Is this Bellevue tempura hot spot worth the hype?
Media: 2024-08-07
There’s more to Tendon Kohaku than the Japanese chain’s signature tempura dishes. At center here is the mentaiko cream and salmon roe (ikura) udon dish, photographed earlier this month in Bellevue. (Jennifer Buchanan / The Seattle Times)
You’ve got to hand it to Bellevue for the way the city has recruited big names in the restaurant world lately: the vegetarian cafe Mavalli Tiffin Rooms from India. Korean restaurant Daeho Kalbijjim from San Francisco. The dim sum palace Sun Sui Wah from up north in Richmond, B.C. And this fall, Peruvian haute cuisine restaurant La Mar Cocina Peruana will join the ranks when it opens downtown.
Each restaurant debut has drawn long lines. But none of them has generated as much hype as the opening of Tendon Kohaku.
In June, this Tokyo-based chain made its American debut near Bellevue Square. (There are a dozen other branches worldwide, in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Canada.) The restaurant concept revolves mostly around deep-fried seafood and veggies that get served with rice. People waited up to five hours for a table, with diners commuting from as far as Everett and the Tacoma area...
Each restaurant debut has drawn long lines. But none of them has generated as much hype as the opening of Tendon Kohaku.
In June, this Tokyo-based chain made its American debut near Bellevue Square. (There are a dozen other branches worldwide, in Japan, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines and Canada.) The restaurant concept revolves mostly around deep-fried seafood and veggies that get served with rice. People waited up to five hours for a table, with diners commuting from as far as Everett and the Tacoma area...