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Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Will Open in Bellevue in April

A ramen chain with a major fan base is planning its first freestanding location.

Allecia Vermillion
Author: Allecia Vermillion
1 min.read

These are heady times for ramen fans. Japanese-based chain Hokkaido Ramen Santouka is getting ready to open an outpost in Bellevue. Yesterday I had a chance to chat with a rep from Santouka, who said that the restaurant at 103 Bellevue Way NE could open in mid April. 

A ramen geek might greet this news much as dumpling obsessives hailed the arrival of Din Tai Fung: with lots of shrieking and jumping up and down. 

Santouka already has a sprinkling of North America locations (the closest ones are in Vancouver), but this will be its first freestanding restaurant; the others are stalls inside various locations of Japanese supermarket Mitsuwa Marketplace. 

The Bellevue Santouka will have about 45 seats and a larger menu of side dishes than other locations. It will be open for lunch and dinner, at which times lines are a reasonable expectation. 

I’ve never been to a Santouka, but I’ve already been hearing from local fans who have had it elsewhere. The shio, or salt ramen is its signature, though the miso and shoyu styles have their own following. The overwhelming consensus: Definitely go with the pork jowl, or toroniku, a meat so fatty and tender that it comes on a plate rather than on top of the ramen, lest it start melting into the hop both before you can properly enjoy it.

Here’s the Facebook page and Santouka Bellevue website for stalking, er, tracking purposes.

 




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Allecia Vermillion
Allecia Vermillion
Allecia Vermillion has spent a decade at Seattle Met, arriving as food and drink editor, and expanding her role over the years. She served as the magazine’s editor in chief until moving into a newly created executive editor role in 2021. She spearheads Seattle Met’s food and drink coverage and oversees home design content. Allecia’s writing has earned her multiple journalism awards and two James Beard Award nominations over the years. A native of Portland, Oregon, Allecia began her writing life as a newspaper reporter in the Chicago suburbs before making a grateful return to the Pacific Northwest. She has an English degree from Washington University (no, the one in St. Louis) and a masters in journalism from Northwestern University. She lives in Seattle with her husband and two children.