Shota Nakajima

ON RESTAURANT DESIGN AS AN ART FORM

I’ve always been into art, and designing my restaurant spaces is almost like having my own gallery. I wanted Taku (Nakajima’s divey-by-design bar serving karrage, Japanese fried chicken; 706 E Pike St; takuseattle.com) to feel like you’ve walked down a narrow alleyway bar in Japan where you can grab food and a drink before heading to another spot. In Japan we call it hashigo—ladder—eating: a bite of something, drinking one drink, and jumping to the next bar.

ON HIS LOCAL FOOD-AND-DRINK SHORT LIST

I feel like I’m back in Japan when I’m in [Seattle’s] Chinatown-International District— it’s very community-driven, and people know each other. I’ve gone to Uwajimaya (*600 Fifth Ave S; uwajimaya.com) once a week since I was a kid, when I would get free fortune cookies while shopping with my mom. I like the older spots like Kau Kau Restaurant (656 S King St; kaukaubbq.com), and Gan Bei (670 S Weller St; facebook.com/ganbeiseattle) and Itsumono (610 Jackson St; itsumonoseattle.wixsite.com/home) are my favorite places to take Dodger.

ON HOW HE SPENDS HIS DAYS OFF

I love to show off nature when people visit from out of town—Taylor Shellfish (*2182 Chuckanut Dr; taylorshellfishfarms.com) near Bellingham is a great spot, and Hama Hama Oysters (*35846 N US Hwy 101; hamahamaoysters.com) is an incredible place to watch the sunrise (I’m a morning person). Dodger and I also like to run around and forage for mushrooms along the Forest Service roads off of I-90, and hike at Tiger Mountain in Issaquah. If I had tomorrow off, I would probably drive up to Mount Rainier and car camp, and spend the next day exploring around the mountain.

ON GETTING THE CALL FROM TOP CHEF

I didn’t know if I was ready. But I slept on it and realized that being scared was probably a good sign. My mentor tells me that success often means being uncomfortable. So I decided it was time to get comfortable being uncomfortable.

*Visit Seattle Partner