insiderseattle
This July 28th, Tentenyu Ramen opens its doors on Pike & Belmont, serving up Kyoto’s longtime-favorite ramen
Riding on the success of Tentenyu’s first two US locations in California, the much-acclaimed ramen restaurant will open its third US—and fourth international—location in Seattle at the end of July. The Pike & Belmont location lands Tentenyu in the heart of Seattle’s bustling Capitol Hill neighborhood, complementing the repertoire of ramen restaurants on the Hill with their unique, Kyoto-style ramen.
On July 28th, Tentenyu will open its doors to the public for its Grand Opening event from 11am-10pm. Hungry diners can enjoy slow-cooked Chashu ramen with thinly sliced, tender pork or Tentenyu’s popular 100% chicken Tori Paitan ramen—highlights amidst a delicious menu that includes their sought-after pork gyoza and chicken karaage sides.
Tentenyu’s broth differentiates itself from other Japanese styles with a shoyu (soy sauce) base and a rich, flavorful, chicken-based broth. Over a period of eleven hours, Tentenyu slow-cooks chicken bones and feet to achieve a rich broth with a ratio of 100lbs. of chicken bones to 100 bowls of ramen. The high-collagen broth gives Tentenyu’s ramen a unique style and a particularly rich, luxurious taste.
Tentenyu will take over the old Phil Smart Mercedes Benz building at 1510 Belmont Avenue, between Pike and Pine. The gorgeous space seats 68 and features exposed brick, hand-painted murals showcasing Tentenyu’s Kyoto-origins, outdoor seating, accessed through roll-up garage doors, and the architectural designs of Hiroshi Matsubara of GM Studio.
With Chef/Managing Partner Kazuma Iwasa at the helm, Tentenyu’s kitchen will be turning out delicious dishes while maintaining an important connection to the original Kyoto-location. The first Tentenyu opened in 1971 in the Ichijoji neighborhood of Kyoto after the now-owner’s mother and sister were required by the city to turn their food stall into a brick-and-mortar restaurant. The restaurant soon became so popular, the entire family joined the restaurant push.
Chef Iwasa-san worked in the kitchen in Kyoto when he was a student at University—now, Tentenyu-Kyoto is the longest-surviving ramen restaurant in the fiercely competitive “Ramen Battle Area” of Ichijoi, and Chef Iwasa-san has returned to see that the same quality becomes a staple of Tentenyu’s first Washington location.