Billy Beach -- the man behind the super popular Japonessa, Umi Sake House, Wasabi Bistro and I Love Sushi -- has come to Ballard to serve up sushi in his namesake, Billy Beach Sushi and Bar (5463 Leary Ave NW).

The restaurant takes a step away from Beach's regular fare -- a Japanese-Latin fusion style -- and gets back to Beach's roots as someone of Japanese descent, seeking a more traditional style.

For now, as they have their soft opening, the restaurant is only offering an introductory menu. You'll still be able to find all the wonderful food you could possibly want, including the popular spicy calamari (flash fried squid with garlic togarashi, $5), chicken karaage (Japanese fried chicken, $5), a locally themed "Ballard crunch roll" (sockeye salmon, cream cheese, avocado, soy glaze, $6) and yes, even your basic California roll ($5). Bartenders -- who General Manager Kei Sugimoto says are really great, precise and have a huge following -- can make drinks on request.

"The menu is brand new. It's not something people would recognize from his previous establishments," Sugimoto said. As Beach figures things out, a larger menu will appear, most likely when the restaurant opens up for regular hours, on Sunday, May 26.

Beach had actually originally meant to name the restaurant "Oni," which means demon in Japanese. "It's funny, he's really the nicest guy, but he always presents himself as an asshole ... but it's not him," Sugimoto said, joking that Beach pretended to be like Hell's Kitchen's Chef Ramsay.

In fact, Sugimoto said Beach has basically been traveling with the same tight-knit crew because he has instilled such a sense of faith, not only through his cooking prowess, but also through his personality.

"He has this persona that when you work with him, you just want to follow him, you want to work with him, learn from him as well," Sugimoto said.

Billy Beach, on the left, readies up his latest restaurant.

So, instead of naming it Oni, the owners of the restaurant, Nelli and Shawn Bohnert -- who have followed Beach for 15 years as he went from restaurant to restaurant -- had something else in mind. In order to surprise Beach, they decided to name it after him -- "Billy Beach Sushi and Bar."

"Nelly and Shawn surprised him, saying that they wanted to change the name to Billy Beach Sushi and Bar, because they felt like he deserved it. They wanted his name on the board. It was like a gift," Sugimoto said.

Until regular hours start on Sunday, May 26, Billy Beach Sushi and Bar will only be open 4 p.m.-close every day. (Close is 11 p.m. Sun-Thurs and 1:30 a.m. Fri-Sat). You can follow them at http://billybeachsushi.com/ or https://www.facebook.com/BillyBeachSushiAndBar/info

Zachariah Bryan can be reached at zachb@robinsonnews.com

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