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Located on a block populated with convenience stores and the recently departed Café Habana, Tampopo I is easily overlooked; its unassuming storefront belies the colorful and exciting dishes it serves six days per week.

Inside lurks a Korean restaurant with an emphasis on Japanese food. Instead of paying tribute to Juzo Itami’s eponymously titled sensual film by ordering a noodle dish, we chose three classic rice items: two from Japan: eel and cucumber maki, and eel don; and one from Korea: the fresh tuna bi-bim-bob. After ordering at the counter, we grabbed a table and waited for a swift 8 to 10 minutes for our order to be called. The maki was warm, as the eel was recently broiled, and the cucumber was slightly bitter, but added the needed coolness and crunch to the roll. Our eel don held about a cup of sticky rice with about eight slices of eel lying on top. Eel don traditionally has a fillet of eel lying on top, but in light of the high demand, most places, including Tampopo I skimp on this buttery fish. At $7, though, we were satisfied.

Our fresh tuna bi-bim-bob had small jewels of tuna piled on top of rice, accompanied by slices of cucumber and avocado. The tuna was drizzled with sesame oil, sesame seeds and was pink and plump. The ruby sheen of the tuna bites made this dish visually stunning, though despite a terrific taste, the ratio of tuna to other, less important ingredients, was dismal. We wanted more fish when we left this restaurant, but for $20, we were ultimately pretty satisfied and would return for a lunch trip. Its sister restaurant, Tampopo II, in Jeweler’s Row has a slightly different menu, and might be worth a trip soon.

Tampopo I Restaurant
104 South 21st Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Hours of Operation
Monday thru Friday: Lunch 11:30 – 2:30 / Dinner 5:00 – 9:30
Saturday: 12:00 – 9:00
Sunday Closed