Tanuki Izakaya & Ramen — Restaurant in Elk Grove

My all time favorite foods are served here! Katsudon, katsu curry, shrimp tempura curry, and croquette curry. I have been let down by other Elk Grove restaurants trying to find katsudon that actually follows the actual Japanese recipe (side eyeing Satori Sushi and a few other places so hard right now 😡).

I'm not a person who thinks only Japanese people can make good Japanese food, that's silly. But I do like it to have the right flavors etc if it's not presented as fusion or a spin on traditional foods. Most of the Japanese restaurants in our area are run by lovely people from many ethnicities. I like to know ahead of time so that I don't do something dumb like order the items in Japanese (sometimes I forget and ask for ramen "kata me" and then feel like I was both dumb and rude when the server is like "Uhhh what now?"). I used to live there and it kind of comes back when you're having the food!

The staff here is not Japanese but they are super excited about making good food and greeting customers. Tanuki's food is authentic and tastes good. The staff is polite and pays attention to detail. Everyone makes you feel welcome. I have been here maybe 10 times and ordered both dine-in and takeout and the order is always accurate, huge portions, and delicious. The curry is exquisite. For you white people, it may be a bit on the hot side of medium compared to store bought Japanese curry roux. It pairs well with croquettes and shrimp tempura!

This restaurant is not good for bringing someone to if you want to talk quietly about deep stuff, It's small and loud like a good ramen shop tends to be. We always end up watching the TVs. There is usually something on with k-pop. No, it's not those 2 very famous in the US groups that start with B, so stop asking lol. It's stuff with older SM or JYP artists hosting a variety show or some mv's. I tend to see stuff with Eunhyuk and Donghae from SuJu on the screen a lot I think. I have seen a ranking awards show but it was an old one.

I really like the decor. They invested well in it and it's very nice.

If I could ask for an item that they don't already have, I would like matcha latte, soba noodles, chuka soba, yakisoba, or kids' size items. A small ramen or udon with fish cake in it would be super! My kids eat like soooo little and they never want the same thing as each other so having them share is out.

I would also adore if they did DoorDash for delivery! Because parking here SUCKS.

All in all a solid 5...

What a great experience! The staff was phenomenal, A+! One thing I find staff don't do consistently is checking for water refills. Here? Always come back to refill our water just a little after we finished our water. Please keep up the great work! The food was a wonderful serenade on the tongue. Of the yakitori we tried, the A5 wagyu was hands down the best! The chicken thigh and chicken wing yakitori left a lot to be desired however, especially after the A5 wagyu. However, the main entrées made up for the slight disappointment of the chicken yakitoris. We ordered the chicken katsu don and the hiyashi chuka cold ramen. What can I say about them other than chef's kisses?! The katsu don was just the perfect combination of sauce, eggs, chicken, green onions, and rice. 🤤 It came with pickled(?) ginger as well, but it was too strong for us so we took it out. The cold ramen was also done very well and the flavor profile was such a delight! The ramen eggs was so wonderful to round out the ramen, and it's hard to find the perfect ramen egg in my ramen half the time so props to them! We rounded it off with a taiyaki ice cream (strawberry flavored) and it was a great choice! It was nice and cold for the weather, and just the right amount of sweetness, but not overly sweet, to end the savory dinner! The environment was also a nice cultural mix as well. Welcomed in Japanese, can hear some Chinese conversation between the staff, nice early 2000s American music, and they had a Korean tennis...

Tanuki is a neighborhood gem and if you blink, you will miss it! Located in the strip next to Nugget off of Elk Grove Blvd, it is by far the best izakaya in Elk Grove. If you’re coming here looking for sushi then you are in the wrong place. After all, there is much more to Japanese cuisine than sushi like yakitori, which is featured at Tanuki! Skewers of chicken, pork, and seafood grilled over imported bincho and dipped in an aged ta-re(mother sauce), which chef Steven has perfected over the last 5 years and beyond.

There is much to like about the restaurant, food obviously was delicious. I’d recommend for dinner dining izakaya style with multiple appetizers to share like the karaage, agedashi tofu, yakitori, fried oysters, and finishing off with ramen or curry. They have a large selection of beverages to choose from and I can’t wait to go back and dive into their imported beer and sake selection.

Ambience and Service was on point. Servers knew the menu and gave us great recommendations for an enjoyable meal. Lastly it was nostalgic walking into the restaurant and being greeted with a Tanuki (raccoon) and the image of the Dotonbori bridge in Osaka, one of my favorite...