One of SoHo’s finest sushi chefs is getting ready to expand his reach with a brand new local dessert bar.
Chef Hirohisa Hayashi has spent his entire life entrenched in the culinary tradition of his ancestors. Beginning over a hundred years ago in Echizen, Japan, Chef Hayashi’s great, great grandfather inaugurated a long line of culinary masters that has remained unbroken across the generations. As the inheritor of that tradition, Chef Hayashi has dedicated his life to preserving and sharing the ceremony and seasonality of kappo, kaiseki cuisine.
A Japanese native and New York admirer, Chef Hayashi launched his eponymous restaurant Hirohisa in 2013 to great acclaim. Opening up a kappo-style restaurant in the heart of SoHo, the Michelin-starred chef showcases his various cooking techniques as a demonstration of kaiseki cuisine and philosophy: a seasonal, multi-course approach with the goal of bringing the guest a unique, intimate experience. As a certified Sake Sommelier, Chef Hayashi has also won numerous awards for his Plum Sake, developed exclusively for diners at Hirohisa.
Now, the celebrated chef is preparing to debut a brand new concept in SoHo to compliment his impressive portfolio. The new restaurant, which has yet to be officially named, is envisioned as an “establishment featuring a Japanese dessert menu,” and is set to open up at 61 Vandam Street, between Hudson Street and Varick Street.
Chef Hayahsi’s new dessert bar will be opening in a brand new, never-before occupied building and will offer a total 550 square feet of space. Envisioned as an intimate and personalized experience just like Hirohisa, the restaurant is expected to only seat 8 guests at one time, inviting patrons to develop a personal relationship with the chef and enjoy rare treats that can’t be found elsewhere. Of course, the award-winning sake sommelier will also be acquiring a new liquor license for his new concept, and is currently getting ready to meet with the community board to move forward with the process. He is currently proposing operating hours of 7:00 AM – 2:00 AM every day, seven days a week. While the restaurant is still too early into development to have its own online presence at this point, you can visit Hirohisa to get to know Chef Hayashi and learn more about his passion for service.
