A New Tea Bar from the Chopstick Murphys Guy Is Opening in the Seaport

Most people know him by his Instagram handle @ chopstickmurphys, whose viral videos humorously documenting Boston-area restaurant visits—with a touch of socio-cultural commentary—have racked up millions of views. A few know him as Christian Doan, an office worker who moonlights as an investor in a number of restaurants across the city, including Mai —the upscale izakaya doling out caviar-topped chicken tempura. His next act? A place of his own, Bloom, opening this fall in the Seaport.

The “tea bar,” as Doan describes it, will join Boston’s growing crop of café-by-day, bar-by-night spots around early October, pouring matcha and tea-based drinks by day and craft cocktails by night. The 20-seat, horseshoe-shaped bar—located in the former Zazibar space in the atrium at 60 Seaport Blvd.—is designed to sit customers close to the bartenders, says Doan. The goal? An intimate atmosphere that conjures the ambiance of Japanese cocktail lounges.

This atrium area doubles as the ground-floor entrance of a building that also houses Alamo Drafthouse, Grace by Nia, Kings Seaport, and other large, slick venues, so making sure the space doesn’t feel “angular” and “corporate” has been a priority. To that end, Doan hired a Thai interior architectural firm, Minick\Bom, to soften the room and to “evoke Japanese botanical gardens,” injecting tranquility into the bustling neighborhood. A place to slow down and have a drink, says Doan.

The beverage program reflects this aim. A connoisseur of both cocktails and tea, Doan sees an opportunity for the two to borrow more from each other at Bloom. “We want to bring some elements, approaches, and techniques from the world of craft cocktails to the world of tea,” he says. “[Tea-making involves] the same ways that a bartender would think really deeply and intentionally about ice, dilution, balance, seasonality, and fresh ingredients.” Doan sources most of his matcha from Cambridge-based MEM Tea, but plans to spotlight single-origin selections in his matcha flight, featuring premium pours from Japan’s Uji and Yame regions, alongside one from China.

Behind the bar, Doan has tapped the city’s top talent, building a star-studded team. The beverage directors are Chompon “Boong” Boonnak, co-owner of Brookline hot spots Merai and Mahaniyom (and recognized by Michelin for his cocktail skills), and Markus Yao, who managed the bar at Shōjō in Chinatown. Iruma Shibuya will be heading the operations and bringing serious ice skills. His resume spans multiple continents, from local legendary bars such as the original Eastern Standard and Drink to Tokyo’s Bar High Five. (More recently, he consulted on the Mimi’s Chūka Diner opening and managed Backbar in Somerville.) With these power players, the hope is that Bloom can fill a craft-cocktail gap in the neighborhood now that Chickadee has closed.

There’ll be a concise food menu, too, featuring “snacks and small bites,” Doan says. Isabelle Lin, Doan’s business partner and the proprietor behind Issa Onigiri, will lead the kitchen. To start, there’ll be dishes such as curry bowls and cheese plates, with Japanese sandos, miso black cod, and more to come.

Bloom arrives at a time when the Seaport is blossoming with a new slate of restaurant openings by both local groups and out-of-town chains. Xenia Hospitality Group’s highly anticipated Greek-Japanese 15-seat omakase is set to open later this year; a pair of steakhouses, Chicago’s Maple & Ash and London’s Hawksmoor, have recently tapped into the never-ending appetite for more red meat and martinis. Restaurateur Danny Meyer’s New York-based Ci Siamo will open soon, too.

But to Doan, the missing link in the Seaport isn’t another glitzy establishment. “[With Bloom,] I want to resist the notion that Seaport is hyper-optimized and streamlined,” he says. “I want people to have a cool beverage and be in the moment.”

Opening October 2026. 60 Seaport Blvd., Seaport District, Boston.