But the day in, day out of his venture will change and with it, the price points will lower. You can still expect a few flakes of gold here and there with kaiseki pop-ups and Nakajima’s fondness for special Japanese whiskeys keeping the bar dotted with one of a kind bottles for the neighborhood. Adana will feature a pared down version of the Japanese menu with many of Naka’s favorite entrees and bar dishes simplified. So, gone are the piles of caviar and the flakes of gold that sometimes speckled Naka’s dishes. “There is a big trend,” Nakajima said, “where it is extremely split - either really fine dining or really simple.” As for the upscale end of things, Nakajima said he’s not sure Capitol Hill is the best place for that. His goal with Adana is to see those neighbors more. The young chef now lives above his restaurant with his neighbors as sometime customers. The space itself will be softened up with a new wood bar-top and a bar roof added to the area to get everyone cozy as a new wall goes in above the dining area to break the space up and make room to display Nakajima’s own artwork. The restaurant will shift to literally being an every day spot, open seven days a week. Comfort will also take over the bar where favorite katsu sandwiches will be a holdover along with quality drinking food like yakisoba.

The Seattle Met called it a “chef’s twist” on the food he grew up with. Adana will offer a $37 three-course menu of classic Japanese set up with diners selecting from nine choices and dishes still based around Nakajima’s focus on quality, as local as possible ingredients, but with less fuss and a more comfortable approach.

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