Hiro, the Japanese izakaya and sushi restaurant in The Loop, will be closing in mid-November. Owner Bernie Lee opened Hiro in August 2011 at 609 Eastgate Ave., but the building has since been purchased by Washington University and is scheduled to be demolished as part of an $80 million project to build a multi-story complex of apartments and commercial buildings. However, Hiro won’t be gone for long. Lee is taking Hiro downtown to Washington Avenue where it will be called Hiro Pan-Asian Restaurant & Lounge. Lee declined to give the exact address but noted that he had already signed the lease on the space.

The focus at Hiro Pan-Asian, explained Lee, will not be on sushi and izakaya as it currently is in The Loop. Rather, the lunch, dinner and late-night restaurant will serve Asian fusion. Some menu items from the current menu, such as pork buns (pictured), will make the Hiro 2.0 menu, but patrons will also be able to dine on dim sum and select from numerous pan-Asian vegetarian and gluten-free options. Beverages will include both local and global beer selections, wine, cocktails and teas. Lee stated that the restaurant will open sometime this winter, with a pan-Asian Sunday brunch coming in the spring.

By Ligaya Figueras

Tags: Bernie Lee, dim sum, HIRO, izakaya, pork buns

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