“This is sort of a unicorn project,” says chef Kyle Connaughton of Wine Spectator Grand Award winner SingleThread Farms in Healdsburg, California, about the opening of SoNoMa by SingleThread, an intimate 12-seat restaurant in a historic district of Kyoto, Japan, that opened March 24.
“Kyoto is a cultural hub, but not an international city like Tokyo; foreign chefs rarely open restaurants here,” Connaughton says, noting the city’s many multi-generational establishments.
Connaughton and his wife, Katina Connaughton, had long dreamed of opening a restaurant in Japan, especially after training and cooking there for many years, but focused on Healdsburg—until they were given the opportunity to open SoNoMa. The new restaurant’s philosophy is reflected in the name: SoNoMa uses kanji for imagination (“So”), possessive (“No”), and space—both physical and abstract (“Ma”). “SoNoMa means a space for creative and imaginative thought,” he explains.
When approached to open the sole restaurant at the new luxury Capella Kyoto hotel, they considered the opportunity cautiously. But as the project developed, Connaughton saw a chance to hold up a mirror and highlight the alignment between SoNoMa and SingleThread. “If SingleThread is a Kyoto-influenced restaurant in California, SoNoMa must be a California-influenced restaurant in Kyoto—a reflection of the other. We want to tell the story of today in Kyoto, but through the lens of how we see it and interpret that as being from the outside.”
The Connaughtons source seasonal produce from local purveyors. (Makoto Ito)
Chef Keita Tominaga, born and raised in Sonoma, leads SoNoMa’s kitchen. “We need someone who knows the Japan side of the equation and the Sonoma side,” Connaughton recalled telling Tominaga.
Tominaga grew up in his family’s Hana Japanese Restaurant and trained at Tenoshima in Tokyo, which draws from the culinary lineage of Yoshihiro Murata’s Kikunoi, the renowned kaiseki restaurant where Connaughton trained. Upon returning to Sonoma, Tominaga worked at SingleThread, where he grew ties with the team and deepened his connection to Sonoma’s dining scene.
The menu: At SoNoMa, Connaughton has introduced items such as olive oil and cheeses that are uncommon in Japanese cooking. He is also working with Kyoto farmers to grow California produce, including heirloom tomatoes and peppers. Staying true to Kyoto traditions, he sources seasonal produce and products from local purveyors and uses California ingredients as subtle accents, just enough to nudge classic Kyoto flavors toward something recognizably Californian.
“Everything has to be authentic and grounded in Kyoto, but always with a California perspective,” Connaughton says. “If we simply re-create classic dishes, we’re just replicating what’s already here.”
One opening menu dish features spring sansai (wild mountain vegetables), including briefly in-season bamboo shoots, prepared various ways. They are served with a shiraae sauce, a bright emulsion of soft tofu and lemon, enriched by Sonoma fromage blanc and a crumble of dehydrated California olives and black sesame seeds. “It’s meant to taste utterly Kyoto to locals, but with a subtle California twist,” explains Connaughton.
Every dish and utensil at SoNoMa by SingleThread was sourced from Japanese artisans. (Jordan Sapally)
Another highlight is Kyoto duck, grilled over binchotan charcoal and served with lacto-fermented spring cabbage, savory kumquat marmalade, a seasonal miso made only in March and April and fennel pollen from SingleThread’s farm.
“Now we’re in Kyoto, using local ingredients in a preparation unique to us,” Connaughton explains, referencing SingleThread’s duck and Pinot Noir pairing, where Burgundy and Sonoma wines are sampled together and the duck serves as a “canvas” to illustrate terroir.
At SoNoMa, the duck-and-Pinot pairing continues, but now the comparison is between Sonoma Pinot Noir and an emerging cool-climate Japanese Pinot Noir from Hokkaido. “So now the conversation isn’t about Sonoma and Burgundy; it’s California and Japan together.”
The wine: The 440-bottle list includes about a dozen Japanese wines. “We’re deliberately exploring Japan, especially Pinot from Hokkaido—with a critical eye,” says Connaughton.
SoNoMa’s list is intentionally compact but serious—currently much smaller than SingleThread’s list—though Connaughton expects it may reach 500 selections within a year. He describes the list as “focused rather than encyclopedic,” anchored by Sonoma wines like Aperture Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from Peay and Hirsch. The cellar also features top European selections—Champagne, Burgundy and other food-friendly wines.
Kyle Connaughton trained and cooked in Japan before opening SingleThread in 2016. (Jordan Sapally)
The program also includes a serious sake selection, with an emphasis on Kyoto’s distinct sake culture. “Kyoto has very soft water in Fushimi, where many breweries are located,” he notes, adding that the water produces light, delicate sake.
The design and neighborhood: The neighborhood is a core ingredient of the experience—dense with history and culture. Near the restaurant are an 800-year-old Zen temple, an ancient Shinto shrine and the Miyagawa‑Cho Kaburenjo theater (a geisha training and performance center). “And we exist at the epicenter. Guests have access to a part of the culture that few see,” says Connaughton.
Connaughton notes the building and adjacent geisha training hall were renovated simultaneously, visually tying them together and anchoring the hotel in Kyoto’s cultural landscape. The restaurant, which evokes a contemporary machiya teahouse, features a 12-seat bar and a 20-seat lounge. One glass wall reveals a courtyard with a Japanese stone garden and cherry and maple trees. The dining room is furnished entirely with bespoke Japanese craftsmanship. “Every cup, bowl, spoon, plate, chopstick, vase and teapot was selected by Katina and me, sourced through direct relationships with artisans we visited and commissioned.”
Another wall features a large landscape photograph by Andy Katz, a visual link to Sonoma. Connaughton selected two images to rotate with the seasons: a moody scene with vineyards, redwoods and fog for cooler months, and a vineyard in golden hour light for the warmer months.
“I wanted that one element we could point to and say, ‘this is home.’”
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AloJapan.com