Kansas City's Anjin shines

Anjin, a 20-seat Japanese-style pub in Kansas City’s Crossroads, is now a finalist for the 2026 James Beard Award for Best New Restaurant. (kcur.org) The restaurant opened in July 2025 at 1708 Oak St., near 17th and Oak, with a bar facing the kitchen and room for about 20 diners. Owners Nick Goellner, Leslie Newsam Goellner and Drew Little built it around the model of a Japanese izakaya, a casual bar for drinks and small plates. (kcur.org) The James Beard Foundation announced this year’s restaurant and chef nominees on March 31, and the Restaurant and Chef Awards will be handed out on June 15 in Chicago. The foundation says the awards, first given in 1991, are among the country’s top restaurant honors. (jamesbeard.org) Anjin was one of 30 semifinalists in the Best New Restaurant category before advancing to a final group of 10. KMBC reported it is the only Kansas City finalist this year and the first Kansas City-area spot in two years to reach the finalist stage. (kmbc.com) The food is not built around the Japanese dishes many Midwestern diners already know best. Goellner told KCUR that Anjin does not want to serve ramen or sushi and instead highlights parts of Japanese cooking that are less common in Kansas City. (kcur.org) That approach was part of the plan before the restaurant opened. In January 2025, Kansas City magazine reported that the owners wanted handmade udon, yakitori, onigiri and rotating specials in a room designed to feel like a neighborhood spot in Tokyo. (kansascitymag.com) The team behind Anjin was already well known in Kansas City dining. Nick and Leslie Goellner opened The Antler Room in 2016, and Kansas City magazine said Drew Little joined them on Anjin after working as The Antler Room’s bar manager. (kansascitymag.com) Anjin’s own website says the restaurant serves rotating yakitori, seasonal specials, sake, shochu and Japanese beer, and is currently open Thursday through Sunday from 5:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and Monday from 5:30 p.m. to midnight. (anjinkc.com) Goellner told Kansas City magazine last year that broader interest in Japanese food could lift the city’s dining culture over time. Anjin now has a national finalist spot to test that idea before the June 15 awards. (kansascitymag.com)