San Francisco-based Nikkei restaurant KAIYŌ announced yesterday that it will open its first location outside San Francisco, with a new restaurant, bar, and lounge planned for southwest Las Vegas at UnCommons, Matter Real Estate’s innovative mixed-use development.
Nikkei is a singular cultural cuisine developed in Peru following a period of Japanese immigration there. “Nikkei draws upon the ingredients and spices of Peru and the culinary techniques of Japan,” reads yesterday’s press release, “resulting in a unique cuisine, rich in flavor and culture, and rooted in history.”
Owner and longtime San Francisco restaurateur John Park encountered Nikkei in his travels and was inspired to bring it to the Bay Area.
“I realized we had a void,” Park told What Now on Friday. “We had this uptick of Michelin-starred, elevated Japanese cuisine. Everyone was doing Omakase for a while; it was a big sushi craze. But no one was approaching it with this other variation of how Japanese people make sushi.”
The restaurant began in a small space that immediately took off, offering a menu packed with Cebiches like the Cebiche Nikkei (bluefin tuna, red miso leche de tigre, smokey yam puree, seaweed, avocado, onions, fresno chilies, choclo, cracked cancha, cilantro oil) and Tiraditos like Scallop Tiradito (Japanese scallop, passionfruit leche de tigre, potato shoe string, smoked yam puree, chia, pickled red onion, cilantro oil), plus a selection of sushi choices, cocktails, wines, sake, and more.
“As soon as we did it, it was madness,” Park said. “There are some cuisines, in some areas, where people can’t wrap their head around it. This wasn’t like that. People understood exactly what this was.”
The brand has two locations operating in San Francisco and is now preparing to make its Las Vegas debut at UnCommons. Can any updates to the menu be expected here? In short, yes:
“We’re improving our sushi and rolls section, and also introducing a beautiful steak program, mostly focusing on wagyu. Lots of shareable dishes—it’s a family style menu.”
Opening at UnCommons in the fall of 2023, KAIYŌ will join an already impressive roster of food and drink locations, including AMARI, The Coffee Class, and General Admission.
“We’re putting a lot of heart and soul into this project because we really want to succeed with it,” said Park. “We’re very much a mom-and-pop operation, and we put lots of love into the food. We hope the Las Vegas market will enjoy what we bring to the table.”
