The South End’s New Tiki Restaurant Has a “Secret” Sushi Bar

Chef Colin Lynch behind the sushi counter at No Relation. / Photo by Reagan Byrne

A sushi bar is stowing away inside Boston’s newest tropical paradise. No Relation, a nine-seat omakase restaurant from chef Colin Lynch, opens inside Shore Leave on Friday, Jan. 4.

Secluded from the leafy, subterranean tiki bar down a back hallway, No Relation is the city’s latest ticketed dining experience. Book ahead of time for $95-$120 per person—depending on availability of ingredients—and sail away with Lynch as he dishes out the night’s selection of sashimi and nigiri. A $60 beverage pairing will be available alongside by-the-glass choices, and tax and gratuity are additional.

Lynch is at the helm of Bar Mezzana, one of the top 10 restaurants in Boston, and the new Shore Leave—and he’s a sushi lover. After he left the Barbara Lunch restaurant group after 12 years to open his own, coastal Italian restaurant, the chef spent some time at Boston’s exemplary O Ya, honing his knife work skills and building upon relationships with local seafood distributors and fishermen.

Bar Mezzana splashed down in a particularly crudo-friendly year of the Boston dining scene, and quickly got notice for its lengthy list of delicate dishes enhanced with just the right acid and heat.

Shore Leave centers on island-hopping bar snacks like Filipino barbecue ribs, mushroom gyoza, and a large-format roasted duck served with a make-your-own feast of pancakes and aromatics—and of course, original tiki-inspired cocktails by beverage director and co-owner Ryan Lotz. No Relation, meanwhile, has its own beverage program curated by general manager Kevyn Ashton. Her nightly pairing suggestions will span sake to cocktails to beer to wine. A tight menu of a la carte options focuses on a few selections that pair well with seafood generally, like sakes, sparklers, and white wines from Germany and Austria.

The sushi bar itself is also distinct from its sister spot, though Shore Leave designers Hacin + Associates and contractors Cafco Construction built it out. No Relation is a minimalist, 230-square foot room with light wood walls and a white cypress sushi counter. A few pieces of art pop in the small space, including a hand-painted mural by Brooklyn artist Massimo Mongiardo; and a magnetic map of the world painted by local Mark Grundig, on which the chefs will highlight the source of the night’s fish.

No Relation is reservation-only, with seatings at 6 and 8:30 p.m. each night of service. It has its own Instagram and Facebook pages claimed. Shore Leave, meanwhile, is open nightly for dinner from 5-11 p.m., with the bar going ’til 1 a.m.

11 William E. Mullins Way, South End, Boston, 617-530-1772, norelationboston.com.