RakiRaki Ramen Opening New Yakitori Shop in Kearny Mesa

As he preps to launch Pokirrito, his new sushi burrito and poke concept adjacent to RakiRaki Ramen & Tsukemen, RakiRaki owner and executive chef Junya Watanabe is planning to occupy even more space in the Convoy Street plaza that also houses his Angels & Hearts Harajuku Creperie.

Next to the creperie, in the storefront where Bao's Awesome Burgers & Sandwiches shuttered last month, Watanabe will debut the eponymous J/Wata, a yakitori-based eatery that is due in August. This new project is in lieu of the noodle shop that the chef was to open across the street, which is on hold for now.

J/Wata's format and menu are still developing, but Watanabe tells Eater that the yakitori will be cooked up in an open kitchen over clean-burning binchotan charcoal; in addition to the traditional skewers of chicken, the eatery will also specialize in gyutan, or grilled beef tongue. For lunch, J/Wata will feature soboro, a Japanese donburi dish of meat-topped rice.