Chef brothers Ray & Jun Agishi have worked at San Diego's NOBU for most of the last decade. Jun even worked directly with Nobuyuki "Nobu" Matsuhisa himself at his restaurant Matsuhisa in Beverly Hills. This dynamic duo has broken off on their own to convert the coveted space adjacent to Crystal Pier, formerly occupied by Kafe Yen, into Pacific Beach's first Japanese izakaya. Welcome Izakaya Pacific Beach.
"The menu at Izakaya PB will be a collection of the best of all Japanese food as well as modern offerings," explained co-owner Ray Agishi. "We will have a variety of traditional izakaya menu items as well as weekly tapas, seasonal dishes, ramen and other Japanese noodles like udon and soba, rice dishes, quality sashimi and sushi and home-style dishes like curry rice."
In addition to a food menu of traditional Japanese favorites, Izakaya Pacific Beach will also serve Asahi beer on draught exclusively from Japan, not that Canadian stuff. There will also be a small selection of local crafts and domestic brews, as well as a collection of cold sake, shochyu cocktails and wine.
"We are the first izakaya to open in Pacific Beach!" said Agishi. "There are many sushi bars in town but no izakaya-style restaurants or places that serve ramen in PB, and we are also both very passionate chefs who love what we do and do what we love."
Izakaya Pacific Beach is located at 4516 Mission Blvd., Suite #E, but the entrance is on Garnet Avenue near the Crystal Pier entrance. We'll let you know when the eatery opens, which seems to be within the coming weeks. Until then, for more information, visit izakayapb.com and follow on Facebook & Twitter.
