Roberto Santibañez to open his Fonda concept in Japan

Chef Roberto Santibañez opened his first iteration of Fonda in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 2009. Fifteen years later the restaurateur has three locations in New York City, and a new one slated to open in Japan in the early spring.

"[Having a restaurant in Japan] wasn't on my radar, it just fell on me," said Santibañez, who was approached by Takayoshi Umeno, president of Joe's Shanghai Japan Inc. to do the expansion. "It's very exciting, he [Umeno] is very involved in what Japanese people like and we are both reworking the menu so it pleases the Japanese and their eating habits."  

The Japanese-Mexican combination isn't as unusual as one might think, said Santibañez, the author of numerous cookbooks revolving around Mexican cuisine. In Mexico City, he said, there are sushi places all over, every corner in some areas, and Mexicans love it, the chef said.

"They have added lime to soy sauce and chipotle to crab to make it spicy," he said over the phone. "There is an interesting connection because Japanese food, in my mind, is not very multi-layered — just a couple of levels in each dish — but when you add the spicy and the tartness, they love it," he said of Mexican consumers.

While Japanese food has blossomed in Mexico, finding a Mexican restaurant in Japan isn't as easy. That doesn't mean the people don't want it: Santibañez said that, with a few tweaks to ingredients and size portions, there would be a strong market for the food of his home country.

When dissecting the nuances of the Japanese palate, Umeno told Santibañez that Mexican food contains too much corn for the average Asian diet. So the chef substituted flour tortillas, in the style of northern Mexico, for the more typical corn ones in his tacos. Margaritas won't come in giant frosty goblets like they do in North America, but instead will be about half that size in Japan.

Santibañez said he also needed to cut down on the dairy.

"They can't have enchiladas suizas, it's too much," said the chef about one of Fonda's signature dishes, which comes topped with creamy tomatillo sauce and two types of cheese. "We may make it, but a smaller portion instead, maybe to become an appetizer instead of an entrée."

Not only does Santibañez have to consider Japanese diets when designing a menu for the new space, but he has to work out the availability of ingredients, too. Common Mexican ingredients such as chipotle peppers and tomatillos cost many times more in Japan. On the other hand, the chef looks forward to using local ingredients on the menu too, including beef and seafood that he said is some of the best he has ever had.

Umeno has played a major role in menu development. It’s not his first time bringing an overseas concept to Japan. That’s what he did with Joe's Shanghai, a Chinese dumpling shop that originated decades ago in the Queens neighborhood of Flushing, N.Y. Since 2009 Umeno has opened a four locations of Joe's Shanghai in Japan, bringing the famous soup dumplings to Tokyo, Osaka, and Sendai.

"We have very interesting conversations about the menu," said Santibañez, who will mainly let Umeno run things on the Japanese side so he can concentrate on his venues at home. "We gave him a Margarita and he was like, 'It will be half the size because the Japanese don't drink like Americans."

On the American Fonda menu diners will find tortilla soup, Mexican street corn, shrimp empanadas, taquitos and more. Some dishes appear natural for the Japanese translation, including the ceviches, fish tacos, carnitas de Fonda and pescado tikin xic, which is cod marinated in achiote and served over plantain rice with black bean sauce. There will also be plenty of iterations of various tequila and mezcal cocktails.

The Japanese menu hasn’t been solidified yet. First the chefs of Fonda Japan will come to New York City to work with Santibañez for a month. That way, they can learn the recipes and techniques to help them cook successful Mexican food, he said.

Santibañez said he expects the restaurant to have around 100 seats. As far as other future Fondas in Japan or other countries, the chef wants to see how it goes. But in general, he added, it's something unique for Tokyo’s Ginza district.

"I think the people in Osaka would be willing to enjoy Mexican food,” he said. “[Right now] it's rare to find good [Mexican food] there." 

He added that he’s excited to go to the spring opening, which will be his first time, but doubtfully his last, in Japan.