“Daikaya Group to open Tonari Cafe next month”

707 6th Street, NW

From a press release:

“Tonari Cafe To Open with Coffee, Pastries and Italian Onigiri

Daikaya Group’s Tonari expands with breakfast and lunch service, bringing dual coffee cultures and fantastical lunchtime mashups to Chinatown

Expanding on its mastery of Japanese-Italian cuisine, Tonari is set to open Tonari Cafe next month. The daytime counterpart features Italian-style coffee service, morning pastries, bodega-inspired egg sandwiches, various toasts—including a creme-brulee brioche toast—and croissant-baguette sandwiches.

photo by Vina Sananikone

By daylight, Tonari will flip into a coffee shop, turning the bar into a coffee counter with a full range of espresso drinks, plus Tonari’s take on an espresso and tonic, a coconut shakerato, dalgona coffee (instant coffee whipped until frothy and creamy, originating in Macau) and Italy’s favorite juices of pear and apricot.

Grab-and-go treats include banana bread with miso-honey butter, egg and tuna salad sandwiches, and sesame cake.

For lunch, Katsuya Fukushima, the chef and a partner in Daikaya Group, is furthering the natural evolution of combining Japanese and Italian cuisine into increasingly creative combinations: Italian onigiris, where the hand-held pressed rice snack is filled with flavors like “garlic bread” and “lamb ragu.” Croissant dough is shaped like a baguette for an egg salad. There’s also pizza bread: thick-cut bread loaded with pizza sauce, cheese and pepperoni.

Over the last few years, Fukushima has studied the art of coffee making and coffee culture—taking classes, visiting coffee bars across Italy—and the acclaimed chef will be onsite, caffeinating guests with pour-over coffees.”