International Japanese Izakaya Chain Plans to Add Boston Location

Boston’s Back Bay will soon get a new restaurant dedicated to Japanese cuisine. Zuma, a high-end restaurant based in London with locations all over the world, is seeking a liquor license to open within One Dalton, a new residential tower under construction in Back Bay, according to Boston Restaurant Talk.

Chef Rainer Becker developed the menu for Zuma with an izakaya, or Japanese pub, in mind. The first Zuma location opened in London in 2002. Now, there are locations in Miami, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Dubai, and elsewhere.

Zuma’s menu features a selection of sushi, robata grill dishes, appetizers, salads, and desserts, with some variance across the different restaurants. Dishes include seared beef with soy ginger, fried tofu with avocado and herbs, roasted lobster with serrano pepper and garlic hojiso butter, and crispy fried squid with green chili and lime.

Details from the City of Boston’s licensing board indicate Zuma will acquire its liquor license from Eugene O’Neill’s, which closed earlier this fall in Jamaica Plain. The residential tower at One Dalton is still under construction. Stay tuned for an opening timeline for both the tower and Zuma.

In the meantime, visit some other local restaurants that describe themselves as izakayas: the newly opened Momi Nonmi in Cambridge’s Inman Square; Pabu, a Downtown Crossing restaurant with San Francisco roots that, like Zuma, stretches the izakaya definition to quite pricey levels; O Ya sibling Hojoko in Fenway; and Ittoku in Allston.

• Zuma Plans to Open in Boston's Back Bay [BRT]
• Zuma Restaurant [Official Site]