Ramen Tatsunoya, the Japan-based restaurant from founder Ryuta Kajiwara, is set to open its third US outpost along Costa Mesa’s 17th Street Promenade in spring 2024, according to Kazutaka “Tony” Torii, who oversees operations for the company’s US presence.
Ramen Tatsuonya made its Stateside debut with a Pasadena outpost in 2015, followed by a location in Silver Lake four years later.
Each restaurant serves up its three “core ramen” offerings including the richer Koku, featuring umami paste in an onion and garlic broth, with pork back fat and thin noodles. The lighter Jun option is a milder broth served with thin noodles, while the Spicy is made from three kinds of miso – red, white, and barley – then topped with spicy oil and served with thick noodles.
From there, folks can add any number of toppings such as green onion, mushroom, dried seaweed, chashu pork, or egg, as well as various side dishes like edamame, gyoza, garlic shrimp, and the Tatsunoya roll.
Hailing from the coastal city of Fukuoka, Ramen Tatsunoya not only serves up authentic dishes from the region but also aims to give “kando” to each diner, “a Japanese word that describes an awe-inspiring feeling,” according to the company’s website. This mission manifests in both the restaurant’s signature tonkotsu ramen, as well as the servers who go “that extra kilometer to improve your dining experience…because like a circle, when our customers feel kando, we feel kando in return.”
