Kenji Ramen

Saw this place on the way to something, so decided to give it a try.
Overall, a solid ramen place. Nothing super special, but nothing bad either. I had the miso ramen. I liked the consistency of the noodles, and the added egg was tasty too. I do find the garlicky flavor of the broth a little off. It doesn’t taste bad, but I could do without it.
Getting out of that parking plaza can be challenging during rush hours. And since there are other ramen houses closer to me I probably won’t make the effort to come back.

Spanking new, effective service, and tasty, steaming ramen. Can’t get any better than this. A converted former fast food establishment, with a now dormant drive-​up window. Closes at 9pm most days.

This place is down the street so decided to give it a try. I ordered the Miso Tsukemen, a house limited special.
The good: Tsukemen is a new Tokyo style ramen that is served with dipping soup and ramen on the side. The miso broth is very thick n tasty. The broth oil amount is controlled well. Ramen noodle is chewy. Very pleasantly surprised. Staff is quick and helpful.
The can-​be-​better: The ramen noodle is still wet; the water need to be strained a little bit more so not to dilute the broth. Critical for a dipping ramen.
The food is definitely worth more than 3 stars. Much better than many San Jose ramen shops.

Came here on a Monday for lunch and thought it was superb! I had the standard ramen (the one in the top-​left picture in the menu) and also the chicken karaage. Everything was absolutely delicious and the service and atmosphere was great. I can’t wait to go back.

I didn’t order ramen because I was having too many in a week already; so I decided to order curry katsu (Tonkatsu with curry).
It is about $ 14.95 and the Tonkatsu is huge! This meal comes with miso soup on the side. Curry was okay IMO but Tonkatsu was deep fried correctly and it was never ending for me.
I also had gyoza. I think it was like $ 4.95 for 6. It was okay. Wish the skin was grilled more crispier.
I took only a sip of House Original Miso ramen stock and a bit of noodles. The stock was just okay IMO. Noodle is thicker so if you like thick noodle you may like it here (I like skinny noodle that’s why). Noodle was good tho, don’t get me wrong.
Overall the restaurant is clean; food didn’t take too long to come out; decent portion; taste decent as well. I mean it was a Christmas Eve dinner too anyways that’s why it wasn’t crowded

Came here with my dad and sister – tonkotsu shio ramen had savory and rich broth. The shoyu tsukemen dipping sauce was on the sweet side so it was our least favorite. The tonkotsu kimchi ramen was really lovely as well. For all three dishes, the noodles were chewy and out of this world. For the ramens, the broth was a little too salty.
Cabbage salad was light and tasty and the perfect foil to the rich noodles. The takoyaki was deep fried instead of traditionally cooked, so it was mushy on the inside with not a lot of octopus and kind of a disappointment.
Overall, an awesome joint for a fast bowl of noods. Wonderful service, our waitress was the sweetest.

Ramen: Awesome broth (could be a tiny bit salty but since it’s for dipping noodle, I think it’s fine) I’ll def come back again.
Customer service: ok. But I don’t think it’s nice waiters chat with loud voice and texting on the phone in front of customers (you know cellphone is actually pretty dirty)
One thing I kind of wonder is… did I get the right noodle for tsukemen? Lol I was expecting flat noodle but I got thin noodle for regular ramen… ill ask them next time

Kenji ramen is a casual and modernly decorated ramen spot that offers an array of creative takes on the Japanese staple.
I decided to try on the original maje ramen ($ 10.95), since my friends raved about it. My bowl consists of pile of noodles with chopped chasu, green onions, bamboo shoot, sprouts and onsen tamago. Yes… No soup. Rather than swimming in broth, they are coated in just a bit of flavorful oil along with a few toppings, all meant to be stirred together.
I do like the noodle. It was the curly type and rather chewy. However, when mixed, taste-​wise… it was a little odd for me. The whole dish struck me as sweet-​nutty, I didn’t dig it! My date had their Tonkotsu noodle and he has nothing great to say about his dish either.
Service was slow, despite of the restaurant being mostly empty and servers just standing about doing nothing. It took forever for them to bring out our food, bills and they forgot some of our orders too. Overall, Kenji ramen is an interesting yet disappointing experience for us and I don’t think we will be taking in a trip back anytime soon.

Pretty decent tasting ramen! Like the décor and service was pretty good. I liked that the shio broth wasn’t salty like santouka. The broth was tasty and the cuts of pork were pretty yummy. Their miso tonkatsu broth was saltier than the shio. Their tsukumen noodles taste chewy and the dipping sauce was ok… overall I still prefer Orenchi but it’s pretty solid ramen for minimal wait time.

I went to this place with my two friends after a long day of being in SF. I have eaten at so many ramen places before and all of them seemed to disappoint me. Every. Single. Time. However Kenji Ramen was an exception. I was welcomed warmly right when I walked through the door and the vibe of the place was great. The décor was really interesting while still being minimal. They have a detailed selections of appetizers and several choices for what kind ramen dish would you like. Reading the menu could be a bit confusing but if you ask the waiters they can answer your questions in great detail.
First I had the takoyaki and that was a divine experience itself. I wanted to cry while eating their takoyaki BECAUSE IT WAS THAT GOOD. The flavor of it was just amazing. It’s hard to explain what it tasted like but you need to try it. I wish I could’ve more of it but I already ordered several appetizers to try out. Next I had the garlic shoyu wings and the taste was a mix of sweet and sour. It’s extremely flavorful without being too overwhelming. Again, I wish I could’ve ordered more. I also had the chicken karaage, gyoza, curry croquette, and ika karaage. They were just okay but the highlight of the appetizers was the takoyaki and the garlic shoyu wings.
My main entrée I got was the tonkatsu shoyu ramen. The broth is light but with a nice flavorful salty taste to it. The meat taste good with all the other bits of it in. I really enjoy my ramen and the noodles tasted great. After that I had their lychee sorbet was light and refreshing with the right amount of sweetness.
I would totally come back here again. Overall A+ experience and I will definitely try out their other entrees.
btw that night I had the biggest food coma but it was the best food coma I ever had.

When this place first opened, it had horrible reviews; making it a not-​so-​desirable place to try… but management either stepped up their game or y’all are haters because we took a chance at this place and it was great!
Service = friendly/​good. Appetizers = good. Ramen = good.
Appetizers: Our go-​to has been their IKA KARAAGE (my fave!) It’s battered so nicely and it comes out crispy (not soggy) It also comes with a tasty japanese mayo aioli. We also tried their GYOZA. It’s not the best gyoza we’ve had, but it had good flavor and it was nicely pan-​fried.
Ramen: They have a good variety:
— Tonkatsu (pork bone broth based): 7 kinds
— Gyukotsu (beef bone broth based): 2 kinds
— Maje Ramen (Japanese oily noodle — no broth): 4 kinds
— Tsukemen (dipping noodle): 4 kinds
The wait isn’t terribly long either… on weekends, if you arrive before 6:30pm, you can generally get a seat fairly quickly; otherwise you can wait upwards of 20min (which isn’t too bad either)
So don’t be hater. give this place a try!

I came here with two friends for dinner recently to try out this ramen place. Since we’ve all been out of town for a while. It was nice to come to this little ramen place to reconnect.
We ordered a couple of appetizers because why not. The appetizers we selected were the takoyaki, gyoza, chicken karaage, ika karaage, curry croquette, and garlic shoyu wings.
Out of all the appetizers, the garlic shoyu wings was the winner. On the other hand, the other appetizers weren’t too bad though. The chicken in the appetizers were cooked well. I liked how they were juicy and not dry like most fried chicken normally are.
Next, I ordered a spicy kimchi pork ramen. To be honest the spicy part of the ramen wasn’t exactly spicy for my tastes. Maybe cause Japanese people tend to not eat spicy foods as much? One of my other friends ordered the same ramen and told me that the spiciness could be adjusted. If only I found that out before the end of the meal lol. But the noodles itself tasted pretty good so I enjoyed that.
For desert, I got a cappuccino macaron as recommended by the manager himself. It was also pretty good. I would totally drop by just to try out the other flavors.
Overall, the service was good and the food was decent. The staff were very attentive from the start to the end of the meal.

Ordered the tonkatsu shio (salt based) ramen today with a poached egg, and it was awesome! Very flavorful, not too salty, and light. Loved the chashu pork– sliced & torched to perfection.
Unlike many other ramen shops around the area,
I loved the number of options Kenji offers. They offer 4 different types of ramen: tonkatsu, gyukatsu, maje, tsukemen. A good number of appetizers: try the chicken karage & tamago takoyaki. And a back page with small donburis (rice bowls with meat on top) for kids or to just eat on the side. There is something for everyone.
They also have macaron ice cream sandwiches! I got the cappuccino one and it was very tasty. Attentive staff and good service. Love the décor.
Will come back again!

This place is an average Ramen house.
I had the garlic Edamame (2 stars) that were not really garlicy and the Spicy miso Tsukemon (noodles with dipping sauce) (3 stars).
The spicy dipping noodles broth wasn’t spicy at all and was more on the salty side than the miso side.
It wasn’t bad though, just not what I expected. The pork slices were really good, seasoned and grilled to perfection.
They offer outdoor seating.
I think this place is fin when you are in an urgent need of a quick ramen fix but I’d recommend other places for more delicate, fine and tasty ramen.
Friendly and helpful staff.

This review is just for the tsukemen (dipping noodles) since I haven’t tried their tonkotsu ramen, but man… the tsukemen was weird. I got the spicy tsukemen, and the first thing that surprised me when it came out was the type of noodles they were using. They were the wide, flat kind, not the round type that I’m used to finding in tsukemen. And these noodles just STICK to each other, so it’s incredibly difficult to pick up just a few strands for dipping purposes. I ended up just having to scoop a whole large chunk into the dipping broth… which totally defeats the whole dipping experience you’re supposed to get when eating tsukemen.
The broth was also weird. I’m used to THICK tsukemen broth. I know it’s not healthy, but the whole point is that you’re not drinking it like soup, so the thickness helps the broth to stick to the noodles when you dip them. The broth here was super salty AND watery, so nothing stuck to the noodles and the only alternative was to drink a small amount of soup with each noodle serving, but the soup was way too salty. It wasn’t spicy at all, though. My spice tolerance isn’t even high and I handled the spice level in this dish without a problem.
The waiters were friendly and the service was pretty fast, hence the 2-​stars instead of a 1-​star. But I’m definitely not coming back for the tsukemen. Haven’t decided if I want to go back to try their tonkotsu ramen.

This place gets 3 stars for the food alone but an extra star for the great service. Upon walking in I felt so welcomed and got a greeting by all the employees. The inside is decorated very nicely. The ramen itself was alright, I don’t normally eat ramen since it’s so salty. The shoyu ramen wasn’t that salty, but the taste was just ok.
Note: the drive thru does not work, so don’t get your hopes up like I did that you can get drive thru ramen

I wanted to try Gyu kotsu shio Ramen this time but it was too late. SOLD OUT! If you want it go earlier. Yes, I will next time.
Ton kotsu Shio was thick enough. My friend likes it.
I still like the Tsuke men though.
Well, I will leave four stars for today becaz the egg, menma, chopped chashu were cold. No Hot tea, no hot sake… no beer after month! I know there’s nothing you can do for ABC. meh.
Oh, the Garlic Shoyu Ebi is sooooo Good. I should take some to go. Its great with BEER, yup!

Kind of a strange experience for me…
It started when we were seated. I came with my parents and my brother, so I was expecting to get our own table, but instead we were brought to a long table where another family was already eating. The restaurant has several long tables like this, which can seat maybe 10 – 12 people, but in my opinion, I think it’d make more sense to have tables of four that you could push together to make room for larger parties. And, these tables were unusually tall for regular chairs, so it was just kind of uncomfortable all around. But we shrugged it off and ordered our food.
The first two bowls of ramen were delivered to us on a tray. The server came and set the tray down on the corner of the table and just walked away, without taking the bowls off the tray and taking the tray away with her, leaving us to glance at each other and wonder if she would come back with the other two bowls and serve them to whoever ordered them. But we just decided to unload the tray ourselves; the other two orders came with a different server, who also failed to acknowledge the tray that was still sitting on our table. But whatever, we shrugged this off too and started to eat.
None of us were impressed with our food. I got the Miso Tonkatsu, and wasn’t a fan of the broth — it was salty but didn’t really have a flavor to it beyond the salt. My brother said the same thing about his Shoyu ramen. The chashu was really fatty; there wasn’t a whole lot of actual meat in there, which my mom was pretty upset about. The one thing we did think was relatively good was the Gyu Don, but we were still disappointed because we were all expecting the ramen to be better than it was.
For how long this place was under construction for, I was hoping for way better. :(

It’s hard not to like Kenji Ramen. Like their sister restaurant Kenji Sushi near Santana Row, Kenji Ramen is clean and modern. Tables are well spaced and the interior feels spacious with well placed signage, ramen T-​shirts and bright décor transforming the former drive through spot.
Crowds are still present and Kenji was smart to choose both the location and choose ramen over the Kenji Burger sign that originally topped the restaurant. Service is excellent with plentiful staff, prompt seating, and numerous checks throughout the meal.
The menu is well designed and features a nice array of appetizers, traditional and new ramen variants, and even a few drinks and desserts. My order:
Garlic Shoyu Wings — $ 5.95. I’ve had their excellent Korean fried chicken wings at Kenji Sushi and was craving more. Plated more simply, but still delicious, the order consisted of 5 chicken wings deep fried to perfection and with a flavorful garlic and soy sauce. Easily the best KFC wings anywhere nearby.
Spicy Maje Ramen with Kimchi Pork Rayu — $ 11.95. I had heard mixed reviews of their traditional ramen noodles so was debating between the Tsukemen dipping noodles and Kenji’s own creation of «Maje» noodles: essentially dry noodles mixed with toppings and spicy oils. I opted for the Maje though was sad it included no broth like the Tsukemen.
Presentation was nice with a barely soft boiled egg, several ingredients of corn, seaweed, pork bits and spicy sauce topping a piping hot bed of noodles. I mixed well and prepared to enjoy.
Flavor were good albeit neither particularly spicy nor flavorful. The pork bits weren’t the higher quality cuts with the traditional ramen but small bits and ends mixed with the sauce. The noodles while piping hot were notably undercooked and too firm. Overall, it reminded me of a muted Dan Dan mien but at a significantly higher price point and with less meat.
Overall, while I enjoyed the décor and service, I had a mixed meal. The garlic wings were great but their new take on ramen over promised on presentation and under delivered on execution. Fortunately, with both the Tsukemon and traditional ramen I’ll be back to try both and perhaps just pass on the Maje next time.
Kenji Ramen accepts credit cards including American Express.

Oh the anticipation!
After about a year, they FINALLY opened! From a Carl’s Jr., to maybe becoming a sushi restaurant, to maybe a burger restaurant, to settling on a ramen restaurant and I’m oh so happy that it tastes GOOD (I work next door and it would have been a utter disappointment if it was crap)! From my understanding, they are the same owners of the very yummy Kenji Sushi on Winchester.
I came here a few days after the grand opening around 6PM and had to wait about 45 – 1 hour. which I understand because it’s still new and everybody wants to check it out. We were seated at one of the communal table. We ordered potstickers and the spicy garlic chicken wings for appetizers and I ordered the Spicy Ebi Pork Rayu Ramen with a side of soft boiled egg. The wings are a must try! They also have a non spicy version for those of you who aren’t into heat.
The ramen broth was so good! Def better than Orenchi and Kotetsu in my opinion. It’s not too salty and the flavor was just perfect! I had a bite of my sister’s bf’s Maje Ramen (dry ramen with sauce) and it was really good as well. If you’re not in the mood for soup, try itttttttt you won’t regret it. My one complaints are that they only give you one slice of chasiu, so order an extra side… and the soft boiled egg could be a tad bit more runny.
Their service is a little all over the place, but again. new restaurant so I get it. My recommendation is to come here during the lunch hours to avoid the wait!