Kotoya Ramen Bar

This is my 8^th time I have dine here before I have decided to write a review
This little hole In the wall is probably one of my favorite ramen noodles in the Westside of Los Angeles
I’m a ramen lover and I have tried so many kinds of ramen in Japan and around the world. I can honestly say the taste of the broth is good, the noodles were just right no too stif, not too soft.
Great service is prompt and good, the server made sure our water was filled at all times.
The price a bit high for ramen
Parking a bit sucky
Ambiance well, I went for the ramen :)

One of my top three ramen places in Los Angeles. The noodles were a great texture, medium firmness. I got the red-​spicy broth level 3 and it was the perfect level of heat – not too spicy where I couldn’t enjoy the broth. The chasu was delicious, and the service was speedy. We went at 3:30 and had to wait about 5 minutes, but I would definitely have waited longer for this bowl of ramen.
We also ordered fried rice and the jumbo gyoza. The rice was good, but the gyoza were just okay. Overall it was a great meal for a chilly day!
Worth it! I will definitely be coming back soon!

First time eating here. Arrived around 6:30pm on a weekday. Parked at a meter across the street as the parking lot was full (meters active from 8am-​8pm).
The restaurant is tiny and there was a wait (~15 min). I ordered the black ramen ($ 11) and a friend ordered the spicy red ramen ($ 12).
It’s definitely different from what I’m used to (Tsujita, Tatsu, Daikokuya). I was overwhelmed by the garlic flavor of the broth in my black ramen. Overall, I thought the food was just okay this time around. Should I go again, I’d order something else.

Stopped by for some ramen and wanted to try this place out! So glad we did, it has jumped to the top of the list, easily overall best ramen in LA! Strong words for an amazing ramen shop… the flavor of the soup was so solid, the black ramen (garlic soy) was so flavorful… and the noodle is so thick (in a great way) and so full it’s simply the best. The red ramen was amazing but the spice is Thai spice scale… I got 4 and I cannot feel my lips or tongue… it’s seriously spicy… and I eat Korean spice…4 was way too much… wish I got 2 I think… but still amazing flavor and if you like spice then get the 4 or 5… I dare you!!!

The plaza has a lot of parking spots that are limited in parking time, but the guy working there said that by the time I finished eating and got out there should be no issue with the parking, and there wasn’t in my case.
I had the spicy ramen here and it tasted great! The ramen was really good, and I liked that the egg was a little runny still (I got the soft boiled version). The one drawback though was that the soup was rather narrow, in the sense that there wasn’t much soup. There was must enough to flavor the ramen and sip a little, but not a ton of liquid to enjoy and sip by itself.

Best ramen if your main focus is on quality.
They have a complex menu with many options that you can utilize for the ultimate ramen experience.
Enough reading, go munch!

Cold nights are ramen nights.
Went here in a search for a good Ramen place in Santa Monica area. Menu is a bit different because you would have a choice of what you put in your bowl.
Flavor is good. Will definitely come back.

**1 star for service /​3 stars for the food**
Came here on a Friday night… well before the dinner crowd. I understand that it’s a tiny spot… so the girlfriend and I opted to sit by the bar… mind you the bulk of the clientele were Asian. I was with a non-​asian friend. Remember that…
We were given menus… I explained the process to the friend… then other clienteles started walking in and I noticed that they were mostly Asians. Next thing you know… we were forgotten. We were sitting by the bar and literally right next to the cashier stand and I was with a non-​asian friend… you can’t possibly forget us! So the friend got antsy and so she decided to get the waitress’s attention and she just didn’t like that at all… After that… we were on her sh*t list. Literally.
For all you reading my reviews — I don’t BS or sugar coat. I tell it how it is and clearly I’ve reviewed quite a range of restaurants and this place was just plain rude and not accommodating of other races besides asian folks.
I don’t know what my friend did to annoy the crap out of the lady that was serving us that night. Was it so wrong for us to get their attention? Was it wrong for my friend to ask and inquire where her food was after mine arrived and it was a span of 15 mins before they gave her ramen?
From any patronages’ perspective… it’s just wrong.
The ramen was okay… didn’t blow my mind.
What did blew our minds was the lack of service and the rudeness of the service. And yes, it’s not the Ritz or the French Laundry… but we’re still customers…
Go here not on a happening night like Friday /​Saturday or maybe just go to another ramen spot which I’ll be sure to do next time out. Go at your own risk folks!
May the ramen be with you!

I came here a few years ago and remember not really liking it because it was too salty. I decided to try this place out again, and this time ordering something different. The menu has changed since the last time I’ve been here and I like how their ramen is customizable. Not a huge fan of pork chashu, I was thankful they had the chicken chashu option.
I got the Black Garlic Soy ramen with less salt, extra garlic, corn, woodear mushrooms, green onion, chicken chashu, and soft-​boiled egg. First of all, I loved ALL the toppings I put in it – the soft-​boiled egg was perfectly soft-​boiled and infused with soy sauce, giving it its slightly salty yet delicious flavor. However, the broth of the Black Garlic Soy is meh. The flavor was very bold, thick, and peppery. I was honestly glad I got less salt because I don’t know if I would like it if it had the normal salt amount. The broth flavor was actually a bit overwhelming even with less salt. I tried my bf’s Salt Ramen and surprisingly I liked his broth better because it was a bit on the lighter side.
The prices, I’m not going to lie, are a bit on the pricier side. The ramen portion is okay and the toppings were good, but the broth wasn’t all that great. Giving this place a 3 mainly because I don’t think I’ll crave this place, but would be down to come back if my friends want to come here.

As the winter of 2015 came, I noticed a profound change in my physiology. I had persistent and urgent cravings for ramen, the episodes being the worst on rainy or windy nights. Though no matter how large or frequent my consumption of ramen, the cravings persisted and even returned with greater ferocity. I’ve thought of hooking myself up to an I.V. drip of tonkatsu broth to get me through my work day, but to my dismay, the internet says such technology does not yet exist.
I have lived and/​or worked near the Sawtelle strip and Little Tokyo for years and years. The competition for good ramen is stiff and I know exactly what I’m looking for in a good bowl of ramen: savory broth with deep umami flavor and body, tender chasu, soft boiled egg marinated to perfection with a yolk that oozes like golden lava when prodded, and noodles with that perfect amount of bite. Kotoya delivers on all these fronts and more.
Rogelio G. and I first discovered Kotoya on a night when my ramen cravings were at their worst. We were feeling adventurous, but didn’t want to deal with the hassle of long lines and finding parking in Sawtelle. Unilocal led us to Kotoya, which is located in a strip mall on Santa Monica. We were pleased to find a quaint little restaurant (about 6 – 8 tables with a small bar), minimal wait, and free parking. They give you a slip and you mark what broth and toppings you want, in addition to add ons, drinks and appetizers. This ramen is not cheap ($ 12/​bowl) and the portions are not particularly generous but it is SO good. My go-​to order is: spicy red broth lvl 3 with pork chasu, soft boiled egg, wood ear mushroom, bamboo, green onion, pickled ginger, less fatty broth. All of these toppings are included in the price, and that considered, $ 12 is very reasonable. They also have a small selection of rice bowls and appetizers including gyoza, spicy tuna rolls and kara-​age (fried chicken) which are all BOMB.
I’ve found that there is little wait if you arrive before 7. Service can sometimes be slow, but it is an inconvenience that a ramen addict like myself, can endure. During this ramen malady that I am still coping with, I have also frequented other joints (including an underwhelming visit to Shin Sen Gumi which included a long wait and broth that was lacking some key flavor I couldn’t put my finger on), but I keep coming back to Kotoya. I do not know when, if ever, my ramen affliction will subside, but I am grateful that Kotoya has been there for me through the worst of it.

Ramen craving = drive out to Sawtelle excited for all the different options.
Holidays = Sawtelle filled, over-​flowing with people at all hours of the day.
Basically, my boyfriend and I were driving around trying to find a ramen place without a wait. I was hangry, to say the least. Thankfully we found this spot and were seating immediately.
The food was okay. I thought that the ramen broth was too salty and I usually think everything could use an extra pinch of salt. I had to pay extra to get their spiciest level and was sorely disappointed that it wasn’t that spicy. I mean, there was a kick to it, but not worth the extra money. If anything, it was more salty than it was spicy. I did like that we were able to build our own ramen.

I’ve never in my life waited so long to get ramen!
30 minutes, seriously!!!
The weather was freezing so I figured I quickly grab some Ramen before I went to my next appointment. I’ve gone to places that are just as busy, with better food and I was served in less than 10 minutes! While eagerly anticipating for my Ramen to arrive, the door kept opening and closing with patrons coming and going, not helping my already freezing state!
The waiter, however, was super sweet and apologetic. But not enough for me to want to come back.
And the soft egg was cold.
Definitely not worth my time.

— Small shop (would not come here with more than 3 people)
— Decent meter/​street parking available
— Paper slip order method (mark what broth, toppings and add-​ons you want)
— If you decide to order hot tea, it’s $ 4 (I guess they have some premium stuff!)
Came here on a Saturday night since Sawtelle ramen shops were way too crackin (per usual). The wait wasn’t bad at all and the servers were very polite. Since you can add and specify what you want in your ramen through the slip, it’s very customizable. I went with the Black and got spicy paste added.
The broth is a lot cleaner and lighter tasting than the usual heavy, creamy chashu broth. The spiciness was also different in that it wasn’t a deep slow spiciness, but rather just super peppery from all the black pepper. I did however, appreciate that they have chicken chashu! It was a healthier option and the chicken was soft and juicy.
The noodles were standard and thin. I feel like Kotoya has a lot of potential but there’s just something missing that doesn’t make it stand out from all the ramen shops in LA.

How the mighty have fallen!
It’s amazing how much a change in ownership can affect a restaurant from top-​to-​bottom. The new staff at Kotoya has taken several steps in the wrong direction, and it shows in every phase of the dining experience here.
Kotoya used to be our gold standard when it came to ramen here on the Westside. With flavorful broth, melt-​in-​your-​mouth chashu, and delicious takoyaki, this lil’ hole in the wall used to be wholly deserving of the praise that it received (including four stars from yours truly!)
Sadly, a change in ownership really threw a wrench into the works — and that’s putting it mildly:
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— Even before we were seated, it became abundantly clear that the new owners had no clue how to execute timely service.
The strict no-​reservations policy at Kotoya was never much of an issue in the past; even on busy weekend nights, our wait times may have been bad, but never unbearable. Our longer waits would always be balanced out by the dining experience itself — in that service was always speedy (yet still polite!).
Such was not the case during our last visit; it took us about an hour and 15 minutes just to get seated. I took peeks into the restaurant (you’re encouraged to wait outside because it’s so tiny and cramped inside the dining area) to see how the meals of those who were already seated were coming along. Many of the tables inside were either completely bare (minus waters) or had empty plates that were waiting to be picked up — and remained so even after 15, 20, 30 minutes passed. One table that was already seated ended up walking out after waiting for over 20 minutes for some menus!
We weren’t the only ones waiting, either. Two other parties arrived around the same time that we did, and found themselves subjected to the same insane wait times. In fact, we waited for so long that we eventually struck up conversation amongst ourselves. You know that a restaurant is doing an awful job when its patrons start to congregate over their shared frustration…
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— Fast forward an hour, and we finally got ourselves seated. Fast forward another ten minutes, and we were given menus/​order cards.
Instead of offering a selection of ramen varieties like the previous owners did, Kotoya relies on a new system of ordering in which diners indicate their preferred ramen contents on a paper card.
After ordering our food, we suffered through another 45 minutes or so of waiting before our ramen was brought out. You should get the idea by now: Kotoya is pretty much the worst choice that you could possibly make for food if you’re either very hungry or in a hurry. This place operates at one speed, and that’s full-​on Turtle Mode.
— It also didn’t help that in spite of our marathon wait, our server still managed to botch our order. Despite explicitly writing «Egg X 2» on our order cards, both myself and my friend were given only one egg each. We had to bring this to our server’s attention, and it took another 5 minutes for extra eggs to be added to our ramen bowls.
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— Did I mention that a couple strolled in to Kotoya and sat themselves without bothering to write their names on the waiting list!!! Having already waited around 30 – 45 minutes prior to their arrival, you can imagine that we weren’t very happy to see this. While I did make a point to loudly badmouth this couple over-​my-​shoulder during our entire dinner, I also brought the matter to the attention of our server.
His response? A shoulder shrug. Not even an apology.
Seriously?!
I’m cool with waiting in line — but I expect first-​come first-​served, no exceptions, no BS. Our server’s disinterested attitude and sense of helplessness was disgusting, and you can bet that we didn’t tip him a dime.
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— Much like the dining experience, the quality of the ramen itself (which at one time used to really shine!) seemed watered-​down and uninspired. The chashu isn’t as tender as I recall it being during prior visits, and the bamboo honestly tasted like it had come out of a can. Even with extra garlic, my bowl of ramen tasted more salty than anything.
Let’s put it this way — if you endured a 2 hour+ wait just to get your hands on a bowl of ramen, it better damn well be the Holy Grail of noodle bowls — and that was certainly not what we were served at Kotoya.
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Just when I thought that I had seen it all… a ramen dinner that took almost three hours! For a place that specializes in the ultimate Japanese quick-​fix meal, Kotoya sure found a way to underwhelm us all across the board.
It’s sad to see how quickly the new ownership managed to crash & burn this place. I’d only recommend visiting if you’re either in a masochistic mood or if you’re looking to test the limits of your patience.

This place has many things right with it, but I can’t say that I’m a huge fan of Kotoya.
Things I liked [+2]:
* I like that they put a pitcher of water on the table for you so you don’t need to bug them for water.
* Chashu is amazing.
* Noodles are cooked well.
* Food was cooked well.
* Place is extremely clean for a ramen spot.
* Very customizable bowl of ramen.
* Décor was very cute.
Things I didn’t like [-3]:
* Food took forever to come. This is odd for ramen, since the broth is usually already made. The noodle shouldn’t take that long?
* Charge for to~go box. Who does that?
* Portion is small for the price. ($ 12 without tax & tip!!! EGADDDS! Priciest ramen ever!)
* White broth was alright, a bit bland even with extra butter.
* Ground chicken was salty as heck!
* One server.
* This place seems a bit stingy compared to other Japanese spots.
Just FYI I am a Shinsengumi fan all the way, so maybe this place is not to my taste! However, I would still say try it once, just to see if it matches your taste. I definitely wouldn’t come here again just due to the price alone.

I’ll be honest — I came in expecting a very average 3-​star experience, but was pleasantly surprised. When I think of West LA ramen, I think only about the Sawtelle locations and end up dismissing every other ramen shop I pass by. If not for my friend telling me about this place and us studying in the same plaza, I wouldn’t have thought about giving this place a try.
It’s a super small restaurant, so probably not a great idea for groups of 5 or more. At first glance I was a little turned off by the prices here — about $ 12 for a bowl — but when the waiter gave us the order checklist it made a bit more sense. It’s a little like Shin-​Sen-​Gumi in that you can customize your bowl according to the options on the slip of paper. There are several categories of extra toppings and you can choose a certain number of each for free before you have to pay extra. A lot of the ramen shops will charge you extra for toppings right at the get-​go, so I think the prices here are justified.
I got the Black Garlic Soy ramen with extra chashu, ground chicken, corn, bean sprouts, and spicy garlic. It was delicious! I LOVE garlic so I really loved how strong it was in both the broth and with the extra spicy garlic topping. It was the perfect amount of spicy. One thing I have to rave about is the chashu. Arguably the best chashu I’ve had at any ramen place EVER (including Japan). It’s actually meaty and not at all fatty, and melts in your mouth.
Once we finished around 8:30pm, there were a good 10 people waiting outside. They were a little slow with pretty much everything, including giving us the menus, picking up our orders and our finished bowls, and giving us the check. They also forgot to put in the 1 extra chashu piece in my bowl and my boiled egg, which I was sad about but am not strong enough to stand up for. :(But that’s a big miss in my book, and would’ve bumped my rating down to a 3.5. Still, don’t be afraid to drop by to satisfy your ramen craving just because this isn’t your typical well-​known restaurant.

$ 11 for ramen? No thanks.
Takoyaki
Warm and tasty. Huge bites of octopus in each bite. However, too much batter for me.
Black Ramen
The black ramen is supposed to be garlic heavy, but I barely tasted any garlic. Good thing garlic is free because we got 3 plates of extra garlic.
Red Ramen
My friends thought that spicy level 2 wasn’t spicy at all.
I just don’t believe any ramen should be over 10 dollars, especially if I didn’t get to customize it myself.
The weirdest thing about the restaurant is that their to-​go box or plastic bag cost 50 cents, because they’re trying to reduce waste. Is this a grocery store now?!
Parking here sucks. Small lot and the downstairs lot is all for residents.