When Mosu debuted in February, its $195 tasting menu set a record as the most expensive for a new restaurant in San Francisco.

Located on Fillmore Street across from State Bird Provisions, the 18-seat restaurant is a modest-looking affair with no signage or visible address. It feels as if it’s chasing the latest bespoke fads: The 10-course menu combines Asian ingredients and Western techniques to create dishes like a thick sea moss soup poured over two seared chunks of foie gras, or a manicured rectangle of short rib glazed in pear puree and accented with lily bulbs, goji berries and Korean chile sauce.

Despite the fact that chef-owner Sung Anh doesn’t have much name recognition, our booming economy has given him the confidence to orchestrate a dinner that — once a modest bottle of wine, tax and tip are included — can easily cost nearly $600 for a party of two.

Yet just a few months later, in May, Mosu’s price record was shattered by Hashiri, a Japanese kaiseki restaurant in Mint Plaza, an area that has broken established operators such as Jocelyn Bulow (Chez Papa Resto) and Jason Fox (Oro), among others. At Hashiri, the menu features 12 courses for $250 per person, and escalates to either $300 or $500 for those who choose to dine at the sushi counter.

What shocks me about Mosu and Hashiri is the audacity of the pricing out of the gate. The Bay Area is in a period when prices are skyrocketing and people are becoming numb to the $30 main course — but Mosu and Hashiri push new boundaries. From what I experienced, compared to other established places, the prices weren’t justified.

I first went to Mosu a month or so after it opened and returned earlier this month. The food is still in the development stage; every dish was interesting but many lacked balance. At Hashiri the preparation was impeccable, and while I appreciated the intent, I kept thinking how much I prefer the $90 menu at Ju-ni, the $95 menu at Kusakabe or the $150 menu at Omakase. After visiting Mosu and Hashiri, I decided against formal reviews, which would require three visits each.

Yet the opening of these two places says a lot about what’s happening in the Bay Area. The expensive fixed price menu is a defining element of our current dining scene. No other region in the country — not even New York, with 10 times the population — has such a deep bench of fine dining establishments. In San Francisco, the lineup includes Benu, Saison, Quince, La Folie, Acquerello and Atelier Crenn. Then there’s the French Laundry in Yountville, the Restaurant at Meadowood in St. Helena, Baume in Palo Alto and Manresa in Los Gatos.

Bill Addison — a former Chronicle critic and now national restaurant editor for Eater — spends much of his time dining across the United States; last fall he proclaimed San Francisco the best fine dining city in the country.

This distinction was built over time, aided by three factors: food-obsessed tourists coming here to eat; the sophistication of the Bay Area dining public who understands the value of these artistic endeavors; and enough disposable income to indulge. The Bay Area has the highest median average income of any American city, according to the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The fact that people will fill all 50 seats at Benu nightly, at $268 a person, proves there’s an audience willing to pay handsomely for Corey Lee’s lobster coral soup dumplings.

Yet when Lee opened Benu in 2010, coming directly from his high-profile, longtime chef position at the French Laundry, he offered both an a la carte menu and a $160 12-course tasting menu.

Mosu and Hashiri skipped a crucial step in the evolution of our dining culture: slowly raise prices as the restaurant develops its voice and audience. All the high-end restaurants that have earned 3½ or 4 Chronicle stars charged less originally, increasing prices as they refined the concepts. Joshua Skenes, who charges $398 for 18 to 20 courses at Saison, built up a loyal following at his comparatively modest Mission pop-up long before he earned a perfect three stars from the Michelin Guide.

Like Saison, Quince proved itself before relocating to grander quarters. When Quince was in its smaller Pacific Heights space — now home to Octavia — a five-course menu was $85. After Michael and Lindsay Tusk moved to the Financial District in November 2012, a four-course menu, with choices in each category, was $95; a nine-course menu was $140. Today, only one fixed-price menu is featured with eight or more courses at $195.

Back to Gallery When new restaurants push the price too far, too quickly 7 1 of 7 Photo: John Storey 2 of 7 Photo: John Storey / Special to the Chronicle 3 of 7 Photo: Laura Morton, Special to The Chronicle 4 of 7 Photo: Craig Lee, SFC 5 of 7 Photo: John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 6 of 7 Photo: John Storey John Storey, Special to the Chronicle 7 of 7 Photo: Michael Bauer, The Chronicle













In every Bay Area restaurant that charges more than $150 for a set menu, I’ve noted a corresponding upgrade in the refinement of the food, service and decor. It’s easy to compare these restaurants with a Broadway play that starts with previews to gauge the reaction and create a buzz before the lights officially go on.

Atelier Crenn opened in 2011. At the time, patrons created a three- ($59) or five-course ($75) menu from a series of dishes. Today, the restaurant offers 18-plus courses for $220, and the prices include the service charge.

Another factor helps to justify these price bumps: Saison, Quince and Atelier Crenn were all remodeled to remove seats and enhance the experience. That’s a common thread with others, too. Manresa reconfigured its dining room in 2011 and refined it even more after a 2014 fire. The menu is now $235. At the Restaurant at Meadowood, where the 34-seat room was upgraded, the prices rose from $225 for nine courses last year to $330 for 12 courses, or $500 for a 20-course spectacular at the chef’s kitchen counter (prices include service charge).

One of the best examples of how an unproven chef finds — and builds — an audience is Californios, where Val M. Cantu tested his concept at pop-ups before opening the elegant 30-seat Mission restaurant in January 2015. He debuted a seven-course menu for $57, but even before I finished the review process, prices rose to $75 for nine courses. Within a year, the tab had risen to $125 for 12 to 16 courses. This month, it increased to $157. It’s expensive but still a fair deal, given the surroundings and Cantu’s unique take on Mexican food, in which he might incorporate the bold earthiness of posole into something so refined that it could pass as a French consomme. This contradiction between texture and flavors draws diners in.

Hashiri has a track record in Tokyo, where it opened in 2012, but not much name recognition here. The owners brought in well-regarded local talent, but they are not marquee names. The 12-course kaiseki menu includes several plates with multiple offerings and 12 pieces of nigiri from the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo. The food is artfully presented, the handsome interior features moving images such as flowing streams projected on the ceiling, and service is excellent. Still, the experience isn’t as groundbreaking as the prices.

Perhaps most poignantly, neither of these high-priced newcomers was busy on my visits. On a Friday night at Hashiri, there were just six people in the 42-seat restaurant at 8 p.m. On a second visit to Mosu on a Thursday night, the waiter said they had 11 reservations on the books.

It shows that no matter the price tag, there has to be a sense of value. High prices are not a given; they have to be earned.

Michael Bauer is The San Francisco Chronicle restaurant critic and editor at large. Email: mbauer@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @michaelbauer1