San Francisco innovates with world’s first lab-grown sushi bar

All aboard the sushi train! A new sushi joint in San Francisco is going to be serving up the world’s first lab-grown salmon.

Cultured salmon, otherwise known as salmon grown in a lab, you know, by normal people, is about to become a hit in a new San Francisco sushi bar opening up in Dogpatch this September.

At least, that’s what’s been announced by Wildtype founders Aryé Elfenbein and Justin Kolbeck.

The dynamic duo, who created the startup Wildtype back in 2016, also announced plans for a tasting room back in April.

Wildtype has been working hard since 2016 to produce the innovative food source, and are hoping to produce enough fish to be sold at grocery stores and served in dishes at Bay Area restaurants soon.

Sounds like they’ve watched Seaspiricy!

I mean, it would be quite nice to have a new fish alternative, provided no further animals are harmed in the making.

Just ate the most delicious grocery store sushi don’t @ me it was great when I’m sick later I’ll post the pics

— Ryan Stoker (@StokersPoker) June 30, 2021

We can be sure of that, too. The duo have passionately explained that the upcoming sushi bar is not in fact a bar, but an interactive museum! Whaaaaaat!

Yep. Visitors will get to see how the fish is made through a big window, with a tasting room featuring a glass barrier allowing diners to take a peek into the production facility.

There, they will see how the salmon is grown in stainless steel tanks, kinda like breweries. (Maybe they should serve some sake on the side.)

“Cultured Salmon” what is that?
*Reads article*
“Lab grown”
… okay so not a beyond meat situation, 3d printed fish?

— Ben Fowler (@BenMFFowler) June 29, 2021

For now, though, Wildtype’s interactive lab will be invite-only. At the moment, this is going to involve students and chefs only.

So how does it all work?

Wildtype’s product model is classified as cell-based agriculture, where instead of plant-based alternatives like tofu, animal cells are used to create the meat. So it is meat after all!

In this case, salmon cells (which even date back a few years – ew!) are fed nutrients in the aforementioned tank before being harvested and affixed to plant-based structures, enabling the cells to grow into the pieces served.

What a world we live in!