Here’s what’s on the menu at Seminole Heights’ new Ichi Koroshi Ramen, opening soon

Although the #RamenArmy may have disbanded after the 2023 closure of Tampa’s Michelin Bib Gourmand-awarded Ichicoro, some soldiers may reunite for the resurgence of ramen on Florida Avenue.

With a menu “heavily-inspired by Ichicoro,” a handful of the beloved ramen concept’s former employees will open the reimagined Ichi Koroshi, utilizing Jug & Bottle’s Seminole Heights kitchen last occupied by Three Dot vegan restaurant.

The brand new, yet familiar, ramen shop is slated to soft open within the next few weeks after its final round of inspections.

Executive Chef Ryan Czternastek tells Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that Ichi Koroshi will operate from 2 p.m.-9 p.m. Tuesday-Sunday during its soft opening period, with plans to eventually expand to lunch.

There’s three types of ramen on Ichi Koroshi’s menu: A chicken-based shoyu ramen with braised pork belly or chasyu asado, soy-cured eggs, bamboo shoots, green onions and nori, and its vegetarian mushroom and seaweed-based counterpart featuring shitake, portobello and beech mushrooms, green onions, daikon and truffle butter.

The third ramen option is another nod to the now-closed Ichicoro—a brothless abura soba loaded with chili oil, poached egg, scallions, pickled ginger, shiitake, chasyu asado, bacon and jalapeño yuzu kosho.

All three ramens can be customized to your liking, with the option of adding more soy-cured eggs, pork belly, mushrooms, bamboo shoots and a variety of housemade spicy sauces that range from $1-$3.50 per add-on.

Non-noodle dishes include chicken or tofu karaage accompanied by spicy garlic mayo or chili oil, pork gyoza with a soy dipping sauce and tsukemono—a Japanese pickled vegetable side dish with Ichi Koroshi’s rendition featuring crushed cucumbers, daikon and green onions seasoned with dobanjan, a spicy fermented bean paste that’s commonly used in Chinese and Japanese cuisine.

Despite only having about 20 seats total, Ichi’s customers are welcome to enjoy its ramen inside or on Jug & Bottle’s patio—although all food will be served in a to-go capacity.

While Jug & Bottle and its accompanying kitchen will not necessarily function as a full-service restaurant, the bottle shop’s new owner Jessie Wohlers says that she and other staff members will provide assistance, recommend bottles of sake and bus tables.

Choun Yeh, a part-owner and investor of Ichi Koroshi (who was also associated with Ichicoro’s original ownership team), will be working the front counter and greeting customers while Wohlers curates a beverage selection that accompanies the restaurant’s Japanese cuisine.

Almost the entire staff at Ichi Koroshi (and Jug + Bottle) worked at Ichicoro before the Seminole Heights restaurant closed in 2023.

Wohlers is in the process of creating a new inventory of Japanese soda and sake that will complement Ichi’s ramen selection, in addition to putting two of Ichicoro’s most popular cocktails on draft.

“The attention to detail and service will definitely be there. I tell everybody that I’m training to think of this space as less of a bottle shop and more of a bar,” Wohlers says. “I want to make sure the guest experience is always on par with the food.”

Chef Czternastek helms the kitchen at Ichi Koroshi, although he’s no stranger to the small kitchen space inside of Jug + Bottle, since he also led the 3 Dot team before the vegan restaurant’s closure late last year.

Most, if not all, of Ichi Koroshi’s dishes can be considered inspired by Ichicoro classics, with Czternastek and team making a few changes and substitutions as they see fit. One major change is the fact that Ichi Koroshi’s mushroom-based ramen will be completely plant-based—truffle butter included—perhaps a nod to Three Dot’s former clientele.

He also plans to launch weekend specials once things are up and running at the new restaurant.

Head to @ichikoroshi on Instagram for the latest news on Ichi Koroshi’s soft opening, menu items and more.

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This article appears in Mar 20-26, 2025.