Ten Ten showed up in our Instagram feed the other day and looked enticing. A quick scan of their website showed a pretty compelling list of bites on the happy hour menu so we dashed out on short notice one Wednesday afternoon, arriving a little after 5pm. On the way there we passed the old Maiko location on West 6th noting it was closed. Our first conversation inside Ten Ten was about whether or not Ten Ten killed Maiko…We decided it certainly could have.

The stylish decor, large bar area, delicious food, and proximity to the West 6th street entertainment district definitely competes for the same customers. It turns out Maiko moved to Piranha’s old location by the convention center, but our analysis wasn’t too far off as Ten Ten still shines in all the ways the old Maiko used to, and then some. 

The website states they’re a Modern Japanese Sushi and Robata Kitchen. Unaware, I looked up Robata which loosely translates into Japanese grill. The ambiance is upscale and snazzy with a little bit of a nightlife feel. You walk into a bar area that is lit up with subtle but energetic back lighting and seating along two rows of windows that are greyed out at eye level to let some light in, but shields the road views, which keeps the feeling intimate. Past the bar, the restaurant side opens up with several stylish round table booths in a unique semi circle pattern creating cubbies that seated 4 nicely and with a couple of chairs could easily host 6 or more. The back wall is one large row of booth seating situated beneath a glowing rock wall with some moss-like vegetation mixed in. 

Ten Ten has a stellar happy hour with 50% off all specialty cocktails, wine, sake & house spirits. They also feature four $6 “snack” plates and three larger plates for $12, as well as a hand roll of the day for $7. At those prices we opted to get happy and ordered a bottle of Quilt Cabernet (normally $89, but at 50% off, who’s counting?) followed by one of everything on the happy hour menu. In hindsight we might have ordered more slowly as things came out pretty quickly and we were suddenly surrounded by a veritable cornucopia of beautifully plated food in all shapes and sizes, which made for a good photo (shown below). There was a Scallop Hand Roll that had a great flavor and came in its own chic wooden holder. (My wife argued that it was one of the “sneaky” tastiest items of the meal, as it was unassuming and perfectly delicious, according to her.) The Chicken Karaage was an unexpectedly large, filling plate of fried chicken pieces that could have almost been an entrée on its own. The Pork Gyoza were 4 dumplings with a flavor packed center and their own sauce for dipping. A flight of skewers of shrimp, scallops, and brussels sprouts offered a true sampling of the robata grill in action. A Cucumber Sunomono was a large attractive cucumber salad in a tangy vinaigrette style dressing. The Short Rib Tacos, (taco flavor of the day), off the larger plate section were outstanding with little shells made of wontons and a rich rib flavor. The Crispy Baby Octopus, also from the larger plates section, looked amazing and crunched with a tempura like batter bulking up the pieces. To say we were impressed with Ten Ten’s big little happy hour menu would be an understatement.

The dinner menu has a wide selection of starters, nigiri, sashimi, crudo, maki, and dinner plates. After ordering off the happy hour like we did, there wasn’t much space left to explore the dinner menu. That said, we really wanted to try a few items to get a feel for how they stacked up. The Hamachi Carpaccio off the crudo section was nothing short of excellent with a nice sized portion of yellowtail sashimi with usi vinaigrette, fresh flag truffles, micro cilantro and pink peppercorns for $25. The Short Rib was cooked on the robata, glazed with a brown sauce, and topped with mushrooms for $38. The short rib flavor was perfect, but I personally might have liked a larger portion if it were my primary entrée.

The service at Ten Ten is also worth noting as every staff member seemed truly interested in the quality of the food and the comfort of our experience. They were warm and welcoming in a way that you don’t often get when the food alone is worth the visit. Perhaps we loved it so much because we ate like kings with excellent service in a fun and intimate setting at happy hour prices, but we decided it was more than that. Ten Ten has a great atmosphere and serves great food. We will definitely be back and likely feature them on a top happy hours post in the coming months.