This is my second time going to Ippudo! The first time was to the Berkeley location and I was slightly disappointed. However the San Francisco one was really good and exceeded my expectations. When we got there at 5pm on a Friday we were seated right away however I can see this place getting really packed during the peak of dinner times. We ordered right away and I got the shiromaru special and my boyfriend got the Shoyu Ramen with extra noodles and chasiu. Customer service is excellent here I must say! They were very attentive and they checked upon us once in a while. Refilled our water whenever it was low. The ramen was cooked to perfection and the broth was not too salty either. I would definitely come back and try their spicy ramen. Keep up the good work Ippudo! read more

So on several visits (within a week) I tried both the Shiromaru Motoaji (Classic) and Akamaru Shinaji (Modern). I liked them both but would lean more toward the modern offering. The experience was comfortable enough to try out their broth, noodles (kata for me), and buns (chicken and pork). Having been to other ramen places, Ippudo ranks high with consistency in orders, friendly staff, and inviting atmosphere. I enjoyed it. read more

Ippudo San Francisco - Ramen Near Me - San Francisco, California

I'm getting into ramen lately, as a whole bunch of other folks are it seems, and this place is worth a visit for the experience and the "Kamaeda" option of extra order of noodles if you want it. Ramen - I am trying to cut meat in my diet and at my first visit I chose the shiromiro veggie option with firm noodles. Umm, I wish I tried the classic with chasu. The veggie came with tofu that was fried and it was really sweet and it was off putting to me. I researched afterwards and I understand that it was supposed to be sweet as that is how it is but to the un-initiated it was truly a surprise. The veggie bowl just did not seem hearty enough to me (veggie sparse) and I guess I was starving. Thank goodness for the kamaeda offering because I ordered more noodles. I slurped that up and had an empty bowl in front of me looking at my husband still eating his more abundant looking bowl early in the dinner, a little embarrassing. Noodles and broth tasty just would add more stuff and not that tofu, yes, it was that sweet. Buns- we tried 3: veggie, pork and beef. I had the veggie. It was tasty but because of the steam all the buns were really wet on the bottom. Wish the kitchen put the buns on a paper or something or were the plates wet when they put the buns on them, it was that wet? I eat dim sum often enough to know that you can get steamed buns that are not soaking at the bottom. Veggie is like a veggie fried fritter with mayo and lettuce and it was tasty. Husband reported the other buns were good especially the pork. We went on a weekend at 5:30, luckily no wait, and I like that they offer a fabric cube to put your coat/purse in so it is not on the ground. I will come back, choose other items and go off hours as I don't think it is worth an hour wait. read more

Delicious. Had the Akamura with extra pork. Was spot on. Friendly staff clean environment. Highly recommend

Best Ramen I've had I the city in a while. Thanks guys for seating is so late and giving us a great experience. All the dishes were bomb and we will definitely be back for more. read more

The pork buns at this location are incomparable to the ones I've had at their NYC locations. The meat was dry and lacked sauce. However, the service was phenomenal, as was their ramen. read more

Disappointed. Doesn't taste like the Ippudo ramen in Japan at all. Not bad, just okay. Fairly expensive even by SF standards. The line is especially ridiculous because you are neither getting a good meal or a good deal. read more

I had ippudo in japan and NYC often, and this would be the worst location of them all. Theres always a line for ippudo except in Japan, so it was not surprising i still waited for 30 min at 8:30pm. Service was bad/not attentive because the place is jammed and not enough servers were hired. And i saw my server were just standing there and chatting, i grew tired of raising my hand so i just called for a random server next to me. Their noodle were all uniformed so i have nothing to complain about. Overall this place is overpriced just like the NYC one. Would rather line up for menshou next time. read more

Decent food, slightly expensive. Overall not too bad. I got the Shoyu ramen and it isn't at the top of the list so maybe it isn't their specialty. read more

I've been to the Ippudo in NYC many times and tried the Sydney Australia location last year. The San Francisco location is very consistent. The Modern ramen is my go-to with just a touch of spiciness and great flavor. If you get the buns I highly recommend the pork over the chicken. Lines are long I got there at around 2pm and had no wait. Enjoy! read more

Ippudo San Francisco - Pork bun - an Ippudo must have! - Ramen Near Me - San Francisco, California

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I really enjoyed the vegetarian ramen and buns at Ippudo. I was pleased to see that they had 2 options for veggie ramen!! We got the veggie and tofu bun and the Akamaru veggie ramen with bakudan (chili paste). Do you ever have broth left over in your ramen and think how great it would be if you could just add more noodles in there? Well, at Ippudo, you can order extra noodles for $2. The bakudan is great if you like a little spice in the ramen and it's a pretty big portion of spicy paste so I would share it with someone else. read more

Ippudo San Francisco - Akamaru veggie ramen - Ramen Near Me - San Francisco, California

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Delicious food and very good service. Tottaly worth the wait! I wish they took reservations tho read more

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Ippudo is offering takeout during COVID with the best option of having the noodles raw to cook at home with clear instructions. One of the best home eaten ramen I've had in a long time. read more

Ippudo San Francisco - Shiromaru Classic Ramen - Ramen Near Me - San Francisco, California

Amazing food great prices. Super amazing staff. They even offered to bag our sake bottle when they closed!

Really long wait since they open at exactly 5pm. The wait is a little bit more bearable with a bar in the lobby that you can go to. Still prefer to come here during the off peak hours. I had Ippudo in NY and I must say it is pretty consistent. Medium soft noodles were pretty firm for my taste but I will get the softer noodles. Everything is reasonably priced for a ramen shop. read more

Delicious but expensive! My boyfriend and I decided to have dinner here on a Sunday night after watching a movie. We waited about half an hour but had a few drinks at the bar before getting seated. For appetizers we get the pork buns and goma Q. We enjoyed both. We both get the karaka spicy with add egg and corn. The broth was light and tasty. I love the thin noodles as well. My boyfriend said that he likes the broth at Marufuku better. I enjoyed it. It ended up being about $90 for the both is us for everything including sake and a beer. Overall, I really liked the ramen! I would definitely come back! read more

I love their ramen, it is delicious and vegan/vegetarian option is really good. Although, the portions are little small so it is really hard to resist to order another bowl. but one bowl is kind a not enough tho two bowls are too much. Overall it is totally worth to try. read more

I was here with a group of friends and I ordered the Akamaru Tamago and it was delicious. We ordered and shared the pork buns and cucumbers. They were both really good. The wait for dinner wasn't bad either. We only waited about 15 mins until we were called inside. We'll be back again soon! read more

This is a meh bowl of ramen. The broth is lighter and not as savory as I would have hoped, though I liked that you can ask for your noodle firmness. "Spicy" means spicy for white people. The interior is spacious and beautiful but the line to get in at 11 AM on a weekday was unnecessary and is what crappy clubs do to look more popular. Service stops at the point you get your ramen (forgot to come back with my ordered tea or just check in). What would you expect out of a $22 bowl of ramen after tax and tip are all settled? Whatever it is it's not in the food - you're paying a hefty surcharge for expensive decor and trendiness. This place is made for Instagram, not ramen fans. read more

The ramen is ok. They are not that amazing. Service is pretty good. Ramen it's a little bit overpriced. read more

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The place is very nicely decorated and bigger than expected. The noodle was chewy and the soup was rich and didn't taste like MSG. The waiters were really nice. read more

Ippudo San Francisco - Ramen Near Me - San Francisco, California

---- APPETISERS ---- Pork Bun: 2 stars Karaage Chicken: 3.5 stars ---- BROTH ---- Shiromaru: 4 stars Light and not salty. Good if Akamaru Modern: 4.5 stars Karaka Spicy: 2 stars I would never order this myself... semi-spicy with no other flavours. Veggie Aka: 5 stars Super flavourful, lots of garlic oil I think. ---- DESSERTS ---- Soba Pudding: 4 stars Earthy cereal Dassai Panna Cotta: 3 stars Sake but don't take a scoop with too much black sea salt in it. Too expensive for what you get. Lychee Ice Cream: 4 stars Lychee chunks and whipped cream, great value for money read more

Literally so good. Considering coming here? Just go. My boyfriend got the akamaru modern and I got the akarmu veggie (vegetarian here) with the veggie buns as an appetizer. Everything was delicious, delectable, and PERFECT! Highly recommend coming here as the staff and atmosphere are excellent 10/10 will be coming here often! read more

Good broth and noodle. Ordered regular but not too salty. Extra firm noodle was good too .

The inside is really spacious, and the line actually moved faster than I anticipated. I got there around 7, and was seated in 30-40 minutes even with a conference crowd. Me and my friend decided to get a sample of 3 ramens - akamaru, karaka, and shiromaru. Shiromaru is definitely your classic. Akamaru was a little bit different, had a different dimension of flavor, but I really enjoyed the soft boiled egg. Karaka was my absolute favorite - it was spicy and garlick-y, which is the BEST kind of ramen. This place is worth the wait. It's really good ramen, and you can taste a hint of "special" in every bite. read more

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Came here on a weekday night around 8:45. Had to wait around 30 min, but at least it was inside as opposed to waiting in a long line outside. Inside, they have a bar in the waiting area so you can grab drinks or a few snacks before getting seated. This is good, as it helps kill time during the long wait. We were seated in a communal table with a few other parties. The interior was fairly nice. It was modern and sleek aside from the hideous palm tree metal pillar in the middle (it was seriously awful). The best thing about this location was the service. We were ready to order the moment we sat (we had time to look at the menu while waiting) and the food came out within three minutes. It was very easy to get the waiter's attention throughout the meal. Onto the food. You are able to customize the firmness of your noodles, which I liked. Unfortunately you aren't able to customize the thickness of the noodles in your bowl of ramen. They serve thin ramen noodles, which might be ok for some but I like to have them a little thicker. The broth was just ok. I had the tonkotsu but it wasn't very flavourful and didn't really stand out. I also found the portions were a little smaller than other ramen shops in the city. I finished off by having one of the pork buns. Pass on this. It was bland. Wasn't really that great. All in all, the ramen was fine but nothing spectacular. For the price and the wait, I'd rather go elsewhere. read more

Finally got to try the San Francisco venue on Yerba Buena Lane. Conveniently located within walking distance of Montgomery and Powell BART stations. While in line I heard some people discussing why they keep the line outside when there are many available seats inside. I've had friends say the same thing about the Berkeley location and to be fair Ippudo is not the only Ramen spot or eating establishment for that matter that utilizes this "strategy". It's just confusing to the consumer when it's cold outside and there are available seats inside. I like the vibe and set-up of this spot better than the Berkeley version. Also I tried the Akamuru Special this time instead of the Shiromaru Special and perhaps that led to a more enjoyable experience as well. $15 for the ramen, $17 for the boiled egg extra and $19 for the special (egg and extra pork belly). All in all a good experience but not enough to bump them up on my ramen ratings below. Service was friendly and like most ramen places the food came out quickly. Don't forget to try their buns as well since they are tasty! I recently embarked on a completely pointless quest to rank most of the Ramen Places in the Bay Bay Bay similar to lists I have for Boba. Ranking explained: #1 (listed at the top) is my favorite/ #? (listed at the bottom) is my least favorite. Check out my latest reviews for my latest up to date Rankings. Rod Ramen Rating = (Taste of Broth / Taste of Noodles/Taste of other stuff in soup) on a Scale of 1 to 10 (10/10/10) being the best score possible * Please note that I don't have a preference for thick or thin noodles or thick or clear broth I just call it like I feel it. # 1 Marufuku Ramen *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 9/8/8 *Rod's Yelp Rating *5 stars # 2 Mensho Tokyo *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 8/8/8 *Rod's Yelp Rating *4 stars # 3 Orenchi Ramen *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 8/8/7 *Rod's Yelp Rating *4 stars # 4 Orenchi Beyond *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 7/8/7 *Rod's Yelp Rating *4 stars # 5 Ramen Parlor *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 7/6/7 *Rod's Yelp Rating *4 stars # 6 Ramen Dojo *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 7/6/7 *Rod's Yelp Rating *4 stars # 7 Nojo Ramen Tavern *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 6/6/6 *Rod's Yelp Rating *4 stars # 9 Yokohama Lekei Ramen *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 6/5/6 *Rod's Yelp Rating *4 stars # 8 Ippudo *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 5/6/5 *Rod's Yelp Rating *3 stars # 10 Santa Ramen *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 5/5/5 *Rod's Yelp Rating *3 stars # 11 Sobo Ramen *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 4/4/5 *Rod's Yelp Rating *3 stars # 12 Ramen 101 *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 4/4/5 *Rod's Yelp Rating *3 stars # 13 Ramen Shu *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 4/5/4 *Rod's Yelp Rating *3 stars # 14 Slurp Ramen *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 4/4/4 *Rod's Yelp Rating *2 stars # 15 Tadamasa *Rod SF Bay Area Ramen Rating * 3/3/3 *Rod's Yelp Rating *3 stars read more

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We happen to walk by last Sunday and were able to be seated within 15 minutes. Its a great Ramen House and all the ingredients are fresh. Its not fly by night ramen house like many others in San Francisco. The had the sampler Ippudo steam buns. WOW! I definitely recommend the restaurant. The service and staff are amazing. we felt like we were back in Japan. read more

Karaka spicy: -just the right amount of spicy, not too hot but not to bland -got medium firmness for the noodles, on point -had 2-3 pieces of pork belly tho :/ but the pork belly is soft and fatty, definitely flavorful Akamaru modern: -had 2-3 pieces of pork belly, so 2-3 is standard across the board -got the firm noodles -pork broth is my fav, soy sauce complemented flavor of broth read more

First time was in NY, second time here. Waited for 1.5 hours in NY but only 15 minutes here for a party of 3 during our lunch break on a Monday. My friends and I ordered Shishito peppers for an app (highly recommend if you like edamame -they only look spicy but they're not bad at all so don't be intimidated) the Akamura Modern, and Akamura Tamago (same as Modern but with a $2 egg). The price for extra toppings can add up quickly but we could justify $5 Sapporo's. Overall a good lunch spot conveniently located in downtown but I still don't understand the hype! I highly recommend trying Marafuku in Japantown for some of the best underrated ramen. read more

Ippudo San Francisco - Akamura Modern, Akamura Tamago (same as Modern but with an egg), and Shishito peppers appetizer - Ramen Near Me - San Francisco, California

Solid Ramen experience but some things could be better. In a nutshell, the food is great while the service leaves something to be desired. PROS: lively, spacious dining room. Great broth flavors with a nice variety of type of noodles as well as toppings. Some of the best chashu I've ever tasted at a Ramen place on west coast. CONS: no sides or apps were available on a Saturday night even though it was 45 mins till closing time - this was made particularly egregious by the fact that we waiting for 1 hour. Wait staff took forever to get us our check - they were too busy closing up to notice the two people trying to pay and leave. The waiting/bar area up front was tiny for the number of people crammed in there. read more

Ramen was only ok but the shoshito peppers was lightly salted and delicious. No wait on a Saturday at 11am. read more

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Came here the 1st week of opening, got to the shop right when it opens at 11am, there were around 15 people in front of us, we were thinking they already let the 1st round of people in, meaning we prob need to wait for at least 30-50 mins. Turned out the host is letting each group of party in one by one, taking extremely long time to sit everyone. By the time we were called, it was 20 mins later andthere were still at least 5-6 tables empty!!!!!! Food also took a while to come, our food didn't come out until 11:45am!!!!!!! The portion of food is perfect, not too much, closer to the portion they serve in Asia. Lastly, our waitress gave us the wrong credit card back when paying the bill! Luckily we noticed it before taking the someone else card They do not offer any to go boxes at all, would be nice if the waitress let us know before ordering or have some kinds of notice on the menu. Overall, not a pleasant experience for us. read more

I would give this restaurant 5 stars if they had allowed me to take my leftover karaage home. I went to the restroom and asked my son to pay the bill. When I got back he said not only did they not give him a to go box but they took the chicken away before he could wrap it in his napkin to take home. If I had known they don't allow customers to take their leftovers I wouldn't have ordered the appetizer. We only ate two out of the four pieces and I ordered it fully intending to eat only part of it. I hate wasting food. This doesn't make any sense to me. The ramen was delicious. The service was good. read more

Ippudo SF is an outpost of a popular Japanese Ramen Chain. Lines were long when they initially opened, but there was no line at lunch in April 2018. We finally gave it a try and were underwhelmed. We'd take Mensho or even Santa Ramen in San Mateo anyday. Picks: None Just OK: Shiromaru Classic ($14) had broth that was lacking in very much flavor. We choose the Kata level of firmness but found it still pretty soft. You can get vegetarian and eggless tofu noodles with this dish! Karaka Spicy ($16) was expensive and not super spicy. Very fatty meat. Low on noodle quantity. Pork Buns (2pcs $8) were also not very exciting. Lots of fat and not much flavor. Would not reorder: None Overall - Good Food - Good Decor - Very Good Service - Good Value - Good Would we come back - No read more

Omg I feel in love w the pork buns!!! Soooo effing good! Cucumber salad was bomb too. And truffle fries! The ramen itself could've used A LITTLE more flavor, but it was still good overall. read more

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As a vegetarian, Ippudo is pretty much the only place that gives me a taste of ramen I can enjoy.

Came in on a Tuesday night around 6pm. There was no wait, my friend and I were immediately seated. We started off with Pork belly buns which I thought were pretty good but surely you can find similar quality elsewhere. For my Ramen I chose the Shoyu Ramen. They allow you to pick the softness for your noodles which is a great idea. I chose firm and they were near perfect for my liking. My broth was very flavorful. My only complaint is the price of ~$15 per bowl. Yummy but wouldn't choose this place over a more reasonably priced restaurant for similar bowl of ramen. read more

Ippudo San Francisco - Ramen Near Me - San Francisco, California

I really enjoyed my meal here. Came about 730 pm on a Monday evening by myself. I waited about 15 minutes. Couples were being quoted 30 minutes. The bar area was super busy- it seemed like it'd be too much trouble to order there with so many people crowded inside. The host was organized, efficient and polite. Some people didn't want to wait, so he recommended that they try another evening (apparently 830 is when they slow down). The restaurant is actually quite big and airy so doesn't feel too crowded. Service was fast - I ordered within 5 minutes of sitting down and had ramen within 20. I had the Karaka ramen, which is the original tonkatsu broth, but spicy. The restaurant leans a little more traditional than some other American style ramen places. The style is a little minimalist / reserved. (Similar to sushi - some people want plain salmon on rice, some people want tempura wrapped with cream cheese and jalpanoes. Both are good and legitimate styles of food. This leans more traditional vs creative or catered to American taste). The broth has a nice silky mouth feel, without being oily or heavy. There were more than enough noodles for me, but it wasn't the biggest portion I've ever had. I love veggies and would probably add extra the next time I come here. The spice level was good for me, but I can see how some people might want chili oil / more spice. Im not a ramen expert by any means, but it's a solid spot. Would like to come back some day and try the other styles. read more

It was great! Reminds me of Japanese ramen restaurant! I will love to go back when I have chance to go visit San Francisco!