Isaan hamachi (yellowtail), served at one of Bognar's omakase dinners at Nippon Tei
St. Louis chef Nick Bognar’s star is on the rise. After both local and national accolades, he's opening a new restaurant in Botanical Heights this spring.
iNDO, Bognar’s new chef-driven eatery, is slated to open this May in the former Good Fortune space on Tower Grove Avenue. "I wanted to start something new in the city,” he says. “There's a vibrant restaurant scene in Botanical Heights, and we want to be a part of that."
The restaurant will be located across the street from Olio and Elaia and near neighborhood favorites La Patisserie Chouquette and Union Loafers. The space is owned by local restaurateur Ben Poremba, who's also planning to open AO&CO gourmet market in the same building.
Bognar’s new restaurant will seat 40, as well as six to eight diners at a chef’s counter. "We'll serve diners small tasting menus in long-form dining style," he says. "There will be lots of fish and dishes one right after another."
Bognar describes the forthcoming menu as "a culmination of my career as a chef and new expressions of my cooking," he says. "We want to get away from what we've been doing at Nippon Tei. The food will be a mixture of bold, rustic, Southeast Asian flavors and the refinement of techniques from Japanese cooking. A big portion will be seafood-oriented. I want to have a ton of sashimi and crudo prep, and a little sushi.
"We will have an a la carte dining room menu with tons of small plates and fun, creative dishes and a couple dishes that will be large-party style for two to four people to share," Bognar continues. "We want people to be able to come into the restaurant multiple times and experience a new thing each time. One day you'll come to get small plates, and another time you'll come in with a few friends and do a dry-aged ribeye platter."
It’s been a whirlwind year for Bognar, who moved back to St. Louis in 2015 to rejoin his family’s West County restaurant, Nippon Tei. He also helped open Ramen Tei next door. Bognar has garnered local and national acclaim for his cooking, which combines Japanese techniques and Thai flavors.
Most recently, Bognar was named a James Beard Award semifinalist in the Rising Star Chef of the Year category.
