I toured the construction site of the new location of Miku the other day with GM Mike Deas-Dawlish and owner Seigo Nakamura. The address is 200 Granville St., which is to say it’s the old Aqua Riva location on the waterfront next to Canada Place. It’s a huge spot, some 196 seats altogether, with 35-40 seats on a brand new patio that wraps around the building’s exterior (weird that Aqua Riva never had a patio). There’s also a 12 seat sushi bar and a horseshoe-shaped cocktail bar that will serve about 18 chairs.

This time around, Miku will continue with its signature Aburi-style sushi and Sumiyaki grilling, but there will be a lot more seafood, with plenty of platters and share plates. Kimura Hideki, the same Japanese painter who did the murals at Minami (Miku’s sister restaurant in Yaletown), is en route to treat the few walls (most of the place is glass looking out onto the water).

The original Miku, located not far away at 1055 West Hastings, will be closing on April 19th (Richard Chew of Kitsilano’s Chewies Steam & Oyster Bar will take possession on May 1st with plans to open another Chewie’s this summer). The new Miku should be ready before the end of May.