Ramenhead, the FYN Group’s ramen shop that first opened on Parliament Street in 2022, opened on 15 September 2026 as Ramenhead Izakaya at 75 Kloof Street. The larger space adds wood-fired izakaya plates, oshizushi, a four-stop omakase and a courtyard sake bar alongside the ramen for which it has become known.
“Ramen is still the starting point for us, and it always will be,” says chef and co-owner Peter Tempelhoff. “What Kloof Street gives us is the space to do more with the rest of the menu, and introduce a new offering alongside it.”
Tempelhoff and chef Ashley Moss open Ramenhead Izakaya with service and beverage director Jennifer Hugé. Executive chef Julia du Toit leads the kitchen, and chef Ryan Reyes runs the sushi counter.
In order to make the best possible ramen, the team imported the first Yamato machine on the continent to make its noodles. The machine mixes the dough at precise hydrations and cuts different styles, each matched to a different broth. The noodles are then portioned by hand, a step called tamatori, and matured for at least 48 hours before they are cooked. Some are aged for up to a week. The broths themselves are equally complex: the tonkotsu simmers for 18 hours to develop its deep umami flavour and creamy texture.
Kloof Street opens with four bowls: tonkotsu with Hakata noodles and pork belly chashu, tori paitan with Tokyo-style noodles and chicken wonton, a vegetable Sapporo with sesame miso and smoked shiitake, and a hiyashi chuka, which is served cold.
Every table starts with otoshi, a small snack from the kitchen. On the izakaya side, expect dishes such as yellowtail tataki with apple and daikon salsa, karaage with yuzu and dill ranch, whole prawn tempura and, from the wood fire, Duroc pork belly in a red miso glaze or a whole chokka in white miso butter.
These dishes are designed to work as starters before a bowl of ramen, as a spread for the table or as a meal on their own. The omakase runs through four stops on the menu: chilled fish and sushi, tempura and karaage, a small bowl of ramen, and dessert.
“I’m incredibly excited to bring the spirit of the Japanese izakaya to Ramenhead,” says Moss. “In line with traditional Japanese cooking, we are keeping the food simple, focused and honest, while building layers of depth and flavour through authentic techniques and quality ingredients.”
For the first time at Ramenhead, sushi is on the menu. The focus here is on oshizushi, the pressed sushi of Osaka. The fish and rice are layered and pressed in a box before being cut. The rice is Koshihikari from Ishikawa Prefecture, grown by fourth-generation farmers and cooked in Cape mountain spring water, and the fish is sustainably sourced from the Western Cape’s small-scale fishers.
The desserts include konbini sandos, the fruit sandwiches sold in every Japanese convenience store, made here with strawberries and cream. There is also a Don Pedro with Suntory whisky.
Hugé, who is the group’s sommelier and mixologist, has curated a list of twenty-four premium sakes for Ramenhead Izakaya. Poured at the courtyard sake bar, they are all available by the bottle, with a selection also served by the glass and in tasting flights of three or six. The styles range from honjozo to junmai daiginjo and include sparkling and aged sakes. Alongside the sake are Japanese-inspired cocktails, including highballs and sours. There is also a list of non-alcoholic options, Japanese and local beer on tap, and a short selection of local boutique wines.
Christoph Karl of Guideline did the fit-out with Tempelhoff, building out from Tristan du Plessis’ concept for the original Ramenhead, and Rotem Shachar of MR. Design consulted on select elements.
A lantern brought in from Japan hangs above the entrance and is lit when the restaurant is open. Inside, the ramen bowls that hung above the Parliament Street kitchen – seven at first and now ten, as local makers kept offering their own – now welcome guests as a design feature. To the right, the iconic neon Ramenhead sign hangs above tables looking onto Kloof Street.
A passage lined with timber blackened by shou sugi ban, the Japanese method of charring wood to preserve it, features the first seating area and runs past three alcoves: one for sake, one where the noodles mature and one for Ramenhead merchandise. The original counter and stools, refinished, divide the space.
Down a short flight of stairs, shoji-like panels run along the left against black walls and ceiling, and the open kitchen passes on the right are clad in carved dark timber. Four Formakami pendants light the main dining room. Here, a pillar is plastered in pages of Naruto, the ramen-obsessed manga character, stained with soy sauce and sealed so they look as though they have been there for years.
The Yamato machine sits at the back in full view of the dining room, so guests can watch the noodles being made from start to finish.
The courtyard holds the sake and cocktail bar, the wood-burning oven and covered seating, and is painted in the colours of miso: white behind the bar and along the back wall, brown along the side and red beside the oven. A small nod to the classic Japanese ingredient.
Ramenhead continues to operate its ramen counter at Time Out Market Cape Town, with the ramen bowls and a small selection of starters, small plates and sides.
Address: 75 Kloof Street, Gardens, Cape Town
Opening: Tuesday–Sunday
Seating Hours:
Tuesday to Saturday: 12:00 to 14:30
Sunday: 12:00 to 15:30
Tuesday to Saturday: 18:00 to 22:00
Bar: Tuesday to Saturday, 12:00 to midnight. Sunday, 12:00 to 17:00.
Telephone: +27 67 312 8061
Website: ramenhead.co.za
