The restaurant opening marks the group’s eighteenth restaurant and its tenth in Soho
After months of rumours, Fukuro by Black Sheep Restaurants is set to open in Soho this May. The new restaurant, which takes the format of a late-night izakaya, will be neighbours with sister restaurant Ho Lee Fook on Elgin Street in Central.
Co-founders Syed Asim Hussain and Chris Mark spent plenty of time travelling to Tokyo over the last year, where they were inspired by the drinking dens of Shibuya—in particular, the izakayas where diners congregate to share food and booze after a long day in the corporate world.
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To head up the restaurant, the duo have tapped Shun Sato, a Japanese-born chef who had been working with Ho Lee Fook’s executive chef Jowett Yu and, prior to that, at Belon. Sato, like many chefs in the Black Sheep Restaurants family, had spent years working in Australia prior to his move to Hong Kong in 2016.
At Fukuro, the menu will showcase a variety of Japanese izakaya classics, from sashimi platters to grilled, braised and simmered dishes. The team are also keen to highlight their whisky highballs—the ideal accompaniment to the full flavoured izakaya dishes.
Designed by longtime Black Sheep collaborator Maxime Dautresme of design studio A Work Of Substance, Fukuro will aim to emulate Edo-era izakayas with interiors driven by Japanese carpentry.
Fukuro will be open tentatively in May, and for dinner Monday to Saturday from 6:00pm until “late”.
Fukuro, 1-5 Elgin Street, Central, Hong Kong; +852 2333 8841; fukuro.com.hk