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A new Japanese restaurant in Portola Valley is offering multi-course prix fixe omakase, and it’s a lot more than just nigiri.
Hibari soft opened Nov. 17 at Ladera Country Shopper and specializes in kappo-style dining, in which the chef prepares a variety of dishes – think sashimi, tofu, nigiri, handrolls, soup and more – directly in front of the guests. Created by longtime friends Jesse Sun and chef Takashi “Taka” Sega, the restaurant focuses on highlighting local, seasonal ingredients.
Habari’s opening comes around the same time that Kappo, named after this style of dining, opened in Palo Alto.
Located in the former spot of Koma Sushi, Hibari’s reservation-only six-seat bar offers a two-and-a-half hour dinner experience that starts at 6 p.m. ($200), with optional sake pairing. The menu is left entirely up to Sega, who was the former head sushi chef at Nobu in Palo Alto and has had experience at Michelin-starred Omakase in San Francisco.
For those looking for a shorter and less expensive dining option, the 22-seat dining room is available for table service. Guests can choose between the 16-course dinner prix fixe ($150) or the petit tasting, an 11-course meal ($88). Both dinner options feature a seasonal starter, nigiri flight, soup and dessert, with the dinner prix fixe also including a seasonal sashimi selection, tofu course (made with housemade tofu, sesame dressing and seasonal vegetables), dobin mushi (a clay-pot broth with seasonal seafood, mushrooms and citrus), nimono (braised seasonal dish), handroll and soup.
For the little ones, a three-course kids meal is available, consisting of soup, a five-piece salmon sashimi or seasonal nimono (simmered fish) served with steamed rice and a dessert of wakamomo (young peach in syrup) ($18-$22).
Lunch is à la carte, with 11 sets to choose from ($18-$66). Sega’s top two favorites are the goma kanpachi don set and the yurinchi set. The goma kanpachi, which is kanpachi sashimi topped with sweet soy and sesame dressing, is inspired by Sega’s former coworker, who was from the Hakata region of Japan and made this dish as a family meal. It made such a lasting impression on Sega that he knew he had to add it to his menu.
Yurinchi is a Japanese-Chinese dish of fried chicken with a tangy soy-based sauce. Sega has fond memories of eating this dish at a restaurant owned by a Chinese couple who grew up in Japan.
“I loved it so much. Every time I had to order it,” Sega said. “I’m so sad they closed. I couldn’t have it anymore, but I need that flavor. That’s why we bring it to here.”
While not listed on the menu, Hibari offers chazuke service halfway through for anyone who orders donburi. Once the customer has eaten half of their lunch, Hibari staff will add fish miso broth to turn it into a porridge.
Sega said his style of cooking is deeply rooted in seasonality and locality.
“I select whatever the best ingredient of the day is, and we make up the dish that we think is best to present that ingredient to serve to the customer,” he said. “If it’s not in season, we don’t eat.”
He joked that instead of the term “edomae,” which means “in front of Tokyo Bay,” he considers his restaurant to be “SFmae,” using as many local ingredients as possible. For example, he uses fresh wasabi from Half Moon Bay, tofu from Francisco and rice from Sacramento, and partners with a local fish vendor who does ikejime (a method of killing the fish that minimizes stress and prevents muscle deterioration, improving the meat quality). Even floral arrangements on the tables are from next door Ladera Garden & Gifts.
Sun, a Woodside resident, and Sega, a Sunnyvale resident, first met in high school in China before moving to the Bay Area and working in sushi restaurants, with Sun focusing on front-of-the-house responsibilities and Sega on back-of-the-house duties. Sun previously owned Daigo Sushi in San Francisco, operating it for 10 years before closing it during the pandemic.
Sun and Sega chose the name Hibari – which translates to skylark, a type of bird – because fish and birds are often associated together, according to Sega.
“We’re serving something in the ocean, but we stay in the sky,” he said.
The pair aims to show that omakase doesn’t just mean nigiri. Sega explained that in Japan, true omakase is for regular customers only because the chef knows the customers’ palette, appetite, allergies and preferences.
“That will become a tasting menu that belongs to you and chef,” he said.
But in America, omakase has become synonymous with a prix-fixe menu, often focused exclusively on nigiri.
“I think my goal is to see people after the meal, they will love it. They feel satisfied. That’s where my satisfaction comes from,” Sega said. “Being a chef, the biggest accomplishment is when people after a meal come to me or say it was so nice.”
Hibari, 3130 Alpine Road #240, Portola Valley; Instagram: @hibari_portolavalley. Open Tuesday to Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.
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