An elevated Japanese spot has opened in Albany with food that’s as fun to look at as it is to eat.
Yonsei Handrolls had its first day May 1 at 905 San Pablo Ave., on the corner of bustling Solano Ave. It is the second location for Yonsei, with the original in Oakland’s downtown, and the sixth Bay Area restaurant for chef and owner Kyle Itani (of Itani Ramen, Itani Sushi and more).
As the name implies, the star of the menu are handrolls — fat cigars of crispy seaweed and sushi rice loaded with increasingly luxurious fillings. Diners can order them individually or by the set. On the more affordable end is the five-piece “O.G.” assortment, with soy-cured ahi tuna, yellowtail and green onions, salmon with lemon, black cod and truffle butter and snow crab with garlic chives ($34-$42). The top end “Baller” set swaps out some of these for a sumptuous toro and caviar roll and an uni roll with salmon roe and wasabi stems ($60).
Yonsei Handrolls opened in May 2025 in Albany, Calif., serving upscale versions of handrolls and other Japanese fare. (Nicola Parisi)
There are 18 different handrolls in total, including combos made from jellyfish, sesame and chili ($5), Dungeness crab and shoyu butter ($15) and vegetarian options with shiitake mushrooms, Japanese omelet and pickled daikon ($6). A dropper bottle on every table holds an umami-loaded, house-made shiitake-and-kombu soy sauce, to be drizzled on the rolls or taken home as a 4-ounce condiment ($10).
Aside from rolls, the kitchen prepares izakaya-style appetizers like a whole grilled squid, thick and meaty with Kewpie mayo and pickled ginger shoots on the side ($22). Agedashi tofu comes with a soy-dashi broth and a deep-fried avocado ($13), and there are also shucked oysters ($22 per half-dozen), hamachi carpaccio with fennel oil ($14) and Wagyu-beef tataki with mustard greens and vinegar miso ($15).
Yonsei Handrolls opened in May 2025 in Albany, Calif., serving upscale versions of handrolls and other Japanese fare. (Yonsei Handrolls)
An L-shaped bar takes up a considerable portion of the small restaurant. Here, bartenders prepare cocktails with Japanese-inspired ingredients like yuzu cordial and miso honey ($15-$16). (One martini even incorporates sushi rice and pickled ginger.) Japanese whisky is in stock, including rare malts that cost above $100 a taste, and can be sipped straight-up or in a highball. On the lower-ABV side there’s Asahi beer on draft as well as sake, zeroproof yuzu lemonade and Genmaicha iced tea.
Details: Open 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5 p.m.-9:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday at 905 San Pablo Ave., Albany; yonseihandrolls.com/albany-menu
