Friends Only

If you’re saving up for a f*ck-it meal, or are just, um, really, really rich, throw down $325 per person at Friends Only. The unmarked omakase spot in Nob Hill (by the Akikos people) is a relaxed sake-drenched dinner party. It’s intimate with only 10 seats, and buzzy—universally beloved grooves thump through the wood-filled space as diners clink glasses of highballs with umami bitters. Dinner lasts almost three hours and includes 18 courses, including dry-aged nigiri that are flawless. But it’s their small, more decadent seafood plates, like the lightly seared tilefish with its crunchy scales fluffed out or butter-poached lobster dusted with green garlic powder, that stand out. So sit back, prattle on with the hosts about dry-aged toro and the stately Japanese plate in front of you, and let each gorgeous course come to you.