Wafu Italian Fusion Goes Nationwide
Japanese-Italian fusion cuisine is rising nationwide with new openings including Simpson's in the Strand revival and Vivian Howard's Chef & the Farmer reboot. The kosher scene is booming with hummus, fusion sushi, and street food trucks, while Philly sees new spots like Popup Bagels and Puerto Rican BBQ.
The culinary style known as Wafu Italian, or "Itameshi," dates back to the early 20th century in Japan. It began gaining popularity after World War II when Western ingredients became more available, leading to creative adaptations like Napolitan spaghetti, a dish made with a ketchup-based sauce. The goal is a seamless blend where it's difficult to tell if a dish is purely Italian or Japanese. Signature dishes often incorporate traditional Japanese ingredients into Italian structures. Common examples include using soy sauce, miso, or dashi to enrich pasta sauces and topping pizzas or spaghetti with ingredients like spicy mentaiko (pollack roe), seaweed, and various mushrooms. The trend is being advanced by chefs like Robbie Felice, whose New Jersey restaurant PastaRamen specializes in Wafu Italian. His creations, such as cacio e pepe gyoza and mochi ramen carbonara, have gained significant attention, with the restaurant receiving thousands of reservations within its first 24 hours. The movement has also established a foothold in Washington D.C., with Tonari, the city's first Wafu-Italian restaurant. The London restaurant revival mentioned, Simpson's in the Strand, is a historic institution dating back to 1828, known for its classic British fare like roast beef carved tableside. Acclaimed restaurateur Jeremy King is relaunching the landmark in March 2026 after it closed in 2020, creating two distinct dining rooms: the traditional Grand Divan and the more relaxed Romano's. Vivian Howard's Chef & the Farmer reboot has transformed the celebrated North Carolina restaurant into an intimate, exclusive experience. After temporarily closing in 2022, it has reopened with "The Kitchen Bar," which serves a seven-course, story-driven tasting menu for only 16 guests at a time, just one weekend per month. The growth in the kosher market is being driven by demand from consumers who associate the certification with higher quality and safety standards. This has led to a 31% increase in globally inspired kosher cuisine on foodservice menus, including Asian-fusion dishes, and over 42% of new specialty food products now being kosher certified. In Philadelphia, Popup Bagels, which originated in a Connecticut backyard in 2021, is set to open its first area location in Ardmore in early 2026. The brand is known for its unique "grip, rip, and dip" concept, selling hot, whole bagels with various schmears, rather than sliced for sandwiches, and has plans for up to eight stores in the region. Philadelphia's Puerto Rican food scene features long-standing establishments specializing in traditional barbecue. Lechonera Principe in Kensington is known for being the only city restaurant licensed to use a traditional brick charcoal pit for roasting pork. Other notable spots include Freddy & Tony's and Porky's Point in North Philadelphia.
