The Bowl Ramen & Izakaya

Great service! Jas and Deanna were so nice and friendly. Gotta try the Brussel sprouts.

They told me that the noodles weren’t vegan and that I needed to substitute with the gluten free noodles to make the ramens vegan. I got the veggie bowl and was disappointed. I hate writing negative reviews but it was by far the worst ramen I’ve had in SD and the gluten free noodles had such a weird texture. Maybe it was an off-day and I should try going again. Updated from previous review on 2025-02-05

This place is unbelievably great. A great location, perfect atmosphere, and excellent food.

Wonderful atmosphere and excellent Ramen of all kinds. The Gyoza is amazing of differing flavors. I highly recommend the Bowl. Give it a try. It's excellent.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

We’d be craving ramen and a day at the beach so visiting The Bowl in Ocean Beach was a no brainer.

We got the Tantanmen Ramen, Vegan Ramen, Curry Rice, Spicy Cucumber Salad, and Citrus Salt Edamame to eat plus a few beers and Strawberry Ramune to drink. I loved the tofu and bok choy in my ramen but we both agreed the spicy cucumber salad was our favorite with our ramen bowls a close second place. We usually on get garlic edamame so it was a nice change having a citrusy flavor instead. Plus we got to meet Jeff the chef who told us more about the dishes we ordered. You can tell he puts a lot of love into everything he makes.

We can’t wait to come back to check out their happy hour — all day on Wednesdays and 12-6 every other day of the week with $2.50 Sapporo pints and $5 drafts.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Citrus Edamame, Spicy Cucumber Salad

Burgers are great , customer service is awesome as well John was amazing

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Had tonkatsu ramen. Broth not as flavorful as I thought it should be. Pork and mushrooms were good. Some noodles were stuck together.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Chicken Gyoza

I came in for their happy hour because it sounded too good to be true. I was wrong. It’s an amazing deal and it’s all day on Wednesday as well. Nice, clean, friendly place. My server Grace helped me out and was very informative on the menu and very kind. Had sake, beer, and bao buns everything was great will definitely be a returning customer.

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 4

Service: 5

John was awesome and answered all our questions! The chicken gyozas were awesome and everything else!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: The Bowl, Chicken Gyoza

Went and got vegetarian tantanmen and tonkotsu. Tonkotsu broth did not taste of pork at all. Vegetarian broth was sooooo salty almost inedible. Egg and tofu were good though

Atmosphere: 4

Food: 2

Service: 3

Nice Ramen place in the heart of Ocean Beach on Newport Avenue. I recommend getting any one of the bowls and then adding a couple extra toppings. The seaweed is wonderful and you can substitute the noodles so that they are gluten free. The ambience and decor are nice.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: The Bowl, Tonkotsu Ramen

This place has potential, don’t get me wrong. The broth was fantastic, however someone in the kitchen doesn’t know how to cook noodles. It’s like they took a ramen packet and proceeded to under cook it before tossing it into a truly amazing broth. Maybe give it a few months or see if management replies to my review saying they fixed their noodle process. The gyoza also taste like a frozen food service product….

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 2

Service: 4

The ABSOLUTE best authentic Ramen I've ever eaten! The most well balanced flavors, salts, and portion cuts to scale. The J sauce just made it perk up the spice perfectly to my level!

The smash burger was very original and worth retuning for as well! The tension of textures with the crispy potato sticks and smoked imported cheese was just delightful. The curry fries are a must!!

The girls got some noodle and rice dishes which the were very happy with their choice along with some dumplings.

My middle school age son said it was the best Taos hatch green chili veggie burger of his life! And without exaggerating has asked how soon until we can go back to San Diego nearly daily so we can eat "the best burger and Ramen known to man"! He really hasn't stopped... we are flying back next week so he'll shush!

The art work and the design of the plane is very alluring and inviting. Got a picture of the executive chef (Jeff) and his family- lovely wife Devon who is the artist of two of the murals!

This is our new go to spot! I dare you to prove me a better Ramen and Burger spot in all the west coast!

Vegetarian options: My two veggie people said they couldn't ask for anything better!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: The Bowl, Citrus Edamame, Fries, Chashu Donbury Rice Bowl, House Ramen with Trumpet Mushrooms, Classic Smash Burger, Japanese A5 Wagyu Smash Burger

Food was sooo good!! ramen 9/10 and smash burgers 10/10. the appetizers cucumber salad and shishito peppers were sooo yummy 10/10!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 4

Recommended dishes: Spice Bomb, Spicy Cucumber Salad, Classic Smash Burger

We ordered "The Bowl" and Tonkatsu Ramen and were disappointed. Unfortunately despite being Osaka inspired, the broth wasn't very tasty, and had a greasy aftertaste. Noodles were ok, pork chashu was tough, corn was overcooked, and the spicy sauce tasted like tomato paste. There are too many broth options on the menu. It would be better if they focused on one and made it better. There are much better Ramen places in SD.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 2

Service: 5