Kin Craft Ramen & Izakaya
From ramen to yakitori and izakaya fare, then back again, this Japanese concept is still in flux
Most of Kei Concepts’ restaurants feel both polished and complete – from Ini Ristorante to Súp Noodle Bar and Vox Kitchen, the templates were locked in years ago, and though Kei makes menu changes from time to time, the fundamentals aren’t shifting. Kin Craft Ramen & Izakaya is something of an exception to this norm: While Kin is certainly a “modern Japanese” concept with two core elements, ramen soup and izakaya (pub) fare, the balance of those elements remains unsettled years after it first opened. We still love visiting, but our love has waxed and waned as the concept has shifted over time.
At one point, there were two locations of Kin: the Fountain Valley original, and a newer Irvine version that served as Nep Cafe in the mornings before pivoting to a bigger and completely different Kin menu at night, including plenty of grilled yakitori and impressive izakaya-style small plates, plus entrees. Quietly citing too much kitchen pressure from serving yakitori to a gigantic restaurant full of hungry people, Kei unexpectedly discontinued Kin in Irvine, pivoting both Nep Cafes to (even better) all-day service. This left Kin with its original space, which has since cut back its yakitori menu as well: only nine types of skewers remain, notably minus duck and some other distinctive options.
Currently, the lunchtime focus is largely on ramen, including bowls that mix pork and beef (Katsuo Gyu-Tonkotsu) or pork, beef, and truffle oil (Truffle Mushroom) to spin ramen’s classic porcine broth with extra flavors. Each is served with big honking slices of pork belly and al dente noodles. Newer Tom Kha ramen bowls include Thai-inspired spicy coconut broths, mushrooms, and your choice of pork or seafood; additional options include dry noodle mazemen and several udon bowls, including spicy, cold, and beef belly variants. The cold udon replaced cold soba, similarly dashed with tempura flakes and daikon cubes to augment the noodles’ texture and subtle flavor before dipping in mentsuyu sauce.
At dinnertime, the menu expands, adding cold dishes including some outstanding aguachiles and crudos, grilled items such as the aforementioned yakitori, and a few hot dishes including salmon and hamachi collar. But prior items such as agedashi tofu, honey ponzu tomatoes, miso black cod with tobiko, clam croquettes, and pig ears – all brilliantly prepared – have just vanished. Some desserts remain intact, thankfully including a powerful Matcha Tiramisu and strongly nutty Date Walnut Cheesecake, while others (Miso Caramel Cheesecake and the highly impressive and Japanese Vanilla Purin, combining flan, red beans, mochi, jelly, cream, and matcha powder) are gone.
During its brief run inside Nep Cafe, Kin was quite possibly the best Japanese restaurant in Irvine, and its departure left a culinary hole that hasn’t yet been filled in the city. Meanwhile, the Fountain Valley location is still worth checking out, though its continued menu shifts have stripped away many of the fantastic items that made it so enticing in both spaces. Given Kei’s demonstrated ability to create magic, we really hope it can find a way to make Kin work with a formula closer to what it was doing in Irvine – at this point, Kin’s execution is solid, but even by its own historic standards, short of the concept’s much larger potential.
Stats
Price: $$-$$$
Service: Table
Open Since: 2021
Addresses
16185 Brookhurst St.
Fountain Valley, CA 92708
949.688.6961
Instagram: @izakayakin