Top Chef Finalist Shota Nakajima's New Restaurant Is All About Teriyaki

Shota Nakajima went on "Top Chef" for a heartwarming reason — he "missed cooking with people." The chef had been working in restaurants for more than a decade and had already appeared on food television; some might remember watching him compete on Food Network's "Iron Chef Gauntlet" or defeat Bobby Flay's tempura dish on "Beat Bobby Flay," per Food & Wine. Before appearing on Season 18 of "Top Chef" last summer, however, he had been spending less time in the kitchen due to pandemic-related restaurant closures. While his Seattle-area Japanese restaurant, Adana, had been forced to close by the time the season aired, it managed to place Nakajima firmly on the culinary map (via Seattle Times). Short-listed as a semifinalist for the James Beard Foundation Awards three years in a row and included as a Zagat "30 Under 30" chef, Nakajima has earned many accolades.

Though he's currently busy running another eatery called Taku, Nakajima's food TV journey is far from over. Bravo reports that the "Top Chef" finalist will be returning for Season 19 of the show, which takes place in Houston this March, to mentor new contestants. But that's not all: He's opening his third restaurant that same month.

Nakajima's first restaurant, Adana, began as one of Seattle's only kaiseki restaurants serving prix fixe Japanese meals, Eater reports. His second, Taku, predominantly serves Japanese street food and bar snacks, like karaage, or Japanese-style fried chicken. His third eatery, meanwhile, will be called Banzai Teriyaki and be a destination for all things teriyaki in Cle Elum, Washington, about 90 miles outside of Seattle. Teriyaki is a style of Japanese cooking in which a food item is marinated in a sweet and savory soy glaze and grilled, per Britannica. 

Banzai Teriyaki, Nakajima told Bravo, is inspired by both deeply savory Japanese teriyaki and the sweeter, saucier teriyaki he grew up eating in Seattle at Toshi's Teriyaki Grill, credited to be Seattle's "original teriyaki" shop. Patrons can expect to taste the chef's "spin" on dishes such as duck spring rolls, Old Bay scallops, and gyoza and tempura — all served with Nakajima's house teriyaki sauce. The restaurant, which seats 38 inside and 90 on the rooftop, is gearing up to open at the end of March.