Five years of katsu on 15th Ave E: Kobuta & Ookami looks back, and north to Mountlake Terrace

When Kobuta & Ookami finally opened its doors on 15th Ave E in fall 2021, Sue Phuksopha wasn’t sure anybody would show up. The partners had signed their lease before COVID-19 shut everything down, then watched construction stall for months. When opening day came, they found a line waiting outside.

“After waiting so long and not knowing what was going to happen, seeing that line made us so happy and excited,” Phuksopha told CHS.

Five years later, the katsu specialist has grown into a small family of restaurants , Capitol Hill and Redmond today, with a third location planned for Mountlake Terrace in 2027. CHS caught up with the team to talk about what’s changed, what hasn’t, and why Seattle can’t seem to get enough fried pork cutlet.

The pandemic delay turned out to have a silver lining. Because rent didn’t kick in until the space was turned over, the partners used the extra months to refine recipes and the menu.

Opening was still a challenge. Kobuta & Ookami debuted as dine-in only at a time when people were still uneasy about sitting down inside a restaurant. Staff checked vaccination cards and worked to make both customers and employees feel safe.

“We thought we would have a little more time to adjust, but we had to learn very quickly,” Phuksopha said. “All of us as partners learned different positions and jumped in wherever we were needed.”

When the restaurant opened, Phuksopha told CHS they wanted to capture the casual street-dining vibe of the little alleys in Japan. That’s still the goal.

“When we travel there, we really love the little restaurants, the alleys, places under the train tracks, just sitting down with good food, sake, beer or a highball, spending time with friends and enjoying yourself,” Phuksopha said.

The team still travels to Japan at least once a year. “We like to call it ‘research,’ but really, we just love going there,” Phuksopha said, and they always come back with new ideas for food, drinks and atmosphere.

When it first opened, CHS marked Kobuta & Ookami as a first for the neighborhood. After years of mixed-use development bringing new buildings with brand new restaurant spaces to Capitol Hill, 2021 marked the beginning of the development slowdown. Kobuta & Ookami’s September debut was the first and one of the only food and drink debuts in a fresh restaurant space part of a new development that year.

The restaurant has become more than expected, with longtime regulars, families, visitors brought in by out-of-town friends, and customers who have followed them from Capitol Hill to Redmond. Phuksopha credits much of that growth to word of mouth, along with coverage from local media including CHS.

Despite five years of tinkering, the menu’s heart hasn’t moved. “Katsu is always going to be the heart of Kobuta & Ookami,” Phuksopha said.

A few appetizers and entrées have been added along the way, but the team has kept things deliberately tight. A smaller menu means faster service and more consistent training, essential in the tiny Capitol Hill dining room and kitchen. Many of the dishes from the original menu remain among the most popular today.

The biggest surprise of running a katsu-focused restaurant? “Probably how much people really love katsu!”

The dish looks simple, Phuksopha said, but the pork, breading, oil, temperature, texture and timing all matter, and customers notice. Keeping something that simple consistent every day takes constant work on staffing, training and equipment.

“Five years later, we’re still learning.”

As for why customers keep coming back, Phuksopha points to comfort, consistency and price. “It’s crispy, hot, satisfying and simple. When it’s done well, you crave it,” they said.

Phuksopha wants Kobuta & Ookami to be an everyday spot rather than a special-occasion splurge, something that has gotten harder with inflation, tariffs and rising ingredient costs.

The neighborhood around the restaurant has shifted, too. Phuksopha and crew have watched businesses open and close and new residents move in.

Kobuta & Ookami is part of a cluster of Capitol Hill food and drink in this block of 15th Ave E with Bakery Nouveau, Teriyaki Madness, and Aviv Hummus Bar nearby.

Lunch has gotten quieter as work patterns have changed, pushing the team to think more creatively about giving people reasons to stop by on weekdays. They also cited more visible homelessness and concerns about safety and property crime in their of Capitol Hill, saying they hope those issues continue to get attention so staff, customers and neighbors feel safe.

Then there are costs. Food, labor, insurance, utilities, “Inflation has affected almost everything,” they said. “Restaurants already operate on pretty small margins, so trying to keep prices reasonable while maintaining quality and taking care of our staff gets harder every year.”

There’s more competition, too, but Phuksopha say they’d rather focus on their own food and service.

“Capitol Hill is where Kobuta & Ookami started, so that location will always be really special to us.”

The team came to katsu from a Thai food background, but their love of Japanese food, animation and culture goes back to childhood. Travel deepened that appreciation, and changed how they eat.

“Before, we were mostly just eating and thinking, ‘This is so good.’ Now our restaurant brains never completely turn off,” they said. Breading, oil, plates, signs, lighting, they notice all of it.

Sake and Sapporo can be an important part of the experience, and Phuksopha said they want to lean into the drinks side even more. The sake list rotates as the team tastes new bottles, with an emphasis on keeping things approachable.

“You shouldn’t have to know everything about sake to order a glass and enjoy it,” they said. “Obviously we can’t bring Japan to Seattle, but we can bring a little bit of that feeling here.”

The third Kobuta & Ookami is planned for Mountlake Terrace in 2027. Phuksopha said they chose the location partly because customers farther north kept telling them they wanted to visit without fighting traffic into Seattle or Redmond.

The bigger space will let the team lean further into the Japanese yokocho, or alley, feel, with more sake, Japanese-style drinks and highballs, and a few new dishes, while keeping tonkatsu at the center.

Over the next five years, Phuksopha wants each location to have its own personality while still feeling like Kobuta & Ookami. And down the line, maybe something entirely new.

“We have a lot of ideas, but nothing we’re ready to announce yet.”

Kobuta & Ookami is located at121 15th Ave E. Learn more at kobutaandookami.com.

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