Imports

Hannosuke Importing Tokyo’s Tendon Tempura Bowls to Mitsuwa

The future home of Hannosuke
The future home of Hannosuke Photo: Tatiana Arbogast

The East continues its march on the Westside, in what must be encouraging news for regulars of Mar Vista’s Mitsuwa food court, where Santouka is still the only stand-out (excepting those three days when Tsujita held a test-run). The space previously occupied by Italian-Japanese Bell Pasta, and more recently by lackluster donburi joint Tamaya, is soon to become the first U.S. outpost of tempura specialist Kaneko Hannosuke.

The outfit finds its recent origins in Chūō, Tokyo, where a grandson of Hannosuke Kaneko, a former chairman of Japan’s chef association, opened a small, now perpetually packed, place and named it for his tempura-boosting ancestor. Hannosuke is dedicated to a single item, tendon, bowls of golden seafood tempura over steamed rice, that will be fried to order. Referring to tempura as “the soul food of Japan,” along with sushi, the restaurant is partnering with Mitsuwa and claims, “They may have tasted good sushi in the United States of America, but chances are they have never encountered authentic superb tempura.” The business is currently under construction and could being operations by May.

Hannosuke, 3760 South Centinela Ave. Mar Vista.

Hannosuke Importing Tokyo’s Tendon Tempura Bowls to Mitsuwa