Oishi restaurant brings Japanese grilled meats to Kitsap

Peiyu Lin, Kitsap Sun
Updated ·4 min read
Tom Posey points out his next choice from the variety plate of yakitori that he and his wife Peggy were sharing at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.
Tom Posey points out his next choice from the variety plate of yakitori that he and his wife Peggy were sharing at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.

BREMERTON — Peggy and Tom Posey used to go to Hakata Restaurant every week, until the founders of the Silverdale restaurant, well-known for its authentic, high-quality Japanese cuisine, retired in 2021 after 30 years of service.

Two years later, the Poseys stepped into the new Oishi Japanese Kitchen on Fairgrounds Road and ordered curry potato salad, Geso, a set of yakitori, Kirin Ichiban beer and Kurosawa Sake on a recent Monday evening.

After tasting the meals and having a pleasant conversation with Makiko Felix, Oishi's owner and a former Hakata staff who is a friend of the Poseys from her time there, the couple had found their regular place again, Peggy said. They'll soon be back at Oishi, which opened earlier this month in East Bremerton at the location formerly occupied by Filipino restaurant Lumpia Factory.

More: 'There wasn't any place like it:' Hakata founders retire after three decades in Silverdale

"It's such a nice, little, kind of something different...some people just want sushi, but this is a really nice Japanese cuisine that's not sushi," Peggy described Oishi's featured yakitori, which literally means "grilled chicken" in Japanese and in general refers to Japanese-style grilled meats that can also be beef, sausage, or pork belly — now Peggy and Tom's favorite.

What differentiates yakitori from other barbeques is that meats are grilled using Binchotan charcoal as the source of the fire, Felix said. Binchota burns extremely hot for several hours without flames and smoke and thus can keep the food in its original flavor.

Micah Springfield cooks a variety of yakitori over a charcoal grill at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.
Micah Springfield cooks a variety of yakitori over a charcoal grill at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.

From Yokosuka to Kitsap

Felix called opening Oishi a dream come true.

Born and raised in Japan, Makiko Felix moved to Washington from Japan 14 years ago after marrying her husband, Marvin, who was stationed on the forward-deployed Kitty Hawk aircraft carrier in Yokosuka, where they met. Marvin now works as a civilian in Bangor and they have three children: two daughters, 7 and 14, and a son, 11.

Before coming to the United States, Makiko and her mother, Sawako Kaburagi, opened a restaurant serving Hawaiian pizzas and Japanese cuisine in Yokosuka. Being passionate about cooking, Makiko always wanted to open an Izakaya-style restaurant and bar again in her life, she said.

Felix likes the moments when her friends couldn't help but say "oishi" in Japanese, which means delicious, to compliment her food. The name was a natural for Makiko's restaurant in East Bremerton, she said.

"A customer says thank you, very delicious, I just want to hear that," she said. Felix makes sure the food at her Izakaya is great enough to accept the "oishi" compliments and appreciation.

Devin Sarnowski, right, steps out of the kitchen and hands two bowls of shoyu ramen to server Chris Dator at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.
Devin Sarnowski, right, steps out of the kitchen and hands two bowls of shoyu ramen to server Chris Dator at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.

Greeting customers at every table, Felix listens to newcomers' feedback and catches up with acquaintances like Peggy and Tom Posey. An interesting coincidence Felix recalled was that one of her Oishi customers used to visit Felix and her mother's restaurant in Japan and enjoyed her Hawaiian pizza when he was deployed to Yokosuka many years ago.

The restaurant has been popular and busy, especially on weekends, since its soft opening on November 7, Felix said. Some customers left good reviews on social media even before Felix had time to create a website for Oishi. Her 14-year-old daughter is running Oishi's Instagram account to help post pictures of the food. Marvin helps with some maintenance and decorations in the restaurant. And, Felix's mother will be visiting Felix from Japan to see the restaurant next summer.

Various yakitori fill the charcoal grill at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.
Various yakitori fill the charcoal grill at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.

After finishing, Peggy Posey said she was already considering what other dishes and drinks to try on her next visit. The restaurant also serves beef curry udon, tonkotsu ramen, onigiri Japanese rice balls and more. Its drink menu includes a variety of options from green tea chu-hi, Ozeki Nigori Sake and Asahi beer.

"We decided we can't come and order everything, so we will be back," Peggy said. "We'll make our way through the menu."

"I'm so happy she opened the restaurant," Tom said.

A bowl of beef curry udon at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.
A bowl of beef curry udon at Oishi Japanese Kitchen in Bremerton on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023.

Oishi is open from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 4:30 p.m. to 9 p.m. Monday to Saturday. Yakitori is only served in the evenings, as there isn't enough time to prepare the grilled meats on Binchotan charcoal during lunch hours, Makiko said.

The restaurant is located at 1554 NE Fairgrounds Road.

This article originally appeared on Kitsap Sun: Oishi restaurant brings Japanese grilled meats to Kitsap