The last time I wrote about restaurateur/chefs Hiro Tagai and Felipe Oliveira, it was when reviewing their wonderful little Marmalade neighborhood restaurant, Koyote, which happens to serve up some of the best ramen I’ve had in SLC, along with other Asian delights such as Chashu-don and Mapo Tofu. 

Last spring, the dynamic duo opened a second restaurant called Junah, in SLC’s Central 9th neighborhood, which features “itameshi” – a fusion of Italian and Japanese cuisines. In Japanese, itameshi literally translates as “Italy” and “food.” Of course, fusion cooking makes sense where Tagai and Oliveira are concerned, since anything they collaborate on is bound to be a fusion of their backgrounds. Oliveira – originally from Brazil – cooked here in Italian eateries including working with Valter Nassi as Executive Chef at Valter’s Osteria, as well as at Per Noi Trattoria. Meanwhile, Chef Tagai was born in Takasaki, Japan and raised in Utah. Both Oliveira and Tagai worked with the Sapa Restaurant Group – where they met – prior to teaming up to open Koyote. 

The Junah space is small but doesn’t feel crowded even when full. It’s a restaurant where form and function meld beautifully – there’s no wasted space and has a simple but beautiful Asian vibe although the decor doesn’t feature tatami mats, Japanese shoji paper screens and such. I was especially surprised that I could hear my wife speak, sitting across from me at our table, even though there were couples seated a mere three feet or so on either side of us and the bustling restaurant was full early on a Saturday evening. Beats me why it wasn’t more noisy.

Bread & Butter

As we perused the unique menu at Junah, our excellent server, Louise, brought out a complimentary plate of sourdough bread baked in house – nicely grilled and served with quenelle-shaped compound butters including truffle butter and olive butter the night we visited. Fewer and fewer restaurants offer gratis bread and butter or olive oil to nosh on before and during dinner, and so it’s an especially nice touch that Junah does. 

Buffalo Burrata Arancini

Glancing at the Junah menu, the itameshi concept is quite obvious in a dish such as Tagliata de Bosco ($44). In Italy, Tagliata di Bosco is typically sliced beef steak with mushrooms. At Junah it’s grilled, sliced steak with Japanese mushrooms,  truffle sauce, koji, horseradish taro, broccolini and chimichurri, blending flavors from Japan and Italy with South America (chimichurri) thrown in. Or consider the Buffalo Burrata Arancini ($12), which is an Italian-style arborio rice ball made with fresh buffalo burrata, but shaped like Japanese onigiri (a triangular dome) and enhanced with ponzu ikura (Japanese citrus-soy sauce and salmon roe) and a dark nori cream sauce. Itameshi, indeed. 

Tartare di Manzo

The Junah menu is written primarily in Italian, with starters and salads called “Insalata and Antipasti”, pasta and rice dishes are “Primi”, and main course entrees are listed as Secondi. A starter like the Gyoza Shaped Ravioli ($11) only nods slightly towards the east insofar as the ravioli is shaped like a gyoza dumpling. Aside from that it’s thoroughly Italian: house-made ravioli with browned butter demi-glace and parmesan cream. Likewise, I couldn’t detect much in the way of a Japanese influence in the beef tartare: Tartare di Manzo ($18). This is raw, minced beef tenderloin atop four perfect potato pavé pieces topped with minced chives, Parmigiano-Reggiano foam, and with an extra virgin olive oil emulsion. There might not be much Asian influence there, if any, but this was a helluva dish – one of the very best interpretations of beef tartare I’ve ever encountered. 

Aurora Crudo

Another outstanding starter to share is Aurora Crudo ($19). This is raw, thin slices of sweet, buttery tasting shima aji (aka striped jack or white trevally) in a lovely Champagne vinaigrette with Mandarin orange, watermelon radish, fennel and microgreens. A starter I’d love to try on our next visit is Carpaccio di Bue ($17), an appetizer of thin-sliced raw beef that in Italy is traditionally served with garnishes like shaved Parmigiano-Reggiano and arugula. At Junah, Carpaccio di Bue is beef with acidic citronette, Parmesan foam, pickled mustard and fennel. 

Junah doesn’t have a bar scene per se – no craft cocktails, for example – but there is a small bar counter with a handful of seats where customers can sit and watch the action in the open kitchen. The beverage selection is small, but adequate, with imported beers from Japan, Brazil, France and Italy, sake, soft drinks, and a limited, but nicely chosen selection of wines (about 15). During our dinner we enjoyed sipping Terre Dei Roveri Gavi di Gavi from Cortese, Italy ($17/glass; $75/bottle). 

Gnocchi alla Aragosta 

The pasta dish that I ordered as an entree – Gnocchi alla Aragosta ($31) is an example of a “Primi” that isn’t very itameshi or fusion-esque at all, but pretty straightforward Italian. Break through the dome-shaped mesh parmesan crust that covers the dish and you’ll find chunks of cold water lobster with light and airy homemade gnocchi in a lobster bisque with a hint of lemon. The gnocchi dish was tasty, but not an example of Japanese-Italian fusion cuisine. Some friends of mine have mentioned being disappointed in Junah insofar as the menu leans much more heavily towards Europe than Asia. My wife and I felt that way as well – that Junah skews far more to Italy than to Japan. For something more itameshi, turn to a dish like Tagliolino al Mentaiko ($23), which is thin, homemade ribbon-like pasta with briny mentaiko sauce (made with seasoned pollack roe), sun-dried tomatoes and shiso.  

Pulpo alla Siciliana

When we dined at Junah, my wife absolutely loved her entree which was a special of the evening: Pulpo alla Siciliana ($42). This was a stunning dish of tender grilled octopus served over a bed of silky garlic-potato foam, layered with Castelvetrano and Kalamata olives, capers, a touch of anchovy, and fresh pomodoro sauce – all finished with a fried shiso leaf and a duo of golden potato pavé. It’s an outstanding dish that deserves to find its way onto the regular Junah menu. 

While not all of the menu items at Junah live up to the restaurant’s itameshi concept, the cuisine – fusion and otherwise – is very good, the atmosphere is lovely, and the service is second to none. I eagerly await Messrs. Tagai’s and Oliveira’s next move.  

Photos by Ted Scheffler & Courtesy of Junah

Culinary quote of the week: “Fusion food as a concept is kind of trying to quite consciously fuse things that are sometimes quite contradictory, sometimes quite far apart, to see if they’d work.” – Yotam Ottolenghi