fat-washed wagyu dashi imparts meaty depth to bright spring peas and rich brown butter, while toasted wild rice delivers nutty crisp. A pairing of Kojimaya Untitled cedar barrel aged sake brings umami and fresh pea notes, while Suntory Hibiki Japanese Harmony Master’s Select evokes plum/umeshu and woody warmth.

A special add-on course is Japanese shokupan-style grilled bread layered in wagyu brisket and Hokkaido uni (sea urchin) with a tare (soy, sake, brown sugar, sweet mirin) and thousand island dressing infused with wasabi. Sheer, divine decadence. Or, what I would otherwise dub orgasmic food.

More creative wagyu-meets-sea combinations included poached bluefin tuna belly and wagyu bacon over black garlic potato puree. Bay Area-foraged succulents, sea beans and miners lettuce bring vegetal contrast, while a tozasu broth of wagyu, brown rice vinegar, smoked shoyu adds depth. Warm house Japanese milk bread is ideal for sopping up the excess.

Their main wagyu teishoku skewer course arrives more dramatically than skewers of past visits: on a center plate in a large wood platter marked by six accompanying bites or broths. Centered by a meaty skewer of tender chuck roll wagyu (similar to ribeye) and baby zucchini and stuffed squash blossom of creamed corn flower and sunflower sprouts, the dish splays out with a mix-and-match shuffleboard of accompanying bites.

Think strips of rare, seared wagyu cut from chopped tricep, bicep and shoulder in truffle vinaigrette with miso fermented ramps. Or lacto-fermented turnips in sweet onion vinaigrette. Cucumber tsukemono is a vivid palate cleanser. Soak-it-up rice is graced with confit wagyu neck and wagyu furikake. A cup of hot wagyu broth in a teacup could soothe all things. 2020 Nikka Yoichi Single Malt Apple Brandy Barrel Finish whisky — one of two single malts honoring the 100th wedding anniversary of Nikka founder Masataka Taketsuru and wife Rita in 1920 — is a rare (and pricey) joy of a pairing, showcasing pear and peat.

Dessert is a run of chocolate and mignardises, with the standout being the seemingly most simple: Ten Brink Farms’ beef tallow-roasted strawberries with buttermilk vanilla ice cream. It’s pure California summer with char-touched intensity, all sweet, subtly smoky, bright and creamy. Paired with Ohishi Whisky 15 Years In Ex-Sherry Cask and Sicilian 2004 Marsala Superiore Riserva Oro DOC, umami-sweet elements are heightened for a finish that typifies the unique Gozu taste and Zimmerman’s vision.

This temple to wagyu isn’t a meat-heavy bomb of fatty joy. It’s more an understated sneak-up of luxuriant flavors, gratifying and sumptuous but not overwrought. It is pricey but worthy of a big night out. Add in top-notch service, balanced global wines, pristine sakes and rare whiskies, and you have a memorable, uncommon feast that evokes Japan yet is completely San Francisco.

// 201 Spear Street #120, www.gozusf.com

Celebrating the free-wheeling spirit of the Bay Area — one sentence at a time.

Founding The Perfect Spot in 2007, Virginia is World’s 50 Best Restaurants’ Chairperson, judging & writing/editor at 60+ publications on dining & drink globally