Let the sunshine in: the dining room at the new Kajitsu.Photo: Melissa Hom
The Japanese restaurant Kajitsu has reopened, as promised, moving uptown from its old, austere, East Village basement space into the second floor of a Murray Hill townhouse filled with natural light, straight lines, and finished wood. The vegan restaurant got its license to serve wine and sake earlier this week, and it will continue to offer two prix fixe menus each month based on shojin, a cuisine style that has roots in centuries-old Zen Buddhist traditions and involves, essentially, a "nose-to-tail" approach to vegetables where nothing is wasted and everything is revered. Other changes are afoot: Kajitsu Murray Hill will serve lunch and will also introduce a separate, ground-level restaurant called Kokage, whose chefs will be able to prepare menus with seafood and eggs. Straight ahead, a look around the new Kajitsu, including the retail counter where the restaurant will sell loose tea, matcha, and supplies from Ippodo, a Kyoto-based company.
Counter seating in the sparsely-decorated dining room.Photo: Melissa Hom
The dining room.Photo: Melissa Hom
The restaurant will soon be open for lunch.Photo: Melissa Hom
Kyoto-import Ippodo tea is served and sold at the restaurant.Photo: Melissa Hom
Kajitsu,125 E. 39th St., nr. Lexington Ave.; 212-228-4873
Earlier: Spring Preview: From Lobster Clubs to Hamachi Collars, the Season's Most Anticipated Eats
