CHARLESTON — In a city filled with restaurants representing nearly every culinary genre, it’s rare for one to open that’s entirely distinct from the rest.
The offering at a now open downtown sushi spot, though, diverges from just about every other seafood-centric establishment in Charleston.
Kyn serves hand rolls, sashimi, crudos and more at 61 Cannon St. The restaurant is part of a wave of new and forthcoming dining establishments flocking to the residential street, including Annie Mae’s Bakeshop, Alteño, The Co-Op, Southbound and Sorghum & Salt.
Kyn, for its part, hopes to capitalize on Charleston’s increasing appetite for raw fish. Tae Woo Lee and Peter Marcus are behind the new restaurant, which occupies a brick building that once housed a YMCA established in 1866.
A series of small plates including the Matcha Me Matcha You cocktail at Kyn, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026, in Charleston.
Henry Taylor/Staff
Enter today to find a buzzy expanse, with the host stand set to the right. Beyond the pair greeting diners and taking them to their seats is a curved sushi bar, where guests watch as fish and rice are rolled into sheets of crisp nori to make the restaurant’s signature hand rolls, each of which is gluten-free. Their backs are turned to the rest of the dining room, which features a marble standing bar, a second sushi bar and a handful of tables bordered by cushioned banquettes.
Across the room, diners start their meal with one of multiple intriguing cocktails, from the frozen lychee martini to the refreshingly smoky “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!” made with tequila and mezcal. They can be enjoyed alongside Kyn’s range of rotating hand rolls, such as salmon with garlic chili crunch or yellowtail with pickled daikon, sesame seeds and chojang, a tangy dipping sauce that nods to Lee’s Korean heritage.
Beyond the hand rolls, Kyn serves a pair of snappy salads, wagyu short rib ssam and other bold bites inspired by travel.
Explore the fusion of Japanese and Peruvian cuisine through the hamachi crudo, a colorful plate of silky, delicate Japanese amberjack accompanied by ponzu infused with three types of citrus and soaked in kombu and shiitake mushrooms for a more luxurious mouthfeel. Depending on the night, garnishes include grapefruit or orange segments, beet leaves, Thai basil and perilla, shiso’s less minty cousin that Lee and Marcus grow outside the restaurant.
Fresh fish that once swam in regions across the world take various forms at Kyn. Among the most intriguing items on the opening menu is the bluefin tuna cannolis, miniature savory surprises featuring fish shuffled into a tubular wonton shell fried to an airy crisp. Scallions cap one end, while the other is sprinkled with sesame seeds, imparting a nice nutty touch.
The Tuna Fight Club is another popular dish. It features akami (lean), chutoro (medium fatty) and otoro (fattiest), allowing guests to pick out the differences between each. The sashimi-style fish arrives with an atomizer of aged soy sauce and fresh-grated wasabi blended with olive oil, mirin and a few other ingredients to make a bright sauce with a fast-fading heat.
“The whole menu is in celebration of the fish,” Lee said. “We’re the most untraditional sushi restaurant you’re going to find.”
Kyn is open from noon-4 p.m. and 5-10 p.m. daily. For more information, visit kynchs.com.
Dining and Cooking