Naka, at the top of the Pike-Pine corridor, has transformed the space occupied by Le Zinc into a full-fledged Japanese kaiseki restaurant. The face of Naka is Jason Lock, one of Seattle's best known hosts (Bell & Whete, Miller's Guild, Wild Ginger, El Gaucho). "Simple but complex" is how Lock describes the traditional kaiseki experience. The chef and co-owner is Shota Nakajima, formerly at Sushi Kappo Tamura. Lock himself is running the wine list, and the bar program is in the hands of Nik Virrey, who developed quite a following as lead bartender at Liberty, a couple of blocks north along 15th. Keep that name in mind.
Now, the full-on kaiseki menu runs $170 per person and requires a week's notice. Even a five-dish, chef's choice tasting menu goes for $75. But in the late afternoon, there's a happy hour that offers a very tasty seafood tartare for $11. Right now, it's made with three fish (kampachi, bluefin, madai) dressed with yuzu aioli.
The drinks at Naka show an exceptionally sure touch. The Vieux Carré, to name just one, is a beautifully smooth blend of cognac, rye, sweet vermouth, and bitters. The menu calls it "lush and assertive," perhaps the first time that menu-speak has been completely accurate.
Virrey himself wasn't on duty when I dropped in at Naka; he was downtown, at the Hotel 1000, representing Naka in a Bombay Sapphire competition for "Most Imaginative Bartender." What was he concocting? A cocktail called Naka Niwa (which translates as "Garden Inside"): gin, for starters, then tomato water, matcha powder, pepper, alder-smoked salt, and Scrappy's Bitters.
Lo and behold, Virrey's cocktail took first place, and he now goes on to the national finals in Las Vegas in a few weeks' time.
Two other bits of trivia regarding Nik. One is that he's got a beverage consulting business, Matte & Gloss, that's going gangbusters. The second is that (despite the booze, despite the matcha) he's a coffee guy at heart. Coffee knowledge, he thinks, is advancing faster than any other field. As he told Barista magazine last year, "Professional growth is sexy and it keeps you on your toes!" We could add that the French word viré has a Donald Trump-like meaning: "You're fired." No worries, Nik, your job looks safe.
FWIW, Nike's partner at Matte & Gloss thinks it's unfair to mention the French meaning of the name, Virrey. "It's a Spanish word that means Viceroy," Brandon Weaver complained. Noted, Your Majesty.
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