Food & Drink

You Need to Go Try the Japanese Buckwheat Noodles at Kamonegi

One of Seattle's few makers of soba has a new restaurant in Wallingford

By Chelsea Lin March 13, 2018

1-MB_SEAM_Kamonegi-29_NEW

This article originally appeared in the March 2018 issue of Seattle magazine.

This article appears in print in the March 2018 issueClick here to subscribe.

In about 2008, when Mutsuko Soma decided to spend months learning how to make soba in Japan, she did so because she missed eating the buckwheat noodles her grandma made and she couldn’t find them in Seattle. (Because Soma’s grandma had only one arm, she had developed a unique noodle-making technique, but it wasn’t one she could teach Soma.) Soma’s reason for going to Japan for soba lessons was self-indulgent more than altruistic. Little did she know how much Seattle would applaud her efforts.

Soma, who attended culinary school here before moving back to Japan, first made a splash locally in 2013 as the chef and co-owner of Miyabi 45th, a since-closed Japanese restaurant in Wallingford. She stepped away from that restaurant in early 2016 to focus on her daughter, born that year; the restaurant industry is notoriously difficult for parents, mothers especially, and soba making—done by hand rather than by machine—is incredibly labor intensive.

But when her daughter turned 2, Soma found she was ready to start again. She opened her own place last October: Kamonegi, a soba and tempura shop with the same name as the pop-ups she launched before she started Miyabi. She found the perfect home in the angular, narrow Fremont/Wallingford space left vacant when Art of the Table relocated. Soma gave the space a fresh coat of paint and lowered the counters, built for Art of the Table chef-owner Dustin Ronspies, to better match her shorter stature. Here, she’s able to continue her artistry—more akin to throwing pottery than making pasta—from an open kitchen. Sit at a counter stool if you want a first-rate view.

Soba, clearly, is the focus here. Soma makes hers with an 80/20 blend of Washington-grown buckwheat and all-purpose wheat flours. Most of the variations can be ordered seiro (cold, with a warm, concentrated dipping sauce) or nanban (hot, in a soup broth). The eponymous kamonegi ($20) features a singular duck tsukune (meatball) so intensely flavorful and packed with addictive umami, I could have eaten a dozen. Order the tsukune appetizer ($14), prepared yakitori style, for a few more of them. And don’t forget the seasonal tempura ($7–$14)—its coating crisp and dainty, an outcome not frequently achieved in Japanese restaurants in America. 

Kamonegi 
Wallingford 1054 N 39th St.; 206.632.0185

Must Try
Soma is also a certified sommelier and knows her way around booze. Pair whatever meal you choose with the blowfin sake ($12), warmed with a traditional Japanese sake warmer and served with an actual fish fin (“It has so much umami in it!” she says) at the bottom.

Follow Us

Love at First Spark

Love at First Spark

Redmond pizza joint earns another honor

Italy loves Spark Pizza. The venerable Redmond restaurant has been named one of the Top 50 Pizzerias in the United States for the second consecutive year by Italian publication 50topizza.it. The online guide recognizes the best pizzerias in the world and is updated annually. Spark last year finished No. 48. It finished No. 31 this…

Tastes of Mexico

Tastes of Mexico

Special dinners at El Camino seek to educate and entertain

Illuminated beneath the glow of Fremont’s famous rocket, two dozen Seattleites gather at El Camino restaurant to enjoy a specially curated meal featuring authentic Mexican dishes paired with three pours of Wahaka Mezcal. The enclosed patio is strewn with colorful punched banners and paper lanterns. Light dances above tables set with flickering votives, bowls of…

Seattle Restaurant Week kicks off

Seattle Restaurant Week kicks off

Expect a broader range of dishes at several different prices

At times referred to as “Restaurant Weak” for menus limited in scope and portion size, Restaurant Week is coming of age after 20 years. In the beginning of what would become Restaurant Week, chefs and restaurateurs often compromised on portion size and sometimes quality.  Chef and restaurateur Brian Clevenger, who owns General Harvest Restaurants (Vendemia,…

Fish Feast

Fish Feast

Take part in an Italian-American tradition while enjoying Seattle's fantastic seafood

Consider Paju’s fried rice a seafood dish thanks to the addition of squid ink. The catfish sandwich at Matt’s in the Market has been a menu mainstay for years.Is it a hush puppy or a crab dish? At Emerald City Fish & Chips, it’s both.