Seattle ‘Prime Chef’ contender Shota Nakajima to reopen Taku with new Japanese fried hen menu

After an “emotional roller coaster ride” one year in which both restaurants were closed, Seattle chef and current Top Chef: Portland contender Shota Nakajima is officially bringing back his beloved Capitol Hill restaurant, Taku.

The street food restaurant in Osaka closed in March 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and briefly reopened with a take-out model before closing again indefinitely. Now the wooden shutters are finally opening as the restaurant prepares to reopen on May 5th.

The newly opened space right in the heart of Capitol Hill has a menu that focuses on Japanese twice-fried chicken known as Karaage. For Nakajima, the menu is a return to the comfort food of his youth in Japan.

“When I was growing up, my favorite food was chicken karaage and my mother’s rice,” Nakajima said in a press release. “The nostalgia and comfort I feel for this homemade dish inspired me to put it at the center of Taku’s new menu. Cant wait to convey the simplicity of Japanese fried chicken to Seattleites.”

In addition to buckets of marinated, whipped, and twice-fried chicken nuggets and wings, the restaurant serves Karaage rice bowls and burgers, as well as Japanese-inspired side dishes such as furikake fries, coleslaw, edamame, miso soup and macaroni salad.

“I’ve kept the menu simple, with two chicken options and a variety of wet or dry condiments, with teriyaki being my favorite,” said Nakajima. “The side dishes are what you find all over izakayas in Japan, and coleslaw is highly recommended with karaage as it helps break down the fat.”

Take-away cocktails and changing flavors from Jell-O-Shots are also on the menu, as Washington lawmakers recently updated the state’s alcohol laws to allow takeaway liquor to continue.

The room itself exudes the Osaka street vibe with bright neon street signs and lots of eclectic decorations like Japanese lanterns, manhole covers, anime posters, Japanese pop culture stickers, and even a giant Godzilla head.

The room will initially open as a takeaway window, but Nakajima says he plans to reopen for dinner once his team is fully vaccinated and can serve comfortably indoors again.

But Seattle fans don’t have to wait until May to resolve their Taku issues: Nakajima and chef Byron Gomez are holding a special takeaway popup on April 23 to give fans a taste of the show. Until then, gourmets can catch Nakajima on Thursdays at 8pm on Bravo at “Top Chef: Portland”.