Yanako

Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Hand-crafted Japanese restaurant | original and second location

Three big ideas:

Expressed Craft,
Simplicity,
Intimate Spaces

Yanako’s owner, Moon Krapugthong, was seeking to create a multi-sensory experience at her Japanese restaurant. Like classic Japanese dishes, the design amplifies the natural and the simple. A vertical garden fills the daylit atrium and wood paneling warms the spaces and tempers sound for a more intimate dining experience. The spaces feels home-like by design to provide guests with the warmth and welcome you might feel if you were greeted in Moon’s home. Working on a tight budget, Re:Vision collaborated with Moon’s employees and builders on the design.  At the conclusion of Yanako’s original lease, Re:Vision collaborated again with Chef Moon to relocate the restaurant to a new space in Manayunk connected to Chabba Thai, her other Manayunk restaurant and also a Re:Vision design.

Fast Facts

Incorporates 100 year old roofing tile from a deconstructed temple in Japan

The sushi bar from the first Yanako was constructed out of a single slab of wood and was then modified and transported to the relocated restaurant

A special location in the restaurant was designed for friends and family away from the hustle and bustle of the dining room

A remnant two-story perforated steel wall from the previous tenant was repurposed as a living wall covered with plants

““Moon Krapugthong’s Manayunk Japanese teases passers-by with its relatively austere tatami room out front, but once you step inside, you get the full effect of the bi-level space. A latticed wall of greenery and flora climbs from the sushi bar to the upstairs dining room, set off by what looks like a pagoda roof at the halfway point, each ceramic tile shipped from Japan and laid in place by hand. Even Center City dwellers should make the trip up Kelly Drive to check out the new spot, and not only for the bright but nuanced flavors – the lunch and dinner restaurant has a very unique, must-see interior.” ”

– Zagat Survey review of Yanako

Project Gallery

Sushi bar with live edge, hand finished counter.
Dining in the central atrium is bathed in natural daylight.
The restaurant is composed of smaller more intimate rooms instead of a single vast single dining room.
The front window dining room features a residential scale and a single chabudai, a traditional short-legged Japanese table for sitting on the ground instead of chairs.
View across 100 year-old salvaged Japanese shingles to the sushi bar from the mezzanine dining room.
Facade improvements included a custom designed and fabricated sign as well as repainting.
The planted lattice wall was constructed from salvaged retail display materials from the previous tenant.
View to the sushi bar in the second Yanako, which features a re-fabricated wood counter salvaged from the original restaurant.
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