New boardwalk sushi restaurant open for business
Blu Nami serves up traditional Japanese fare in a mod atmosphere
Another restaurant has opened up on the Asbury Park boardwalk.
Owners of Cubacan and Stella Marina are now operating a third venture in the First Avenue Pavilion, Blu Nami, a Japanese restaurant with an American bar atmosphere, according to co-owner Nick Oliveri.
As of Thursday, August 21, the restaurant will be open seven days a week. To start, restaurant owners are limiting service to dinner this week and will commence regular lunch and dinner hours next week.
For the time being, reservations are required to eat at Blu Nami and the space will not be filled to capacity in order to allow the kitchen and the sushi bar ample practice to get the timing right, and to focus on quality service, Oliveri said.
The restaurant has a full bar and accompanying sushi bar.
At a soft opening held at the location Wednesday night, at least 40 people ventured in to dine at Blu Nami, many of them commenting it was the best fare they’ve had in years, said Oliveri.
“I’m really proud of our head chef, Ken Mansfield. Over the last few weeks he has been focusing on creating the menu and perfecting it,” Oliveri said.
Some of the staple dishes include “spicy edamame Nami,” tuna pizza, miso butter and teriyaki ribeye, braised short rib served over celery root purée, and miso glazed cod, along with 13 original specialty sushi rolls, and most entrees range between $22 and $30, he said.
Interior decor is “New York chic and minimal,” Oliveri said.
Earth tones and light woods take their cue from the beachfront location, he said, and aluminum and water color tile complement the ocean view.
When restaurant-goers look through the windows to the ocean, their eyes will pick up on all the varied hues of blue, he said.
A larger opening celebration is planned for some time next week, he said.
Stella Marina was the first business venture between Oliveri and partners Ken Mansfield and Joseph Cetrulo before they opened Cuban-themed restaurant Cubacan a few years later. The two take up both corner locations in the boardwalk pavilion. Blu Nami is settled in the space between Cubacan and the Robert Legere Design store.
Hours starting next week are Monday through Wednesday 11:30 a.m. – 10:30 p.m.; Thursday 11:30 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.; Friday – Saturday 11:30 a.m. – 11:30 p.m.; and Sunday noon – 9:30 p.m.
[Photo at top provided by Oliveri.]
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