Hear ye, all fans of gloriously marbled Japanese beef. A restaurant featuring five- and ten-course prix fixe experiences centering on different preparations of Wagyu beef is set to open downtown on November 12.

The man behind the restaurant, called Ittoryu Gozu, is former Alexander's Steakhouse chef Marc Zimmerman. But as Zimmerman tells the Chronicle this week, Ittoryu Gozu is most certainly not going to be a steakhouse experience.

Zimmerman will be using live fire for many of the cooked dishes, with others simmered over low heat on the fire, and some preparations being raw. He says the plan is to use every part of the cow, to use bones to make charcoal, and save all trimmings and rendered fat for other dishes.

"I was just thinking of something small, and [where] you could grill meat over fires. That’s it,” Zimmerman tells the Chron. “Of course it grew and evolved over time, but that was the path it started on." The idea seems like a natural progression for a chef that got tired of working a line at a busy, high-volume steakhouse where 200 covers in a night was not uncommon.

Originally slated to open in the spring, Ittoryu Gozu will have just 45 seats and feature a few prix-fixe options — the 10-course option will be $120 to $150, prepaid on Tock; the five-course "MEZU" option starts at $95. And as Zimmerman told the Chronicle last year, the plan is also to have a connected whiskey lounge as well, though it's unclear if that will open right away.

Reservations are available now, and will likely go quickly as word spreads.

Ittoryu Gozu - 201 Spear Street - Opening November 12

Photo: Wikimedia