Team behind n/naka open ekiben bento box restaurant
By Kerry Slater
The team behind a two-Michelin Starred restaurant in Palms have launched a venture on Washington Boulevard.
As reported by Food & Wine, the duo behind kaiseki restaurant n/naka at 3455 Overland Avenue, has opened a place called n/soto in West Adams. The restaurant opened on March 10 and is centered around the ekiben bento boxes that n/naka shifted to amid the pandemic.
To begin with, the restaurant will operate as to-go only but has plans for patio and indoor dining in the future.
Nakayama told Food & Wine that n/soto (4566 W Washington Blvd) is “what Japanese food looks like when it’s influenced by other cultures.”
n/naka is the venture of Niki Nakayama and her wife and sous chef, Carole Iida-Nakayama. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Nakayama started her career at the popular restaurant Takao before embarking on a three-year working tour throughout Japan, sampling her way through different regional flavors and immersing herself in the essentials of Japanese cuisine, both traditional and cutting-edge. It was in Japan that Nakayama learned about the art of kaiseki, which led to her opening one of Los Angeles’ most esteemed restaurants, n/naka. The eatery was named one of Food & Wine’s 30 best restaurants in the world, and is one of six Los Angeles restaurants to have received two Michelin stars in the 2019-2020 edition of the Michelin Guide.
