Tenya Japanese Soulfood

Some of the best Japanese comfort food I have had in the States. It's not like some more popular places in Denver, who market being an "Izakaya" yet offer gourmet truffle-sprinkled yakitori for $12 a pop. That isn't what I want in that genre of restaurant. This place is what you're looking for in a true Izakaya in atmosphere, food, and drink. A good portion (if not the majority) of their ingredients are sourced from Pacific Mercantile, and it shows in the quality of the dishes served. Service is great, and we got to meet a good portion of the kitchen staff including the head chef. All were very friendly and passionate about the food they made. Wasn't able to get a good picture of our skewers because they smelled so good that we devoured them before even thinking about taking a snapshot. It just opened a few weeks before we came so business was slow for them, they deserve more. Come try it! EDIT: Came one week later and snagged some photos of some awesome food. It was even better the second go-around.

Tenya was ok. I personally think that the setting they had before was way better, but the service here is great. They serve skewers which range from 3 to 8 dollars, but they are on the smaller side. I will definitely will go back to try other dishes.

Loved the vibe of this place. It's a nice somewhat intimate little spot that I found in the neighborhood I'm visiting. Tasty food, friendly staff, and nice drink selection.

I've always wanted to try a Japanese style yakiniku joint and this place fits the bill. Very flavorful, not too expensive, savory meats and vegetables on skewers. The vegetable skewers really surprised me how good they were. The meat of course was great, I expected as much and received, but the veggies are perfectly cooked to be just right. Just a little char, natural juices and flavors still intact. The asparagus, tomato, okra and shishito peppers were awesome. Out of the meat skewers I had, and I liked them all, I highly suggest the buta bara. It won't disappoint. Will be back

Tenya has great food and very friendly staff. Jonnie was our super knowledgeable server, while Chenang made a Spark drink that was off the chain! The head chef and manager came by to make sure everything was to our satisfaction. We really appreciated that. Good job Tenya! We'll be back. P.S. order the Mochi

Husband and I live in the neighborhood and figured we would try this place. The staff were very welcoming and went over the menu with us, providing good recommendations. The decor and seating was nice. The food was fantastic. Meats were well prepares and all the dishes had complex flavors. The main reason I gave this place 4 stars instead of five is the price. The menu says that the skewer dishes come with two skewers per order. We got the okra, and the dish came out with 5 pieces of okra (two skewers, both piercing the same 5 pieces of okra). It was very misleading. The shrimp dish was $11 and the order was only 6 pieces of shrimp, which I think is a little steep. Overall, we ordered a total of 6 small plates/skewers and one beer and spent $70 after tip. We left feeling hungry and ended up stopping at taco bell down the street to finish filling our stomachs! Again, the food was good, but this was more of a place where I would stop by for a light bite and some sake instead of an actual meal. The only other thing I did not care for was that the plates came out one at a time, and there didn't seem to be thought put into the order in which they were presented. I've been to restaurants that bring one small plate out at a time, but it's very methodical and they present the food in a complimentary pattern. I feel like this was not the case here. We actually asked for our bill because we thought we were done and then our last dish finally came out after we paid and were about to leave! We forgot we ordered the dish and I guess our waiter forgot too..

The service was amazing, we poked our heads a little too close to closing but they invited us and we ate some tasty treats!

We were suprised. From the outside we saw the bar. But the bar hides the classy, modern, zen dining area. The menu was simple. We tried 5 or 6 items and every item was prepared and cooked to perfection. You can immediately tell that they spend a lot of time and care in putting every plate together. The combination of flavors and colors was amazing. Fresh, healthy, and delicious.