Kinkan, the Thai-Japanese kaiseki counter run by chef Nan Yimcharoen, is closing its Virgil Village dining room at the end of March and heading to West Edge in West Los Angeles. The new setup will center on an intimate 15-seat chef's counter with an adjacent Kinkan Market selling sauces, home goods and ready-to-eat chirashi bento boxes. As the Virgil space winds down, Yimcharoen has pop-ups planned in Kyoto in April and May while she works on the next iteration of Kinkan.
According to Eater LA, the move will end Kinkan's roughly five-year run in Virgil Village and bring it to West Edge, where evening service is set to feature a Thai-inspired kaiseki-style tasting, and daytime will lean on market items and bento-style takeout. On some nights, the counter may spotlight crab-focused menus, a format that will be familiar to regulars.
What West Edge Is Betting On
Developers have pitched West Edge as a Westside gathering spot, and a Hines press release announcing the 2026 lineup called out Kinkan alongside Miya Miya Shawarma as anchor dining tenants. On its retail page, West Edge notes that the project will bring roughly 600 apartments, about 80,000 square feet of retail and a half-acre open-air plaza, a cluster of amenities that can generate steadier, everyday foot traffic than a single side-street location. The same listings place Kinkan among the incoming dining partners at 12101 W Olympic Blvd.
From Underground Dining To A Counter And Market
Kinkan started as a home-based underground project during the pandemic before moving into a commercial space in Virgil Village in 2021, where Yimcharoen built a following for seasonal multi-course dinners and a busy daytime counter. As Eater LA recounts, daytime offerings have featured jewel-box sashimi, ikura-topped rice and curry croquettes, while evening service cycles through kaiseki sequences that sometimes spotlight crab or A5 wagyu. The West Edge plan turns that formula into a hybrid: a reservation-based counter paired with retail shelves and to-go sales.
What Diners Should Expect
For fans of the Virgil Village room, the shift will likely feel bittersweet. Kinkan's intimate dining format and neighborhood setting have been part of its appeal, and a Westside address will naturally change who can drop in on a random weeknight. At the same time, West Edge's mix of residents, office workers and shoppers could give Yimcharoen more predictable daytime and walk-in business, and the market next door offers a way to expand beyond reservation-only dinners. Details on the official opening date and how to book seats at the counter are expected to roll out as the new space is built out.
