Hibari, a kappo-style Japanese restaurant from longtime friends Jesse Sun and chef Takashi “Taka” Sega, has quietly slipped into Portola Valley’s Ladera Country Shopper and started drawing serious buzz. The compact spot pairs a six-seat, reservation-only counter with a 22-seat dining room, and early menus mix omakase-style nigiri with cooked kappo dishes plus an à la carte lunch lineup. The restaurant soft-opened on Nov. 17, and the owners say the whole concept leans hard on seasonality and local produce. Early guests report it delivers both an intimate chef-front counter experience and a more relaxed table tasting that feels like a big-city meal tucked into a neighborhood plaza.
A Kappo Counter And A Prix-Fixe Dining Room
According to The Almanac, Hibari’s reservation-only six-seat bar runs a two-and-a-half-hour experience that starts at 6 p.m., with the counter tasting priced at about $200 and an optional sake pairing. In the 22-seat dining room, diners choose between a 16-course prix fixe at $150 or an 11-course petit tasting at $88, while lunch is served à la carte with several set options for those who want a shorter visit.
The kitchen leans into classic kappo service, with sashimi, soup, nimono and handrolls prepared in front of guests so the action is essentially the entertainment. Staff say they will also add a fish-miso broth for chazuke when diners ask for it partway through the meal, turning the experience into a slow-build progression rather than a straight sushi parade. The team emphasizes local sourcing and calls the approach “SFmae” to highlight Peninsula ingredients folded into a Japanese tasting format.
What To Order
Listing photos and early guest write-ups spotlight dishes like goma kanpachi don, yurinchi fried chicken, dashimaki tamago and grilled salmon kasuzuke, and several reviewers have posted sample menus and photos online, according to MapQuest. Diners report a kids’ three-course option priced at roughly $18 to $22 and lunch sets that land between about $18 and $66. Reviewers also point out how nigiri flights are woven in with cooked kappo courses so the meal feels like a full arc instead of a single-note sushi session.
The restaurant offers a chazuke-style finish for donburi orders when requested, turning rice bowls into a brothy porridge halfway through the meal for those who like a little drama in their last course. These early impressions come from menu photos and guest reports on business listings and review sites.
Who’s Behind Hibari
Hibari is the longtime project of partners Jesse Sun and chef Takashi “Taka” Sega, who met in high school and later put in years in Bay Area sushi kitchens, according to The Almanac. Sega is described as having led sushi at Nobu’s Palo Alto operation and as bringing experience from Michelin-level omakase kitchens in San Francisco. Sun previously operated Daigo Sushi in San Francisco for about a decade before it closed during the pandemic.
Sega told the paper his cooking is "deeply rooted in seasonality," and he and Sun say they designed Hibari with repeat customers and an ongoing chef-customer relationship in mind rather than a one-and-done destination blowout. The name “Hibari” means skylark, a small poetic touch meant to connect sea-focused cooking with an airy, neighborhood dining room vibe.
Hours, Reservations And Where To Go
Hibari is located at 3130 Alpine Road #240 in the Ladera Country Shopper and is open Tuesday through Sunday for both lunch and dinner. Posted hours are 11:30 AM to 2 PM and 5:00 to 9:00 PM, according to the business listing on MapQuest. The six-seat bar is reservation-only and runs a fixed, two-and-a-half-hour seating, while the dining room takes table reservations for the prix-fixe menus and accepts walk-ins for lunch when space allows.
With such limited counter space and a format built around a small nightly crowd, weekend spots are expected to disappear fast, so planning ahead is probably wise if you are aiming for the bar experience. For phone and reservation details, would-be diners are directed to the online listing and early reviews.
