Internationally-acclaimed Japanese noodle restaurant Hokkaido Ramen Santouka recently opened a new location in downtown Bellevue, the first in Washington state.

The restaurant is known for its signature noodle dish, Shio Ramen, which is garnished with umeboshi, a red pickled plum.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka started out as a family-run ramen shop in Hokkaido, a region in Japan known for its Shoyu or soy sauce-flavored ramen. It now has 10 locations in the U.S., two in Canada, and dozens more throughout Asia, according to its website.

The new restaurant, located at 103 Bellevue Way NE, Suite 3, is open from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily. The space was previously occupied by Emerald City Smoothie.

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Now Open

Hokkaido Ramen Santouka Inside

3 Comments

  1. Interesting to see what this does to Coco Ramen. Coco has a price advantage, but not sure how people trade off quality in these cases.

  2. Coco is more of a “fast casual” joint while Santouka is a proper sit down restaurant. As far as the food goes, the one time I had the ramen at Coco I thought it was comparable to the packaged ramen I can get at Uwajimaya for 50 cents.

  3. Agree with Bryan. Santouka is a lot better quality (albeit with a higher price point) than Coco. I havent been to Japan but it was in line with the various Hokkaido-style restaurants I’d see in Singapore and Hong Kong.