Courtesy of: wikipedia.org
Picture a sushi bar, placed in the quaint cobblestone streets of Tribeca with intricate wood designs. How could you not be drawn to a restaurant like this?
Courtesy of: wikipedia.org
Tatsuya Sekiguchi, a chef at Sushi Yasuda for nearly 10 years, has decided to open a sushi restaurant called “Sushi Tatsu,” with his partner, Jean Dupuy, on 175 Franklin Street in Tribeca.
Sekiguchi comes from a long line of “sushi makers.” His father and grandfather were both sushi chefs as well, so it is important to him that he carries on the tradition in his family.
“This is my dream. This is my passion. I want you to feel like you are in Japan,” Sekiguchi states in a CB1 meeting, according to DNA info.com
The restaurant will be very upscale, featuring omakase- a sushi dinner that is exclusively picked by the chef. The chef’s vision is to emulate a more traditional style that is very intimate and common for high end sushi restaurants. The layout will consist of 30 seats, and a downstairs whiskey bar which can hold up to 20 people. Although the food will be slightly expensive, 155$ for omakase and 80$ for a sushi combination plate- the price will be well worth it! (Don’t worry there will also be some sushi pieces for market value as well.)
Sekiguchi fought for the right to have his restaurant feature a bar through a liquor license application, which is posted in the Tribeca Citizen. The basement will have a high end whiskey bar which will allow customers to be immersed even more in the Japanese culture.
“We would like to establish a high-end Japanese whiskey bar and tasting room below the restaurant. Japanese whiskies have consistently won awards, including top honors in international competitions and have become more than just a trend but really a reference in the whiskey world,” says Sekiguchi as stated in his liquor license application.
During the CB1 meeting, Yasuda stated, “I want you to feel like you are at home.” It is very important to him that his customers have a satisfying experience. In fact, he will even have custom made wood chopsticks with your initials on it so that he can get to know you better as not only a customer, but as a person.
The architecture of his restaurant will be a one- of-a-kind design created by Shigeru Ban who won the Pritzer Architecture prize in 2014. It will follow a traditional design which will feature wood as its main component. Although Shigeru has only designed one other restaurant before, he has a lot of experience in other kinds of restaurant related projects.
“It is a wonderful opportunity and an honor to work with him,” continues Sekiguchi in his application.
Sekiguchi wouldn’t want any other area than Tribeca to have his restaurant in. He states, “When we visited 175 Franklin we immediately felt this was going to be Sushi Tatsu’s home; not only the neighborhood is fantastic, but the cobblestone street itself is very beautiful.”
Sekiguchi has very high hopes for the restaurant.
“We think Sushi Tatsu will set the mark of what a sushi restaurant should be, and that it will be beneficial to the neighborhood by hopefully becoming the best Japanese restaurant in the city, as well as being an architectural landmark.”
The restaurant is set to open early next year.
-by Samantha Rice
