Jan. 07--Naoki Sushi, a 50-seat contemporary and classic Japanese restaurant, will open Jan. 20 in a private dining room attached to Intro (2300 N. Lincoln Park West).
To get to Naoki, guests will walk through Intro's kitchen. "We'll take them right through," said managing partner Sue Kim. "It'll be very cool."
The name refers to Lettuce Entertain You Enterprise's sushi chef, Naoki Nakashima, who oversees the sushi and sashimi programs at Shaw's Crab House (Chicago and Schaumburg) and Tokio Pub in Schaumburg. The new restaurant will have a sushi and sashimi menu in addition to composed main plates.
"(The concept) came out of what Intro afforded," said managing partner Sue Kim. "It's very much a part of the whole Intro project; (current Intro chef) Stephen Gillanders is involved. It's an opportunity to showcase more talent in this culinary lab we've created."
Alert readers will remember that the Naoki space was once intended for Nishiguchi, a concept that would feature Juno founders Jason Chan and B.K. Park before that relationship dissolved. (Park is still running Juno; Chan is part of Lettuce.)
"As that (relationship) changed, Rich (Melman, Lettuce founder) and the partners felt strongly about still doing (the project), doing something very cool," Kim said.
Naoki Sushi will be open for dinner Wednesday-Sunday; reservations will be available by phone and via opentable.com, and walk-ins are encouraged. Carryout and delivery service will be added at a later date. Guests will check in at the Intro entrance; both restaurants will share the same phone number.
Naoki Sushi, 2300 N. Lincoln Park West, 773-868-0002.
Phil Vettel is a Tribune critic.
pvettel@tribpub.com
Twitter @philvettel
