Celebrity Chef Morimoto’s NYC Ramen Restaurant Is Coming to Seattle

TV chef Masaharu Morimoto is adding to his dozen-plus restaurants with a third location of Momosan Ramen and Sake, coming to the International District in 2019. It’s the first Seattle expansion for Morimoto, whose memorable tenure during the golden age of Iron Chef cemented his reputation as a standout celebrity chef.

Morimoto’s eponymous ramen restaurant (“Momosan” is one of his nicknames) already has locations in New York City and Waikiki Beach, and the Seattle expansion will be a very similar experience. Momosan’s menu obviously features ramen, from silky tonkotsu to Eater NY critic Robert Sietsema’s top pick, tsukemen, which separates broth and noodles. “The soup offers a green snow of scallions and lime juice in a pork-bone broth; the noodles are firm and spaghetti-like Sun noodles,” Sietsema says in a ramen guide.

[Official photo]

Augmenting the ramen selection are skewered and grilled yakitori, including salmon, duck, and pork belly, as well as bar snacks like pork gyoza, soft-shell crab bao, and crispy mimiga (Japanese fried pig ears).

As the name suggests, sake also plays a major role at Momosan, with a long list that includes sake cocktails and eight of Morimoto’s own signature takes on the fermented Japanese rice drink, like his recently released Easy Cup Sake. Morimoto’s three signature beers, brewed in collaboration with Oregon’s Rogue Ales, and his signature Cabernet Sauvignon, produced by Mondavi in California, will also be available, as well as rotating local beers on tap and Japanese whisky.

A ton of Japanese noodle restaurants have flooded Seattle in recent months, and obviously they’ll continue to do so in 2019, but Morimoto’s presence looms large enough he’s likely to draw customers easily. Diehard fans of the chef can find him announcing the restaurant and throwing out the first pitch at the Seattle Mariners baseball game at Safeco Field September 7.

• Watch Chef Morimoto Prepare Beautiful Sushi [E]
• All Coverage of Momosan Ramen and Sake [ENY]
• Tokyo’s First Michelin-Starred Ramen Restaurant Is Coming to Seattle [ESEA]
• 8 Elite Ramen Restaurants in Seattle [ESEA]
• Sietsema’s NYC Ramen Heatmap: 25 Bowls To Try Right Now [ENY]
• Momosan Ramen and Sake [Official]
• Where to Eat at Safeco Field, Home of the Seattle Mariners [ESEA]