Authentic Japanese restaurant opens in the neighborhood

By Nona Sue Friedman

Looking for a taste of Tokyo? No need to travel far.

Head to the new restaurant, Tonchin, at 5665 Melrose Ave. on the corner of Larchmont Boulevard and Melrose. Pre-pandemic, the site was the short-lived home of restaurant and store Le Petit Marché.

The new and authentic Japanese restaurant opened in early January. All of the food is house-made, including the noodles.

Tonchin offers ramen, whose broth is cooked for hours; dipping noodles, which are like deconstructed ramen; Asian meatballs in a taco-type shell; and flavorful shaved ices.

This is owner Anan Sugeno’s third restaurant in the United States. The other two are in Brooklyn and New York City.

Sugeno is following in the footsteps of his father, Katsuhiro, who opened a ramen restaurant of the same name in Tokyo 30 years ago.