A hit in Dallas, Wabi House opens on the south side (just in time for ramen weather)

Chef Kenzo Tran is at it again. Tran is owner of the successful Piranha Killer Sushi restaurants (PKS for short). He joined forces with chef Dien Nguyen of Dallas’ highly acclaimed Wabi House, which is on lower Greenville.

Last February, the duo opened a sister restaurant, Piranha Killer Ramen, in Arlington Highlands. It is a blend of Nguyen’s classy ramen and Tran’s spectacular sushi. Now they are introducing the second location of Wabi House to Fort Worth.

It will be open at 5 p.m. Friday for a soft opening, with the grand opening set for Saturday.

Wabi House has been a hit for the past three years in Dallas.

“The Fort Worth location has a bigger footprint and while our lower Greenville restaurant has a settled and homey feel, this one is more modern, due to the architecture of the building,” manager Sammi Quach said.

Housed on the second floor near neighbors like Super Chix and Potbelly Sandwich Shop, at the corner of Magnolia Avenue and Eighth Avenue, Wabi House joins the bustling near southside.

The upper floor affords room for a spacious patio by the front door. A central bar is surrounded by bar-top seating, and groupings of lower couches and chairs make for a cozy lounge feel with cushions and pillows near the railing. The patio is equipped with sun-shades and heaters, so it’s ready for any type of weather.

“Opening this new location of Wabi House has been chef Nguyen’s dream,” Quach said.

The izakaya menu is sushi-free. The only raw item on the menu is hama rayu ($15). This sharable plate features succulent slices of raw hamachi (yellowtail), tossed in a light mustard vinaigrette and topped with some crispy fried leeks and a drizzle of chili sauce, bringing a slight heat to the dish.

Many of the most popular items from the Dallas location are coming to Fort Worth. For example, the crispy pork ear dish ($6), tempura fried pork ears sprinkled with a furikake (seaweed seasoning) mix, and the sweet corn fritters ($6) made from fresh corn and sansho pepper. Both are drizzled with garlic aioli.

New to the menu is a fun section of yakitori (grilled meats and vegetables) to explore.

Yakitori, which are so popular in Japan, are priced per piece so you can sample to your heart’s content. Speaking of hearts — that’s actually one of the options — hatsu (or chicken hearts). Other grilled skewers include lamb chop, beef tenderloin, chicken or chicken meatball, and bacon-wrapped enoki mushrooms or okra.

There are plenty of other shareables like the classic gyoza pork dumplings ($6), and takoyaki (octopus fritters) laced with garlic mayonnaise and dusted liberally with dried bonita flakes.

There are also some intriguing new creations such as bone marrow crab ($12) featuring roasted bone marrow and baked blue crab, topped with masago (fish eggs) and scallions.

The interior space features a ramen bar, where you can slurp noodles sidled up next to complete strangers — the Tokyo-way. There are tables, booths and long communal tables to choose from as well.

Another full bar anchors the back wall. Black and white murals, with ancient Japanese themes adorn the walls.

At Wabi House, it’s all about the base − the soup base that is. They slow simmer the broth from scratch daily, and you can really taste the difference. The pork broth takes 18 hours to craft ($11-$12), and the chicken only a few less ($11). They even have a vegetarian base ($10). And, the dense and chewy ramen noodles are specially made from Chef Nguyen’s own recipe.

You can personalize your bowl of ramen to taste, by choosing any of the additions from the toppings list.

There are also two new varieties that Fort Worthians may not have seen before — called dry ramen. The dry garlic ($11) has ramen topped with chashu pork, nori seaweed, a poached egg, cucumber and scallion, but it is topped with melting dashi butter instead of the traditional soup broth, so you can really focus on the ramen. Likewise, the tsukumen (only available after 5 p.m.) has a rich pork belly dipping broth served on the side.

For dessert, Wabi House makes a tapioca parfait ($6) that is cool and refreshing. The tapioca is soaked in coconut milk for an extra creamy result and topped mixed berries and candied walnuts.

Happy hour features are still to come. But, Wabi House has a nice collection of craft cocktails to choose from, along with few standard bottles and draft beers.

Wabi House

1229 Eighth Ave., 817-720-3100, www.wabihouse.com

Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-12 a.m. Friday and Saturday.

This story was originally published November 16, 2018 at 9:00 AM.