What’s Happening At K Pasa

In July, when K Pasa opened in Sag Harbor, breakfast was part of the equation. But it was only a small part. The restaurant opened in the thick of season, and while the K Pasa team remained committed to serving locals delicious food every morning of the week, the menu process was one of evolution.

“We’ve done a lot of research on breakfast,” said Jesse Matsuoka, director of operations for K Pasa. The goal in broadening the breakfast menu — the revised iteration of which launched over Columbus Day weekend — was to “incorporate not just the K Pasa-style menu, but a worldly breakfast offering. We want to be inspired by Mexican flavors, but also use French cooking techniques. We want to be able to incorporate other worldly flavors.”

The new version of breakfast at K Pasa, then, draws from cultures around the world, featuring everything from a chorizo taco with pickled onions to a gluten-free banana bread, studded with coconut. Nothing feels needlessly unhealthy — but you won’t leave the restaurant without feeling sated, either. Eating healthy never looked (or felt) so good. The research has definitely paid off. Locals can enjoy everything that K Pasa has to offer, along with a stellar morning view, all before 9 AM.

Here’s what’s happening at K Pasa: a collection of delicious, well-sourced breakfast items, smartly prepared by people who care. Culinary references come from all over the world. Australia, Matsuoka said, provided a particularly strong argument in the search for the perfect breakfast foods. “A lot of amazing breakfast menus come back to Australia,” he said. “Some great ideas have come from there.”

One Australian idea, which has already gone viral, is the avocado toast. K Pasa’s version, served on inch-thick seven-grain bread and adorned with sliced radish, is an exemplary representation of a millennial favorite.

“Avocado is just a hot item,” Matsuoka said. “And the avocado toast is practically on every breakfast menu. We do it our way. Within the avocado, we put in our touch of spice. We’re using sambal. A sambal is like a garlic-chili paste.” That hint of Korean spice makes all the difference, elevating a dish that feels ubiquitous to one that you need to eat again and again.

K Pasa also enjoys an enviable view. Flanked by Sag Harbor’s new John Steinbeck Waterfront Park and the actual waterfront, it’s a restaurant with a view — a view that few restaurants offer at breakfast. Deliciousness, and not theme, Matsuoka says, is the real point here.

“We’re restaurateurs. We love food. When we create menus, it’s based on deliciousness,” he said. In that regard, the restaurant has hit a home run with its burgeoning concept. A silken mound of yogurt panna cotta, served with crunchy puffed quinoa and a compote made from wild blueberries, tastes incredibly decadent. I had to remind myself, on a recent visit, that it was only yogurt: a breakfast food! A towering egg sandwich, served on a potato bun, features grilled Haloumi, wilted kale, and a pillow of egg.

As a whole, K Pasa’s breakfast is ambitious — as is the rigorous schedule. Seven days a week, the restaurant opens at 8 AM, hoping to fill a hole in the void of Sag Harbor Village. Enthusiasm for breakfast is building, which means that now is the best time to eat at K Pasa without fear of a wait (or an obstructed water view).

“Once people know that we’re here, we know that we’ll be much busier,” Matsuoka said. For now, K Pasa’s breakfast is one of Sag Harbor’s best-kept secrets. It won’t be for long.