This Week In Food: Incoming Japanese Restaurant Downtown

Shinka is set to replace Prelude at The Jay hotel, Lucania closes in on its opening at the Ferry Building, and Bruma is set to debut at the Ritz, all in This Week in Food.

Quick on the heels of the closure announcement for Prelude at The Jay hotel, which we just had two weeks ago, we now have word of its replacement, which will be called Shinka. Omakase Restaurant Group, which still has control of the space, is switching the concept to more Japanese-California, installing Executive Chef Fumio Yonezawa in the kitchen. More details are to come, with the opening set for sometime next month, and but we know Yonezawa will be "bringing together Japanese sensibilities and French technique through the ingredients of Northern California."

We are getting close to the opening of Lucania, the buzzy new Italian spot from A16 owner Shelley Lindgren in the former MarketBar space on the south side of the Ferry Building, which we first learned about last year. The menu focuses on "simple but classic" dishes, heavy on the pasta and pizza, with all day offerings from 10 am to 10 pm. Eater pegs the opening at "early October," but we have not seen any official announcements or dates come through.

This will fill the last remaining big vacancy in the Ferry Building, though we are still awaiting Mediterrean spot Hayati, from Bon Delire and Sens owner Kaïs Bouzidi, which is set to open soon in the former Boulette's Larder space.

Eater also has news about Bruma, the new cocktail bar coming to the Ritz-Carlton on Nob Hill next month, following a full remodel. The bar will feature small bites and a Wagyu smashburger, reportedly, and a selection of cocktails to fit all tastes, including some globally inspired selections. And, there will be tableside, liquid nitrogen-chilled Martini service.

A new cocktail spot has just debuted in the upstairs area of Bruno Chemel’s Le Parc Bistrobar (185 Sutter Street) called Bar Antoine Lounge. The bar offers a list of over 50 cocktails curated by Christie Chemel, along with an extensive selection of Cognac, Armagnac, and Madeira, along with a small-bites menu created by Antoine Chemel, the son and sous chef of Bruno Chemel, featuring escargot croquettes, truffle gougères, and more. The lounge is now open Tuesday to Friday from 4:30 pm to 10 pm.

The Chronicle has news of a new wine bar called Innerbloom coming to a so-called "cursed" space at Polk and Post streets (1101 Polk) that has been a cafe and at least four other things in the last decade and a half. It's the project of first-time restaurant/bar owners Anthony Niboli and Ronald Rodriguez, taking its name from a Rüfüs Du Sol track, and the plan is to create a wine and beer bar with small plates that is a hangout for artists and musicians, and hopefully absorbs some of the lively vibes of this end of Polk Street — across from the bar Jackalope. They're aiming for a January opening.

And we don't have any new reviews this week, but the Chronicle announced that they're hosting a small on-stage discussion on September 30 between current Chronicle restaurant critic MacKenzie Chung Fegan and former critic Michael Bauer at Gray Area in the Mission. Tickets are available here.