Downtown Champaign’s Tenkyu Izakaya opened in January this year in the old Miga space with a menu of small bites, chef specialties, ramen, and rice bowls. Because I loved Miga, I love being back in the same space for dinner again. And when I heard Tenkyu got their liquor license, I took my husband out for a date at our town’s newest upscale restaurant.
Tenkyu played romantic jazz in the dining room, and our server sat us in a corner with a good view of where Church Street meets Neil.
Even Tenkyu’s water was fancy with a cucumber slice, but we perused the new drink menu for adult beverage options. The restaurant now offers wine by the glass, sake, sochu, small batch whiskey, and beer.
We each ordered a glass of house sake ($12), which sipped smooth with a silky mouth-feel.
As an appetizer, I ordered the salmon puff pastry ($36), of course, because it’s amazing. Tenkyu’s buttery from-scratch pastry, delicate salmon, and wilted spinach together make such a delicious bite.
All ramen at Tenkyu includes an egg, noodles, and vegetables, but of the broth section and 23 toppings, I ordered tonkotsu ramen ($18), plus pork chashu ($3) and crispy onion ($1), and it was heavenly.
My husband had the pork gyoza curry don ($15), which had four pork gyoza atop white rice and curry, plus a soft-boiled egg, green onions, and steamed broccoli. He enjoyed his dinner, and the gyoza he spared for me to try tasted delish.
He’d had a really long day, so my husband also ordered the beer tasting flight ($28) for dessert. The flight had four different beers by Treehouse Brewing Company. Our server didn’t say what was what, but they were all definitely beer, all pretty good.
Take a look at Tenkyu’s food menu.
For more, check out the restaurant’s website or stop in for a meal.
Tenkyu Izakaya
301 N Neil St
Champaign
M-Th 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m.
F-Su 11:30 a.m. to 2 a.m.
