Last week, Revolutionary Eating Ventures (REV) announced a big change over at Izakaya Hiro. It was only this summer that the restaurant group (Taco Boy, Poe’s) partnered with Hideya Ishibashi to revamp Sushi Hiro, a fixture on King Street that seemed to be struggling in recent years to keep up with the changes happening in the local dining scene.
After an extensive renovation that modernized the interior of Sushi Hiro, Izakaya Hiro opened in June with Ishibashi continuing to craft a (limited) sushi menu and a back kitchen cooking up grilled dishes (yakitori) and bowls of noodles.
The reviews were positive, if limited. Indeed, our food critic, Eric Doksa, had a great experience.
Last week, REV announced that Ishibashi is retiring, which means no more sushi. Instead, they are retooling the menu to focus on the izakaya and ramen side of things. They’ll also unveil their long-promised private karaoke room.
From the press release: “REV is moving forward with a concept that has a more relaxed, exciting atmosphere and a full bar that is true to a traditional izakaya and undoubtedly true to REV.”
To that end, they’ve tapped their corporate chef Will Fincher, who will collaborate with Mae Jordan to create a new menu. Expect lots of noodle dishes and more interesting stuff from the yakitori grill.
One exciting development is validated parking and deals for those who cycle to the restaurant. They promise late-night food and drink deals to cater to the F&B crowd.
They’ve added TVs, which will air sumo wrestling and other random Japanese television shows.
To mark the change, they’re asking patrons to bring in an owl and get a free sake or beer with your meal. You can also add a Haiku to the poetry wall.
They are slated to reopen today at 11 a.m. and will be open daily from 11 a.m.-2 a.m.
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