A contemporary Japanese restaurant called Konban (235 Kent Ave.) is opening in the former home of Milu in Williamsburg.
Milu was a casual Chinese restaurant that abruptly shut down in January 2024, almost two years ago.
Konban currently runs one location in Manhattan, and the new Williamsburg outpost will be the brand’s second restaurant and first in Brooklyn. Konban is the sister restaurant of popular Manhattan handroll bar Domodomo.
Konban serves “inventive Izakaya fare” including katsu, noodles, sushi, and more.
The menu starts with a few varieties of katsu dishes alongside different condiments. For example, the shrimp katsu comes with tonkatsu sauce, wasabi ranch, and truffle salt, while the pinched pork katsu comes with jalapeño and pickled cabbage.
Next are appetizers like mackerel sushi, yellowtail crudo, cucumber katsuobushi (bonito flakes), and truffle rice, followed by yaki, which translates to “cook over direct heat.” Yaki options include corn rib, shishito pepper, branzino with mushroom, eggplant, and scallop.
The menu concludes with three noodles dishes including a beef udon, a vegetarian udon, and spicy pork mazemen. For dessert there’s corn ice cream and “wedding peach” which is yuzu sorbet with homemade peach syrup and honey yogurt.
The beverage menu offers a wide variety of sake by the glass and bottle. There’s also sparkling, white, orange, rose, and red wines, cocktails, and beer. Non-alcoholic options include mocktails, sodas, and tea from Greenpoint’s Kettl.
Konban told Greenpointers that they do not have an opening date yet.