YUMMMM. I don't have ramen often but after coming here I've been craving more ramen. We waited in…read morethe long line for about 30-40 minutes. It was worth it! Once we got closer to the front, the host came by to hand us menus so we knew what to order as soon as we were seated. The restaurant is pretty small so the dining experience feels a little hectic. If you're looking for a calm, relaxing place to eat, I wouldn't say this is the place. It's sort of an "in and out" situation. I ordered the spicy G.K.O. So so delicious. The flavors really jump out at you. The broth is so cozy and smooth. The portion was decent and the ingredients felt proportional. My boyfriend ordered the vegan Miso. He's not a huge fan of ramen and he actually finished his bowl. He gave it a big thumbs up.

This place was incredible from start to finish. We kicked things off with the A5 Wagyu nigiri,…read morewhich was good and very tender, though it didn't quite have that melt-in-your-mouth texture I typically associate with Wagyu. One of the standout appetizers was the spicy enoki chips. They were packed with flavor while still feeling light and crispy. Fair warning--they definitely bring some heat! I love spicy food, and while the spice didn't linger much on my tongue, it definitely had my nose running a bit. My husband ordered the GKO ramen bowl, and it was absolutely loaded with flavor. The garlic-forward broth was rich, savory, and incredibly satisfying. It does get a little heavy toward the end, and you'll probably leave with garlic breath--but it's 100% worth it. I ordered the Spicy Signature Toripaitan ramen, and we were both glad I did. Despite the name, it's not particularly spicy, which was perfectly fine with me. The broth was creamy, flavorful, and comforting without being as rich as the GKO. The duck chashu was incredibly tender, and the oyster mushrooms added a wonderful chewy texture that balanced the bowl beautifully. Add the enoki chips to the broth, you won't regret it! Service was great. We were checked in on frequently and always had a refill when needed which was definitely needed when we ate the enoki chips. At least for my husband anyway. Overall, we absolutely loved the ramen here. Every dish was flavorful, filling, and thoughtfully prepared. We left happy, full, and already looking forward to our next visit.

I've gone with 3 different friends at this point (with one of them coming twice because how of much…read morewe loved our experience) and tried more of the menu. We've had the cauliflower, the stone mill pie, both the lychee & yuzu wines, and the lemonade. Everything is incredible, but the pie is especially incredible after a great meal. I love this place. I think it'll forever serve as a good to for an affordable, higher end dining experience. The waitstaff are quick and warm. I bet you could try anything on the menu and be pleased. I've had a ton of great dinners here and will continue to support this restaurant!

FEB2026 Came by for a quick dinner before a show. It was…read moreeasy to set a reservation and it wasn't even busy which was convenient. We enjoyed their other location in the Milpitas area so this seemed like an easy choice. Service was helpful, water refills frequent, and checked on us often. We had ordered the tokusei tsukemen, shio chuka soba, the fried cauliflower as well as a sakegria and a sake flight. The tsukemen was good much like when we had it before and my partner was craving it. The shio chuka soba was good. The broth was really clean and warming with noodles cooked well. Really well balanced. The cauliflower was nice as a side dish. Very flavorful and great for in between bites. Definitely a solid meal, and worthwhile checking out another location for Taishoken.

Like this place as it is the neighborhood... but at an office lunch .. the order taker had to ask…read morewhat "negi " and "gyudon" meant...iwas it too foreign as it is right off the menu ...

o.m.g. the vegan creamy ramen was absolutely one of the top 5 most delicious things i've ever ate…read more sooooooo good!!! 10/10 would recommend trying this ramen! even if you aren't vegan. i'm vegetarian and my bf is a meat eater and he kept eating out of my bowl. the noodles were the most perfect texture ever and the broth is so creamy and delicious. the sweet tofu skin and the little bit of saltiness from the veggies was soooo perfect. i brought home a lot of leftovers. the portions are very generous! the next day i was so excited to eat my ramen that i ate it cold no microwaving needed and it was soo good the restaurant is clean and pretty and the service was great!!

Me and my bf found this spot when we were doing a day trip to SF from LA. It was pretty cold gloomy…read moreday so we decided to have lunch here with something warm and our favorite which is Ramen. It was our first time and we definitely chose the right spot for lunch. The inside is very cozy and warm. We were seated by the corner facing the street which kind of adds to the vibe and seeing the cloudy weather was a perfect day to eat ramen. Their ramen is so good, I believe they put truffles on it, and I love me some truffles. Even my bf who loves ramen and usually has high standards for it loved it. We both rated this spot a 9/10 from our opinion. Oh and their mushroom appetizer was good. I forgot the name but we were picking on that and finished it within minutes.

We came here for a late dinner and were surprised there was still a wait. The restaurant is pretty…read moresmall, so I'd probably avoid coming with a larger group. We ordered: Traditional paitan ramen - the roast beef was tender and I liked that the beef broth was lighter than the usual pork broth. The restaurant recommends adding black garlic oil, but I found it quite heavy and unnecessary (not worth the extra charge either). The broth tasted better without it Crispy mushrooms - tasty! I wasn't sure what to expect but these were light, crispy, and perfectly seasoned. Would order this again!

Great vibe, great pre-Symphony meal very close to the Civic Center arts institutions.read more

The chicken ramen is really good. Broth is viscous and gelatinous in the best way, without feeling…read moreheavy. Noodles are quite special - they taste so fresh, bouncy with the perfect bite. Salmon hand roll is in taco format - not cheap but very delicious and tender fish, and plenty of ikura.

Crispy mushrooms like no other! They are served piping hot, with a perfectly light crisp batter and…read morejust enough seasoning to make them addictive! Our go to is the traditional paitan ramen with a side of bone marrow plus the black garlic oil. The owner was so nice to give us an extra bone marrow cause he thought the original one they made wasn't big enough. Both were generous portions. Best bone marrow I've had in sooo long! We also had the roasted beef filet starter which was perfectly rare and tender and served with a dipping sauce.

Appreciate this small cozy joint in otherwise super busy Irving and 9th area and their dedication…read moreto a small and focused menu. Ramen is quite subjective though, but here's my thoughts: Noodles: 2/5. Nothing super bad but not my type of noodles. A bit too thick and lack texture Broth: 3/5. A bit less thick than I was expecting based on the look, and a little lighter than I'd prefer given the noodles Meat: 5/5. Nice and tender cuts, easily the best part of the meal when combined with the broth Nice place to swing by if you're in the area and feeling like some beef based ramen, but unfortunately not the top ramen spot in town

Windy and cold in SF tonight, so we decided on Ippudo ramen before watching Supergirl at the…read moreMetreon. The host asked if we and another party of 4 wouldn't mind sharing a long table, so both parties agreed. The place was extremely busy!! Our orders were taken pretty fast, and the steaming bowls of ramen came out shortly after. The tonkotsu broth brought back memories of Japan where Ippudo ramen shops were everywhere, in the malls or train stations....yes, Ippudo is a very popular chain. And here it tastes as good!! The menu has expanded over the years, but we just wanted a quick dinner before the movie so we all ordered the same thing. Sharing a table must be confusing for the waiters, they kept asking which party had what ....

Came here after a long day at the Super Bowl experience. We…read moredid a walk-in for four. The wait for a table was 20 mins or we can share a large table with random people and be seated immediately. We were hungry. We went with the large shared table. Pleasantly, there was more than enough room. There were at least 1-2 seats in between the three groups on each side that were there- a solo diner, a small family of 3, and my group of 4. I ordered the Karaka Spicy, my bf ordered Akamaru Modern, his sister ordered Miso, and I don't remember what her friend got- I think it was also Karaka spicy. My bf and I ordered the Treasure plate on the side to share and a side of spicy paste because I know Japanese spicy is barely spicy (from someone who grew up eating SEA spicy). Karaka Spicy had a nicely balance tonkotsu mouth feel and pork flavor. Broth was a little salty. I was correct to assume that it wasn't spicy because I used half of the side of spicy paste and I still didn't think it was spicy enough. Chashu was cooked fine. Notes: - I wished I would've asked if they could swap the thin noodles for the thick ones. I love the chew thicker noodles provide. - Noodles were cooked al dente. Akamaru Modern tasted very similar to Karaka spicy without the spicy. My bf used the other half of the spicy paste as dip for his toppings. He enjoyed it. Miso was a lighter broth (obvi) with a good umami flavor and was not watered down. Solid. She loved it. I have never seen her finish a whole bowl of ramen before. There was a server in training that took our order with the help of the trainer- he did great. Staff was attentive with our waters. Bussers were also quick to notice and remove empty plates and bowls regularly making for an easy clean up after we leave and kept the shared table clutter free. Interior was modern, but casual. They had an expansive menu with vegetarian choices, sushi, buns, karage, etc. and a surprisingly large array of alcohol. I would def like to be back to try some drinks.

We've been here maybe a handful of times at this point - the food is really good, cute cozy spot…read more However now that there is a soy allergy to account for - I can't easily neccessarily revisit my favorite spots. I've been to plenty of Japanese/Ramen spots and I've been running into the issue where I say I have a soy allegry and there is an assumption that I have a gluten issue (I do not have a gluten issue). I noticed yelp said they have soy-free options and thus called on Friday thinking it might be a bad idea as they're usually busy.. It was defintely hard for the person to hear a bit when they picked up. The staff did relay something about gluten free noodles.. Anyways, they said they could swap out any of the soy soups for salt (but soy can encompass a lot of things so I still wasn't feeling super confident but we're going to give it a go). We go and I asked which 4 of the soups I was eyeballing don't have soy - the staff said they can accomodate and replace any of the soy soups with a salt broth. After we ordered, the staff came back and checked in to make sure that my partner also didn't have an allergy. And my dish came out, they told me there was no egg as its marinated in soy - perfect to me. I'm glad that was caught as not every establishments can account for everything. - Now I have a spot to (more safely) eat ramen! - I advise that if you do have an food allergy, do talk to the staff, and address your concerns such as cross contamination etc. I had a great experience, but I do find that because its not so regulated or understood and there is lack of education amongst the food/resturant industry - you always need to advocate for yourself and there is always a risk. I'm very apperciative of the staff here.

Came here at around 6 PM on a Tuesday and got seated immediately! It got busier about 10 mins…read moreafter. Super cute & decorated inside, and staff was so nice! Okonomoyaki tater tots - 8.5/10 from a potato lover!! This does have some sort of cheese on it so beware if you don't eat it Hamachi Hand Roll - 9/10 SO GOOD. I think the rice is mixed in with soy sauce. It was super flavorful which I wasn't expecting Scallop Hand Roll - 8/10, the yuzu on top was absolutely delicious & scallop was very soft. Kobe Skewer - 7/10, it was good but nothing extraordinary. It'll hit the spot if you like meat skewers Yuzu Tori Skewer - 7/10, same as the kobe skewer, but the yuzu on top was delicious Niku Ramen - 8/10, good portion & very very flavorful. I'm glad that they gave a lot of meat in this. I shared this & they provided an extra bowl without me asking :) It's also not super spicy. Hokkaido Milk Pudding - 8/10, the pudding itself was so good but the sauce was a little too sweet for me. However, my partner has a sweet tooth and loved it :) Will totally come again, everything was so yummy and so glad to have tried it!