Where to eat when you want Italian and Japanese
Eggplant katsu & fried pizzette with burrata in Nolita
Oct
05
2021
Kimika brings Japanese and Italian cuisine together under one roof.
If you haven’t been to Kimika inside The Nolitan boutique hotel, it’s time to book your table. However, maybe you’ve been to one of its sister restaurants. There’s Wayla, a Thai restaurant on the Lower East Side. Little Wayla, Wayla’s lunch offshoot highlighting homestyle Thai. And Lotus and Cleaver, serving Cantonese-style BBQ in Long Island City.
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At Kimika, Chef Christine Lau leads an all-female kitchen. Their focus is Itameshi, which means Italian food in Japanese. But Italian food is just the starting point. They also use Japanese and Italian ingredients that are seasonal.
As a result, the menu consists of Japanese-Italian-inspired pizzette fritte (fried pizza), pasta, and more.
We’d come here with our indecisive friends. Those that can’t pick between an Italian and Japanese restaurant. Here they will find the best of both worlds.
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WHAT YOU’RE GETTING
Kick off the meal with the tuna tartare. Made with ikura, scallions, cucumbers, crispy rice, spicy mayo, and nori. As far as fried pizza goes, get the mortadella. Packed with di palo’s stracciatella, pistachios, and miso cotto. For a vegetarian variation, go for the burrata pizzette. Presented with di palo’s burrata and marinated tomatoes.
From the pasta section, order the crispy rice cake lasagna. Can you taste the sweet and savory Italian sausage? This dish is brought to life with spicy cabbage, scallions, and provolone. We love anything katsu. So the eggplant katsu with caponata is an obvious choice. Clarice Lam is the name behind the desserts. And you’re going to want to leave room for the mochi bomboloncini with nutella, toasted sesame, and hazelnut.
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Oh and also, shout out to Kimika who will be at the New Yorker Festival. Those that scored tickets will snag Kimika’s rigatoni al forno. A miso bolognese pasta with edamame, and mozzarella. They will also be serving other savory and sweet Itameshi dishes for one night only.
For more information about Kimika click HERE.
Updated October 4th, 2021
