Vive la Differance
Deeply tanned and physically fit, Yuya Yamanaka looks more like a surfer than a chef. But he didn’t just wander off the beach and into Paris.Hawaii looking for lunch. He spent years planning every detail of this place. It is his kitchen in the truest sense.
Similarly, the restaurant that Yamanka stands inside would be easy to misplace, were you relying solely on visual and geographic cues. PARIS.HAWAII is flanked by the taller buildings between Kuhio Avenue and Ala Wai Boulevard, tucked away. Stepping inside its two-story structure feels like entering a plush French oasis, all rich coloring and wood-beam ceilings. Are we inside a Waikiki eatery or an old-school parlor in the 15th Arrondissement?
None of this is by accident. Before moving to Hawai‘i, Chef Yamanaka worked as a sous chef at Clown Bar, the award-winning Modern French bistro featured in The New York Times, Bon Appetit and numerous other outlets. Eater even went so far as to hail it as “the most thrilling restaurant in Paris” during one review in 2016. That was a heady time for Yamanaka, who worked closely with Sota Atsumi, the Tokyo-born chef at Clown Bar. Over wine-fueled lunches, the two men would work on designing their dream restaurant. And though it never came to fruition, those discussions sparked a desire in Yamanaka: to design his own restaurant.
That opportunity arrived when Kenichi Inamoto, the CEO and founder of Zetton Inc, a Japan-based global restaurant group, visited Clown Bar. The cuisine blew him away. An avid surfer, with multiple Hawaii restaurants, Inamoto suggested to Yamanaka that he might enjoy life on the islands. For the ambitious young chef, the appeal of creative freedom was very real.
His foot is tapping on the bar stool as we talk, Yamanaka, who speaks little English, admits that he did not like the stifling structure of school growing up in Hokkaido. However, he fared well in a middle school cooking competition sponsored by Kagome, a Japanese condiment brand. He prepared an omelet stuffed with mac and cheese—something he’d learned to make out of necessity, as both of Yamanaka’s parents worked, and he often cooked for himself. His entry made the finals of Kagome’s contest, so when the time came to graduate high school, one of his teachers, aware of his past culinary success, suggested Tsuji Gakuen Cooking & Confectionary College in Osaka. From there, success was swift and sweet. After completing his culinary studies, Yamanaka headed to Paris to soak
in the cuisine and culture. He landed on Clown Bar’s opening team, soaking up the acclaim. In 2017, with the invite from Inamoto, Chef Yamanaka made his way to Hawai‘i. His dream of opening a restaurant of his own design was getting closer.
Still, there was work to be done. He manned the kitchen at Heavenly Island Café, another Zetton-owned restaurant, and would spend every free moment building PARIS.HAWAII. The plaster on the walls, the painting and mounting of the tiles, the dishes and the décor—his craftmanship is infused in both the space and the plate.
When the restaurant opened, in 2018, the menu reflected Yamanaka’s growing love of Hawai‘i, along with both his French and Japanese culinary training. While the prix fixe changes frequently, dictated by what products come in the kitchen door, his inspiration is continuously driven by the place that surrounds him. The chef says his Lava Rock Oyster is one of earth, fire and the untamable Pacific Ocean.
Along with seafood, PARIS.HAWAII is noted for its beautiful presentation
of dishes, which are served on bespoke tableware. The restaurant’s general manager, Andrew Harberer, is a ceramicist who collaborated with Chef Yamanka to make custom plates and bowls designed to enhance the details of each dish.
“The creative process was entirely driven by his vision of the art he would put on the plates. In many ways, Chef Yuya has challenged me beyond what I had been capable of previously,” says Harberer. “In this type of dining ... the dish is very much a canvas and must meet the needs of the artist that is utilizing it.”
Before moving to Hawai‘i, Yamanaka had never surfed. Now he’s avid about catching waves. He loves hiking and running. At the age of 33, he’s got his dream restaurant—even if that dream has evolved to include showcasing Hawai‘i on his menu, from mauka to makai. This is part of why PARIS.HAWAII doesn’t look or feel or taste like any other establishment in Waikiki. Compliments to the chef.