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Listen up, noodle fans. Ramenhead is heading up the hill. The popular Japanese street-food restaurant announced on Tuesday that it will relocate from its original Parliament Street address to a larger space at 75 Kloof Street, with the new branch scheduled to open in spring.
75 Kloof Street.
Does that address sound familiar? If you’re a foodie, it should, as that’s the former home of ëlgr, the contemporary European restaurant by chef Jesper Nilsson. ëlgr closed in May 2026, freeing up the sizeable Kloof Street site for the FYN Group’s expanded ramen, sushi and izakaya concept.
Ramenhead was launched by the FYN Group in 2022, bringing a casual counterpoint to the group’s fine-dining restaurants. It quickly earned a hungry local following for its rich broths and noodles made in-house using the only Yamato ramen machine on the African continent. Ramenhead also operates at Time Out Market Cape Town, which will remain open.
The move puts Ramenhead slap-bang in the heart of Kloof Street’s busy restaurant and nightlife line-up, while also giving the team considerably more room to expand the original concept.
“Kloof Street has this energy, it's alive, it's unpretentious, it moves fast, and that's exactly what Ramenhead has always been about,” says chef-owner Peter Tempelhoff. “We built this concept on the idea that ramen should be serious about craft but never precious about it. This new space just gives that energy more room to breathe.”
The new restaurant will continue serving the ramen bowls that made the Parliament Street branch a hit, but diners can expect a much broader menu of Japanese street food.
A dedicated sushi counter will prepare made-to-order New Edo-style sushi – the kind of fare you’ll find at Sushiya at Time Out Market – while a selection of fire-cooked izakaya dishes (now we know why the Stickman pop-up made a return this winter) will add a little smoke and sizzle to the offering.
Chef Julia du Toit, who has led the Ramenhead kitchen since the restaurant first opened, will take charge of the Kloof Street venture as executive chef and partner.
The expanded restaurant will also include a courtyard sake and cocktail bar, so expect an impressive selection of Japanese rice wines and spirits, alongside cocktails developed by FYN Group co-founder, sommelier and service director Jennifer Hugé. Live-music evenings are also planned for the new venue.
The precise opening date has yet to be announced, but the new Ramenhead is expected to begin serving noodles, sushi and sake at 75 Kloof Street during spring.
Which also raises the question... what do Tempelhoff & Co. have planned for the Parliament Street space? We’ll have to wait and see...
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