Tatsu Ramen

What Tatsu Ramen does

Tatsu Ramen is a privately held, founder-owned ramen restaurant chain founded in 2012 in Los Angeles, operating four dine-in locations across the LA metro: the original Sawtelle Blvd location in Little Osaka, the Melrose flagship in the Fairfax District, Pasadena in Old Town, and the newest Arts District DTLA location. The company sells six handcrafted, fully customizable ramen bowls — Bold (signature tonkotsu), Old Skool (Hakata-style tonkotsu), Red (tonkotsu with umami sauce), Cheeky (chicken paitan), Hippie (fully vegan plant-based broth), and Naked (brothless) — accompanied by Japanese sides including rice bowls, steamed buns, gyoza, and edamame. Its core culinary technology is a slow-cooked, scratch broth process using whole bones and vegetables (no concentrates or powders), proprietary recipes for the signature Tatsu Egg and handmade noodles, and a certified gluten-free rice flour noodle that was selected after testing 40 candidates.

The business model is direct-to-consumer restaurant operations. Primary revenue comes from on-premise dining at the four LA locations, supplemented by pickup orders processed through Toast and delivery orders via DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and order.online. Pricing is not publicly disclosed on the website. Customers customize broth, noodles, protein, toppings, and spice level via in-restaurant tablets. The company targets a broad consumer segment with a particular focus on late-night diners (open until 1-3 AM) and dietary segments including vegan, vegetarian, and gluten-free eaters. Marketing is largely earned — People, The Infatuation, Eater LA, BuzzFeed, Tripadvisor (ranked #67 of 5,671 LA restaurants), and Yelp Top 10 Ramen — backed by a 4.4 average rating across 6,541 reviews. The company has no disclosed venture funding, no franchising or licensing model, no parent company, and no publicly disclosed revenue or headcount data.

Name

Tatsu Ramen

Legal name

Tatsu Ramen

Website

https://tatsuramen.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Tatsu Ramen is a Los Angeles-based ramen restaurant chain founded in 2012, operating four dine-in locations (Melrose, Sawtelle, Pasadena, Arts District DTLA) serving six handcrafted, customizable ramen bowls and Japanese sides, with late-night hours, pickup via Toast, and delivery via major third-party aggregators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Dine-in Food and Beverage Sales: Revenue from customers dining at any of the four Los Angeles locations, ordering from the full menu of ramen bowls, sides, and beverages. Ramen bowls are the primary revenue driver.
2. Pickup Orders via Toast: Online pickup orders processed through Toast platform. Customers place orders through the Tatsu Ramen website and pick up at their selected location.
3. Delivery Orders via Third-Party Platforms: Delivery orders processed through DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and order.online. Full menu available for delivery during open hours, with cutoff typically 30-60 minutes before close.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Tatsu Ramen operates four ramen restaurants in Los Angeles serving six signature handcrafted ramen bowls (Bold, Old Skool, Red, Cheeky, Hippie, Naked) built on slow-cooked tonkotsu, chicken paitan, vegan, and brothless bases. All bowls are fully customizable via in-restaurant tablets and accompanied by Japanese sides including rice bowls, steamed buns, gyoza, and edamame. Orders are available for dine-in, pickup via Toast, or delivery through DoorDash, Uber Eats, Grubhub, and order.online, with late-night hours (until 1-3 AM) as a defining service feature.

Product overview

Tatsu Ramen is a Los Angeles-based ramen restaurant chain offering six signature ramen bowls built on slow-cooked broths: Bold Ramen, Old Skool Ramen, and Red Ramen (tonkotsu pork broth), Cheeky Ramen (chicken paitan broth), Hippie Ramen (fully vegan plant-based broth), and Naked Ramen (brothless). The core offering is complemented by Japanese sides including rice bowls, steamed buns, gyoza, and edamame. The company operates four physical restaurant locations across Los Angeles (Melrose, Sawtelle, Pasadena, and Arts District DTLA) with late-night hours. All bowls are fully customizable via in-restaurant tablet ordering system. Pickup orders are processed through Toast platform and delivery through DoorDash and other third-party services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Bold Ramen Signature tonkotsu pork broth ramen finished with a blend of 11 bold ingredients; thin noodles served with Tatsu Egg, scallions and fried onions. Marketed as the most popular bowl.
• Old Skool Ramen Classic Hakata-style tonkotsu ramen inspired by Kyushu. Slow-cooked pork broth finished with smooth Hakata Tonkotsu dashi, thin noodles, kikurage mushrooms, scallions and sesame.
• Red Ramen Tonkotsu pork broth spiked with secret umami RED sauce. Thin noodles topped with ground beef, sesame and scallions. Spicy option.
• Cheeky Ramen Ultra-rich and creamy chicken paitan broth slow-cooked with whole ingredients. Curly noodles topped with Tatsu Egg, flash fried onions, scallions and yuzu kosho paste.
• Hippie Ramen

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.4 average rating from 6,541 combined Google and Yelp reviews across four locations
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers1 record

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration9 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ToastcoreTechnology or IntegrationToast serves as the online ordering and point-of-sale platform for pickup orders. Customers place pickup orders through Toast via the Tatsu Ramen website. Toast processes orders and payment under its own privacy policy.
• DoorDashcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPrimary delivery ordering platform. DoorDash handles delivery orders placed through the Tatsu Ramen website. Full menu available for delivery during open hours.
• Uber EatscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery aggregator available for delivery orders during open hours.
• GrubhubcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery aggregator available for delivery orders during open hours.
• order.onlinecoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party delivery aggregator available for delivery orders during open hours.
• Instagram, Facebook, Yelp (Social Media)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerSocial media platforms linked from the website. Interactions on these platforms are governed by their respective privacy policies.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Market position

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/tatsuramen
• Instagraminstagram.com/tatsuramen
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/tatsu-ramen

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Tatsu Ramen