After decades in Denver-area kitchens, chef Duy Pham has brought his approach to sushi to Boulder with Temaki Joint, a new Baseline Road restaurant offering Japanese hand rolls and a growing reservation-only omakase program.
Temaki Joint began with a successful trial run, initially sharing the space on Baseline near US 36 with Tea Mate. Pham later closed the restaurant for about three weeks to remodel, reopening June 30. Tea Mate moved downstairs, while the Temaki Joint team converted the upstairs into a fully equipped restaurant with 20 seats across the dining room and patio, plus eight at the sushi bar.
“I wanted a full sushi bar, and we got a really amazing reception from people,” he said. “There was so much stuff that I needed to do everything I want to do properly. We took about three weeks off to renovate, build out the sushi bar, buy more equipment, knock down some walls.”
Pham is classically trained in French cuisine but has spent years studying the philosophy, techniques and ingredients behind sushi and other Japanese cooking over the years. He began incorporating those influences into his prix fixe menu at Opal in the early 2000s, serving fish in crudos and other raw applications. More recently, he helped open and operate Parker Garage and Foraged before helping launch Hana Matsuri’s Glendale location.
Through a friend at Hana Matsuri, Pham met his business partner, who owns the restaurant space in Boulder and felt the upstairs wasn’t being used to its potential. His partner wanted to build the concept around omakase, in which diners entrust the chef with the selection and pacing of the meal. Pham saw room for something more casual, too.
“I was like, ‘Man, we’re right next to the CU campus. I think it’d be fun if we did like a temaki joint, so people can come in real quick, have a few hand rolls where they’re not spending an arm and a leg,’” he said.
Unlike the cone-shaped temaki often served elsewhere, Pham rolls his into cylinders, inspiring the restaurant’s name.
“We kind of roll them like a joint more than like an ice cream cone,” Pham said.
The temaki menu ranges from classics such as bluefin, yellowtail and salmon to less conventional combinations such as eel with foie gras or with asparagus Rolls are available individually or in chef-selected combinations of three, five or seven.
Other offerings include crispy rice topped with the choice of spicy tuna or spicy salmon, a selection of sashimi and what Pham calls a “temaki tree”: tempura-fried fish wrapped around fried enoki mushrooms that rise from the plate-like branches.
Diners curious about omakase without committing to a full meal can order a smaller version featuring two pieces of sashimi, three pieces of nigiri and one temaki.
“We make just about everything from scratch. We use very high-end product,” Pham said.
Customer demand is also pushing Temaki Joint further into omakase.
“Of course, people kept asking about omakase. I was like, ‘Sure, I can do it.’ One thing leads to another, I have omakase bookings every single night,” Pham said.
Running two distinct dining experiences in one small restaurant presents challenges, but Pham is in no rush to make big changes.
“We’ll let it play out. We’re still very young, but if things go the way they are, I wouldn’t mind just making this just a temaki place and then moving forward and finding space just for omakase,” he said.
Pham offers reservation-only omakase seatings Tuesday through Sunday at 4:30, 6 and 7:30 p.m. The regular menu is available to walk-in diners; the restaurant does not take reservations for it. The 12-course omakase costs $120, while the 20-course version is $165.
Beyond the food, the restaurant reflects another of Pham’s interests: woodworking. He makes some of the plates and other serving vessels used at Temaki Joint, a hobby he picked up when he needed to replace the wooden handles on knives he had been accumulating since 1989.
The price for new handles seemed too steep, so he learned to craft his own. He later studied knife forging and began making entire knives, from blade to handle.
“I was a farmer at one time, learning exactly how to raise poultry, how to raise cattle. Everything that has to do with food, I’m very intrigued and want to learn it all,” he said.
This summer, Pham learned that he also enjoys making food in the shadow of the Flatirons. After spending most of his career in Denver, he said Boulder has warmly embraced him.
“To be honest, I wish I would’ve given Boulder a try earlier in my career,” Pham said. “The clientele seems to be extremely gracious, extremely appreciative of my work. It’s been a great experience so far.”
