Yonsei Handrolls, the highly-anticipated fourth restaurant from Oakland chef and restaurateur Kyle Itani, opens in Oakland’s Uptown district this week.
Itani, the brains behind Hopscotch, Itani Ramen and Nikkei Sushi, will open the doors at 1738 Telegraph Ave., across from the Fox Theater, on Wednesday. Like the buzzy Handroll Project in San Francisco, Yonsei will focus on open-faced Japanese temaki, or sushi hand rolls. Dinner service is reservation-only to start, 5 to 9:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday, but walk-ins will be welcomed soon.
As for the menu, “think top-notch fish and seasoned sushi rice, all wrapped in properly crisp nori. There will be sake, Japanese-inspired cocktails, plus a few surprises,” Itani said.
The menu offers two ways to roll: A set progression ($27.50-$52) of five chef-selected hand rolls, and 16 a la carte selections, including seared albacore and black garlic, spicy tuna and tempura crunch and salmon with sesame and lemon. Those range from $4.50 to $15.
In addition to hand rolls, Yonsei will offer a few starters, like hamachi carpaccio and a simple mizuna and daikon salad. There’ll be a yuzu olive oil cake for dessert, and a selection of Japanese-themed classic cocktails, sake and whiskies. Details: www.yonseihandrolls.com
Source: www.mercurynews.com