Kultura started as a Filipino pop-up around the Lowcountry before it found a home at 73 Spring Street in 2023. From that address, chef Nikko Cagalanan and his team put out dishes like bright bowls of pancit topped with Lowcountry crab meat, tender pork ribs in banana ketchup barbecue, and yellow adobo salmon over crispy rice with a delicate salad of local vegetables. The flavors captured the attention of Charleston diners, food writers, and the James Beard Foundation.
After all the awards and accolades, Kultura had grown out of the small Spring Street space and decided to move up to 267 Rutledge Avenue (the former Chasing Sage address). On Thursday, October 23, Cagalanan and partner Paula Kramer will open the doors for diners to check out the new digs and expanded menu.
Cagalanan and Kramer worked with Agatha Strompolos of Denver-based Agatha Jane Interior Design to transform the space into a coastal, jungle-like space full of antique touches. They wanted to represent Cagalanan’s upbringing in the Philippines. “We wanted it to be comfortable and accessible, but a step up from the old Kultura, a little more polished,” says Strompolos…