Tan tan men is where it's at. Extra egg because I love yolky goodness. The noodles have a good chew. The broth is creamy and rich. I covered everything in togarashi! Service was solid and refills didn't need to be asked for. I came after the lunch rush so I didn't have to wait for a table. Parking was a pain- but I think that's a common problem for this area. I'd come back for some more tan tan! read more

Himawari - Ten ten ramen with egg - Ramen Near Me - San Mateo, California

I was staying in San Mateo with some friends, so I knew I had to get some ramen. People always tell me that San Mateo is great for ramen. I went to Himawari with a friend, and the food was great! My go-to for ramen is almost always tonkotsu because it's a standard that most ramen places will have, so it provides for good comparison. My friends ordered the same, and as we were waiting for our food, something on our neighboring table caught my eye - karaage chicken. I have such a weakness for karaage chicken (really any chicken in fried form), so I ordered a plate for us to share too. It was crisp, warm, and seasoned just right. Himawari's tonkotsu soup was really good with a deep and savory broth. The noodles were good, and the combination of everything really came together well. I ended my meal full and quite satisfied. Service was good too. Overall, I enjoyed my Himawari experience! read more

Almost Santa Ramen-like noodles with 10x better atmosphere and speed. 3.5 stars for the food, 0.5 stars extra for the atmosphere and experience. Tried this place based on all the reviews and definitely plan to come back again. We had the miso noodles and tan tan spicy noodles. Both were tasty although the miso noodles have a VERY bold miso taste so some may not like it. The tan tan noodles were spicy the way I wanted with a good balance of miso and peanut flavor. Cool modern decor, comfortably spaced tables, good place to take a date. Instead of serving ice water, they serve this very light ice tea which was refreshing. Was not too crowded on a late Fri evening. Verdict (having tried both Santa Ramen and Himawari): if you like waiting 1 hr for a table in a cramped little restaurant and then wait another 30-45 min for a pretty good bowl of noodles, go to Santa. If you want to go to a nice modern and comfortable place where you don't have to wait and you'll get served a good bowl of noodles in reasonable time, then go to Himawari. I don't know about you, but I'll definitely take the latter. read more

That was the second worst $13 bowl of ramen I've ever had. Maybe I'm just spoiled now that I live in So Cal where I can get oodles of amazing ramen for under 10 bucks... INCLUDING KAEDAMA (second helping of noodles). I don't understand why this place was so busy that it took them forever to get us seated. Do the people of San Mateo lack ramen options, or do they just not know any better? First, the service at Himawari is lousy. If this were a $6 ramen place, I would consider it par for the course, but come on.... at $11+ a bowl, you seriously got to kick it up a notch. We sat there forever before the waiter finally came and took our party's order, then my order came out wrong, and then we had to ask for water repeatedly. They serve barley tea by default and apparently if you want water, you have also to order a soda or something they can charge you for before the waiter will actually bring you water. Second, the flavors are weak sauce. I ordered the deluxe tonkotsu, and the broth was very thin and one-dimensional. They throw huge chunks of stewed pork belly into the ramen in addition to char siu, but the fat to meat ratio is all wrong. Pork belly is supposed to be thick fat plus tender melt-in-your-mouth meat, yet all but one of my pieces was fat alone. Under seasoned fat, at that. Furthermore, the char siu was extreeeeemely tough and also lacking in flavor. Third, the noodles were way over-cooked. Ramen should be served a bit chewy but not tough unless otherwise specified--in other words, al dente. The only redeeming quality was the hanjuku tamago, as the yolk was molten yellow and perfectly cooked. But even that couldn't save a mediocre bowl of ramen. I definitely agree with another reviewer here that Himawari sacrifices quality over quantity. But if that's the case, they seriously need to rethink their prices. read more

Ehhh I've had WAY BETTER.. I've only had the Tan Tan Ramen, but that's enough to keep me away from this place. Tan Tan Ramen - Saracha sauce? Really? Hard to believe, but yes, whatever they used to spice their soup taste exactly like Saracha sauce. Who does that??? This is ramen, not Pho, get it together Himawari. I was so disappointed that my ramen was ruined. I had to use the fried garlic they had available to try and salvage my ramen. If you're looking for good Tan Tan Ramen then you need to try **Kahoo Ramen in San Jose! If you just like your ramen spicy then try **Ramen Dojo a few blocks away. Now they know how to appropriately make ramen spicy. If you've never eaten here then I guess give it a try for yourself, but there are far more superior ramen places around the bay area. read more

Definitely good Ramen..noodles are good .. soup base is good.. I would recommend it as a place to go for Ramen.. Its never really crowded here so reservations are not needed read more

I'm no ramen expert. My pallet probably won't be able to tell a good ramen from a great one. But I thought it was tasty. Had the buttercorn miso ramen. I think I could have done with a little butter. But regardless of that it was quite tasty. I got the combo ramen, with the ramen I got the chasu-don rice bowl. Awesome IMHO. Tasty piece of pork with a boiled egg. Sure, it's simple, but damn is it tasty. Also, the service was prompt and polite. yes, it is less crowded than Santa and probably not as good, but I didn't have to wait forever to eat it. read more

The food was good ... the prices were okay ... the drink glasses need to be washed better (spotty!! gross!!) I ordered pot stickers that were absolutely delicious, but it probably reflects my tendency to love anything fried with meat inside. The main entree was egg and some roasted pork over rice with veggies. It came with a side of soup. I used the soup in the entree to help gel it up a bit ... give it some more flavor. It tasted pretty good! Service was fine ... friendly at the start and the end, kinda busy with other peoples' starts and ends in between. read more

Wow... just wow. Santa byebye. I love the food here. Too bad I am on a diet now and can't just order whatever that I want, but I love the food here. Ramen is top notch, spicy ramen was great, the cold jar jar men is amazing. And no one mentions about the fried pork rice?! It's like you can just sit there and eat that and be happy. The karage (sp?) is also amazing. My guy friend from so cal whenever he comes up here will ONLY eat here. He wants to buy the place i think and move it down to so cal, it's that good :) The ramen broth CAN be a miss sometimes, it sort of depends on who is around in the kitchen, which is odd. But majority of the time, it's amazing. And did I mention the pork fried rice? GET IT. read more

Good solid ramen. I have been here twice and I have not been disappointed either time. The wait was a bit long the second time for the time of night, but otherwise, things were pretty quick. The first time I went I had the tonkatsu deluxe. Very yummy. The chashu and the kakuni are very nice. I liked the broth. The second time I had the shiro tan tan men deluxe. I'm not sure if it was really worth the extra .50 over the regular tan tan men deluxe that my date had. Oh well. The decor and layout is about what you would expect from a mid-range ramen shop. It's fun to sit at the bar and watch the ramen get made. Overall, a nice place to go for ramen. Enjoy! read more

Parking in this area is difficult! Got in and luckily the place wasn't packed. Service was still hella slow though. Took forever to flag a waiter to take orders. Pretty sure was ignored a couple times. What gives! (Random hate: chair was uncomfortable, like it leans you back too much. Hahah) Anyway, ordered the spring roll to try and my advise is to skip it. Wish I hadn't ordered that. Bland and so not special. It tastes worse than it looks. Tried the Himawari style miso deluxe ramen and thought it was just ok. Nothing special either. Tad too salty and fatty. Felt like there was less noodles too. Or I am just a fatty. The part I hated was the service though. I might've considered coming back to try more but the lack of service makes me shelf this place. Santa Ramen nearby is better. Got to give props to the wait staff on cleaning tables though. Supremely efficient. 3 people to clear a single table for 4. Too bad their attention is not on customers. read more

The deluxe ramen is great with a miso base. They give you huge slabs of pork, a perfectly cooked egg for ramen, bamboo, seafood, onions, and etc. The only thing it could be missing would be corn but the portion is huge. read more

Himawari - Ramen Near Me - San Mateo, California

Overall the ramen was pretty good! I ordered the Shio TanTan Ramen deluxe along with the Buta Kakuni. The buta kakuni I will be honest was very tough and I felt frying it just made it have this weird taste. The sauce is very good but I didn't think it was worth it.The broth was very nice and everything was cooked well except the pork belly in the ramen was also a little tough. I went very late though right before they were closing. read more

I actually like this place better than Santa.... maybe my tongue isn't as refined on the Ramen-scale. But it certainly saves you a long wait, and has a much better atmosphere. Prices are comparative. I like that they offer more than just ramen. Their small dishes are equally good, and I'm finding that more often than not, i'm ordering those instead. No worries, I always go with someone else so that I can bum a few bites of their ramen ;) Update: They've expanded the menu to offer more variety than just ramen - which I appreciate. Some sushi, small salads and other light plates. read more

Definitely one of the best bowl of ramen you'll get in the bay area. A side of fried rice is always a good idea too. Chicken karage is excellent, and so is the Ten Ten Men, if you are in the mood for something on the spicy side! One of the soup bases that I've had before was a bit too fatty for my liking, but the quality was there, and not all of them use that heavier base. The ice tea they serve you, instead of ice water, is also very refreshing and a nice touch. YO! Himawari... open one up next to my office here at 2nd and Folsom!! read more

I'd been craving some heavy, flavorful ramen for months. I think after I saw the New Dotch Cooking show on shoyu vs shio ramen. I love Suzu's ramen, but was too refined for my craving, and Tampopo just doesn't cut it. So, this SF snob dragged a friend along, and made the trek to San Mateo. Santa fits the bill for heavy ramen, but it's so fatty, I knew I'd feel sick afterwards. So, Himawari was just right. Probably a little too heavy, but I ended up going with the tonkotsu (since I'd gotten shoyu last time). That hit the spot. I agree with everyone else, the noodles are too thin. But I can deal. Only problem is, it didn't soothe my craving. Now I want more! read more

This place is often measured on a difficult scale due to its proximity to santa's ramen. I find that himawari is more creative and has more breadth of dishes. Explore the appetizer/side dish menu with each visit. The quality of most dishes here is far more stable than at santa's. The stewed pork is generally not quite as good, but still quite tasty. The roasted pork is generally better than santa's. The tonkotsu broth here is excellent with great flavor and body. Probably my absolute favorite ramen is the kanitama ramen. A snow crab omelette atop a soy sauce flavor bowl of ramen. It is absolutely divine when done well. When either the owner (gung (sp?)) or one of the other more experienced chefs makes it you get a fragrant omelette with a quiveringly soft center just barely cooked, yet edges which are crisp and perfect. The general approach is to tear chunks off the omelette with your chopsticks and consume them in combination with your noodles plus sips of broth. The wait staff is always very nice here too. Super friendly if a bit overloaded at times. If you're just a person or three the fastest seating is usually just to approach the bar and ask the nearest waitress if you can sit there (it usually has space). read more

Ramen cravings... First visit - tonkatsu ramen with bamboo. Pretty good broth, so-so bamboo, noodles were tasty but weren't typical ramen noodles (they were thin straight noodles - maybe they ran out of the ramen noodles? - tasted good anyway). Second visit - shio butter ramen with clams. Very tasty broth although maybe a little too much butter, and the noodles were definitely ramen noodles and were spot on! Overall, I like the ramen at Santa Ramen a little better, but Himawari had no wait, and also had a wider selection of ramen as well as non-ramen food. Four solid stars. read more

Have you tried their tofu salad? It's a good option for a light meal. So yummy and so refreshing! The egg in their noodle is a must have too. It's done just right, not a minute too long or a minute too short. You can see the redness in the yolk. Their fry rice is to die for so don't miss out on the salmon fry rice. And if you ever want to try something new, try the snow crab over rice with the house sauce, you won't regret it! The service is great here, price is reasonable and open until 10:45pm on week nights for late night eating for those of you working late. read more

I'm not a ramen connoisseur by any means but I'm diggin this place. The ambiance is trendy and busy, kind of actually reminds me of ramen restaurants in Tokyo; people come in, order their noodles, slurp away, pay and leave. Gf and I came during the busy lunch hour and made it just in time to get the last available table. A crowd built up at the door a few minutes later. Ordered the chicken kara age. Fried juicy pieces of chicken. They give you mayonnaise to dip it in, but I'll pass on that and just sprinkle on the chili powder. I got the tonkotsu ramen, which they describe as a broth made from boiled pork bones for hours. The broth was really rich, and you can tell they really spent a lot of time boiling that. The ramen noodles were perfectly al dente, with some significant bite to it. Thick slices of fatty pork, nori, bean sprouts and a good dashing of the chili powder set this thing off. Gf got the miso ramen which was described as having 5 different types of miso combined for a flavorful broth. They weren't kidding. I never really knew there were more than at 2-3 types of miso so this was a treat. When you sip on the broth, you really get the different flavors coming out and clashing with one another for a bit before settling down and becoming one flavor. It was quite the experience. Gyoza were homemade, perfectly pan fried and crisp. When you bite into it, you get a texture, not the other stuff from over-ground or mechanically separated mush. It's difficult to describe but when you bite into one, you'll know. A must come back! read more

One of the best ramen i ever eaten in my life!! Their cha-su men is the best out of all. They have 3 flavor bases: Salt, Soy, Miso. The salt is a little more light and bland. Soy is just right for me, sort of in between salt and miso. Miso is the thickest and saltiest to me. They also have many things to add to your soup with a little extra charge about .50cents to $2.00. Definitely add the boiled egg and corn, if you like bamboo stems then that's a must too! I drive 30mins to Himawari just for a bowl of ramen. It is that good. read more

A bit of background, I am a fan of ramen. I've eaten ramen in many places. Santa comes to mind - being local to the area. San Francisco has a few, the South Bay, Southern California, NYC etc. And Japan! The Shin-Yokohama Ramen Museum is incredible - I have yet to find any place that can be comparable to that in the USA. I had a great bowl of noodles in Ikebukuro as well. Just about any random ramen place in Japan kicks American ramen's butt... but then we're in America so I can not compare. Himarwari is a rare place. Their Tonkatsu (pork-base) soup can be comparable to Santa - although I have to give Santa the advantage for soup. They offer the currently popular-in-Japan thin noodles to go with it (comparable to Shinsengumi in SoCal but not as customizable). The result is a great combination of soup base and noodles. The Kara-age is great, on par if not better than Ajisen Ramen in Fremont without the selection of flavorings. Tender and juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside. Not overly breaded - just right. The Cha-han is okay. I had the pork one and it was good but not memorable (Shinsengumi). I'd say I like Tanpopo's (in San Francisco) Cha-han better. Overall a great ramen place and one of the best in the bay area. Can it compare to Japan? No, but then I've yet to have ramen in the USA that can. read more

I tried this place out because Ramen Dojo wanted to take a week off and have their place closed. So I looked for another Ramen place on Yelp and found this one only a few blocks away. To my surprise I liked it a lot. Even though I only had one dish (so far) their menu seems to offer a wide variety of dishes. I will go back for more. It was yummy................ =) read more

Ramen is pretty good - not too oily and great flavor. Pretty standard issue. The gizzards are bammer - they braise the heck out of it so it's kinda like stewed skirt steak - no texture. read more

LOVE this place! I'm from Japan and this is one of the best ramen I've ever had in the states. Our favorites are "Asari Shio Ramen" and "Tonkotsu Ramen" with Pork chahan and Karaage. All the waiters works here are friendly & nice too! read more

I guess this place just got a little too hyped up for me. I wasn't too hungry for dinner (which shouldn't have been a problem if the ramen was really all that good) so I didn't want something super heavy. Definitely wanted ramen, so I went with the simple shio ramen which just came with the regular fixings of sliced pork, bamboo shoots and a big handful of green onions. Average. Perhaps it was because I wasn't too hungry but the whole meal just didn't seem filling nor appetizing. Maybe I ordered wrong? Not sure. Still debating whether I'll come back here or not to give it another try. read more

It's true...the farther south you go...the better the ramen. You just can't find a good bowl of ramen in SF. But that's okay because San Mateo has Himawari. I got there around 7pm and put my name down for a party of 2. I waited 15 minutes and then my name got called but my friend was still parking. The server was really nice and seated me anyway. (sorry to everyone else there at 7:15 on Thurs night!) I insisted on waiting for my friend but he said it was no problem! As for the food, we ordered the Deluxe Ramen, the ahi tuna poke and the scallop sushi. The poke was definitely a disappointment to me...didn't really taste the ahi part of it and was just not marinated well. But the scallops on the scallop roll were big and it tasted pretty fresh to me. As for the ramen...it was bomb. We made sure to get the stewed pork and the cha-shu and I was not disappointed. The soy broth was not too salty even though that is the case with most places I go to. Definitely hit the spot on such a cold rainy night. Can't wait to go back to add more toppings to my ramen. Slurp. read more

I was craving ramen and decided to try somewhere new...thus went to Himawari. I ordered a miso ramen with wakame and my boyfriend ordered the deluxe with fried rice. First look at the ramen...wow, super greasy with chunks of lard floating. It's not a bad thing, it just means the soup is going to be super flavorful. Indeed it was, but it was also super salty also! I couldn't stop drinking the barley tea they gave me. The noodle was the thinner type but chewy. The chashu was very tender and delicious! The fried rice my boyfriend got was phenomenal! It had green onions, diced chashu, eggs and white pepper. The pepper added an addictive touch to the rice. I would go back and order a big plate next time! This place is quite expensive for a bowl of ramen, and it's too greasy for my taste. I would go back for the fried rice though. read more

Went here on a Tuesday, after trying to go to Ramen Dojo (closed on Tuesdays, FYI!) I have to say I'm not a ramen aficionado, but I've had some pretty good ones. Ordered the deluxe ramen with soy broth, spicy with corn. Portion was substantial, taste was okay. The stewed pork was pretty good. Maybe it's me not knowing too much about Ramen, but are there supposed to be globules of white fat floating on the broth? How about an entire can's worth of corn dumped in? I'd go back to try the Tan Tan Deluxe (guy next to me ordered that, and it looked really good), but I'm going to go try Ramen Dojo first! read more

Pretty good ramen. The tan tan mien was very spicy, the way I like it. However, the extra $1 egg was not worth it. Not soft-boiled enough and probably below average when it comes to ramen places. My friend was disappointed with his tonkotsu ramen, and the fried rice was also not that good. Pretty bland. I wouldn't mind going back, but I also wouldn't specifically seek Himawari out. read more

2 words: SUPER SALTY!!! Got the miso butter corn, which literally came with a huge pat of butter. This was awesome because it was 1) outright indulgent, 2) nice and thick for the broth, 3) bad ass. Broth had a nice flavor, the toppings were generous enough, but sadly they just love their salt too much. After desperately gulping all the water I could get my hands on, I still left with puffy eyes, in search of more water. read more

I would say that the ramen is just so-so compared to the many other top-notch ramen places in the Bay Area (and others in San Mateo). However, there's rarely a line to eat here and the service is not bad. The atmosphere is pretty kitschy too if you're into that sort of thing. The price is also a little off putting. Bottomline: Come here if you really crave ramen, are in SM downtown, and can't wait for the lines at Dojo or Santa Ramen. Don't go in with high expectations and you'll be fine. read more

Looking for some late night ramen. Then this spot will do the trick, it is one of the few food spots that are still open after 10pm Once you walk in make sure to write your name on the clipboard, but we came around 10pm and there was no wait. It is rather small inside with tables lining each small wall. But the decor is something else. It is not your typical Japanese decor, but rather a soulful/jazz cafe feel. Even the music playing made me feel like I should open a book and read. The menu is straight forward. Again, it is not traditionally Japanese because the words used for the menu items were plain and simple. For example they used "soy" instead of "shoyu" Each ramen item came with slices of roasted pork, big piece of dried seaweed, bamboo, and green onions. You can add additional toppings with a price. what we got: -ten-men: this is their spicy broth ramen that seemed to get a lot of reviews. My bf loves it, and even though it gets too spicy at the end, he still endures it because it is that good -Soy ramen: the broth was very good! it had the hearty, meaty, soy saucey flavor i love! and I am beginning to think that "al dente" is not just an italian thing. The noodles in ramen is very important, and Himawari cooks them just right!!! I would love to come back here again to try other concoctions. The staff was also very friendly and the food came out promptly! read more

I've been wanting to try this place for a while and finally made it out here with some friends. They're open later than a lot of the other ramen spots around the area so already bonus points. There's usually plenty of seating and I haven't noticed those crazy lines either so more points. I got the Deluxe Tonkotsu ramen(the one with the pork belly and tonkotsu broth). It was pretty good. I liked the broth and the noodles still had a little bit of bite. The egg was done really well. I love those soft boiled eggs...so yum. The pork belly had good flavor. I'm told some days they aren't as melt in your mouth as others. The day I went the fatty part was very melty. The meaty part not quite so much. The pricing is in line with ramen shops in the bay. You're looking at 10-13 dollars for most things. Overall I'd definitely come back here and see if I get the full on melty pork belly ramen. Did I mention they're open pretty late? I love that. read more

This is my second time coming to Himawari. I have always been here with a large party and knowing downtown San Mateo, you need to get here early. I had their 'limited' Tantan ramen. It was DELICIOUS. I don't really eat spicy food but it was totally doable. I totally recommend this place! The wait is a little long but this is because we always had 5+ people. The service is fast. $9~ for regular $13~ for deluxe bowl (more meat, more toppings). Himawari reminds of me of Japan. Drinking Asahi while eating ramen! read more

Tan tan men deluxe! ***Note: if you're going out with a big group of people and you're planning on splitting the tab, remember that this place only splits w/ two cards, so bring cash!*** There's a reason why lines go out the door. It's not the BEST ramen place I've been to-- but close to it. The service is great the atmosphere is nice and the ramen tastes good. The appetizers here are also okay, go with the gyozas if you really want something but keep in mind this place is known for their ramen, not their appetizers. FYI. read more

I would actually give this place 3.5 (even though I hate doing that). The ramen was good, the service was slow. We originally were headed to a different ramen place, but found out it was closed for some reason. However, our friend had already been here and wanted to come back here again. We only had to wait about 10 minutes before being seated. Things were fine and dandy. We sat down, ordered maybe 10 minutes later, but waited for quite a while to get our food served. I saw others that came in after us get served before us, and there was a mix up with the table before us (they handled the mix up well so props to them). However, I thought the wait-time for us was a bit too long. I'm usually pretty patient, but when I start to question out loud about how long our food is taking and regretting that we didn't order an appetizer, I definitely know it's too long. But when it did come, it was delicious! Our table ordered a deluxe miso, wonton men, and tonkatsu ramen. The egg was cooked to medium-boil and it was a great addition to our ramen. We all left pretty satisfied after that. Also, they don't serve you regular water - it's some kind of rice/barley water; honestly, not a fan. I would have rather had plain water. But overall, I'd probably come back to try another dish here. read more

Himawari - Wonton men. So good! - Ramen Near Me - San Mateo, California

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The ramen was really well made! We had the tonkatsu ramen and made it spicy. Loved the noodles so much that we ordered extra halfway through our meal since there was enough broth. We also tried the scallops wrapped in prosciutto because the sauce sounded interesting (balsamic glaze with avocado honey). It was tasty, but the scallops were small and for the same price as the ramen, I would have just ordered another ramen. Overall, a good experience though and a cool atmosphere. Played jazz music in the background and had vinyl records all over the walls. Be prepared to wait a bit though. Came here on a 9:30 on a Wednesday night and waited about 10-15 minutes read more

Himawari - Prosciutto wrapped scallops - Ramen Near Me - San Mateo, California

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Decided to come here due to Ramen Dojo was closed. My miso was good, but the tonkatsu base doesn't taste that great. I will definitely come back whenever Ramen Dojo closed. read more

Really pleasant find for this area. I actually prefer it to Santa as I don't like my broths too oily. A variety of other dishes are surprisingly good which is also another one up on Santa. The cold spinach appetizer goes great with my favourite Deluxe Ramen (miso flavour). Great atmosphere and selection. Edit: have to downgrade this after our trip to Japan. All we ate there was ramen (most economical choice) and even the worst we had over there was better than the best Himawari could offer. Sorry but it's true. I also feel the quality has slipped of late. read more