Trattoria Nakamura-Ya
Italian restaurant · The Asian District ·
Italian comfort food with Japanese twists like uni pasta
Italian comfort food with Japanese twists like uni pasta
"Trattoria Nakamura-Ya specializes in wafu pasta, a Japanese interpretation of Italian pastas. The menu spans dishes like spaghetti wafu miso carbonara with pancetta and a miso-yolk cream sauce, peak umami flavors that never veer into rote fusion territory. Helmed by chef Kengo Nakamura, diners can expect a simple, yet charming dining room with red and white-checked tablecloths." - Jennifer Smith
"Some of the best Japanese food in the city can be found inside Trattoria Nakamura-Ya. Here, chef Kengo Nakamura makes Tokyo-style wafu pasta. Before coming to the U.S., Nakamura cooked in Italian restaurants in Tokyo, making the style of spaghetti that originated in Japan during the American occupation of the country after World War II. Think Italian-Japanese preparations and ingredients like bruschetta topped with tuna and spicy cod roe, linguine swirled in a sauce of creamy tomato and briny uni, and spaghetti prepared with yolk-cream sauce and pancetta as well as salty seaweed, sweet clams, and aromatic Japanese basil. Know before you go: There is nowhere near enough parking at the plaza where Trattoria Nakamura-Ya is located. If driving, allow an extra 10 minutes to scope out a spot." - Janna Karel
"Some of the best Japanese food in the city can be found inside Trattoria Nakamura-Ya. Here, chef Kengo Nakamura makes Tokyo-style wafu pasta. Before coming to the U.S., Nakamura cooked in Italian restaurants in Tokyo, making the style of spaghetti that originated in Japan during the American occupation of Japan post-WWII. Think Italian-Japanese preparations and ingredients like bruschetta topped with tuna and spicy cod roe, linguine swirled in a sauce of creamy tomato and briny uni, and spaghetti prepared with yolk-cream sauce and pancetta as well as salty seaweed, sweet clams, and aromatic Japanese basil." - Janna Karel
"This Chinatown restaurant combines the flavors of Japanese food with the techniques of Italian cooking. In no dish is that approach more impressive than with linguine in uni tomato cream sauce. Spring for the $20 caviar add-on and receive a bowl of pasta that is creamy, a bit tangy, delightfully briny, and impossibly buttery. You also can’t go wrong with the umami-rich miso carbonara." - Janna Karel
"At red and white checked tablecloths, diners at this Japanese and Italian mash-up tuck into octopus carpaccio with wasabi mayo, spaghetti miso carbonara, and soy milk panna cotta. The fusion cafe’s signature dish is “linguini uni tomato cream” with the option to add scallops flown in from Hokkaido." - Janna Karel