Restaurant Openings Chef Talk Westport Japanese Homepage Chef Brian Lewis To Open Modern Japanese Inspired Restaurant in Westport Stephanie Webster August 17, 2017 Chef Brian Lewis, of The Cottage, has an exciting announcement...From the moment that we opened our doors and started cooking at The Cottage, I knew that we had really stumbled onto both a truly special town and adventurous clientele in Westport, one that really connected with my cooking and supported my full creative expression.So as we turn the corner in completing our second year of cooking our most heartfelt local American Cuisine at The Cottage, with simply the best culinary and service team that I have ever had the privilege of working with, I am delighted to announce that we are now set to expand our other culinary passion – with a modern Japanese Izakaya meets Omakase restaurant in a treasured Westport landmark, The Vigilant Hose Company Firehouse, right across the river on Wilton Road.In the early Spring of 2017, I had begun spending much time developing new Japanese inspired dishes and expressing my long-time passion for Japanese cuisine; our GM, Charlie Gilhuly and I decided to see how our Cottage guests would like a weekday Omakase Menu (Chef’s Choice) for $45. It was an instant hit! The wheels of our creativity kept rolling with the introduction of an exciting sake program and some delicious new exotic cocktails by our amazing lead barkeep Ralph. We began seeing a tremendous demand and wonderful reaction from our guests that only further supported my desire to find another intimate and charming location in Westport. It was crucial to Charlie and I that we find a space that had amazing history and “great bones.” We were fortunate to find all of that and more with this new space!Our architect and designer who helped to imagine The Cottage are on board with developing this new space and bringing out the very best of the original character of this historic Westport building, creating an exciting and lively space that will allow the food to speak for itself and create its very own original voice in the World of Japanese cooking, through an American Chef’s culinary vision.We look forward to opening our doors in late Fall of 2017 and as always, continuing to cook our hearts out for you at The Cottage!
