Hai Street Kitchen opening in Rittenhouse May 22

Hai Street is opening in Center City next month.  Credit: Provided The Hai Street pastrami salmon roll.
Credit: Provided

Japanese cuisine will get a Chipotle-style twist at Hai Street Kitchen & Co., a new casual, quick-food restaurant opening near Rittenhouse Square on May 22. At Hai (Japanese for “yes”), customers can say yes (sorry for that) to two styles of dishes, similar to the options at Chipotle or Qdoba: “Roll-it,” and get a sushi roll the size of a burrito, or “bowl-it” and get your ingredients tossed with rice or greens.

Each order is customized, with a choice of grilled steak, fried chicken, shrimp tempura, seared salmon or grilled mushrooms, fresh veggies, and homemade sauces.

The kitchen is run by chef Takao Iinuma, who spend time working with “Iron Chef” Masaharu Morimoto. And fans of Whole Foods sushi — which isn’t half bad — will be happy to know Hai Street is owned by Genji, which is a subsidiary of Peace Dining Corporation, which provides sushi to Whole Foods on the East Coast, in California, and in the U.K. Genji is based in Philly.

Hai Street will be open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. daily at 32 S. 18th St. In advance of the opening, the restaurant shared a few favorite combinations with us:

For carnivores:
Shrimp tempura with lettuce, asparagus, pickled mango and red onion finished with spicy mayo sauce and crunchy fried garlic

Grilled flank steak mixed with carrots, lettuce, asparagus and red cabbage topped with a traditional Japanese teriyaki and fried shallots

For herbivores:
Grilled portobello mushrooms with lettuce, roasted beets, cucumber, and asparagus, garnished with chimichurri