Japanese izakaya · Saugatuck, Westport · $25 lunch, plates to share
Japanese izakaya$25 lunchBridge Square, SaugatuckOpened 2014; expanded 2022
"Bill Taibe's riverside izakaya has fed Westport crab fried rice and rare whiskey since 2014. Book it for a loud first date."
8Food
7Ambience
8Value
About Kawa Ni
Bill Taibe opened Kawa Ni in 2014 in a sliver of Bridge Square where Saugatuck’s traffic crosses the river, and named it for the water: kawa ni, “on the river.” An izakaya (a Japanese pub built for drinking that happens to feed you well) was an odd bet for a Connecticut commuter town, and it worked immediately. The room doubled in size in 2022 and spun off a Denver sibling in 2023 that Michelin recognised the following year.
Taibe is the chef who put Westport on Connecticut’s food map, a four-time James Beard Award semifinalist from his LeFarm years; see the Westport dining guide for the rest of his cluster.
The Kitchen
The menu reads pub, eats precise. Crab fried rice arrives under bacon and a soft egg and is the dish regulars refuse to give up; chicken wings come armoured in a crisped-rice crust with a sweet-sour glaze; dumplings and steamed buns rotate with the season. Ramen splits two ways, a pork-and-garlic broth and a sesame-forward miso goma. Lunch is a $25 set, the best food deal in town. The drinks list is the other half of the argument: an unusually deep whiskey shelf for a room this size, plus sake and sharp cocktails.
Taibe’s farm-sourcing habit from LeFarm survives in the produce, and the kitchen has fed off the same energy as his seafood room The Whelk a few doors away. For the genre’s global benchmarks, see our guide to the best Japanese restaurants worldwide.
The Room
Small, dim and loud in the right way: counter stools, close tables, music up, the river out the window. Lighting is low enough to flatter and the staff run plates the moment they land, so the meal has pace. Dress code is none. Tuesday through Saturday it serves lunch and dinner with a late-afternoon gap; Sundays are dinner only and Mondays dark. Expect a wait for prime Saturday slots and no ceremony at any of them.
Best for First Date
Book this room for a first date because silence cannot survive it: plates are built to share, the room’s noise floor erases awkward pauses, and the whiskey list hands you a second act without changing address. Nothing costs enough to read as showing off. The global list of first-date restaurants has the quieter alternatives if your date prefers to hear you.
Not for
Skip it for a quiet client dinner: the room is small, the music is up, and plates land when the kitchen says so, not when the agenda does.
Frequently Asked
Is Kawa Ni worth it?
Yes, and it is arguably the best value in Taibe’s Westport group: the $25 lunch set delivers the crab fried rice and a build of smaller plates for the price of a sandwich elsewhere in town. Dinner with whiskey climbs fast, but on food alone Kawa Ni out-punches most of Fairfield County’s Japanese rooms.
How hard is it to book Kawa Ni?
Easy midweek, tight on weekends. Tables release on OpenTable and the room holds space for walk-ins at the counter, which is the best seat anyway. Saturday prime time goes days ahead in summer when Saugatuck fills; a 5:30 start or a Sunday solves it without planning.
What should I order at Kawa Ni?
Crab fried rice first, no debate: bacon, soft egg, and the dish the regulars measure visits by. Add the crisped-rice chicken wings and whichever dumplings the kitchen is running, then the pork-and-garlic ramen if the table is hungry. Order one whiskey from the deep end of the shelf; the list rewards asking.
Is Kawa Ni good for a first date?
It is the best first-date room in Westport: loud enough to kill dead air, cheap enough that nobody is performing, and the shared-plates format forces conversation about something concrete. Book it. If the date is the quiet, candlelit kind, Taibe’s The Whelk nearby reads more formal.
Who is the chef behind Kawa Ni?
Bill Taibe, the chef who built Westport’s modern restaurant row: LeFarm (closed 2015), The Whelk, and Kawa Ni, with a Denver Kawa Ni added in 2023. He was a James Beard Award semifinalist four times for Best Chef Northeast. The izakaya is his loosest, most personal room, and it shows in the menu’s swagger.
Reservations via OpenTable; counter seats held for walk-ins. Phone (203) 557-8775.
Affiliate disclosure: Restaurants for Kings may earn a commission when you book through our reservation links, at no cost to you. Our scores are editorial and never paid for.
Practical Information
Address19A Bridge Square, Westport, CT 06880
NeighbourhoodSaugatuck
CuisineJapanese izakaya
Price$25 lunch set; dinner plates to share
Phone(203) 557-8775
Dress CodeNone
HoursTue–Sat lunch & dinner; Sun dinner; Mon closed
