Santokua Ramen Bellevue’s close much older cousins located in food malls of So. Cal. Japanese Markets occupies the RR’s “Master Shop” list, the seminal restaurants that served authentic ramen before many cities even had ramen period. If you visit LA or the OC please take the time to hit up the originals (Torrance/Costa Mesa) as they are different from the Bellevue location.
Being in Bellevue Santokua is fully built out, meaning a nice, decently sized restaurant. Being in Bellevue this also means it is the most expensive for what you get out of the area shops. Nonetheless what you do get is quite good…again their specialty is tonkotsu (but as part of the ‘Masters’, they get a pass:) and while not as thick/rich as LA it’s still quite good, meaning it’s thick and rich, but smooth and not overly fatty to the taste. Noodles have been a bit inconsistent in firmness/doneness the last couple of visits, but overall have a nice texture.
Santokua Bellevue has followed most of the other shops in the area by introducing izakaya menu items and creating combos, not being in it’s heritage they are good (and with the smaller portions, welcome) but not the main attraction. I highly recommend visiting Santokua if you are in the DT Bellevue area as it’s easy to get to and offers a taste into what tonkotsu ramen should taste like from one of the originals.
ramenranger 