Suzu Noodle House

$ 5 food for $ 32. Ordered the Edi Ramen, which had 3 shrimp, half an egg, a leaf of Bol Choy, and one bamboo shoot. You’d think for $ 12, you’d get more toppings. I added a extra chicken curry bowl, which had no chicken in it. Maybe they meant chicken flavored curry? Gf just had the miso soup, and it had the minimal above toppings, plus one piece of pork, that she shared because she felt bad for me. All noodles, average soup. Thumbs down.

Pretty decent ramen house. It was busy and packed when me and my friend came. I got the Karaage (fried chicken) ramen with a soy broth. It was a classic bowl with 4 – 5 pieces of chicken (as big as an orange chicken piece from Panda Express) and some veggies. The broth was tasty and salty (as expected). ⁴⁄₅
The three stars comes from service. Me and my friend sat in one of the outside tables and the waitress never came back after she gave us our food and water. I know that it may be cultural, but even my Vietnamese people check on the table once. It was difficult to get the waitress’ attention, so we just ate and left. Eh.

Been here a number of times now and I think it’s time for a review.
Their ramen and udon is above average. This last visit, we had tempura udon and Ebi fry curry. The portions were better than most eateries here in Japantown, which IMO tend to go by Japanese standards, which tends to be on the small side.
Our food came out rather quickly and everything was cooked to perfection. The tempura was crispy and not greasy. The curry was good. The Ebi fry had Tonkatsu sauce on it, which I felt should have been left off and put on the side. The salad and miso soup was delicious, just wish that the miso soup had tofu in it. Although the place wasn’t as busy as it is in the height of rush hour, I felt that the service lacked, which is why my review is one star shy!

Good food, good service and reasonably priced. Stopped in for lunch today and will be back again next time I’m in the area doing some shopping.

Great Ramen or Udon/​Soba noodles here! Small restaurant but fast to order. Customer service isn’t the greatest as the waitresses don’t say much. But the food was good. There’s plenty other noodle houses to choose from in SF though, especially here in Japantown. We might come back. My husband is the one who is the biggest noodle nut, lol!

Pretty awful ramen shop. The noodles are hard and not chewy. They are more like egg noodles you find at a wonton shop. The shoyu broth had an unbalanced flavor. My ramen had one slice of chashu and half a boiled egg. Somehow both were cold.
Service was quick.

It’s one of my go-​to restaurants in Japantown. Most of the time there was no wait, but sometimes it was crowded when I walked by. Bunch of options, I’ve tried their ramen and my favorite has been nebayaki udon. Ramen was average, all I remembered was lots of noodles that I couldn’t finish. Nebayaki udon has mixed vegetables and choice of meat served in a pot, with shoyu or miso base. I liked the variety, and the beef was marinated and very flavorful. Udon quality varied, it could be chewy or soggy. Also tried a little of karaage curry, generous portion with tempura vegetables on the side — pretty unique.
Their croquette as appetizer was pretty different from what I’m used to, it was mostly creamy. Wish they had this note on the menu.
Will come back for their nebayaki udon on a cold or windy day, it’s not easy to find!

For a while this was our favorite ramen place in San Francisco. The food was consistently good, even if the service was inattentive and the wait was long. Because of the long wait, we hadn’t been here in quite some time (well over a year). Therefore I felt lucky when there was very little wait just before 7pm last Saturday.
Apparently the relative lack of wait is because everyone else had figured out what I learned that night. The food is not the same. The pork was oddly sweet and tough (not sure what cut of meat it was – but it definitely was NOT pork belly). The broth wasn’t as rich. The noodles seemed more reminiscent of instant ramen than the homemade noodles they were known for. Also there were way too many noodles – eventually they made a giant clump in the bowl that I just ate around.
I saw some other reviews saying that ownership has changed, so perhaps that explains the degradation in quality. Regardless of the reason, Suzu is not the place it used to be. I will look elsewhere next time I’m craving ramen in Japantown.

Ordered the Suzu Ramen which comes with a generous portion of ramen, char su pork, half an egg, 2 fried gyozas, and chicken karaage. The chicken and gyoza got soggy after 10 minutes, but we’re good. The ramen was perfectly cooked al dente so it had a firm bite to it. I had the soy broth, which was also good. Overall, a nice bowl of ramen with excellent portions.

Review for two people for early dinner on a Wednesday:
— got there at 5:45 on Wednesday, no line!
— ordered butter corn and pork belly ramen
— no meat in the butter corn ramen
— lots of pork belly, but leaner meat than expected
Haven’t been there for over a year and their noodles are still spectacular. Nice al dente texture. Soup flavor is still the same as I remembered.
Comparisons:
— Ramen Dojo (San Mateo) still my #1. Their broth, toppings and atmosphere is amazing. Yes, there’s a long line to get in, but worth it.
— Suzu is a close second if you’re in SF/​Japantown.

There’s better ramen elsewhere in Japantown (Waraku, Ramen Yamadaya).
My friend and I stopped by on a Wednesday afternoon around 4ish and were seated right away. Given the random timing, it’s not surprise the restaurant was fairly empty. Overall service was nice and the staff was super attentive to the water level in our cups. As soon as we were almost done, someone would come by and refill! There were also already menus and utensils at the table, which is always nice. I don’t know about you, but I hate being seated only to have to wait for someone to bring a menu.
The menu is pretty straightforward: appetizers, udon/​soda, combo add-​on options and ramen. No tonkotsu ramen here): I ordered the mixed tempura appetizer ($ 7.90) and the spicy miso ramen ($ 10.95). I enjoyed the tempura more than the ramen. The tempura came out hot and crispy, and it’s a pretty big plate! You get 2 of the following: shrimp, kabocha, broccoli, carrot, potato, and then 1 eggplant and zucchini slice. Yum! The spicy miso ramen was just an average bowl of noodles. The soup had okay flavor (there was a hint of acidity?) and a nice kick but nothing crazy spicy. There’s a serious lack of toppings and the ones included were mediocre: one leaf of what I think was bok choy, half a hard boiled egg, a single sad sad slice of chasu, green onions, some bamboo shoots, and then a shit ton of bean sprouts! I love bean sprouts but wow. So much. As for the noodles, they were good and al dente. They give A LOT of noodles.
Given that there are much alternatives, I won’t be back =/​Glad to have tried it and crossed it off my list haha

Good ramen. Good price.
Suzu Noodle House is what you expect from your standard ramen house. A select of ramen dishes in various broth types, all at reasonable prices. A variety of meal choices for those not in the ramen mood and side dishes to complement your meal are readily available. The décor is simple and the service isn’t anything special. One note is that the chairs there were surprisingly uncomfortable, but that might be due to me sitting in the back of the restaurant up against a wall.
Suzu Noodle House is a good place if you need a quick and filling meal.

It’s located inside the mall, and the place is a little small where you might have to wait for a while in order to eat… but you do have the mall to walk around… so, i guess its ok… just make sure you don’t go there when you are very hungry, or else you may ended up eating other things instead…
Ramen was ok… i mean i did have other better one… but i can’t say they are not good or to par… the size is decent and presentation is pretty… if you are not too too picky about your ramen… this is a good place to go while you were walking in the mall and want to satisfy your ramen craving.

The ramen was delicious and I’m really happy they had a vegetarian option so I was able to eat here. One negative– all options with meat came with certain «standard» toppings included but the vegetarian one did not include these toppings and would be charged $ 1 extra to add any of them, yet the price of the vegetarian option was more expensive than the meat option. This was a little backwards to me. Service was great though and my waitress was very nice!
Overall, I would come here again if I was in the area and didn’t want to search for a new spot, but I would prefer to find another spot in the area that offers more for your money in their vegetarian options.

I’ve returned to Suzu Noodle House a couple times since my last review, which I wrote almost six years ago. According to Joseph L, this place has changed owners, but I haven’t noticed a difference. It doesn’t seem like this restaurant has skipped a beat as it’s been consistently busy the times I’ve visited or passed by walking around Japan Center. You still have to write your name on a waiting list outside. A server will call your party when an appropriate-​sized table is ready.
As mentioned in my previous review, Suzu is located inside Miyako Mall at Japan Center in Japantown. It’s just inside the Post St entrance near Webster St, on the ground level. The restaurant is small with seating for about 30 inside and about a half-​dozen outside (in the mall) at three two-​tops. I wouldn’t come here with a group larger than 4 to 6 people. Even a party of 6 could be pushing it. Note there’s an automatic 18% gratuity applied for parties of 5 or more. Reservations are not accepted.
Suzu offers 17 different types of ramen, priced at $ 9.50 to $ 12.95 per bowl, and 4 different types of soba and udon noodles, priced at $ 8.95 to $ 11.95 per bowl. In addition, they have $ 11.95 nabeyaki udon hot pots. Nabeyaki udon is served inside a hot pot with ingredients like vegetables, tofu, seaweed, and egg. Aside from noodles, you can also get Japanese appetizers like agedashi tofu and takoyaki (fried octopus balls), most for about $ 6 or less per plate; various rice bowls (don) added as a side for $ 3 – 5 per bowl; and $ 10.95 plates of Japanese curry. Beverage-​wise, a limited selection of beer, wine, and sake are available.
Generally, this is a quick, casual, and reliable Japanese restaurant. The food isn’t going to knock your socks off, but it’s been good every time I’ve had it. I consider it comfort food. This is one of my sister’s favorite places to eat in Japantown.
I noticed Suzu no longer has «Tokyo Ramen» on the menu, but it could’ve just been renamed. Two ramen have been marked off the menu. I tried the «Suzu Ramen» ($ 12.95, their most expensive ramen) on my last visit. It comes with two pieces of karaage (Japanese fried chicken) and gyoza (dumplings) plus corn, greens, chashu (braised pork), and half a boiled egg.
You can choose the broth on any of the ramen. They offer shoyu (soy sauce), miso, and shio (salt). They do not have tonkotsu. I had the shoyu broth with my Suzu ramen and the bowl was A-​OK. The ingredients were fresh and the bowl was filling. It was far from the tastiest bowls of ramen I’ve had, but it wasn’t bad either. The pieces of karaage and gyoza were nice and big. I’m not used to having pieces of karaage and gyoza floating around in my ramen soup and it worked out better than I expected. The outside of the karaage did get expectedly soggy though. Ultimately, I was satisfied.
Since my original review, I’ve also tried the tonkatsu don add-​on ($ 3) and it was delicious. It’s a small version of tonkatsu (Japanese fried pork cutlet) with tonkatsu sauce on top, laid atop a bed of white rice inside a bowl. The tonkatsu was delectably crispy. It’s kind of like schnitzel. The tonkatsu sauce is similar to Worcestershire sauce. Too bad they don’t have a full-​sized tonkatsu entrée. I bet it’d be good.
My sister really likes the udon noodles served soba-​style, meaning cold and with the dipping sauce on the side. The thick noodles are served on a plate topped with shredded seaweed with a tiny clump of wasabi. She’s been getting this dish for years. You can get udon or soba noodles served hot or cold and with sides like tempura.
Service is speedy. Orders come out from the kitchen in a reasonable amount of time and waiting for a table still doesn’t take more than 10 to 15 minutes. Restrooms are located around the corner, across from the toy store (Japantown Collectibles).

Mmmm I really wish I could rate place by .5 increments, this place is a 3.5 in my opinion, however if I had to choose i guess it’d be closer to a 4. Anyhow the place itself is in the mall and fairly small, when We went there was no wait so that’s a plus.
We sat down and ordered a pork belly shoyu ramen and also a pork belly side combo, I know pork belly galore! The main reason why I’m giving this place 4 stars is the ramen portions, I truly believe 1 of their ramen feeds two people. Now the ramen itself was good, however not spectacular, the things that stood out the most for me was the broth, noodles were a bit too thin.
All in all this place is not bad if you’re not looking for the finest ramen in town but you just want to satisfy your ramen craving.

Very satisfied with this restaurant!
What I like about this restaurant was that it had a waiting list outside so you could see yourself from the queue. My friend and I waited about 10 minutes until we were called.
The restaurant was small and quaint. Maximum capacity would probably be between 20 – 30.
I ordered the spicy ramen and received it quickly! About 5 minutes waiting time. When I tried my ramen, I was expecting the «spicy» part to be mild but hell no, it was spicy and I loved it.
Would definitely love to come back here again!

To start off: what kind of ramen place HARD-​boils the egg?
OK, had to get that off my chest because it literally bewildered me and my husband when we first got our bowls of spicy miso ramen. We’re big ramen fans, having eaten it in Kyoto, Tokyo, Austin, and NYC, and wanted to try some West Coast ramen. Obviously, we need to try LA’s offering now after sampling what we thought was a decent SF location due to the long line on a Wednesday night and a local’s suggestion.
The chasu was dry and extremely lean. The broth had no flavor and literally tasted like they had boiled water and dumped in a quarter of an instant ramen flavor pack. The noodles were overcooked and mushy.
Overall, my husband said the best part of dinner was the Sapporo.

The ramen here isn’t going to blow you away or anything but it will hit the spot if you’re craving it. I thought the broth was mediocre but the noodles were a perfect texture and the toppings were tasty. The service was friendly and quick and the place was surprisingly crowded during an off hour.
I got the shoyu ramen ($ 10) which came with pork, boiled egg, green onion, seaweed and bamboo. It’s served in a huge bowl so prepare to come here with an appetite. My boyfriend got the suzu ramen with miso broth ($ 13). It came with chicken, gyoza, corn and the same toppings as mine. I wasn’t a fan of the gyozas but the chicken was pretty good.

All these years I’ve been going to Japantown and never tried this place. So I bring some soup lovers on a weekday so it wasn’t busy when I came in. I don’t really like going to a restaurant and having my entrée be a soup but I changed it up and ordered some Tempura Udon. I seen a lot of complaints of how long it takes to get food here but it was fast for me. A good soup starts with the broth and I thought it was a little off. I didn’t really want to eat/​drink the broth. The noodles were good, but its hard to mess up udon noodles, but on the other hand the Tempura shrimp and veggies were delicious. So know I’m thinking to myself I shoulda just ordered Tempura by itself. But the pictures of the soup tricked me! My company ordered ramen, 2 ordered spicy ramen which wasn’t spicy at all, 1 ordered a pork belly ramen and all 4 soups underwhelmed us.
Maybe the buzz here is the prices on the food? I mean you can get a small rice bowl on the side for 3 bucks with a soup. You can sucker me with that offer.

Snack japonais dans Japantown (évidemment, vous vous doutez que ce n’est pas une pizzeria) où le ramen (soupe de nouilles à schlurper bruyamment) est roi. Service un peu speed et ambiance un peu cantine, mais authenticité garantie ! Comme c’est à l’intérieur de la galerie marchande, l’ensemble est sombre mais on né vient pas pour le cadre. Un bon moyen de se plonger dans l’ambiance japonaise dès l’entrée donnant sur Post St.