Chef
Geoffrey Lee
- Discipline
- Chef
- Based in
- San Francisco, California, United States
- Venue
- jū-ni · Restaurant
i. Biography
Geoffrey Lee comes into focus through omakase, where sequence, temperature, and restraint do the work. At jū-ni in San Francisco, that discipline is the frame; in his earlier kitchen moves, it is the common language. Ju-Ni, Handroll Project, and Hamburger Project each mark a different counter, but the same problem is being solved in each place: how to keep the bite composed, the balance exact, and the traditional sushi register legible in a modern setting.
Coming Up
San Francisco, California is the ground on which Geoffrey Lee built his early career. From 2015–2025, he served as founder at Jū-Ni there, while also working as lead chef at Ju-Ni in San Francisco, California until 2025, and holding the same role at Handroll Project in San Francisco, California until 2025 and at Hamburger Project in San Francisco, California until 2025. Read together, those roles point to a cook shaped by one city but by multiple formats, each demanding a different kind of control. The constant is precision: timing, restraint, and attention applied without excess.
Where They Are Now
At jū-ni in San Francisco, Lee is executive chef, with omakase as the specialty. That format asks for proportion and pacing at the level of each bite, where flavor is only part of the equation and texture, salt, acid, fat, and temperature have to land together. It rewards exactness over flourish, and Lee’s current role sits squarely inside that discipline, where the meal unfolds in measured steps. The title also reads as continuity rather than break. Lead chef, executive chef: the progression suggests a cook returning to the same core question through different rooms and counter formats, using sushi as a way to refine decisions at the scale of a single morsel. From Ju-Ni to Handroll Project to Hamburger Project and back to jū-ni, the arc is less about reinvention than about tightening the language of the craft.
Signature
Geoffrey's signature dishes include Spicy Tuna Hand Roll, Ikura and Ankimo Hand Roll, Wagyu Hand Roll, Albacore Tataki, and Miso Soup. The line-up shows a kitchen working across pace and register: hand rolls for immediacy, tataki for a quieter, more measured cut, and Miso Soup as the steadying element in the sequence. Together they sketch a sensibility built on arrangement and restraint, where the parts matter as much as the finish.
Profile updated July 2026
FAQ
Asked of Geoffrey
What is Geoffrey Lee's current role?
As of 2026, Geoffrey Lee is Executive Chef.
Where did Geoffrey Lee work before?
Geoffrey Lee's earlier career included Jū-Ni, Ju-Ni, and Handroll Project.
What recognition has Geoffrey Lee received?
San Francisco Chronicle Rising Star Chef (2016).
