A sake pairing dinner table with oysters, sashimi, tempura, steak and chocolate cake, served with clear, cloudy and amber sake

For US restaurants & bars

Sell more sake.
Without a sommelier.

Turn your menu into sake pairings, staff cheat cards and unforgettable pairing dinners, so every server can recommend the right bottle with confidence.

Join the free pilot See a pairing dinner ↓

Free for our first 20 founding restaurants. No credit card.

The Pairing Dinner

Five courses. Five sakes.
One night guests remember.

From light and sparkling to rich and aged. Swipe through a dinner your kitchen already knows how to cook.

Oysters on ice with a flute of sparkling sake

Course 1 · Raw bar

Oysters on the half shell

Sparkling Sake · chilled

Fine bubbles lift the brine, just like Champagne.

Sashimi with a glass of clear Junmai Daiginjo sake

Course 2 · Crudo

Hamachi & tuna sashimi

Junmai Daiginjo · chilled

Delicate and silky. It lets pristine fish lead.

Tempura with a cup of chilled Honjozo sake

Course 3 · Crispy

Shrimp & vegetable tempura

Honjozo · chilled

Dry and crisp, like a squeeze of citrus on hot batter.

Grilled ribeye with warm sake in a porcelain flask

Course 4 · Main

Grilled ribeye

Yamahai · warm, 104°F

Gamey umami and acidity stand up to char and marbling.

Chocolate lava cake with a glass of amber aged sake

Course 5 · Dessert

Chocolate lava cake

Koshu (aged) · room temp

Caramel and nutty notes, like tawny port with chocolate.

Host a Sake Dinner Night. We build the menu, the pairings, the staff notes and a share-ready menu card from your own dishes.

Plan my pairing dinner

Pairing Finder

What's on the plate?

Type any dish, not just Japanese food. Get two sake styles, why they work, and how to serve them.

Six styles

From sparkling to aged, at a glance

Six glasses of sake from sparkling and clear to cloudy nigori and amber aged sake
Sparkling
Daiginjo
Ginjo
Junmai
Nigori
Koshu

Six styles cover almost every dish. We teach your team which is which, in plain English.

A server pouring sake at a restaurant table

Why sake doesn't sell

Great bottles. Silent servers.

  • Labels guests can't read. Unfamiliar terms push guests to beer or "house sake".
  • Servers who hesitate. High turnover, little training. No confidence, no recommendation.
  • Bottles that don't move. Premium sake sits on the shelf because no one knows which dish it belongs with.

For restaurants

Your menu, paired in days

  1. 1

    Send your menu & sake list

    A PDF, photo or link. No setup, no POS integration.

  2. 2

    Get pairings for every dish

    Matched to the bottles you carry, plus gaps worth filling at your price points.

  3. 3

    Train staff & wow guests

    Cheat cards for servers, a QR pairing menu, and a ready-to-run pairing dinner.

A printed pairing menu, staff cheat cards and a table QR card

Staff cheat card

Junmai Ginjo

Say it: joon-my GHEEN-jo

One-line pitch: "If you like Sauvignon Blanc, you'll love this: fruity, floral and crisp."

Serve: chilled, 41–50°F, wine glass

Pairs with: crudo, salmon, ceviche, banh mi

Built for

Japanese restaurants

Sushi bars, izakayas and ramen shops that want sake to sell itself.

Restaurants adding sake

Modern American, Latin, Italian and Asian-fusion menus exploring sake for the first time.

Distributors & breweries

Pairing kits and dinner nights that help your portfolio move. Talk to us.

Founding partners

Get a free pairing kit for your menu

We're running a free pilot with 20 US restaurants. You get a full pairing kit. We get your honest feedback.

  • Every dish paired to your sake list
  • Printable staff cheat cards
  • QR pairing menu for your tables
  • A 5-course Sake Dinner Night plan
  • Founding-partner discount at launch

We'll only use your details to contact you about the pilot. Privacy.

Sake pairing, answered

Does sake pair with non-Japanese food?

Yes. Sake has lower acidity than wine and lots of umami, so it pairs well with steak, pizza, tacos, curries, fried chicken and cheese. Match the style to the dish: rich Yamahai or Kimoto for red meat and tomato, sparkling sake for fried food, Nigori for spicy dishes, aged Koshu for chocolate and blue cheese.

What temperature should sake be served at?

Aromatic Ginjo and Daiginjo are best chilled (41–50°F). Junmai, Honjozo and Yamahai styles can be served at room temperature or warm (about 104°F), which brings out umami. Namazake and sparkling sake should always be served cold.

What is a sake pairing dinner?

A multi-course meal where each course comes with a different sake, usually moving from light and sparkling to rich and aged: oysters with sparkling sake, sashimi with Junmai Daiginjo, tempura with Honjozo, steak with warm Yamahai, and chocolate with aged Koshu.

How can a restaurant sell more sake without a sommelier?

Pair each menu item with one sake style, give servers a one-line pitch and pronunciation for each bottle, and show guests the pairing on the menu or via QR code. SakePairing generates all three from your existing menu and sake list.

How much does SakePairing cost?

SakePairing is in a free pilot for founding restaurant partners in the US. Pricing will be announced before the pilot ends, and pilot partners keep a founding discount.

Get my free pairing kit