About Us
We are a tiny restaurant in Fremont, Seattle specializing in handmade ni-hachi soba noodles and seasonal tempura. Our soba is made with an 80% buckwheat and 20% flour ratio. This is because buckwheat is a seed and has no natural gluten content. The added flour helps to bind the buckwheat and water together to form the delicious soba noodles we serve.
Popular in Japan, we hope that someday it will be just as popular here in the US! Our soba is handmade daily by the team here at Kamonegi, with each batch yielding about fifteen orders of noodles. This means the crew is forming, rolling, and cutting at least six rounds of soba a day. Phew, that is hard work! Scroll down to learn more about the magic behind the scenes.
Mutsuko Soma
Chef Owner
Mutsuko Soma grew up in Japan, watching her grandmother make noodles from homegrown buckwheat and rice—a passion that followed her to the U.S. She studied culinary arts at the Art Institute of Seattle. After cooking at top Seattle restaurants like Harvest Vine and Chez Shea, she returned to Japan in 2009 to study soba-making in depth... learning everything from history to milling techniques.
Back in Seattle, Soma opened Miyabi 45th, then launched her acclaimed soba restaurant Kamonegi in 2017, followed by the sake-focused Hannyatou in 2019. Both restaurants reflect her deep commitment to Japanese culinary tradition. Soma is a certified Sake Sommelier, Shochu Advisor, and WSET Level III holder.
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In its inaugural year, Kamonegi was named Restaurant of the Year by Seattle Metropolitan Magazine, Best New Restaurants of 2018 by the Seattle Times, among the 20 Best Restaurants in Seattle by Conde Nast Traveler, one of America’s Best New Restaurants by Eater critic Bill Addison, and a Top 50 Nominee for America’s Best New Restaurants by Bon Appetit. Chef Soma was named as one of Food and Wine Magazine’s "Best New Chefs 2019", was a finalist for the James Beard Awards "Best Chef - Northwest" the same year, and a Rising Star StarChef in 2020.
Emilio Slezak
Chef De Cuisine
Emilio grew up in Hawaii and moved to Las Vegas after, working at Twist by Pierre Gagnaire. Since moving to Seattle, he's worked at Kamonegi since 2020.
Matthew Thomas
General Manager
Matt grew up in California and started working in restaurants when he was 18, and has worked in restaurants all across the country. He began in Kamonegi in 2023.