by Marc Hurwitz
It looks like a London-based group of high-end Japanese restaurants will be expanding to Boston.
According to a licensing board hearing page within the city's website, Zuma is planning to open at the upcoming One Dalton residential tower in the Back Bay, with the hearing notice indicating that the restaurant--which is seeking a liquor license from the now-closed Eugene O'Neill's in Jamaica Plain--will include a dining area and a bar. One Dalton isn't scheduled to be completed for at least another year, so Zuma probably won't be opening anytime soon, but plans are indeed in the works for the dining spot.
Zuma is an izakaya (basically, a Japanese pub) and grillhouse in London that has a handful of locations around the world, including in New York, Miami, and Las Vegas; the restaurants are generally trendy, upscale spots with offerings that include sushi, robata-style grill items, tempura, hotpot, roasted lobster, rib eye steak, sake, cocktails, and more.
Boston actually has another restaurant with this name--Zuma Tex Mex Restaurant, which is located at Faneuil Hall.
The website for the Zuma chain can be found at https://www.zumarestaurant.com/
[April 23, 2018 update: A press release confirms that Zuma is on its way to One Dalton, with the restaurant partnering with the Four Seasons Hotel & Private Residences and residing on the second floor of the building. The release says that Zuma will offer "world-class" cuisine in the form of shareable dishes from its main kitchen, sushi counter, and robata grill. No specific opening date has been given, but the luxury tower is slated to debut in early 2019, so it appears that Zuma could open around that time.]
[February 18, 2019 update: A Craigslist job post mentions that Zuma plans to open in Boston sometime this spring.]
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[Related article from our sister site (Boston's Hidden Restaurants): Slideshow--Twelve Food Items from Asian Restaurants in the Boston Area]
