Things are once again moving forward for chef Ravi Kapur’s upcoming restaurant project in the TenderNob with partners Jeff Hanak and Allyson Jossel of Nopa/Nopalito—permits have been secured, construction has started (yay), and now it’s time to share a few updates. First off, the team has decided to name the project LIHOLIHO YACHT CLUB after all. (Liholiho has been the name of Kapur’s pop-up around town after he left Prospect a couple years back.) It’s a fun and personal name, connecting him to the name of his uncle’s pop-up in Maui 30 years ago. Kapur says the name helps reference the Hawaiian elements in his cooking style—it’s a nod to his heritage and the lens he now uses to view food and handle ingredients. I’m happy that the cuisine style will be following the path of what we were tasting at Kapur’s Liholiho pop-ups—I thought the food was so exciting, flavorful, and uniquely his, and of course his ingredient sourcing is tops.
Another big piece of news I’ve been holding under my hat is that Kevin Diedrich has been brought on as bar director. Not only is Diedrich a wicked talented barman, but he also shares some ties to Hawaii—his wife is from there—so they all share a strong sentiment of ohana (“family”). Diedrich has wrapped up his involvement at Gaspar Brasserie, and is working some shifts around town in the meantime (you can find him at The European and ABV).
For now, the new target for the opening is late fall/early winter. I had a chance to tour the raw space in the beginning of the year, and it’s a spacious one, with two levels (the bar will be downstairs). The architect is Brett Terpeluk (Farina), and I can’t wait for more details to be released about how the style of the space—it’s assuredly going to be a looker (love the brick walls and skylights). 871 Sutter St. at Leavenworth.
In the meantime, Kapur is going to be cooking a new pop-up series on Thursday evenings in August at BLOODHOUND. This pop-up is called Paniolo Social, and will feature fun, casual, Hawaiian-inspired drinking food: think spicy noodles, yakitori, poke bowls, seasonal sashimi, and aloha dogs. To be clear, these aren’t test dishes for the upcoming restaurant, just Kapur and Bloodhound having some fun. Come by on Thursdays in August, starting at 4pm until they’re sold out (the first one is Thursday August 7th). 1145 Folsom St. at 7th.
You can keep up with updates and more from Liholiho Yacht Club on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
A look into the back half of the upstairs area (pre-construction). Photo: © tablehopper.com.
