Say, ‘Konnichiwa.’ There’s a new Japanese restaurant open in Dilworth.

Konnichiwa Charlotte is now open in the Dilworth spot where East Boulevard Bar & Grill and Inishmore used to be, serving hibachi bowls, seasonal specials such as ramen and sushi burgers and, of course, sushi.

You might have run across the brand before — there are sister locations of the concept named for the Japanese greeting in Florence, Boiling Springs and Spartanburg, South Carolina, as well as one in Ohio, restaurant manager Eka Lesmana said.

In Charlotte, Konnichiwa aims to be the kind of casual, family friendly restaurant you’ll want to make a neighborhood favorite.

“We want to know our customers on a first-name basis,” Yen Sy, the restaurant’s host, told CharlotteFive.

The food

On the menu at Konnichiwa, you’ll find a wide variety of hibachi bowls — also called donburi. Options include vegetable ($8.95) and tofu ($9.95), ribyeye steak ($16.95) and lobster tail ($26.95), and you can sub in noodles for rice in any of the dishes for $3 more.

Sy said the restaurant also wants to introduce Charlotte to a new take on sushi. You can order traditional rolls or try out things the chef has thrown together to make “a new mixture of flavors that are very different,” she said.

The extensive sushi menu includes a few Charlotte-themed specialties, too. Its CLT Roll ($12) features spicy tuna and asparagus topped with more tuna and spicy aioli, yuzu sauce, Serrano peppers and sriracha. The Hornets Roll ($13) has spicy tuna and avocado inside, with crab salad, salmon, spicy aioli, kabayaki sauce and crunch on top.

And for special occasions — or big budget spenders — try the NC Baller Roll ($23), which includes Alaskan snow crab, tempura asparagus and Japanese mayo topped with western Wagyu beef, sea salt, truffle oil and black tobiko, sprinkled with bubu arare, which are tiny baked crackers made of glutinous rice.

All-vegetable options are on the sushi menu, too, including the Midori Roll ($13), with cucumber, asparagus, pickled yamagobo and inari tofu with avocado, suno mono sauce and migrogreens on top.

Wine will be added to the menu later, pending a liquor license approval expected within about two weeks.

COVID-19 safety measures including daily temperature readings for staff and guests as they enter, mandatory face masks and socially distanced seating arrangements. Reservations aren’t being taken right now, but they will be after the restaurant’s soft opening phase.

Konnichiwa Charlotte

1315 East Blvd., Suite 130

Instagram: @konnichiwacharlotte

Heidi Finley

The Charlotte Observer

Heidi Finley is a writer and editor for CharlotteFive and the Charlotte Observer. Outside of work, you will most likely find her in the suburbs driving kids around, volunteering and indulging in foodie pursuits. Support my work with a digital subscription