Something wild has happened at 201 Spear St. in San Francisco.

The space that housed Gozu restaurant for the past five years was renamed in August to The Wild.

Chef-Owner Marc Zimmerman, who also owns San Francisco’s Yokai, is still in charge. The layout of the striking, black-box dining room with seats circling the perimeter of a live-fire open kitchen is still intact. But the menu has shifted, giving him and his team, which includes Chef de Cuisine Peggy Tan and Pastry Chef Mark Lieuw, more liberties with both service and dishes. Even the libations that once touted an impressive collection of Japanese whiskies have now shifted to include many Calvados and Armagnacs.

Previously, Gozu was laser-focused on Japanese A5 Wagyu, and using every bit of that luxurious beef — from flesh to fat to bones to tendons — in uncanny ways. In contrast, The Wild’s current menu is noticeably absent of Wagyu. In fact, the restaurant’s dry-aging fridge that used to hold slabs of Wagyu now house Liberty Farms ducks.

“It feels fresh,” says Zimmerman about the change. “It gives us the ability to stretch more.”

Diners seem to be embracing it all, too. Zimmerman acknowledges that Gozu’s use of Wagyu in nearly every dish may have intimidated some and even turned off others. Now, The Wild has attracted more first-time diners, as well as regulars who come in twice a week for the a la carte or the $130 five-course tasting menu.

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