Silverlake Ramen will open its second Northern California restaurant in Santa Clara next year, co-owner Jitaek Lin confirmed. They've snagged a space at Santa Clara Square's Marketplace, a large shopping center on Augustine Drive.
Photo courtesy Silverlake Ramen.
Lin and Thomas Aono, both chefs, opened their first ramen shop in LA's Silverlake neighborhood in 2012. Lin had worked in LA kitchens since he was 16 years old and went on to open two sushi restaurants; Aono is from Japan and spent five years there studying with a "ramen master," learning how to make broth and tare, according to the Silverlake Ramen website.
Their ramen philosophy is rooted in but not defined by tradition, Lin said.
"We don't want to be stuck in the authentic ways," he said. "We want to think outside the box."
Their tonkotsu ramen comes with bean sprouts, spinach, green onion, seaweed, black garlic oil, egg and the diner’s choice of sous-vide pork, chicken or tofu. Other ramen styles include a spicy tonkotsu, shoyu, vegetarian, tsukemen (cold noodles dipped in warm broth) and mazemen (cold noodles with no broth). Customers can add non-traditional toppings such as broccolini, butter and fried jalapeño.
Silverlake Ramen also serves appetizers -- think pork buns, crispy rice with spicy tuna and chicken karaage -- plus rice bowls with toppings such as ground chicken, spicy tuna, pork belly and tofu.
Photo courtesy Silverlake Ramen.
Lin said they're in the process of updating the menu but that Santa Clara will serve the same food as other locations.
There are now five Silverlake Ramens, including one in Concord. They're planning to grow to 20 restaurants by next year, including more in the Bay Area, Lin said. The website also features a form for franchise inquiries.
He described Santa Clara as a gateway location to showcase the Silverlake concept to this part of the Bay Area.
"Santa Clara is a very, very interesting market. We are very happy to be there," he said. "It (has) a lot of good things going on — a lot of companies out there."
He's eyeing a March 2020 opening.
Silverlake Ramen is one of several new food and drink options coming to the Santa Clara shopping venter, including Pacific Catch, Tender Greens, Halal Guys, Kumar’s Authentic South Indian Village Cuisine, Gong Cha and Barebottle Brewing Company.
Silverlake is but the latest ramen chain to expand to the Peninsula, joining Ramen Nagi in Palo Alto and Santa Clara, Taishoken in San Mateo, Ippudo in Cupertino (set to open this fall) and Afuri Ramen in Cupertino (set to open in October) and Mountain View (next year).
