Rintaro! Photo: Facebook
Sylvan Mishima Brackett poses for a portrait in his backyard culinary lab in Oakland. Photo: Aya Brackett, Special To The Chronicle
Following years of planning, Sylvan Mishima Brackett of Peko Peko fame quietly opened his own restaurant last night.
Named Rintaro, the new izakaya is located at the same 14th Street address where Chez Spencer once stood, though the fire-ravaged space has been completely rebuilt and reimagined.
So how did it feel for Brackett to finally cook in a restaurant he can call his own?
“Well, it was pretty emotional. I’ve been thinking about this for such a long time,” reflects Brackett, who made his name running his six-year-old Japanese catering operation Peko Peko, following time in the Chez Panisse system.
“The most amazing thing was during the test dinners,” Brackett says of opening Rintaro. “When people filled it up, the space totally changed and developed its own personality.”
“It was magical.”
The 60-seat Rintaro is designed by Frost Tsuji Architects, and includes a private dining room (debuting next week) aimed for either overflow seating or private parties. For now, no reservations are accepted, but eventually the booths will be available for reservations.
The menu — in full below — will change regularly, but features sections dedicated to vegetables, fried dishes and grilled chicken (including a yakitori chef’s choice for $15.50). Other dishes on the bill of fare include uni donburi (hot rice with Santa Barbara uni, freshly grated wasabi, yuzu and toasted nori) and dashimaki tamago.
Open for dinner Monday through Thursday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and until midnight on Friday and Saturday. Closed Sunday.
Tonight’s menu:
Rintaro: 82 14th Street, near Folsom, San Francisco. (415) 589-7022 or izakayarintaro.com
· Previously: Sylvan Mishima Brackett lets past, its tools, mold izakaya [San Francisco Chronicle]
· Previously: Peko Peko’s Sylvan Mishima Brackett inks a lease in the Mission [Inside Scoop]