Since Chef Nikko Cagalanan and his wife Paula Kramer opened Kultura in 2023, the downtown restaurant has become a patron and media favorite. And on Oct. 24, more people will be able to experience the food and traditions of Cagalanan’s Filipino heritage when the restaurant moves into a larger downtown space at 267 Rutledge Ave. It will also have an expanded menu and full bar.
Cagalanan was born and raised in the Philippines before immigrating to the United States in 2011 to pursue a career in nursing. He quickly realized he could not find the Filipino cuisine of his youth. This longing led him to transition to professional cooking in 2014, first in Boston, then in Myrtle Beach and finally in Charleston.
In 2018, he started Mansueta’s Filipino Foods, a roving pop-up. Four years later, Mansueta’s was named Best Filipino Food in South Carolina by Food & Wine magazine.
After the success of the pop-ups, he partnered with Kramer to open the Spring Street location in 2023. It became one of Eater’s “Best New Restaurants in America” in 2024. That same year, Cagalanan was a finalist in the Emerging Chef category for the James Beard Foundation Awards.
Filipino cuisine in the Lowcountry
One of the most remarkable things about the original Kultura location is what the team was able to do with a bare-bones kitchen. The Spring Street space did not have a hood or a fryer, which limited the food that the kitchen could prepare.
But the food they have been turning out is world-class. Think small plates like arroz caldo, a rice porridge topped with smoked trout roe, xo sauce, chili crisp, soft egg and fried garlic. Large plates include a fish in a rich red curry with shaved carrot salad, fresh herbs and rice. These three dishes will remain on the menu at the new space, with the protein changing seasonally.
With the new kitchen and its extra equipment, Kultura can offer an expanded menu and more space to experiment. Half the menu will be constant; the rest will change with the seasons.
Lumpia (spring rolls) will now be on the menu as will pancit (a noodle-based dish). There will also be Valenciana, a Filipino paella with pork shanks, shrimp, seared scallops and grilled sweet peppers. Afritada, a chicken stew made with tomato, roasted potato, carrots and peas, will be served under a giant puff pastry topper — a “Filipino Marie Callender.”
“I think the coolest thing and the hardest thing about cooking Filipino food is that it often gets labeled as fusion food,” Kramer said. “The Philippines were colonized by Spain, Japan, the U.S. and there is the native Southeast Asian cuisine. It often gets mislabeled as fusion, and it’s not.
“That’s inherently what Filipino food is. People will see a lot of familiarity. The Filipino-ness might be foreign to some people, but they will see so many echoes of Japanese food and Spanish cuisine as well.”
Cagalanan added: “For a Filipino who was born and raised in the Philippines, it’s going to look and taste familiar. We’ll now be able to make dishes exactly the way we want to make them. We’ll have sisig, Anthony Bourdain’s favorite Filipino dish. There are no shortcuts. There’s no fancy way to make it. It’s just the traditional way of making it.”
A new era for cocktails
The new location also will have a full liquor license which will allow bar director Jessica Ford to take the cocktail program to another level.
“I’m taking cues from Nikko’s menu to be in harmony with the food and amplify it. The flavor profiles you’re going to see with the drinks are what I would call more savory.”
The Yellow Card, for example, is currently on the menu at Kultura. It’s a sake sour made with sake, yellow bell pepper, lime, honey and muddled grapefruit. The new version is a tequila-based drink with a kalamansi (lime) sour mix. Another cocktail highlight is a Pandan (a leafy green) daiquiri, the Get Lucky, that is rum based with a Pandan syrup, lime juice and saline solution.
The new space and beyond
With Cagalanan and Kramer visiting the Philippines in March 2026, expect to see new interior pieces and menu inspiration once they return. And in the interim, look for the same robust, traditional Filipino flavors in the new space Thursdays through Mondays.
“Our goal, especially being in a bigger space, is to make it approachable. You can come in, have some snacks — you can try it out and see what you think. Come and have a bite and cocktails early in the evening or a nightcap. I think people, once they have Nikko’s food, are pretty sold.”
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