(Photos courtesy Salt + Charcoal)
Salt + Charcoal, the Williamsburg robata restaurant we’ve been looking forward to since August, soft-opened this week on the corner of Bedford and Grand. Their liquor license hasn’t come in yet, but the food itself – by chef-owner Jiro Iida, previously of Yakitori Totto’s sister restaurant Aburiya-Kinnosuke – looks like it can stand on its own: partner Kei Sugimoto tells us the place is one of the few if not the only Japanese spots to get the fire department’s permission to grill using the imported oak-wood charcoal known as binchotan rather than gas. Another distinguishing characteristic: there’s a piece by Kei’s father, famed photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto, hanging on the wall.
We’ll have more info as the restaurant approaches its Nov. 14 grand opening. In the meantime, feast your eyes on the interior.
Salt + Charcoal, 171 Grand St., at Bedford Ave., Williamsburg; (718) 782-2087
Correction: The original version of this post was revised to correct the restaurant’s address.