If the shu fits

When Jason Templin got his start in the culinary world, he began by doing what most who are new to the kitchen do: He washed a lot of dishes and knives.

But he also made a lot of rice — and only made rice for almost an entire year before working his way to up to manager head chef of Sakura, a Japanese restaurant in Five Points that has since closed.

Templin said he was hooked early on by the flavors and tradition of Japanese cuisine.

“I really have a great passion for Japanese food and a lot of familiarity with it,” he said. “It was something I wanted to explore more, but I wanted to explore something that hadn’t been done in Birmingham yet.”

In July, two years of work with former Sakura coworker Adeeba Khan and their respective partners finally paid off as Birmingham’s only izakaya — or Japanese gastropub — opened on Third Avenue North across from the McWane Science Center.

Shu Shop, the 65-seat bar-restaurant, isn’t meant to be a fine dining restaurant, Templin explained.

“We’re a bar that sells really great food,” he said.

The menu is comprised of small plates featuring some of Japan’s most popular bar food and ramen, both of which are designed to be paired with cocktails or other drinks.

“We hold ourselves to a fine dining standard for how we execute things in the kitchen, but I think we’re definitely looking for a more casual, comfortable dining environment,” Templin said.

He said the goal is to provide an atmosphere where people feel at home after a long day at work. He added that the restaurant has become a destination for those looking for food and drinks after 9 p.m., when many establishments downtown have long been closed.

Shu Shop’s staple is a pork-based shoyu ramen, the broth for which Templin said takes a minimum of three days to make, and he and his staff smoke the pork in-house.

Additionally, all of the produce the restaurant uses is locally sourced, so the menu is always changing.

“There will be things that weren’t here the last time you came, always,” he said.

For the small plates, which Templin said some people may be less familiar with, he said he is proud to say Shu Shop hand-makes its own gyoza, a crescent-shaped filled dumpling, and there is also a selection of house-made Japanese pickles.

What sets everything apart, Templin said, is the restaurant’s commitment to following Japanese tradition as much as possible.

The noodles for Shu Shop’s ramen come from Sun Noodle, a craft noodle company that was founded in 1982 in Hawaii and uses traditional techniques and high-quality ingredients for its products.

And throughout the four stages of making the broth to the way it’s served, if something doesn’t live up to Templin’s standards, it isn’t served.

“A lot of passion and effort goes into making sure it’s right,” he said.

Since opening in July, Templin said he has been surprised with the level of response, especially with the late-night crowd.

“We’re very encouraged so far,” he said.

Shu Shop is located at 1830 Third Ave. N. and operates on casual bar service with no reservations. The bar is open from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. Monday through Friday, and from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m. on Saturday. The kitchen is open from 5-11 p.m. Monday through Wednesday, and 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. on Saturday.

For more information, visit shushopbham.com or find the restaurant on Instagram at @shushopbham.