Yoshi's San Francisco

Just when jazz appeared to by dying in the Bay Area, along came Yoshi’s in 1997. Who knew there were so many jazz connoisseurs in the Bay Area, or that they would respond so enthusiastically to nightly jazz performances paired with a high-end, contemporary Japanese restaurant? Yoshie Akiba did, and after its success in Oakland’s Jack London Square, her logical next step was to open a sister club in the heart of San Francisco’s historic jazz district, Fillmore Street.

Open since 2007, this encore version has also been a hit. And why not? It is, after all, the perfect date: sushi in a romantically dark restaurant followed by a jazz concert under the same roof.

Yoshi’s San Francisco opened in its gleaming new building, the Fillmore Heritage Center, in 2007. In the spacious entrance hall are framed vintage posters promoting the Fillmore jazz concerts of Nat King Cole and Ella Fitzgerald. Inside are the 200-seat Yoshi’s Restaurant, bar, sake lounge, jazz lounge (where local jazz acts perform two to three nights a week on a small stage) and the 375-seat jazz theatre. The dinner menu and jazz genres at the Yoshi’s in San Francisco are slightly more diverse and adventurous than at its counterpart across the bay.

Performers have included Pat Metheny, Cassandra Wilson and Grammy-winning jazz artists. The acoustics are excellent, with no bad seats in the crescent-shaped, tiered theatre, not even on the second level above the stage. Most seats are at cocktail tables, so if you didn’t eat at the restaurant before the concert, you can choose from the club menu ($3-$26), an abbreviated version of the restaurant menu, so that you can pair your sake, wine or spirits with sushi.

Just as Yoshi’s Oakland enlivened Jack London Square, Yoshi’s San Francisco has spawned a comeback of the transitional Lower Fillmore neighborhood. Trendy restaurants, music venues and two other restaurant/jazz clubs are on the same block: Sheba’s and Rasellas, which both feature Ethiopian cuisine and jazz. Credit Yoshi’s for keeping the Bay Area on the jazz map.

HelloSanFrancisco tip: You can reserve performance seats if you dine at the restaurant (or in advance for a $10 fee); otherwise, it’s open seating.

- by Bob Cooper, San Francisco Reporter for HelloMetro  (Click to leave a message)

Bob Cooper

Bob Cooper is a full-time freelance writer (www.bob-cooper.com) who writes about travel, outdoor sports and health. He is a monthly contributor to Runner's World and has written recent articles for other national magazines such as Continental, Ladies' Home Journal and Inc.