Japanese restaurant Aomori opened Monday at 52 Hanover St. (Photo by Hitched Willie)
Aomori, a Japanese restaurant from acclaimed Portland chef Masahiko Miyake and his family, opened Monday in West Bayside.
Located at 52 Hanover St. on the street level of The Armature apartment building, the 44-seat Aomori is a collaboration between Miyake, his son Reo Miyake, and Reo’s partner, Helen Carter. The restaurant’s name refers to a prefecture in the northeast of Japan where Miyake is from. The prefecture is also an official sister state of Maine, and has been linked with Maine since the late 19th century when a Bath-based boat crashed on its shores and survivors were cared for in Aomori.
The restaurant features casual, izakaya-style dining with a selection of shared plates, some sushi and sashimi, and “some very traditional Japanese foods you might not find in other Japanese restaurants,” Reo Miyake said. “There are some Japanese soul food dishes, home cooking that my dad, mom and I grew up eating.”
Miyake said menu standouts include whisky pork, a shio-koji marinated pork chop with soy-butter Japanese whisky reduction; a series of unusual chinmi dishes that are the chef’s spin on a seafood charcuterie board; and a six-course seasonal kaiseki menu for $65.
The bar program features 13 sakes, Japanese classic cocktails such as the Lemon Sour, and eight specialty cocktails like the hajikami martini, a dirty-style martini using brine from pickled baby ginger and Japanese gin or vodka. Aomori also offers a selection of wine and beer, including a collaboration draft beer with Cushnoc Brewing Co. called Hikari Pale Ale, flavored with Japanese bitter orange.
Aomori is open seven days: Sunday through Thursday from 5-10 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5-11:30 p.m., with a smaller menu offered from 10-11:30 p.m.
Miyake said he and Carter are also working toward opening Aomori Kitchen + Market in an adjacent space. That venue will feature grab-and-go Japanese hot and cold foods, a market section with Japanese specialty goods and trinkets, and house-baked pastries.
Aomori Kitchen + Market will be open seven days from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Miyake said they hope to open by Christmas.
Dining and Cooking