What was once a pop-up concept from the kitchen of Mission Ave Bar and Grill will soon be a fine dining restaurant at 626 S Tremont Street. Behind the Matsu brand is the accomplished Chef William Eick, recipient of Thrillist’s Best Chef in San Diego award in 2016.
With Matsu, Eick hopes to pay homage to the California coast. Not only does “Matsu” refer to the matsutake mushroom, a prized wild mushroom in Japanese food, but it also means “pine.”
“Pine relates well with San Diego, with the Torrey Pine trees and other pines throughout the area,” Eick told What Now San Diego. “Matsu, to me, kind of ties the tradition of Japanese food together with my background.”
Eick plans to source ingredients locally, whenever possible. The four-course experience will offer items like crab gyoza with apple-boshi and smoked port dashi, as well as wagyu beef with tamarind, kinpira carrot and shiitake mushrooms.
The upscale menu at Matsu will be pleasantly contrasted with a more everyday option: Naegi. Where Matsu translates to pine, Naegi translates to sapling.
“It’s like a baby Matsu, if you will,” Eick said.
The Naegi menu will offer quick bites like onigiri rice balls, fried chicken karaage and chicken katsu sandwiches. Naegi will stand in at 626 Tremont Street as Matsu undergoes construction. However, Eick hopes to keep the to-go brand around after the main brand opens in late June.
Matsu and Naegi will be replacing Flying Pig Pub & Kitchen, which is moving to Downtown Oceanside on Mission Avenue. As for Tremont Street, another development will soon liven up the residential area. As What Now San Diego reported recently, the Tremont Collective at 602 S Tremont will feature Communal Coffee and Bottlecraft, among other local brands.
