On a crisp, clear, wind-less February night, we bypassed the line to get in with a reservation at brand-new KAIYŌ Rooftop atop the Hyatt Place Hotel. It was clear immediately from the line down the sidewalk to the bustling, Latin music-tinged party on the rooftop that this is already one of the hottest newcomers in town.
I had just returned from Peru the day before, my second trip to that incomparable country. Lima’s dining scene has grown to be world-class, with numerous of the most celebrated chefs in Latin America (and the world) topping The World’s 50 Best Restaurants list and Latin America’s 50 Best. Then there are the only-in-Peru cuisine categories: Chifa (Chinese Peruvian, including famed lomo saltado stir fry) and Nikkei (Japanese Peruvian, including ceviche and sashimi-esque tiradito).
Consider what happened in magical New Orleans with Cajun and Creole cuisines: historically, a mashup of cultures collided to create a cuisine unlike any in the world though influenced by various countries. This IS Peruvian food, and not, as I’ve seen some mistakenly write: Chinese or Japanese and Peruvian fusion.
It was beyond amazing returning, only upping my cravings for Peruvian flavors. So the timing was good for a new Peruvian restaurant in SF, this one from the team who opened the original Peruvian Nikkei KAIYŌ in Cow Hollow in 2018 (my review here). KAIYŌ rooftop is an entirely different vibe, from a pop art mural by local Jeff Carnie and a TV wall broadcasting pristine blue water, waterfalls, and greenery, to massive booths gazing over the SF skyline and Bay Bridge, there isn’t a bad view “in the house.” There are, however, ebbs and flows of crowds hovering around the bar and along the railing gazing downtown.
I don’t do well with dense crowds, so thankfully my husband Dan and I had a reservation and table amid weekend chaos as we watched the hardworking bar and serving teams hustle to keep up. Helmed by owner/restaurateur John Park of Brick x Brick Hospitality Group (KAIYŌ , Whitechapel, Novela), I knew service would be welcoming — and it was, from host to busboys.
The bar centers the space, partnered with a food menu rich with tiradito (sashimi/crudo, Peruvian Nikkei style), ceviches, nigiri and sushi rolls, presaging KAIYŌ restaurant slated to open on the ground level of the hotel later this year, with a longer menu including entrees and anticuchos (grilled meats/seafood).
Chef Alex Reccio hails from Lima and has also cooked in Peru’s bustling mountain city of Cusco (another glorious region I spent time in last week in the Andes Mountains). Coming from the original KAIYŌ, Reccio brings a few of the same dishes and unique-to-this-location offerings, heavy on tiradito, ceviche and other crudo-esque seafood dishes. Chef Rafael Campo is the sushi chef, focused on creative nigiri and rolls.
Tiradito has long been my favorite Peruvian dish (besides causas). And it is pure Nikkei: think sashimi-like slices of raw fish in the likes of lime, passionfruit and other juices with accents, akin to Italian crudo. Tai (Japanese snapper) is KAIYŌ Rooftop’s most popular tiradito in initial two weeks, swimming in creamy aji amarillo leche de tigre broth with yam puree and cracked cancha corn kernels. But I gravitate to silky Japanese scallop tiradito, doused in passionfruit leche de tigre, shoestring potato strips, smoked yam purée, pickled red onion, cilantro oil and chia seeds, or to red beet-cured salmon tiradito in more savory aji amarillo leche de tigre, beet puree, shoestring potato strips, cilantro and shiso mint oil.
There are five ceviches, including a scallop version, plus a golden beets tiradito for vegetarians. Bluefin chu-toro tuna on crispy rice toasts over a slather of avocado cream is another starter standout and fun bar food with drinks.
Preferring raw and fresh seafood rolls vs. tempura-fried rolls, the majority of the maki (rolls) have too much tempura going on for me. The signature Kaiyo roll goes minimal on the fry, filled with Canadian red crab, tempura asparagus and avocado, draped with salmon, dotted with rocoto aioli, onions, jalapeños, garlic chili oil and fried garlic.
I fared better on the nigiri side, though don’t expect Japan delicacy and understatement here. Though silky-fresh, these Nikkei-style nigiri are heartier, often torched, unctuous, rich, with playful touches. A couple of the most interesting include sake (salmon) punctuated with gooseberry puree and fried salmon skin for sweet-crispy contrast, and tai medai (Japanese red snapper) in pisco-aged white soy, complemented by a shiso leaf and yuzu salt.
Bar manager Carl Brown (formerly at Whitechapel) created ten Nikkei-inspired cocktails featuring Japanese and Peruvian ingredients. While a number of the cocktails run a touch too sweet for me — the festive crowd seems all about that, to be fair — glassware and presentation are cheerfully colorful.
I couldn’t help but want more of the agricole rum grassiness and funk in the Barsol Pisco-dominant Prince of the Sun cocktail — or more white sesame in Dickel rye whiskey-based Castle in the Sky. But the balanced Day I Bought a Star gets a lively kick from Union Mezcal playing with Leblon Cachaça, Benedictine, banana, cashew orgeat, lime and Angostura and ginger bitters. In addition to a classic Pisco Sour, Brown created a house version nutty with sunflower orgeat and herbaceous from Incan herbed Cocalaro liqueur. They also have a Suntory Toki Highball Machine, so you can get proper Highballs (there are four on offer), as well as Japanese craft beers, Japanese whiskys and 11 sakes by the glass and carafe, including crushable sakes like fruity Heiwa Shuzo KID Junmai Daiginjo.
There are more consummate (La Mar) or cozy (Piqueo’s) Peruvian spots in town, to name but a couple, yet KAIYŌ Rooftop more than any other is… to use a bastardized word… sexy. It feels utterly urban, a sleek perch above San Francisco, showing off just a few of her skyline glories set to sultry Latin music, pisco, sake and all the seafood you could want.
// 701 3rd Street; https://kaiyosf.com/kaiyorooftop
