Momi Nonmi Brings Sashimi and Sake to Cambridge This Week

A Japanese-inspired bar from a chef with years of sashimi experience in the Boston area debuts this week in Cambridge. Momi Nonmi officially opens on Tuesday, October 10 at 1128 Cambridge St., and it will serve a menu of sashimi, tempura, and even more dishes inspired by Hawaiian cuisine, along with an elaborate sake service.

The restaurant’s chef and owner, Chris Chung, previously worked at Ken Oringer’s Back Bay sashimi bar and ran the Japanese-French restaurant Aka Bistro in Lincoln. For this new project near Inman Square in Cambridge, Chung has partnered with his wife, Elaine Wong, and sommelier Stephen Connolly, who also previously worked at Uni. The team revealed the menu over the weekend, ahead of Tuesday’s official opening, as Boston Restaurant Talk noted.

Momi Nonmi is Chung’s take on a modern Japanese izakaya and brings to the former East by Northeast and WuBurger space a broad fall menu of fish, vegetables, and several cooked entrees, plus a few select desserts. Sashimi dishes include a take on the Hawaiian raw fish salad, poke, along with salmon, bronzini, and scallops, while other sections of the menu feature shrimp, squid, and vegetables with various preparations.

Hien Nguyen for Momi Nonmi

In addition to poke, another piece of Hawaii appears in the yakimono, or cooked dish, section of the menu: Hawaiian teppanyaki loco moco comes with a beef patty atop rice with gravy and a sunny-side up egg.

Connolly will oversee the restaurant’s sake-centric beverage menu, which includes masu box pour-overs, rotating flights, and a reserve selection. Bartender Koharu Usui (previously of Cafe ArtScience) joins Connolly to manage Momi Nonmi’s cocktail list, and there will be a few Japanese whiskeys available as well.

To start, Momi Nonmi will offer dinner service, expanding to lunch and brunch later on in the month. For a full look at the fall menu and Momi Nonmi’s beverage list, see below:

Hien Nguyen/Official Photo

The restaurant will operate Tuesday and Wednesday from 5:30 to 10 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 5:30 p.m. to 1 a.m., and Sunday from 5:30 to 9 p.m. It will be closed on Mondays, with the occasional omakase dinner or private event, and reservations may be made through Yelp or by calling the restaurant from 5:30 to 6:15 p.m. each day, with a first come, first served process for open tables otherwise.

Hien Nguyen

• Momi Nonmi Coverage on Eater [EBOS]