Kamonegi

"Kamonegi in Fremont specializes in homemade soba and tempura, many of which do include meat and/or seafood. But some of the most fantastic options here are vegetable-based, like blistered shishito peppers with miso ranch, fried eggplant with dashi, curry seiro with mozzarella and leek, and outstanding kabocha tempura (that you can order without the duck glaze it usually comes with). Chase it all with habanero-infused plum sake, which happens to be made of plants, too." - aimee rizzo, kayla sager riley

"Star chef Mutsuko Soma makes soba from scratch every day at this Fremont destination, which was chosen as one of Eater’s Best New Restaurans in 2018. Soma serves traditional soba shop dishes like seiro soba (cold with dipping sauce) and tempura but also more creative dishes like soba with oysters and gochujang broth and oreo tempura served with mini toasted marshmallows. Make a full night of it by sampling some sake and snacks at next door sibling bar Hannyatou before heading over to Kamonegi for dinner." - Harry Cheadle

"With Kamonegi, Seattle has a top quality restaurant that features fresh buckwheat soba noodles in which even the flour is ground in-house. Preparations run from basic (zaru: cold noodles with dipping sauce) to complex (Kamonegi’s namesake dish: soba with duck, leek, and a duck meatball). The Fremont spot also highlights seasonal tempura, which pairs perfectly with soba, including a classic tensoba combination of soba with vegetable tempura." - Jay Friedman

"Star chef Mutsuko Soma makes soba from scratch every day at this Fremont standout. Soma serves traditional soba shop dishes like seiro soba (cold with dipping sauce) and super-crunchy tempura but also more creative dishes like soba with oysters and gochujang broth and oreo tempura served with mini toasted marshmallows. All of that in an intimate little space tucked away from the not-romantic-at-all mixed-used buildings on nearby Stone Way. If it’s more of a “sake and shots” type of date night, try next door sibling bar Hannyatou." - Jade Yamazaki Stewart, Harry Cheadle

"Star chef Mutsuko Soma makes soba from scratch at this petite Fremont destination, which was one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants in America in 2018. Soma serves traditional soba shop dishes like seiro soba (cold with dipping sauce) and super-crunchy tempura, but also more creative dishes like noodles topped with tri tips or oreo tempura. Make a full night of it by sampling some sake and snacks at next-door sibling bar Hannyatou." - Eater Staff