Lava Lounge

Went for ramen on a rainy friday afternoon for lunch. Place was busy and it took almost an hour to get our food. Ramen was average but the host comped our diet cokes and gave a 10% discount because of the wait.

My favorite lunch spot for veggie miso ramen! Always hits the spot and is sooo tasty! I visit here at least a few times per month. Recently discovered that they’re open for dinner too, awesome!

I love the ramen here. I always get LAVA ramen; it’s perfect the way it is. It’s supposed to be the most spiciest ramen you can have, but it’s not a bad spicy. You can taste the flavor profiles of the corn, the egg, and chashu in the broth. If you add a bit of chili flakes it heightens spices in a great way. I have had the dumplings, gyoza, and pork belly here and it’s pretty good. Nothing too fancy. The plus side is that they serve Asahi and have a full bar. The spot is legit, not a hole in a wall atmosphere but the food itself is what you expect from a hidden gem.

This is my go-​to spot for lunch when I’m craving some ramen /​something soupy + noodles. They’re super quick with getting your to-​go order ready, even when you walk in and order. You can also call in to order and go to pick it up.
I’ve had their Lava Ramen and, while it’s good, it’s spicy to the point that all you taste is spicy. Don’t get it wrong — I LOVE all things spicy, but I also want to be able to taste the other flavors as well.
My usual order is a build-​it-​yourself ramen with the Lava signature broth, and I pick the Fuji spicy level. I also add on shirmp tempura if I’m feeling extra hungry. I like the broth — good flavor and Fuji spicy is perfect. The pork and egg are so-​so, nothing special nor terrible. I’d advise against adding the corn as it’s always overcooked and the corn is never crunchy.
This isn’t authentic ramen, but it’s good enough if you’re craving some.

I’ve been there lots of times for lunch. Always get t ramen three hours later I was sick as a dog throwing up the Ramen. I have to say it tasted different too. I thought maybe they changed up. I went to talk to them. I gave them my number and they said the owner would call me back. He never did. I can’t believe how sick I got from that food. I literally almost had to go the hospital. You know maybe if you would’ve called me back I wouldn’t be posting this. I just want to make sure you don’t serve poison two people

It was a cold and rainy Monday, so of course ramen was the way to go for a (slightly) late lunch. Lava Lounge popped up in my search for ramen in SOMA and while no co-​workers could join I walked the few block to check it out. The rain had stopped, but it was still chilly, and the first thing that struck me about Lava Lounge was how cold it was inside. Turns out the the front door was propped open. I sat at the bar with hat and coat on and waited until after I ordered (patiently) to ask if they could close the door but was told they could not for reasons undisclosed). It was chilly the entire meal, so the notion of a cozy, warm, steamy, ramen experience wasn’t happening. But I was sure a quick, hot, bowl of soup would help those matters…
I ordered a bowl of the Lava Ramen (Kilauea = medium spicy) at 1:30pm, around 2pm I asked if maybe the soup was coming soon and was told I was next. Right around this time I overheard some take out customers being told Lava was out of shoyu egg. A few minutes later my soup came (finally), but there was no mention of being out of shoyu egg or an offer of an alternative (fried egg). After a few minutes of searching my bowl for an egg, I asked if there was one, and I was given the same line that the take out folks got, they had run out of shoyu egg, but would I like a fried one instead? I asked for a poached egg (yum in soup!) and was told they could not do that. (Side note: Huh? Pot, water, egg?) So fried egg it was. The other issue, and someone else pointed this out, the noodles were super clumpy and generally under cooked.
The Lava signature broth is very good.
At this point, given I had about 15 minutes left for lunch, I had to wolf down my food, which kinda sucked, but the broth was very good. While the service and other issues still stand, I would probably go back and check it out again, knowing what I know.

Great ramen. The aesthetic of the venue is a little on the tacky side, but doesn’t get in the way of the food.

I’ve walked by this place hundreds of times on my way to Caltrain and always wondered what it was, but never took the time to look it up. Went here for lunch with some coworkers yesterday and was pleasantly surprised that I can get some decent Ramen close to work. And with fall rolling into the city, this hit the spot!
I had the Miso broth and added corn and pork belly. The broth had a great flavor to it and the pork belly is delicious. Definitely add that on! The noodles were a bit chewy for my taste. But I guess everyone has a different preference there. My coworkers had the beef curry with udon and the soba noodles with Ahi and both looked great! All dishes ran around $ 10 bucks. They get pretty busy during lunch, so unfortunately they don’t serve appetizers during that time. If I come back for dinner I have the Gyoza on my «to try» list. Will definitely be returning for my ramen fix.

Lava Lounge pulled me in from the street, with the cool lit bar top and the stylish interior. My mom and I were looking for a spot to grab a drink after a Giants game, and Lava was not too close to and not too far from the ballpark. It was a little empty in there, so the noise level was really mild.
The bartender was warm and friendly, and offered us good drink recommendations. The pomegranate margarita was a good size for the price point ($ 10 on a Friday night), and it was sweet and fruity without overpowering the tequila. Mom had a lemon drop that was equally tasty. We split an order of the fried spring rolls which had a really good blend of pork and shrimp and Vietnamese-​style seasonings. Six to a plate but I could have done 6 by myself!
Overall seems like a nice place to grab happy hour drinks or lunch, the menu had some really great Japanese and Korean offerings. Clean and comfortable seating. I’m not sure I’d come back for the night scene; better for a late-​20s mid-​30s crowd.

Need a quick ramen fix in soma. Head to lava lounge on Bryant. Several styles of ramen and soba. Spices to add from nine to fiery. No returns no babies crying. Back room can hold a table of 8. Bar seating available. Come with your friends. Autumn will take care of you…

Lava Lounge is definitely a hidden gem for me.
Located on Bryant st, you would never guess there was a bar here-​and a nice one too!
There are no other bars or restaurants surrounding it, and it is a very quiet street.
But once you walk in, the dim glowing red lights perk your eyes to the Asian-​inspired décor and colors.
Take a seat at the bar, or a table in the back.
Lava Lounge features their own menu of cocktails, including Lychee Martinis! They are pretty sweet, but a fun take on classic cocktails.
They also have a decent food menu-​featuring many different kinds of Ramen.
They have a vegetable ramen, made with a vegetarian/​vegan-​friendly broth, which is really filling and super delicious. Packed with noodles, two different kinds of mushrooms, corn, tofu, and scallions, this bowl is not lacking without the meat. Ramen always hits the spot, especially on cold San Francisco nights. Pair it with the Fried Truffle Tofu fries, this is a great meal I share with Kyle H.
I noticed a few other vegetarian items on the menu, such as vegetable spring rolls and curry samosas. Not completely sure if they are 100% vegan-​friendly or not, but maybe I’ll ask the next time I come in.
This place is usually pretty empty, and I’d love to see them get more traffic. It’s waking distance to AT&T Park as well as other spots in SOMA.

Solid lunch for under $ 15
Good selection of drinks for HH
Actually friendly staff after dark
We’ve hosted some company HH here, as well as private events and the staff has always been extremely easy to work with and very attentive throughout. I recently realized that they also have pretty good lunch options, especially in the food wasteland that is SOMA. Definitely fusion dishes, which make them quite unique and interesting. On a darkness/​lounginess scale, you can see better than in Local Edition, but a little worse than Bar Basic. Now back to more spicy ramen.

I’ve been here for lunch maybe six times and I’ll keep coming back. lunchtime can be really crowded and the staff always seems kind of harried. but be patient because the ramen is worth the wait. they’ll ask if you like it spicy and even though they warn you on the menu that spicy means really spicey, it’s not that bad. usually I get the Lava Ramen which has pork and lots of corn. and it’s only $ 10. free edamame for the table too which is a nice touch
I came once at night and sat at the bar with two friends for drinks and dinner and it wasn’t a great experience. the bartender was kinda gruff, almost rude, even though there was hardly anyone else there except us. but don’t let that dissuade you from coming here for lunch

Friendly staff, great drinks during lunch and the ramen is so good! Try the Fuji spice, it’s the best. They have a good selection of cold and hot ramen, the cold ramen was new for me but SO surprised! It was pretty amazing!

Not a bad bar if you are in the area and looking for a place to have a drink. It’s also within reasonable distance of AT&T Park if you are looking for a pre or post-​game drink, yet it’s not too close to where it will be as insane as some of the other bars by the ballpark.

7 years since my last review, 5 stars still, the whole community is here for a cause, the SF Giants Trophies are here as well. Enjoying the atmosphere, ppl, meal, met old friends, and made some new ones too.
They have ramen during lunch too which I love and my mom often asks for just the broth as she uses it for everything. They sometimes have a secret taster tester menu, where the manager, tries new concoctions and delectables to tantalize your senses & taste buds.

I was pleasantly surprised by the ramen here. I came into a busy bar (some solar energy event) expecting just plain bar food. Turned out, their ramen was pretty good! The soup was thick and a bit spicy which I liked and the pork was good. Only comment is that the tempura could perhaps be served on the side, it got pretty soggy towards the end. Would die for a bowl of that right now.

This past week, I’ve been here three times to watch the World Series. I like that it’s not overly crowded and the atmosphere is super chill. The bartenders are great as well. They have happy hour every Monday thru Friday from 5pm to 7pm. 20% off all drinks and appetizers. I haven’t tried any of their HH cocktails as I’ve just been drinking scotch or beer, but I’ve tried a bunch of apps.
Vegetable curry samosa: deep fried pastries stuff with crisp veggies in a savory curry sauce (served with chili aioli) $ 8
Lighter than normal samosas since they have more of an egg roll type of wrapper. Good curry flavor.
Chicken karaage bites: tender chicken morsels lightly battered and fried (served with sweet chili & ginger sauce) $ 8
Batter wasn’t as crispy as I like. And the flavor of the batter had a slight sweetness to it which I didn’t care for.
Chicken gyoza: pan-​fried steamed dumplings stuffed with chicken and vegetables (served with chili-​soy) $ 8
Pretty good. I really liked the chili-​soy dipping sauce.
Wagyu beef sliders: char-​grilled ground wagyu beef marinated with hoisin sauce, thai basil and American cheese ($ 9)
A little too sweet for me. But the beef was super tender.
Crispy calamari: lightly battered calamari fried with five spices (served with chili aioli) $ 8
Probably my favorite app. The calamari was crispy and the dipping sauce complemented it well.
Truffle tofu fries: lightly battered tofu tossed in truffle oil (served with lemon-​soy dipping sauce) $ 7
Not much truffle smell or flavor. Nicely battered and fried.
«Fritz» (Fries): fries tossed in garlic ($ 6)
Lots of garlic aroma. But the few fries I had didn’t have much garlic flavor.
They also serve ramen and other noodles, but I haven’t tried any of those yet. I will definitely be back to try some more items. Lava Lounge is a great place to chill, grab some drinks and snacks and of course watch the game!

We were looking for a quick lunch in the area and decided to try Lava Lounge’s ramen. Lava Lounge is a bar/​night club that has a very upscale atmosphere to it with a flashy full bar behind the counter. However they also serve ramen both hot and cold with a number of toppings, and almost no other dishes. While this seems incredibly random to me, I’ll go with it.
We are huge ramen fans, so for this place to get our approval requires something special as we are not the most lenient critics on our favorite dish.
To start with, it had its problems. The most noticeable area being that the noodles were aweful. They clumped and were overly firm and were just in general not very good.
However, it had a few redeeming qualities. There were good broth options with varying levels of spiciness. The topping selection was where they really shined. They had standard things like shoyu egg, extra char siu, kamaboko, etc. But they also had some great unique toppings which were all good. Things like tempura shrimp, tempura bacon, fried egg and buttered corn were fun and tasty. Also, their kurobuta was fantastic.
We will likely be coming back here for more in the future. Hopefully the noodle quality improves. I can’t fault these guys too much though, they do a lot of things right and you can’t expect perfect ramen from everyone. If I wanted that I would make the trip down to dojo.

I recently moved to SoMa and was craving ramen one evening… And a simple Unilocal search took me to Lava Lounge. We arrived at around 6:45pm on a Tuesday and the place was almost completely empty. The atmosphere was dark and intimate, with two main spaces — one with more of a bar-​esque feel (high stools, small circular tables) and an inner room with more lounge/​restaurant furniture. During my visit, they were playing primarily mainstream EDM, although I’m not sure if that changes from day to day.
The cocktails were yummy and mildly creative. I am a huge fan of pomegranate, so I enjoyed seeing pomegranate mojitos and margaritas on the menu. The food itself was definitely above average. For the Surf N Turf ramen, make sure you eat the tempura shrimp before it gets soggy. I ate the crispy first one early on in my meal, and was sadly disappointed by the soggy second. The noodles and broth were decent, and the soft-​boiled egg was cooked perfectly and melted in my mouth. Extra points for having an astounding FOUR levels of spicy — medium, spicy, extra spicy, and lava spicy. I ordered an extra spicy and it was perfect for me. If you’d like an idea of how spicy I like my food, I was eating a pulled pork sandwich earlier that day and squeezed a good helping of Sriracha on every other bite.
The customer service here was absolutely stellar. The waitress checked up on us plenty of times, but not enough to be annoying. When I was making my order, she was incredibly friendly and provided a lot of great advice on what options went well with each dish.
My only negative point about this place is that there’s only one bathroom, and it’s unisex. It wasn’t too bad during dinner since there weren’t too many other customers at the time, but I could see it becoming a problem later in the night when more drinks are being consumed. ;-)
**TIP**: Happy hour is from 4pm-​7pm — 20% off food and drink!