Scott Kim

The Path

Since 2007, ownership and kitchen leadership have run in parallel for Scott Kim, who has been the owner and chef of SASA while also serving as chef of SaSa Japanese Restaurant. That dual role places him between long-range direction and day-to-day execution, with one hand on the broader shape of SASA and the other on the daily standards of SaSa Japanese Restaurant. The length of that tenure points to continuity in practice: a chef maintaining both a business and a kitchen over time.

The Work Today

In San Francisco, the work remains centered on Japanese restaurant cooking under Scott Kim, whose role as Executive Chef at SaSa Japanese Restaurant puts technique, pace, and standard in the same frame. Japanese sushi is his specialty, and that specialization defines the restaurant’s culinary direction. The emphasis is on consistency and care, with restraint, timing, and texture carrying as much weight as any individual plate.

Signature

Scott Kim focuses on Japanese sushi. The phrase is direct, and the work behind it demands precision in movement and attention in execution. It is the line that identifies his craft and sets its boundaries.

In Their Words “Lots of chefs can cook, but not all of them are a part of the community.”

Acclaim

Kim’s clearest public statement is about belonging as much as technique: "Lots of chefs can cook, but not all of them are a part of the community." The line places his standard outside the kitchen as well as inside it. It treats the chef’s role as part of the life around the restaurant, not only the food on the line. For Kim, the work reads as a combination of craft and connection, measured by contribution to place as much as by cooking itself.