Contemporary Izakaya Lounges

Hip Japanese restaurant Ozumo joins San Jose's Santana Row, highlighting its focus on a Japanese beer garden, sake lounge and a delicious izakaya menu. Founder and owner Jeremy Umland launched his first location in San Francisco in 2001 with the idea of combining a sushi bar with a robata grill and sake lounge. The new San Jose location features an all-new outdoor Japanese beer garden to elevate the scene in Uptown Oakland. Umland calls this location something that's a modern-day izakaya, where there is a fuse of both drinking and eating.

The kitchen is run by Salvador Alvarez, who received training from master sushi chef Kaysuta Uechi. The menu will feature classic izakaya dishes including Gindara (black cod), Shio Koji-marinated chicken and chilled Somen noodles with uni. The drinking options will include Japanese craft beers, with the classic Japanese "big three" -- Sapporo, Asahi and Kirin -- reigning the outdoor beer garden to give it a more traditional vibe. The indoor lounge will focus more on Japanese sake and whiskey.