Itani Ramen To Tease Us With Pop-Up Dinner Series Pre-April Opening

As is the case with most restaurant openings, Itani Ramen’s opening day has been pushed back from what was originally intended. But, the highly-anticipated Oakland ramen shop from chef/owner Kyle Itani (Hopscotch) has just passed all of its inspections and is one step closer to opening to the public in mid-April. While Itani is hiring staff and finalizing the space, he’ll be holding a series of pop-up dinners to preview his Tokyo-style noodle soup.

Starting March 19, a limited menu (in full below) of ramen, gyoza and salad by Itani and chef Brian Ikenoyama (who oversees daily culinary operaitons) will offer a glimpse into what the full-steam Itani Ramen will be like. Each weekend of pop-ups will have a new style of ramen, the first being shoyu with chashu pork and vegetarian miso. Drink options are sake, shochu, draft Ashai beer and soda.

The pop-up dinners will run from 6 p.m. to 12 a.m. on March 19-20 and 25-27, April 1-3 and 8-10, leading up to the opening. As they get closer to opening day, they may expand the pop-up hours and days.

Slurping @itaniramen on this rainy Saturday... Congrats, @kyleitani! # #ramen #slurp #oakland #eastbay #510 #uptown #comingsoon #friendsandfamily #eeeeeats #eatersf #spoonlist #myfab5 #lefooding #forkyeah #adventuresofmandm #bigfoodieheauxs

A photo posted by mayaplacido (@mayaplacido) on Mar 12, 2016 at 9:08pm PST

Itani Ramen Pop-Up Menu: March 19 – 20

Shoyu Ramen (Chashu pork, bamboo shoots, green onion; $14)

Vegetarian Miso Ramen (Bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, green onion; $14)

Gyoza (Pork, cabbage, white pepper; $7.50 for five pieces)

Little Gem Salad (Cabbage, daikon, sesame miso dressing; $6)

Pickles (Daikon, cucumbers, cabbage; $5)