Kinchans

Oh Kinchans! Why are you no more? :(I was forced to dine at Chabuya tonight because Asahi is food poisoning inducing and there were no other decent ramen choices in Little Tokyo. Your food was basic and at times a bit bland, but oh so reliable. Nothing else would cure an LA winter cold as effectively! You will be missed.

Honestly, this was probably the second-​best ramen place on Sawtelle — but by no means does that mean it as bad. They had really good flavors; my favorite was the Shiitake Ramen.
Asahi had nothing on them. Kinchans — you will be missed.

I’ve been coming to Kinchan’s for 13 years, and is the only ramen joint I frequent. Some people are obviously not happy with this place, but I can personally say that I’ve never had a bad experience here.
My favorite was the Negi Ramen and the Mabo Ramen, with a side of Gyoza and some hot sake. The food is non-​pretentious, straight ahead noodle soup with some fixings. The chef and owner was there every day of his life for the 13 years I went there. He was always kind, always recognized me, and always fed this dude a great bowl of soup for a very reasonable amount of money.
Take what you want from the numerous reviews, but I will say that the food here is never so horrible to deserve 1 star. It seems people often overreact when certain expectations aren’t met, and they just dump all over it. It’s all relative, I suppose.
Unfortunately, it no longer matters. As of 3/​27, Kinchans is no longer open. They made me a very happy man for many years of my life, and I’ll always have fond memories of my experiences here. My hope is that everyone moves on to wonderful new ventures and experiences.
Cheers to Kinchan, and the people that made it great!

Our original plan was to hit up The Corner Place for dongchimi gook soo, but with the traffic on the 10 being something we didn’t really want to fuck with, we somehow ended up at Kinchans for our noodle fix.
I had the Negi Ramen with spicy bbq pork and green onions. The pork was deliciously tender and the soup was salty and savory, but lacking the spiciness I had hoped for. Still really delicious, though.
3 stars for solid, filling ramen and friendly service at this cozy spot.
The 4^th star is for the small drawing of Lauryn Hill we saw hidden on one of the walls. Who doesn’t love Ms. Hill?

I got the Mapo tofu ramen. Service was friendly, and the price was good, but as far as taste, all I can say is this:
I WOULD RATHER EAT $ 0.33/PKG RAMEN FROM THE GROCERY STORE.

Ok I used to rail on and on how despite all the terrific offerings on Sawtelle, there were no good ramen places.
I dropped by Kinchan’s on a whim and a cold, wet rainy day simply to jog my memory because I think I ate there once maybe 3 years ago, and now cannot remember at all what the experience was like.
This place is cozy, japanese run, definitely catered to the nihongo speaking community as evidence by the stacks of old manga available for customers to read as they wait for/​eat their food, either at a table or the countertop.
I ordered the negi ramen which is topped with spicy shredded pork, rather than go for the usual shoyu or usual roasted pork sliced toppings.
The soup quality was hard to figure out because of the flavouring of the shredded spicy pork but the noodles were alright, not too thick and had that proper egg noodle consistency I like to see in decent ramen.
Overall, I couldn’t complain, the portion is plentiful and ramen was reasonably priced (about $ 8) and with a side of gyoza I only paid about $ 11 for my bill.
Service is very friendly and attentive and there seemed to be a very non frantic atmosphere despite the number of customers present. Perhaps it was the rain, I don’t know.
Is the ramen fantastic? No, but for a place I could walk to, I could definitely see myself coming back, unlike a certain Asahi ramen down the street…

Was a rainy day, perfect ramen day. Nothing like some hot soup. Had passed by here quite a few times so thought I would give it a try. Love ramen.
Ordered Shoyu Ramen and Miso Ramen. A staple at any ramen house. Took some time. Shoyu Ramen came out w/​hardly any meat. Miso came out w/​o an egg. Shoyu was avg. Nothing spectacular. Miso was simply disappointing. Didn’t have much flavor at all. Added some soy sauce. still didn’t have flavor. Added two spoonfuls of crushed red pepper. Still no flavor. Ramen was al-​dente at first, then became soggy. A bit on the thicker side of ramen.
Overall this place was not really that good. Cheap, but nothing to write home about.

Whenever I need to get out of the office for a breather this is one of the usual places I’ll go to for lunch. My usual is the charshi ramen with miso and extra noodles. Noodles with sliced pork with some veggies. Very hearty bowl of soup. Add a order of gyoza’s and I’m stuffed.
Prices are decent. Lunch bill usually comes out to about $ 10 or so.
I only come here for lunch as it’s near my work.
The main downside of this place is that it’s in a plaza and the whole parking lot for the plaza is valet parking. I always park on the street instead and pay the meter. I’m usually in and out of there in about half an hour so I usually put money in the meter for about 45mins to give me a little extra buffer so I won’t get any parking ticket’s.

I love this place, for all its faults and pleasures.
Kinchans has a very home-​y feel to it. It doesn’t try to be imposing or pretentious, and you know walking in that it’s definitely no knock-​off shop. The inside is mostly a long bar that runs around the kitchen, along with half a dozen tables. Miscellaneous American memorabilia hang on the walls, contrasting a hodgepodge of Japanese trinkets and magazines. And then there’s kinchan, always wearing a baseball hat, the only person making your soup. It just feels right to me.
The food is good, but not the best I’ve had. And for some reason that keeps me coming back. Perhaps tasting amazing things constantly makes my palate jaded (I easily tire of repetition), but I love their food regardless of explanation. I’ve gone through most of the menu and I’d recommend the Shoyu Ramen, Chashu Ramen, Mabo Ramen, and Negi Ramen. I know some people like their Miso Ramen but I’m not a fan of garlic with my miso so I go other places for that (like Asahi up the street). I’m also not very impressed with their yakisoba or a handful of other dishes… I come here for a few specific items and that satisfies me.
If you have an appetite and want to try my favorite dish, get the Chashu Ramen. You get a lot of meat and it’s done differently than most other restaurants I’ve been to. Instead of focusing (and often failing) at doing the hot-​melt-​in-​your-​mouth approach to pork, Kinchan gives you lots of big slices that begin cold (and later get melty if you have fatty pieces). Give it a shot!

I cannot live here without Kinchans.
Maybe everyone has a favorite restaurant he/​she goes everyday basis by herself after work or something. This place is like my home.
I go there, sit in front of counter and read a news paper.
Their taste is exactly the same as this type of Japanese Ramen restaurant in Japan. People over there come to this ramen restaurant for lunch or after work on the way home.
My favorite dish there are
Miso-​ramen with gyoza
Fried rice
Tenshin-​ramen (egg with sweet gravy)
Stir fried liver with vegetable
Stir fried vegetable with meat
Stir fried noodles
Gyoza
They also take a credit card.

Maybe I’m just not a fan of Japanese Ramen, who knows. I have yet to have a delicious bowl of it.
I ordered the Mabo Ramen (spicy broth, pork, tofu). The broth was good. The ramen noodles were not. When eating the noodles they didn’t have any taste to them. No matter what broth it was in they never soaked in the flavor of the broth.
We also got some Gyoza which were not so good. Just filled with a green vegetable. I’m used to dumplings with some meat and more flavor. They gyoza were just bland.
We also got Scrambled eggs and green onions. Totally not what I was expecting. I was picturing omelet style scrambled eggs with green onions mixed in. It was small pieces of egg mixed into the green onions. The taste wasn’t bad just not what we were expecting.
I may give Japanese ramen one more shot. But I will most likely go to another place.

This place is definitely underrated. The service is quick, the food is delicious and the prices are affordable. Although there are many ramen options on the menu, you can easily create your own ramen by adding and removing ingredients. All dishes are also available spicy.
The serving sizes are generous the noodles are so much better than other places I have tried on Sawtelle. Not to mention, they accept credit cards. Aside from noodles, they also have great fried rice and gyoza.
Warning: they are closed on Tuesdays and parking is valet only. The valet is free and street parking is free after 8pm.

Some out-​of-​town friends wanted ramen, and we didn’t want to make the journey from the westside to Little Tokyo on a weeknight. I took them to Sawtelle/​Olympic. This place had beer and sake, Asahi didn’t. We have a winner!
Overall, it was pretty good. Hot, hearty, flavorful comfort food, decently priced and with great portions. I wished their menu had a little more variety compared to Asahi or Ramenya; these soups all seemed to be the same variation of pork and noodles, some with slightly different broths or a few add-​ons. I ordered the wonton ramen, which only had 5 wontons (I gave 2 away to a friend before I counted them, dang it!). I also wished the soup had more substance besides the noodles and pork… all of my friends’ dishes only had a very small amount of corn, veggies, etc. Cozy, nondescript atmosphere (we were the only diners there) which I don’t really mind in exchange for great food.
I’d come here again, but I was hoping for a little more. Great location to go shopping in the Japanese stores or get dessert afterward!

Yes, there are other ramen places nearby, but this is one is so low-​key and simple.
The gyoza is perfectly crafted with a thin crunchy skin. The texture of the meat is juicy and tender. But the flavor tasted more like veggies than meat. If it tasted more like meat… they’d win the prize for best gyoza.
I got chashu ramen. The noodles and base are good, the condiments are minimal, but they compliment the dish. The chashu is a bit dry and over-​cooked. Not the best chashu, but it comes with the cheaper price.
The service is efficient and effective. There aren’t too many people working there, but they are always available and are spot on when refilling water and getting the check.

A no fuss no muss place for ramen. REALLY good portions & prices.
GREAT 4 starving students in the nearby area to go & eat ;)
Just what I like at times, good, big portions & cheap eat… if thats what you’re looking for, this place is just it… ;)
Service here is great, prompt & fast. very nice waiter. =)
BTW, the bathrooms here are very clean, so when a restaurant’s bathroom is clean, it tells you something about the place ;)
The parking sucks here in this plaza so do what everyone does… parking in the nearby streets. =)

Good. Cheap. Ramen.
Yvonne L was celebrating her 22^nd birthday with lunch, but with a large group of eight, it was difficult to find a place to accommodate us. Luckily Kinchans had the entire bar area open for us to eat, so we opted to try it out. Service inside was pleasant, and everyone was very nice to us and helped us get seated quickly.
KInchans was not bad at all in terms of ramen, but it wasn’t anything mind blowing either… although when I saw they had tomato ramen, I almost peed in my pants (it was pretty f-​cking good in Japan!) But because I wanted something with meat, I ordered the Corn Miso ramen which claimed it had pieces of ground beef in it.
The corn miso was okay. The ramen wasn’t mind blowing, and there weren’t really any pieces of meat lying around. The soup could have used some more spiciness too, but nothing a little bit of Sriracha couldn’t help. For about $ 10, I got a good bowl of ramen, which for me wasn’t too filling. However, some of my friends did get full quickly, so when you decide to take the ramen home, ask for two containers to separate the noodles from the soup so that they don’t get too soggy.
Kinchans… you were good, and I’ll come back if I’m in the need for a quick and cheap bite.

Dedication. Do you want to know what dedication is?
Last night, my girlfriend was suffering from a migraine. «What would help you feel better?» I asked. «Ramen,» she responded. Hmm, overly salty food when you have a headache? Well, I guess it’s better to acquiesce to the request than argue…
I went over to Santouka Ramen. It was 8:15pm. I started to order, but the girl informed me that they were closed. Closed? You close at 8:30! No, she replied, apologizing. We have run out of soup.
Next, upon the recommendation of a friend, I drove over to Sawtelle to hit up Asahi Ramen. Although they are supposedly open until 9pm, they were closed. Lights out. Closed sign. No ramen for you!
Desperate times call for desperate measures. I didn’t want to go to Ramen-​ya because I’m just not a fan of their broths, noodles, or really anything else pertaining to the establishment. And then I saw it. Kinchans Ramen. Deep breath. Okay, I’ll… give… it… a… shot…
I got an order of gyoza, and for myself I got the mabo ramen (extra spicy please) and for the girlfriend I ordered the wanton ramen.
The gyoza ($ 3.40) were panfried but still soft, and had a very odd flavor. I’m not saying that it was bad per se, just odd. In short, I wouldn’t order them again. I didn’t try the wanton ramen ($ 6.75), but the mabo ramen ($ 5.95 plus whatever they charged me for extra pork) was disappointing. It wasn’t very spicy, and while I ordered extra ground pork there wasn’t a ton of pork to be found… three teaspoons in all. The noodles were okay, but I’ve definitely had better… they were better than Ramen-​ya, though. The broth didn’t have as much flavor as I had hoped, and overall it was a relatively disappointing meal.
The prices were certainly reasonable ($ 22 plus a $ 3 tip), and the service was friendly and helpful, but the quality seemed to be lacking. 2 stars, I won’t return.

it was a casual ramen place, nothing outstanding, nor bad. well, maybe the broth needs more umami.
i had the seaweed ramen. there were lots of veggies & seaweed, and it was super hot (in temperature) so i didn’t have any dissapointment there. it was super filling, but it was a healthy-​full feeling. ahaha. umm… yea, just the broth was an okay…

A nice, neighborhood-​type noodle place.
Typical Japanese comfort food, Kinchans serves mostly ramen along with other a la carte dishes. I’d say their ramen is maybe a half-​notch below Ramen-Ya’s, but definitely comparable. Kinchans’ servings are a little smaller, too — but I think they also cost a little less.
The service is good, the place is clean.
If you want a simple, uncomplicated and quick (not rushed, but so you don’t need to take half the evening) dinner, try this place

Even though Ramenya and Asahi are the sexier names in the neighborhood, Kinchans have been flying under the radar while dishing out delicious bowls of shoyu ramen. Seated at the bar, the ambiance was humble and down to earth. There were a few interesting pictures, postcards, and magnets posted behind the bar followed by an eclectic collection of little plastic blow fish, manga, and animal ornaments neatly positioned on the countertop. There is a small seating area outside close to the sidewalk, but the storefront is still easy to miss with so many trendier looking options nearby.
I’ve never enjoyed adding soy sauce to my noodles so it was initially disappointing to see their menu limited to the shoyu base. By deferring my decisions to the server, my char siu ramen turned out really awesome. The noodle had the perfect texture while the broth far exceeded my expectations. The aroma reminded me of my grandma’s pork stew and the splash of sweet corn and spinach helped to add depth to its flavor. Although some may not like the char siu because it was served chilled in the ramen, but I definitely enjoyed each thick cuts of which were lean, savory, and authentically succulent.
It was interesting to see their chefs using a gigantic wok to cook the ramen, and the visibility of alcoholic options at the bar further sensitized my fond memories of Tokyo where many could be seen at ramen joints seeking comfort after a day of hard work. Not sure why ramen places are all so expensive at $ 8 – 9 per bowl, but service was excellent and on point. I definitely recommend this place for anyone who likes shoyu ramen or are on the verge to checking it out. I will definitely be back for more.

Meh. This place is okay.
1 star for being hella cheap. $ 6.50 for mabo ramen.
1 star for good service.
1 star for BIG ass portions, bigger than my head.
My mabo ramen was alright, there was lots of tofu, noodles and like 2 pieces of ground pork. Hmmm… was something missing? I had to add a ton of chili oil since it wasn’t spicy as advertised.
Would I come back? Eh. only if I was in the mood.