The story
Delage is an omakase-style Japanese restaurant in Old Town Oakland that treats every meal as an invitation into the chef's world. The name says it all: this is a place built around trust, where you leave the decisions to the kitchen and simply enjoy the procession of courses.
The menu is a multi-course prix fixe affair, priced at $125 per person. It begins with an amuse-bouche—crystal bread with smoked salmon, wasabi cream, and a bamboo charcoal tuile—before moving through a carefully composed sequence of dishes. A Housho Maki of daikon, egg, cucumbers, carrots, mountain yam, and king salmon arrives over mozuku-zu sauce. Then come sets of fresh nigiri, two pieces and then four, featuring fish of the day. A palate cleanser resets the senses before the fourth course: Nanban-Zuke, deep-fried black cod and vegetables marinated in nanban-zu sauce and topped with Tokyo onions. Mini chirashi donburi follows, with two petite bowls of fresh fish over rice. Another four-piece set of nigiri leads into a matsutake soup with Tokyo turnip, ginkgo, taro, mitsuba, and a yuzu aroma, finished with rice cracker bits. Dessert is a matcha milk pudding with whipped cream and strawberries.
What makes Delage distinct is its California-inspired Japanese cuisine. The kitchen works with local, seasonal ingredients, letting the produce of the Bay Area guide a menu rooted in Japanese technique and tradition. This is not a rigid transplant from Tokyo but a thoughtful adaptation—one that earned the restaurant a Michelin Recommended distinction.
Located at 536 9th Street in Old Town Oakland, Delage offers two seatings Thursday through Sunday, at 5:30pm and 8:00pm. The space is intimate, with air conditioning and wheelchair access. Reservations are available through Resy.
Recognition
Ambience
Details
Location
Instagram