The food and beverage scene here has been hit by another major closure.
Japanese restaurant Hashida Sushi at Mandarin Gallery has closed and The Straits Times understands that its chef-owner Kenjiro Hashida is planning to open a restaurant in San Francisco instead. He will be in Singapore occasionally for regional collaborations.
A statement posted on Hashida Sushi's Facebook page and Instagram last Thursday said it would be closed till Wednesday.
The restaurant will re-open on June 21 at the same location under a new name - Sushi Ayumu - to "symbolise a fresh start with immense possibilities".
Sushi Ayumu will be helmed by head chef Ryoichi Nakatani, who has 25 years of experience working in sushi restaurants in Japan.
Hashida Sushi opened in 2013 and was the first overseas outpost of the original restaurant in Japan which is helmed by chef Hashida's father.
Here, the high-end sushi restaurant was regarded as one of the top Japanese restaurants in Singapore.
It had received a special award at the recent G Restaurant Awards - The G Hallmark of Excellence - for its "stellar standards".
It also received a silver prize at this year's Best Asian Restaurants Awards given out by The Straits Times and Lianhe Zaobao.
Chef Hashida, 38, had also opened Hashida Garo - which specialised in traditional Japanese sweets known as wagashi - in 2015. The concept lasted just under one year.
Hashida Sushi's closure follows the shuttering of fine-dining establishment Restaurant Andre, Australian restaurant Luxe in Keong Saik Road, as well as the impending closure of Resorts World Sentosa's three-Michelin-starred Joel Robuchon Restaurant and its two-Michelin-starred outlet L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon at the end of this month.
• Sushi Ayumu opens next Thursday at 04-16 Mandarin Gallery, 333A Orchard Road. For more information, call 6733-2114 or e-mail contact@sushi-ayumu.com.
