Restaurant in San Mateo, United States
Book 6 weeks out. Kaiseki done seriously.
Wakuriya is a Michelin-starred kaiseki restaurant in San Mateo, ranked #274 in North America by Opinionated About Dining in 2025. Book 4 to 6 weeks out for weekend seats — this is one of the Peninsula's hardest reservations to land. At $$$$ per head, it's the right call for serious food travelers who want structured, seasonal Japanese cuisine done with real precision.
If you're planning to dine at Wakuriya, open a reservation window now — not in a week, not when the trip is confirmed. This Michelin-starred kaiseki destination in San Mateo fills weeks out, and its limited weekend hours (Saturday service begins at 6 PM, ending at 9 PM) means there are fewer covers to compete for than at a typical tasting-menu restaurant. The insider move: check availability on a Thursday or Friday evening first, since those nights carry the same 6:30–9:30 PM window and often have slightly more opening room than peak Saturday slots. If you're flexible on the night, that flexibility is your leading booking asset.
Wakuriya is a kaiseki restaurant in San Mateo's De Anza Boulevard corridor, led by chef Katsuhiro Yamasaki. Kaiseki is the formal multi-course tradition of Japanese cuisine , seasonal, precise, ingredient-driven, and structured around progression rather than choice. This is not a restaurant where you select dishes. You commit to the kitchen's sequence for the evening. That format works brilliantly for food-focused diners who want a complete experience built around craft and seasonality. It works less well if you want flexibility, a la carte control, or a meal you can compress into 90 minutes.
The restaurant holds a Michelin star for 2024 and 2025, and its trajectory on the Opinionated About Dining list has been meaningful: from a general recommendation in 2023 to a ranked position at #482 in 2024, climbing to #274 in North America by 2025. That upward movement on OAD is a stronger signal than the star alone , OAD rankings are driven by experienced diners who eat widely, and a jump of more than 200 positions in one year reflects a kitchen performing with real consistency. A 4.7 Google rating across 193 reviews reinforces that this isn't a case of critical acclaim outpacing the actual guest experience.
For explorers who benchmark Bay Area fine dining against national peers, a useful reference point: Wakuriya sits in a tier below Single Thread Farm in Healdsburg or The French Laundry in Napa in terms of production scale and price ceiling, but it operates with a degree of culinary seriousness that most San Francisco tasting-menu restaurants don't match at the Peninsula. If you've dined at Lazy Bear in San Francisco or places like Alinea in Chicago, you'll recognize the category immediately , a kitchen that demands your full attention and rewards it.
Wakuriya's editorial angle here matters practically: this is not a restaurant with a late-night bar program or a walk-in option at 9:45 PM. Service ends at 9:30 PM on weekday evenings and 9 PM on weekends. That means if you're coming from San Francisco or the South Bay after work commitments, you're booking the first seating, not arriving fashionably late. The 6:30 PM start on Thursday and Friday is realistic for a post-commute arrival if you're organized. The Saturday 6 PM seating is tight if you're traveling from further out. Plan the evening around the restaurant, not the other way around. There is no second act at Wakuriya , the kaiseki format runs its own clock, and late-arriving guests disrupt the sequence for the whole room.
For diners who want to extend the evening after dinner, the De Anza Blvd location puts you within range of San Mateo's bar scene, and the San Mateo bars guide covers what's worth continuing to. Wakuriya doesn't need to be the whole night, but the meal itself will run a full evening , kaiseki at this level rarely finishes in under two hours.
Wakuriya is priced at $$$$, which in San Mateo's context means you're in the top tier of local dining spend. For comparison, All Spice is the other $$$$ option in the immediate peer set, operating as an international tasting-menu restaurant. Both require the same financial commitment. The question of which is worth your particular $$$$ comes down to format: Wakuriya's kaiseki structure is more rigorous and more culturally specific than All Spice's broader international approach. If Japanese cuisine and the kaiseki tradition are what you're there for, Wakuriya is the clearer choice. If you want a tasting menu with more Western-inflected flexibility, All Spice is a reasonable alternative that's also easier to book.
At the $$$$ price point, a useful national reference: Masa in New York City or Sushi Masaki Saito in Toronto represent the ceiling of Japanese omakase pricing in North America. Wakuriya isn't in that pricing tier , it's a Peninsula option that over-delivers for its market, which is precisely why the OAD ranking has climbed. For a Bay Area analog, Sushi Yoshizumi is the direct San Mateo competitor in the Japanese $$$$ category , different format (omakase sushi vs. kaiseki), equally difficult to book, and equally worth planning well in advance.
Reservations: Book as far in advance as possible , 4 to 6 weeks minimum for weekend seats, 2 to 3 weeks for weekday openings in good conditions. Hours: Wednesday through Friday, 6:30–9:30 PM; Saturday and Sunday, 6–9 PM; closed Monday and Tuesday. Budget: $$$$ per person before drinks. Address: 115 De Anza Blvd, San Mateo, CA 94402. Dress: Not confirmed in available data , given the Michelin-star tier and kaiseki format, smart casual at minimum is appropriate; treat it as a formal dinner reservation. Group size: Seat count not published; kaiseki restaurants at this level typically run small rooms. Parties of more than four should contact the restaurant directly before assuming availability. Contact: Check the restaurant's website or reservation platform directly , phone and online booking details are not confirmed in current data.
If Wakuriya is the anchor of your San Mateo dining plan, use the San Mateo restaurants guide to build out the rest of the trip. For stays nearby, the San Mateo hotels guide covers the practical accommodation options. The San Mateo wineries guide and experiences guide round out a Peninsula visit if you're coming down from the city for a full day.
| Venue | Price | Value |
|---|---|---|
| Wakuriya | $$$$ | — |
| Pausa | $$ | — |
| Sushi Yoshizumi | $$$$ | — |
| Wursthall Restaurant & Bierhaus | — | |
| All Spice | $$$$ | — |
| Kajiken | $ | — |
How Wakuriya stacks up against the competition.
Yes — kaiseki is one of the formats that works well solo, since the pacing is set by the kitchen rather than the table. A counter seat at Wakuriya lets you follow the progression without the social obligation of keeping pace with others. Book early regardless: the restaurant is small, and solo seats are among the first to disappear on weekend nights.
Dinner only — Wakuriya does not offer lunch service. The kitchen opens at 6:30 PM Wednesday through Friday and 6 PM on weekends, with last seating no later than 9:30 PM. Plan your evening accordingly; this is not a long, open-ended late-night dining situation.
4 to 6 weeks minimum for Saturday, 2 to 3 weeks for midweek seats in favorable conditions. Wakuriya holds a Michelin star and an Opinionated About Dining Top 274 ranking in North America for 2025 — that recognition drives demand well beyond the immediate San Mateo area. If you have a fixed date, book the moment it opens.
Communicate restrictions at the time of booking, not on arrival. Kaiseki is a structured multi-course format built around a fixed progression, so last-minute changes are difficult for the kitchen to absorb. Severe allergies or complex dietary needs are worth flagging directly when you make the reservation.
At $$$$ pricing with a Michelin star and a 2025 Opinionated About Dining Top 274 North America ranking, Wakuriya is priced in line with what that level of recognition commands in the Bay Area. If kaiseki — precise, seasonal, multi-course Japanese cooking — is the format you want, the value holds. If you prefer à la carte flexibility or a shorter meal, it does not.
Yes, and it's one of the stronger cases for it in San Mateo. The kaiseki format is inherently occasion-structured: a long, composed progression that signals deliberate intent rather than a casual dinner. The $$$$ price point and Michelin recognition mean the room takes the meal seriously. Smaller parties of two will get more from the experience than larger groups.
For high-end Japanese specifically, Sushi Yoshizumi in San Mateo is the closest peer — Michelin-starred, counter-format, and similarly hard to book. For a $$$$ experience in a different register, All Spice offers a tasting menu with broader global influences. If you want something less formal or less expensive, Pausa covers Italian at a lower price point without the booking pressure.
Keep this venue in your Pearl passport, rate it after you visit, and track it alongside every other place you collect.
