New Rooftop Bar to Open With Japanese Whisky and a Yakitori in SoMa

There’s a new rooftop cocktail bar rising above the streets of SoMa next year: Kaiyo Rooftop expects to open on the roof of the Hyatt Place Hotel after the holidays with a menu of “Nikkei-inspired cocktails” and flights of Japanese whisky. The bar and lounge comes from restaurateur John Park of Brick x Brick Hospitality Group (Kaiyo, Whitechapel, and Novela) and precedes the opening of a second Kaiyo restaurant on the ground floor of the hotel later next year.

Located less than a block away from Oracle Park, Kaiyo Rooftop’s 3,300-square-foot perch means expansive views of the San Francisco skyline from the Bay Bridge to the Salesforce Tower and Treasure Island. Like its Cow Hollow counterpart, the rooftop destination will feature Japanese and Peruvian ingredients in Nikkei-style cocktails — Nikkei being the Peruvian style of cooking often billed as Japanese-Peruvian “fusion.” Some of the familiar cocktails from the Cow Hollow location menu will be available in large format, and there are plans for a Toki Highball Machine from Suntory, which means three to four different styles of perfectly chilled and balanced highballs. There will be 10 sakes available by the glass, plus a large selection of Japanese beers and whiskys — including flights.

KAIYŌ Rooftop

On the food side, chef Alex Reccio will bring over a good portion of the favorites from the Kaiyo dinner menu including Nikkei sushi and specialty rolls (including a selection of handrolls); ceviche and tiradito; fresh oysters with leche de tigre; and bar bites such as karaage chicken, Nikkei empanadas, wagyu sliders, and gyoza. Down the line, the team will be rolling out a custom yakitori cart, which will wheel around the roof with Japanese yakitori and Peruvian anticucho prepared over binchotan charcoal.

Kaiyo Rooftop is anticipated to open in mid-January 2022 at the the Hyatt Place Hotel in SoMa.

KAIYŌ

KAIYŌ

Patricia Chang