Acclaimed Thai Japanese kaiseki restaurant Kinkan will end its five-year run in Virgil Village at the end of this month. After the closure, chef Nan Yimcharoen will take her restaurant on the road with pop-ups in Kyoto in April and May while working on the next iteration of Kinkan, which is set to open at West Los Angeles development West Edge.
Kinkan was born as a home-based restaurant during the pandemic before moving into its commercial Virgil Village digs in 2021. During the daytime, Yimcharoen serves jewel boxes of fish and ikura-topped rice, plus curry croquettes and baked crab hand rolls. Evening brings a kaiseki menu that changes with the seasons. On certain nights, Kinkan serves an entire crab-based menu that may include crab curry, snow crab with linguine, and a whole dungeness crab with Hokkaido rice.
Kinkan’s West Edge location will feature an intimate 15 person counter where Yimcharoen will serve a Thai-inspired kaiseki-style menu. Next door, find Kinkan Market, which will stock home goods, sauces, and Thai and Japanese takeout.
A KPop Demon Hunter at Park’s BBQ
Fresh off a big night at the Academy Awards, Ejae, who provided the singing voice for Rumi in KPop Demon Hunters, was spotted at Koreatown’s iconic Park’s BBQ. Earlier in the week, KPop Demon Hunters won Best Animated Feature and Best Original Song at the Academy Awards.
Crudo e Nudo celebrates its fifth anniversary
Throughout April, Santa Monica’s Crudo e Nudo will host collaborative chef and wine dinners to celebrate its fifth anniversary. Little Fish’s Anna Sonenshein and Niki Vahle will team up with Mazette’s Zach Peterson for one night, while Betsy’s Tyler Wells has plans to collaborate with winery Jolie-Laide’s Scott Schultz on another. Reservations are available on Resy.
Former Top Chef contestant Sheldon Simeon (Tin Roof, Tiffany’s Maui) will join chef Johnny Lee at Rasarumah for a collaborative dinner on April 16 to celebrate the release of Simeon’s new cookbook, Ohana Style. The $95 menu includes a signed copy of the cookbook and a family-style menu with Hawaiian-influenced takes on Rasarumah dishes. Reservations are available on Resy.