Our city is—thank God—flush with “real deal” Japanese food, from dozens of Michelin-starred or award-worthy sushi bars to izakayas galore. But there’s nothing quite like Nisei, which opened in August 2021 in the legendary La Folie space. This is, indeed, a fine dining tasting menu format. Dubbed “California Washoku,” it essentially means “harmony of food” but refers to Japanese meals composed of tasteful, artful, and, yes, harmonious, elements. Washoku is a term that has been trending lately in California and NYC at places like NYC’s Mifune or Imari in LA, but the concept was defined in Japan’s Meiji period (1868–1912).
The California element certainly means best-in-the-world local ingredients and seasonality, but it also means creative/modern Japanese food with American sensibilities, calling on the heritage of second-generation Japanese-American chef David Yoshimura, former chef de cuisine at two Michelin-starred Californios. While Japanese ingredients and techniques are in play, Yoshimura is not going for demure or understated.
Japan’s subtle perfection has taught me on every level of food and drink over the years: in my beloved Japan, visits to Honolulu, and a life living in LA, NYC, and SF regions where the densest Japanese U.S. populations outside Japan reside. But I also crave bold, inventive food. This is chef Yoshimura’s vision: Japanese delicacy with fearless flavor.
Case in point: a starting trio of bites includes a surefire win of a Santa Barbera uni croquette dotted with smoked pepper relish. But dorayaki (a mini-pancake “sandwich,” traditionally with sweet adzuki bean paste inside) is filled with banana and topped with Tsar Nicoulai caviar. In this bite, I got Yoshimura’s vision immediately — and wanted five more. Yoshimura had me at hello.
I’ve had industry friends tell me they don’t like Nisei’s cold, austere dining room — with its straightforward greys, blacks and whites, I understand the complaint. However, a trio of brightly colored paintings and a window into the kitchen break up the neutrality, while friendly, relaxed (yet “on it”) staff warm up the space with cheerful ease.
But let’s back up and start next door for a pre-dinner drink (or two) at Nisei’s Bar Iris, which just opened October 14th. Helmed by bar manager Ilya Romanov (previously of Michelin-starred Niku), Bar Iris serves intriguing, focused bar bites from the Nisei team, like smoked eel and rice chips in creme fraiche or chicken kara-age in Japanese black curry and lemon. Refreshingly, Romanov is not going for a Japanese whisky bar feel or even a spirits-heavy focus, though the spirits selection is tight and of high quality. Iris is about cocktails, he explained to me. As I tasted all six of the initial cocktails, this was clear. There were no duds. Fom glassware to Japan-worthy precision and balance, the drinks are also damn delicious. My favorites ran on the lighter end, all the more impressive given the nuanced balance characterizing each drink.
Middlechild need have no middle child syndrome. It sounds simple as a Japanese gin and tonic, but is elevated with vegetal-fresh snap peas, given acidic kick from tart verjus blanc grape juice. Faithful Fool shows off my beloved Calvados (French apple brandy) highlighted with green apple, white vermouth, sweet woodruff plant and bubbly water, exuding a floral-citrus whisper from yuzu sake. Both are served tall, on the rocks or a rock, and go down all too easy. So does the Wildcard, featuring the for-bartenders (i.e. higher proof) Iichiko Saiten shochu infused with elderberries, mixed with stone fruit, a blend of Martini & Rossi Rubino vermouth and Montenegro Select Aperitivo washed in coconut and Ramune, a Japanese carbonated soft drink. In keeping with the creamy purple drink trend heavy on ube (Filipino purple yam) at places like Abaca, Romanov’s Okinawa cocktail goes purple and creamy with Okinawan rum and yams, calamansi, plum and oat milk. This laid-back-yet-chic new bar is a night on its own, or an ideal pre- or post-Nisei stop.
After being satiated on the cocktail front, we head back to Nisei and pair our courses with the $90 drink pairing. Another example of that bold twist on traditional Japanese? Pumpkin chawanmushi. Centered by a cured egg yolk, the savory custard gains depth from pumpkin and decadence topped with shaved Burgundy truffles. It’s paired with a graceful, light-to-medium-bodied 2019 Obsidian “Poseidon Estate” Pinot Noir, exuding berries and leather simultaneously.
Maine scallops luxuriate in pine nut miso, with a vegetal jolt from turnips and upland cress. I was crazy about the American unagi (eel) course, baked flaky with caramelized crispy skin in an unagi tare glaze of soy sauce, sake, brown sugar and sweet mirin. The eel’s crunchy spine leans erect against the fish, an accompanying chip snack. At the other end of the plate, shishito peppers and grilled lotus root bring contrast. Playfully weaving back to white wines (I dig that sort of drink pairing flow), a 2017 Domaine Mann Letzenberg Pinot Gris from France’s Germanic side, Alsace, brough the proper contrasting minerality, acid and apple fruitiness to brighten the sweet-savory eel.
We filled up on Japanese black curry, Napa cabbage and chanterelle mushrooms with sweetbreads (paired with the complex fruit, stone and black tea notes of Oregon’s 2018 The Plow Pinot Noir), then on meaty smoked squab partnered with miso broth, rice and pickled veggie accompaniments.
Desserts alternated between rich and light. I appreciated the palate-cleansing kakigōri K&J Orchards pear shaved ice in ginger syrup, but found the mignardises (aka bite-sized desserts) the most fun. A mini-mochi donut in chestnut milk and a red bean-pluot yōkan sugar confection were playfully balanced, while chilled Rojas Farms’ Champagne grapes exemplified the California aspect of this Washoku feast: pure, juicy fall goodness from a Salvadoran family farm in Exeter, CA, near Visalia.
I’ve experienced modern Japanese food hundreds of times, from Tokyo’s great Narisawa to SF’s Nomica and the inspired cooking of chef Hiroo Nagahara (which I still greatly miss). But Chef Yoshimura’s perspective and palate bring a unique layer to modern Japanese-American-Californian cuisine. As the restaurant settles in, I suspect he and Nisei are “one to watch.” Kougokitai, friends.
// 2310 Polk Street, https://restaurantnisei.com
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