New Sacramento restaurant blends Asian, Polynesian flavors. Here’s where it’s opening
A new fusion restaurant blending Polynesian, Pacific Islander and Asian flavors is coming to Sacramento.
Fresh Off Da Boat by Chef T will hold a soft opening Tuesday through Saturday at 1515 Sports Drive before celebrating its grand opening on Jan. 21.
Restaurant owner Muagututia Tuala-Tamaalelagi, known as Chef T, is opening a brick-and-mortar eatery after operating pop-ups and catering businesses.
Born and raised in American Samoa, Tuala-Tamaalelagi previously worked at Wolfgang Puck as a line cook and sous chef and served as a chef de cuisine at Josef Sentano’s Ledlow restaurant in Los Angeles, according to his Farm-to-Fork.com biography.
“Our journey has not been an easy one. It was filled with ups and downs and still is,” the chef wrote in a Facebook post. “We started selling out of our apartments and in the parks to our family, friends, church members and coworkers. We picked up catering that we literally didn’t make anything out of. With the big support that we had from my in-laws, we did our first pop-up out of their garage and backyard.”
According to the Instagram account for Fresh Off Da Boat, the search for a storefront location started at the beginning of 2023.
“Finally something that we never thought would happen anytime soon did happen,” the restaurant said in a Nov. 1 post.
When is new Sacramento fusion restaurant open? What’s on the menu?
Fresh Off Da Boat by Chef T is currently open 8 to 10:30 a.m. for breakfast and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for lunch.
The breakfast menu features scones, muffins, breakfast cakes, loco moko and morning falai rice made with Spam, bacon and egg.
If you come for lunch, you can choose from assorted poke as well as cassava cakes, crispy garlic chicken or mahi mahi with taro fries.
When is the grand opening for Fresh Off Da Boat?
Fresh Off Da Boat’s grand opening will be an “island-style” celebration starting at noon on Jan. 21, according to the restaurant’s Instagram.
There will be a $300 raffle giveaway and cultural dances, including a siva afi, or, fire knife dance.
This story was originally published January 2, 2024 at 2:16 PM.