Sundays are so depressing. The weekend is over and five full days of cubicle time lurk ahead. A few Sundays ago, my hubby and I decided to say screw it to our pre-week blues and commemorate Sunday night instead of mourning it. We headed downtown to try out Ozumo‘s new Sunday-only prix fixe menu. Four courses later, it was a pretty serious celebration.

Walking into Ozumo, you don’t feel like you’re in San Francisco. With it’s dimly-lit swanky bar and high-ceilinged dining room, it feels more Manhattan than Embarcadero. We started our Japanese dining extravaganza with the Tuna Tataki Salad and Shira-Ae. The delicious ocean-fresh tuna salad was dressed with spicy onions, Asian greens, and sweet ‘n’ salty Asian vinaigrette. The Shira-Ae was a chiogga beet, an exciting new veggie to us, paired with a delicate Japanese tofu. Both were a perfect way to kick off a Tokyo-inspired feast.

Next came my personal favorite: the sushi course. When it comes to sushi, fresh is best. When it comes to Ozumo, you don’t get fresher. We ordered the chef’s special sashimi, a trio of maguro, himachi, and salmon and Ozumo’s signature Akebono roll. Even my hubby, a die-hard cooked-food-only eater, licked his plate clean.

By the time the main course rolled around, we barely had room. I was chose the Burikama, a picturesque plate of yellowtail served with a Japanese cucumber salad and ponzu dipping sauce. The hubs ordered the Jidori chicken served with a a miso sauce and braised kabu and daikon.

When the flourless chocolate cake with mochi and green tea ice cream was served, our Sunday blues had turned a rather rosy shade.

Beyond the Bay Bridge view and carefully selected sake pairing we enjoyed, it was the extensive knowledge of the staff that truly knocked our socks off. Our waiter who was obviously not a Japanese native, pronounced our dishes with the perfect Osaka-esque inflection and wowed us with his detailed knowledge of Japanese sake.

Next time Sunday rolls around and you find yourself feeling depressed and gloomy, treat yourself to dinner at Ozumo and the rest of the week will start looking a lot more bareable (and possibly even a little bit beautiful).

161 Steuart St.; 415-882-1333

• Tag: Japanese Food, ozumo, San Francisco, sunday-blues, sushi