Providence, RIJapanese

Miso Mozza settles onto Federal Hill with a Japanese take on Italian cooking, a style called Itameshi, under chef and owner Wanchai Intawong. The neighborhood is best known for red-sauce kitchens, which makes its miso-inflected pastas and Italian plates with a Japanese accent stand out from everything else on the block.

Tori Tomo runs a ramen and izakaya room on Washington Street, one of a handful of serious ramen spots in Providence rather than the instant-noodle version most people grew up on. It is part of a small family of restaurants that also includes Wara Wara and the newer Phed Phed, all from the same team.

Wara Wara pairs small izakaya plates with ramen on Hope Street, going past sushi to show a fuller range of Japanese cooking. It shares an owner and a creative team with Tori Tomo and the newer Phed Phed, forming a loose trio of Japanese kitchens spread across downtown and the East Side.

Sakuratani serves yakitori skewers of zucchini, beef and okra alongside a slow-simmered ramen in Bristol, about seventeen miles from downtown Providence. Diners can top their bowl with thinly sliced chashu pork, and the yakitori grill gives the menu a second, smokier register beyond the noodle bar basics.

Phed Phed opened in March 2026 on Washington Street from the same team behind Tori Tomo and Wara Wara, splitting its menu between Thai and Japanese cooking. It is the newest addition to that small family of restaurants, and it sits just down the block from Tori Tomo's own ramen room.