Kumiko Izakaya

A menu focused on Onigiri, prepared in tons of different ways : grilled salmon, teriyaki meatballs, kimchi with pork or even eggplants with tofu

After joining forces successively with the chefs Philippe Emmanuelli at Crab Club, and Yannick Van Aeken at Humphrey’s, Fréderic Nicolay decides it’s time to give a new life to the Bravo, the bar attached to the Dansaert office center where homemade ice-teas are pouring 24/7. That’s when he meets David, who’s been wanting to invest himself 100% into the Japanese cuisine he loves and knows from his childhood spent in Japan. With his friend Tanguy Roberti, they’ve been working on the idea to launch a Japanese street-food concept, dedicated to Onigiri : small rice triangles eaten all throughout the day and available in every Izakaya and 7-Eleven of Tokyo. Covered in nori seaweed, the triangles are stuffed with fish roe, salted plums, tuna with mayo or spicy fermented cabbage.

David and Tanguy get Fréderic to try the little triangles, and he’s directly convinced. A few hundreds of onigiri later, the project is ready to launch. The three partners open the doors of Kumiko Izakaya in January 2017, with a menu focused on Onigiri, prepared in tons of different ways : grilled salmon, teriyaki meatballs, kimchi with pork or even eggplants with tofu. A few Japanese specialties are also available, like donburi, teriyaki skewers, gyozas and the famous frozen mochi. At lunch, the onigiri are at the center of attention, and served in two different menus (7€ for 1 or 9€ for 2), along with miso soup, gyozas and fried Kara Age chicken.
If the cocktails and afterwork parties are still in full swing at the izakaya, its food is definitely the main reason worth the trip.