Kouraku Restaurant

Grabbed lunch here while in town for business. Busy spot for locals at lunch. Feels like the equivalent of an old time American diner, but Japanese style. Had lunch special with teriyaki, croqette, rice and mizu soup. All were fine, nothing special but not bad either. Overall 3−½ stars, but I’ll round up for the kitschy diner vibe.

This place is one of the few in Little Tokyo that actually reminds me of Japan. Great that you are open late. I like the new spicy ramen options. Don’t ever change Koraku!

This restaurant open till very late so we grab some snacks at night. The ramen is fine and chicken id delicious.

kinda interesting how popular this restaurant is but it doesn’t seem to have an overwhelmingly popular dish? i guess it’s supposed to be a diner sorta thing where most things should be at least ok. i tried the tan tan men and it was interesting how they really focused on a chinese pickle flavor in it. i feel like every ramen place has such a different tan tan men. i prefer it creamy style but it wasn’t bad. my friend had the combination curry and he said it was good but too small in portion. i’m sure i’ll be back one day to give it another whirl.

Solid.
Service was great too.
Went at a horribly late time but was still treated great.

I came here for lunch and it’s not a bad deal. 2 items for $ 9.95 or 3 items for $ 11.95. The lunch is similar to a revolving sushi place where you pay per plate you order except you get an extensive menu to choose from.
I tried the Yakisoba, Japanese Beef Bowl (think Yoshinoya beef) and I was going to leave it at that but I kept looking at the menu and the Volcano Bowl sounded intriguing so I got that as well. Yakisoba, you know, Top Ramen noodles, yup this is it. Japanese Beef is like Yoshinoya beef and they even have red ginger. The Volcano Bowl reminded me of a Volcano Bowl so I wanted to try it as well. The dishes were all good and delicious. They validate your parking too. I’ll be back here.

I like this place. Their gyoza teishoku is good. Wish it came with like a potato salad or some kind of side. Instead it came with kimchi which is yea something additional but not really a substantial side… just hate cash only places.

So Kouraku doesn’t have the best food in jtown but I constantly find myself coming back here.
I really like the vibe here, really laid back, friendly and kinda divey. Feels like the place a Japanese business man would go to after work.
They have a decent lunch special which is like a main dish with two sides and a dessert– not super delicious but it fills you up for $ 10.
I would honestly avoid their noodle dishes since you can probably get way better at the many other ramen and udon places in little Tokyo, and choose from their rice dishes.
For those of you who miss Aoi on first street, I would definitely give this place a try for no frills Japanese food!

Not a very popular ramen place so you can just forget about those hour long lines down the street and come here. It is cash only so try to bring cash. The waitress was very nice. The food was good. I was very full and had a lot leftover.

I ordered a large serving of fried rice as usual today. And sweet and sour pork and I ordered. Sweet and sour pork was not delicious than I had imagined. From the next we want to be in the dumplings. Employees of this shop was the usual lineup. Again here it settles down. It’s good shops.(^ ^)

You can never go wrong with Ramen at Kouraku, it’s absolutely the best! I always get the combination shio with a side of fried pork rice, never a disappointment. The best time is late at night especially after a night out, it definitely hits the spot. The waitresses are always nice and helpful if you have questions about the menu. If you want to go for the full experience sit at the counter and watch the cooks do what they do best. Parking can be a bit of a struggle but for $ 5 you can park in the structure without the struggle of looking for parking. It is a CASH ONLY spot so be prepared!

Kouraku is a really great cheap eats place located in Little Tokyo in downtown Los Angeles. The menu selections are extensive: ramen, fried rice, Japanese appetizers (mostly fried stuff), and more… all at relatively affordable prices!
I mainly come here for one kind of ramen, the Tonkatsu Moyashi. It’s a bowl containing wonderfully textured ramen noodles with the perfect amount of spring and bounce, swimming in a rich, yet simple pork broth, complimented with just a few pork slices and bean sprouts. It’s perfect on a chilly day or a late night of drinking and partying.
The service is very friendly and efficient. Definitely recommend if you’re passing by Little Tokyo!

*CASH ONLY*
Not bad for a late night meal. A couple of friends and I were craving warm broth after 1am, here we found this place and lots of drunkies and non drunkies of course will come here to eat in the AM.
despite the egg was completely cooked, their ramen was decent, loved the noodle though, soup was just alright. Ordered a side dish of beef tongue, it was a bit bland… needed to add into my soup to eat it. Friend got the fried rice, which was okay and the gyoza was meh.
Their food needs more seasoning. Service was eh… not recommended not unless you really hungry and have no other place to go late at night.

The perfect dinner this New Year day — the Vegan Yasai Itame and rice was deliciousness. Great customer service. Everyone is nice and the food came quickly — thank you KOURAKU — see ya soon!

I Love this place! The ultimate «greasy spoon» and not in a derogatory way, it’s my «comfort food.» Sodas in cans? low-​end décor? Sure, but always consistent good food! Just look at their clientele for lunch: all the local blue-​collar workers, from bankers, writers from the nearby LA Times to a ton of police officer from LAPD! Good, cheap and consistent food period! The best dish for me is their gyoza, the Katsudon, their Special Ramen and the most amazing SHRIMP OMELETTE WITH GRAVY ON PORK FRIEND RICE! One warning: they only take CASH…

Want authentic Japanes food? Then look no further. Kouraku is a hidden gem in Little Tokyo. It’s fast and cheap.
If it wasn’t for the fake display of their japanese dishes in the front, we probably would not have walked in. What probably caught our eye was the pan fried noodles display. So we decided to give this place a try. Once we walked in, we were quickly greeted and seated right away.
Service was on point. The servers were always checking in on us which was great.
The food was very tasty. We ordered the pan fried noodles with seafood, the shrimp omelet fried rice, nikudango (meatballs with sweet and sour sauce), and menchie katsu (deep fried hamburger meat). Each dish was very flavorful and delicious. That’s what I call authentic Japanese food!
On the side note, don’t forget to bring cash because it is a CASH ONLY establishment. But don’t got cash? Not to worry because they got an ATM inside. Sweet!
Overall, will definately come here again and next time I will try their ramen dishes for sure.

I recall coming in here late night a long, long time ago and I didn’t like it then and I still don’t like it now. Suehiro Café was packed and wouldn’t be able to accommodate a large group quickly so we came here. Luckily they had a spot for us. Menu looked good as before with plenty of choices, but maybe that’s where the problem lies– they focus on quantity over quality. But you are in a hole-​in-​the-​wall place looking for a cheap late night snack, so you can’t be picky.
Gyoza was ok and tasted worse than the frozen ones I buy at the market… don’t know why. But it came as a combo with my fried rice for $ 9.95 so I can’t expect much.
My fried rice was okay– I picked a relatively safe choice. It came with what the server said, «Miso soup» but was in fact beef soup/​broth. That was quite random. Hopefully I didn’t take it away from my friend who ordered beef tongue. That looked quite bland.
Seasonings were spread throughout the place so don’t be shy to hop over to a neighboring table to borrow theirs.
$ 79 for 7 dishes before tax and tip is okay. I would rather just make the trip to Tasty Garden or Garden Café though…

Came here late night around 12AM as this was one of the few places open past 1AM. Worst mistake.
Ambience: hole in the wall, clean enough, friendly staff
Food: below average. I can’t comment on everything but the ramen was disgusting.
Miso ramen (spicy): $ 7.95– the noodles were like top ramen noodles, but slightly chewier. The broth was horrible. There was this smoky, peppery aftertaste that I was not a fan of.
Stamina ramen: $ 8.95– same basic noodles but it did not look appetizing. It looked like there were canned string beans in it. I am no ramen expert but I’ve never seen string beans in ramen. Anyhow, my friend hated it and only ate half.
I would not come back here when there’s so many other good ramen places in the area.

LATE NIGHT food available in Little Tokyo! they offer a variety of japanese dishes from curry to ramen
—spicy miso ramen: not on the menu but I just asked if they could make the miso ramen spicy! the boiled egg isn’t served soft like at most ramen places and the ramen noodles weren’t anything special, but the ramen hit the spot
—croquette: nothing special but you get one big croquette that can be cut into pieces & shared
NOTE: CASH ONLY, there’s an ATM in the back

After a night of hanging out at a nearby bar with friends drinking, there was nothing better than ending the night with a bowl of ramen noodles.
This place is located in Little Tokyo of Los Angeles. It was walking distance from the place we were at when a friend suggested to come here for its convenience and its extensive menu.
I ordered the Popeye Ramen (interesting name) because there’s Spinach in my bowl of ramen. Obviously the «Popeye» name didn’t click in my mind (I blame the alcohol) until she told me. LOL. Anyhow, she recommended it because the broth is spicy with healthy greens which was exactly what I wanted.
The Popeye Ramen consisted with garlic spinach and pork with spicy soy sauce based broth. Yep, a simple combination that hit the spot. The soup base was perfect as it also had a mild kick from the spice. I was never really a fan of soy sauce broth, but this was indeed delicious! You can also taste the garlicky spinach, but not so much the pork. The ramen is just our regular staple item. It was a great choice my friend recommended. Large proportions of noodles and spinach, but a little stingy with the pork. But no complaints.
I’ve also tried another friend’s dry noodles. It’s basically ramen without the soup base. We call it Jia Cha Mein in Chinese… as every Asian has it but prepared differently. This particular item I thought was just average. A bit bland compared to my Popeye Ramen, so I was glad that I didn’t order it dry.
This Ramen House has quite an extensive menu. Lots of ramen styles to choose from. They also offer rice combination dishes that I’ve yet to try.
I like this ramen place, but wouldn’t go out of my way to come here since there are so many other ramen places around the area.
The service was a bit slow, but they were busy serving other drunks like us. So I understand.
Yes, I would come back again soon to try the other ideal items people recommend. Hopefully the experience will be the same… satisfactory.