Sneak Peek: Muku 無垢
All photos by Nobuyuki Narita
The folks who own L’Abeille and L’Abeille à Côté, its more casual sister restaurant next door on Greenwich and Laight, are poised to open a new concept in place of Sushi Ichimura also next door: Muku will be a traditional Japanese multi-course-style restaurant helmed by chef Manabu Asanuma, who was born and raised in Yamagata Prefecture and began his career studying nihonryori (Japanese cuisine) at culinary school in Miyagi.
The restaurant will open on September 10. Reservations are available and are prepaid for a $295 tasting menu, which will cover the five classical techniques of Japanese cooking: raw (nama), grilled (yaki), simmered (ni), steamed (mushi), and fried (age).
All photos by Nobuyuki Narita
Like its predecessor, Muku — which means purity — will have 10 seats and the same interior design, including a six-panel screen from the owner’s collection. L’Abeille and its parent company, Kuma Hospitality Group, were co-founded by Tribecan Rahul Saito.
The chef built his career in Tokyo and Taiwan and then moved to New York, where he worked at the Ucho, Odo, and Sushi Ichimura. His dishes will include sakizuke (hairy crab, tomato, caviar, tosazu jelly and shiso flower) gohan (unagi, maitake, chicken soboro, chives, and pickles) and soba noodles crafted with buckwheat from Asanuma’s family farm in Japan.
Muku
412 Greenwich | Laight & Hubert
212.542.3896
info@restaurantmuku.nyc
Tuesdays through Saturdays, 5:30p & 8:30p
