After opening on State Street’s 400 block in early January, Japanese bar and grill Izakaya Kuroyama has hit the ground running. The restaurant and bar has been packed almost every single day since opening Jan. 9, according to owner Hugo Leung.
Izakaya Kuroyama is Leung’s fourth restaurant — he owns three others in Chicago. Leung, who is originally from Hong Kong, left a career in banking to chase his passion for Japanese cuisine. Leung used to travel to Japan several times a year to study Japanese cuisine and learn from a Japanese chef. He hopes his restaurants bring a level of authenticity and creativity to Japanese food that is often lacking in the U.S., Leung said.
“My concept in Chicago is kind of new to people as well,” Leung said. “But to the young people, or whoever has been to Japan before, they know exactly this is how it is in Japan, that’s why they love it so much, that’s why they were happy that we have the same kind of place just like in Japan.”
Izakaya are a popular tavern-style restaurant in Japan, typically serving drinks along with small, inexpensive plates. Leung said he hopes Izakaya Kuroyama’s environment and menu make patrons feel as if they are dining at an authentic Japanese Izakaya. In this, Leung has succeeded, according to patron Madori Samson.
Samson, who was enjoying the night out with friends and family, had been to Izakaya Kuroyama twice already since its opening and said that it reminded her of an Izakaya she had been to in Japan.
“I think it’s a lot like an Izakaya would be in Japan,” Samson said.
Samson added that she and her party particularly enjoyed the wagyu, bacon-wrapped tomatoes and takoyaki.
Perhaps most striking about Izakaya Kuroyama is its aesthetic. Dozens of Japanese tavern lanterns glow brightly in the storefront, beckoning hungry passersby into a world away from State Street.
From the ceiling to the floor, Izakaya Kuroyama screams Japan. Ceiling-mounted Bangasa — traditional bamboo umbrellas — backlit by string lights throw a colorful glow on the patrons below. A collage of reprinted Japanese artworks covers the vermillion walls, and the booths have small superstructures with sloping roofs, reminiscent of iconic Japanese architecture.
Izakaya Kuroyama was designed and constructed entirely by Leung and employees from his Chicago restaurants, Leung said.
“We have to put a lot of work into the restaurant to make this happen because we don’t have anybody knowing in Madison local that they can do this artwork for us or the decoration for us,” Leung said. “So all these lanterns and all these umbrellas are built by us and all these walls and decorations, we decided we do it our own.”
Izakaya Kuroyama is designed with State Street in mind. On weekend nights, it stays open until 3 a.m., an hour past bar closure, welcoming in a rush of patrons looking to soak up a long night of drinking. Leung also hopes to appeal to Madison’s college crowd by subtly incorporating aspects of popular culinary anime shows into the experience.
Some of Izakaya Kuroyama’s wallpaper prints include popular anime characters, and Leung has gone so far as to include dorayaki ice cream inspired by the anime “Doraemon” on the menu.
“Now they can experience it,” Leung said. “Some of the dishes that they can only see in an anime show, like okonomiyaki and takoyaki and all that stuff, they can only see in the anime show, but now they can finally taste it.”
Leung has also incorporated karaoke from 9 p.m. till close on Friday and Saturday nights to further appeal to Madison’s younger population, he said.
For the average American, Izakaya Kuroyama’s menu might not be instantly recognizable as Japanese. Notably, patrons will not find sushi on the menu but can instead order from a range of items more common to Japan’s street food scene, Leung said.
By bringing over culinary traditions more representative of how many Japanese actually eat, Leung hopes that he will make Japanese international students feel more at home and help diversify the typical Japanese cuisines so common in the U.S.
“That’s what we focus on,” Leung said. “Street food, not sushi. When people mention about Japanese food, they all know about sushi, that’s it. But that’s not what it is.”
Patrons can order common Japanese street foods such as okonomiyaki (a savory pancake dish), taiyaki (fish-shaped cakes) and takoyaki (octopus balls) as well as izakaya staples, like karaage (fried chicken), edamame and gyoza (pot stickers). Patrons will also find a drink menu filled with classic Japanese beers, spirits and wines alongside an assortment of mixed drinks and American IPAs.
Izakaya Kuroyama is an ode to Japanese cuisine and culture, Leung said. Beyond just succeeding in his latest venture, Leung hopes that Izakaya Kuroyama will open patrons’ eyes to Japanese culture.
“That’s one of my whole points, you know, to let people know about the culture,” Leung said. “This Japanese culture is amazing.”