Clever Koi, a modern Asian restaurant and craft cocktail bar, opened at 4236 North Central Avenue in November 2013. With that success, co-founders Nick Campisano and Joshua James formed Born & Raised Hospitality, adding a second Clever Koi in Gilbert, Across The Pond, a Japanese-inspired cocktail and sushi bar, and Fellow Osteria & Pizzeria at Scottsdale’s Skysong Innovation Center. To understand Clever Koi today, it helps to picture the Phoenix dining scene thirteen years ago. It may not seem that long ago, but it looks very different today.
In 2013, Phoenix was a rapidly growing city with a developing independent restaurant and cocktail scene. The Midtown stretch of Central Avenue offered far fewer dining options, making Clever Koi somewhat of a destination. James and Campisano, who worked together at both AZ88 and at The Parlor Pizzeria, set out to create the kind of elevated, cocktail-forward Asian restaurant they had encountered in larger markets. “There weren’t any cool, hip, cocktail-forward ramen shops that you would see in other markets,” James recalls. “We saw a need in the market, and we wanted to jump on that.”
The first menu was experimental, “very esoteric,” in James’ words. A dish served with crispy duck tongues was the perfect example. “We were going to be this hip, modern pop restaurant [like] in Chicago, L.A., New York, or San Francisco,” he recalls. “The market was not ready for that, to say the least, but now it would be.”
Fast-forward to today. Phoenix has emerged as a serious player in the dining world, one increasingly targeted by national and regional operators looking to expand. Competition is greater, better funded, and more professionally marketed. Restaurants compete on food, design, cocktails, service, and above all, experience. Has the diner changed along with the city?
James and Campesino think so. Clever Koi’s audience now “skews younger,” explains James. “The experience, I feel, is more important to the younger demographic.” He points to the proliferation of theatrical, immersive dining experiences, but says Clever Koi takes a different approach. “Our focus is different; our priority is different than a lot of those other concepts,” James says, adding, “Our lane is our lane, and their lane is their lane.” For Clever Koi, that means focusing on food, cocktails, and service in a lively, approachable environment.
The menu has adapted too. Once more experimental and fusion-driven, today the kitchen leans into traditional Asian dishes, techniques, and preparations. “In the beginning, our concept was definitely way more fusion,” James says. “And now we lean more into traditional dishes and preparations and execution.” The ramen, for example, has changed from a beef-based, “rich and unctuous broth” toward a more classic tonkotsu-style.
Executive Chef Brandon Jedd brings a French background to Clever Koi’s menu that remains playful. The Kimchi Carbonara, for example, combines udon noodles, chashu pork belly, kimchi, Parmesan, scallions, and bonito essence. Other fan favorites include the Calamari Fries, cut from calamari steak rather than conventional rings and served with yuzu aioli, and the ever-popular Krazy Fries, topped with pork belly and hoisin sauce.
In 2013, a serious cocktail program helped define a restaurant. Today, it is almost expected. Given James’ extensive cocktail background, cocktails have been fundamental to Clever Koi from the beginning and provide perhaps the strongest thread of continuity between then and now. The Enabler, a modified whisky sour, has been on the menu since opening day. “It is literally our number one selling cocktail since 2013,” James says. Along with Riding the Pine, Lemongrass Swizzle, and the Long Thailand, it is one of the “core four” of what James calls their “battle-tested cocktails.”
Beyond the “core four”, Clever Koi’s menu is extensive, with roughly 20 house cocktails alongside an equally deep list of classics. Knowledgeable bartenders can guide guests towards something familiar or encourage experimentation. For something more adventurous, the Koi Clelada off the most recent menu features Chaisu Tequila, Ancho Reyes, Kimchi Pico Puree, lime, and is served with a mini beer.
Menus, diners, and cities may change, but hospitality remains at the core of Clever Koi’s ethos, a fundamental relationship between the restaurant and guest that Campisano believes should not change. “Consistency in hospitality should always stay the same. People don’t forget how they are treated.”
Phoenix has become the kind of dining city Clever Koi’s founders looked to for inspiration in 2013. Clever Koi evolved, too, broadening its appeal without abandoning the creativity that made it different in the first place. As James states, “If you want to get weird, you can get weird. If you want to get safe, you can be safe.” Thirteen years in, there is still room for both.
written by: marci symington
photographed by: luke irvin
𖡡 60 west vaughn avenue #101 gilbert, az 85234 | 4236 north central avenue #100 phoenix, az 85012
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