Tempura Tanaka 天ぷら たなか (Fukuoka, JAPAN) ★★★☆☆

We have two highly anticipated meals ahead of us in Fukuoka, starting with a tempura dinner at Tempura Tanaka (天ぷら たなか) tonight.

Tempura Tanaka is ranked as the second-best tempura restaurant in Fukuoka Prefecture (福岡縣). Nestled on the edge of the Kego district (警固區), near Yakuin-odori (藥院大通) and Akasaka (赤阪區), it’s slightly off the beaten path for those staying in the city centre. However, an Uber ride brought us there in just over 10 minutes.

The restaurant is helmed by Owner-Chef Hideki Tanaka (田中秀樹), a seasoned tempura master who spent 21 years at the renowned Ginza Tenichi (銀座天一), where he also served as head chef. Sitting at the cozy 8-seat counter gave us the perfect opportunity to witness his craftsmanship up close.

We were first started off with a refreshing salad of spinach and persimmon. It was finished with a nutty Japanese sesame sauce (胡麻醬).

Next up, two types of sashimi to whet our appetite including grouper and squid. I thought the squid really stood out for its firm and stringy texture.

For the tempura, we were provided with four condiments: Himalayan salt, Okinawan salt (a more powdery variety), a classic tempura dipping sauce, and lemon juice.

Shrimp head – The tempura journey began with a crispy and super flaky shrimp head. 

As little nugget always said, it’s like having chips.

Shrimp – It was immediately followed by a delicious shrimp tempura. Thick battered but at the same time, really flaky and soft at the same time. Enjoying it with the pink salt from the mountains of Himalayas was simply a thing of beauty.

Then, we had our second piece of shrimp with a slightly thinner batter. Don’t know if it was intentional. 

Lotus root – I thought a little more powdery (粉) than crunchy for me.

Kiss fish – The Japanese whiting fish was thin but very tasty. I liked the way it soaked up the tempura sauce.

Matsutake mushroom with shrimp – Apparently, a signature dish here. 

I expected a little more from a house specialty but this turned out to be just okay.

Green onion – Delivered double the crunch, as expected. Always a fun bite.

Shirako (白子) – My biggest fear came true. For a few of our omakase meals, I made sure to indicate in my reservations that I didn’t want the prized fish milt included but unfortunately, I must have forgotten to do so for this one (we've had so many restaurant bookings on this trip!). It turns out I only asked them to exclude it for little nugget.

To be brutally honest, the thin batter actually helped to "glue" the custard-like fish milt together nicely, and the addition of lemon juice also helped cut through some of the slightly fishy flavor. Better than expected.

Taro – This looked like a slice of Japanese fish cake at first glance. OK but not too memorable.

Oyster – Briny and fresh, it worked reasonably well with the light batter.

We enjoyed a break in action with a small fish soup with turnip. Little nugget thought the meal was over! Well, not quite!

Crab wrapped in shiso leaf – Chef Tanaka looked really focused here. Maybe he's onto something.

The shiso leaf wrapped crab (螃蟹) and crab roes were pretty tasty but something was missing to tie it all together. 

Perhaps something like sea urchin? A dish that was good but could have been great.

Burdock – Instead of coming in thin strips, this came in the shape of a ring. Not bad.

Sawara fish – Decent.

Mandarin and pear 🍐 – Always enjoy having fruit from Kyushu (九州). Again, little one thought it was the end of the meal but nope. More food coming.

Beans – Lovely crunch, with fresh and clean flavors.

Anago – The sea eel was the third and final fish item. 

We finally wrapped up the meal with a tendon featuring a kakiage made with onion and shrimps. A slightly underwhelming end to a meal that lasted around two and a half hours.

This was served along with a red miso soup.

Sweet potato 🍠 – One final tempura but a nice, thin batter and the usual crunchy (crusty) texture.

This wasn’t a cheap meal by Fukuoka standard. Does it live up to the lofty expectations of being the second-best tempura restaurant in the prefecture (according to Tabelog)? Well, it's hard to say — this was my first tempura experience in Fukuoka. But compared to our recent tempura meals in Tokyo and Osaka, this one fell a notch below expectations.

While the seafood and fish items (especially the shrimp and kiss fish) were excellent, the vegetarian offerings were noticeably less memorable. As the dinner wore on, we found ourselves waiting for the next standout dish but it never arrived. For a restaurant with such pedigree, one simply expects more.

On the bright side, the service was excellent throughout. The chef, who speaks very good English, was very engaging and certainly kept us thoroughly entertained. That said, I’m not sure if I would return, given the other dining options available at similar price points.

Food Rating: 6.8/10

Price: ￥￥￥￥

Address: 1/F Akasaka Minami, 2-2-1 Kego, Chuo-ku, Fukuoka, 810-0023 Japan

Closest Metro Station: Yakuin-odori

Tel: +81 (0)92-713-5725

Website: https://www.tempura-tanaka.com/

Opening Hours: 12:00pm - 2:30pm, 6:30pm - 9:30pm (Wed - Mon)