One of Swansea's most popular Japanese restaurants has been so successful that its owner is now opening a second restaurant to keep up with demand. Nishimura, an independent sushi restaurant on Brynymor Road in Brynmill, is set to open a sister site on Mumbles Road in Mumbles later this summer.
Owner Frank Nishimura has confirmed the Brynmill restaurant will remain in operation but will be renamed RyuGin, which means "dragon shout," and will serve a slightly smaller menu; whilst the new "Nishimura" restaurant in Mumbles, which fills the unit previously occupied by The Village Inn Carvery, will serve the full Nishimura menu locals know and love.
Among the extensive Japanese menu, diners can expect nigiri (finger-shaped rice topped with various topping such as salmon, tuna or prawn), gunkan (oval shaped rolls of rice wrapped in seaweed and topped with things like spicy tuna, fish roe, salmon belly), sashimi (fresh raw fish or meat), futomaki (large seaweed rolls of rice filled with fish or vegetables), sushi platters, noodle dishes and bento boxes, as well as the new addition of "Japanese Style Afternoon Tea". For more stories about food and drink businesses in Wales, go here.
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Frank, 38, told WalesOnline: "The Mumbles is the location most people in Swansea think is the best. Tourists and travellers come to Swansea and they visit Mumbles and find it has lots of good restaurants like Verdi's and Bistro Pierre, [so we wanted to open our second restaurant in the area].
"We needed a bigger place, our restaurant in Brynmill gets full and people have to wait half an hour or an hour for a table - but we won't have that problem in the new restaurant as it's bigger. Brynmill sits 20 and The Village [the new site in Mumbles] sits 60."
Discussing what diners can expect from the new restaurant, Frank added: "The Brynmill restaurant will still be open with a simple menu but the full menu will be at Mumbles. The new restaurant will have exactly the same menu as we have now in Nishimura and we will also serve Japanese-style Afternoon Tea from 2pm to 5pm in the afternoons, for £25.85 for four people.
"The new restaurant will open in the beginning of September and will be open from 12.15pm to 9.30pm seven days a week."
Nishimura first opened in Brynmill eight years ago and takes its name from Frank's surname, Nishimura, which is a common surname in Japan and means "vast village," he said. Many of his staff have worked at the restaurant since it launched and some will move to the new Mumbles restaurant and work there, alongside some new chefs and front of house employees.
Frank has been looking to expand his business for around two years but was waiting to find the perfect location for the new restaurant. He hopes to welcome his regular customers and many new ones to the new site. "About two years ago I decided that the Brynmill restaurant was too small and I needed to find a new place," he said. "[I'd like to say] welcome to all our regular customers and we hope to welcome new customers at Mumbles."
Nishimura Mumbles is set to open in early September at 580 Mumbles Road, Mumbles, Swansea SA3 4DL. Frank and his team are offering a £3 per person discount on customers' first visit to the restaurant before October 31, 2022, with a voucher (which you can pick up from Nishimura Brynmill).
Are you opening a new restaurant, bar or other business in Swansea or Mumbles this year? Get in touch, email: molly.dowrick@walesonline.co.uk with a couple lines about your new business and a few photos.
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