When I lived in San Mateo, Ajisen Ramen was the spot. Their ramen was and probably still is the best in this area. I loved it, if my stomach would allow me, I would have ate here every day, but the spicy is a killer. I could hear my stomach crying throughout the day and into the next morning after eating their Ramen. Even with all of the pain, I continued to eat here. I love it. Every time I come back to San Mateo, this is my spot.
Adam L.
Just stopped by here coming through San Mateo and was pretty hungry. I was looking forward to this place because I've had good experiences in the past. Sat down and a dude next to me was blowing his nose next to me. At a time like this, I hope people mind their hygiene. Moved to another seat and ordered the tonkatsu ramen and really looked forward to it. Got my food in like 15 mins and this dish was super salty and pork was dry and over fried to my liking. Worst of all, when I went to pay, I scratched out my tip when paying credit card and the lady told me I need to pay tip. She assumed I wasn't going to pay and I told her I pay cash for tip so more can be kept to the staff. She was really rude about that and I told her customers decide how much tip you deserve. In my opinion, if you do a good job, you get a good tip. I really felt like giving her nothing but gave it anyway to support restaurant workers in general. This experience gave me a bad impression and will not come here again.
Lisa R.
I'll preface by saying that the Rowland Heights location was my go-to local ramen spot when I lived in SoCal. I was exploring San Mateo for the first time and was so excited to find an Ajisen in the Bay Area. Unlike the Ajisen from back home however, this location was pretty empty and had a much smaller menu. On my first visit I ordered the spicy pork miso ramen. IT WAS INCREDIBLY SPICY. A few months later I decided to give this place another try and ordered the tan tan ramen. If you're like me and don't have a big tolerance for spicy food, I would recommend getting the ground pork on the side. Both times our food came out very quickly, but we weren't too impressed with what we ordered. The customer service and ambiance were also lacking- which are two things I tend to value. Downtown San Mateo has so many great restaurants to choose from, I'll most likely check out a different Japanese restaurant the next time I'm in town.
Foodlover B.
Very good ramen. I had the regular "most popular" pork ramen with extra noodles Very tasty. Enjoyed it a lot. Could not finish it all. Tasted great next day I would say my only neg is it is very skimpy with any vegetables or some other items in there. It got boring. Some meat and broth and noodles Next time I would skip extra noodles and ask for extra veggies The spicy ramen my friend had was VERY spicy. I had a tiny sip and was coughing and sneezing and my eyes watered. Not busy at all, empty in fact, on a Tuesday afternoon around 1 pm Easy walk from caltrain. Enjoyed my visit with a friend of almost 50 years before she moves to Nebraska.
Wan H.
I think this place deserves better than 3.5 stars. I tried their pork rib ramen recently and was favorably impressed with the broth. The servings were also extremely generous.
lin dong
Kinda average place, service and food are ok. Took kids here in a Sunday noon and ordered ABC ramen, unagi fried rice and Ajisen ramen. Need to be here a bit early to get a descent parking spot before the crowd.
Pinkard Holcomb
Went for my son's 15 birthday and it was amazing! We will be there next year as well!
Shyanne C.
On December 13th, 2019 (5:32 P.M) I took a video of my water cup. I have received a dirty water cup. Usually this place is super clean. I am not sure why this cup is very dirty. It looks like someone has drank out of it and, the people served me their used drink. The food that night didn't taste any great. And usually I order the same thing. I felt very disappointed.
Matilyn C.
Seriously, i think i came on a bad day or something. Usually a place you go to often you can easily forgive if they have a bad day. But since this was my first time, i will not go again. I ordered the ajisen ramen, they dont ask you if you want it spicy or not and shortly found out why. It came with ONE SLICE of pork, cheapos. And when i asked for hot sauce, she said 1.50. Ahhh, thats why they dont ask for spicinesd. All of the ramen places Ive gone to ask if you want it spicy or not. But the one slice of pork was what really disturbed me. I could be equally as satisfied making a cup noodle at home and throwing some spam in it. On top of that when we walked in, she said "go sit over there" no hello, no nothin'. So sorry, but wont be coming back.
For those with a weak stomache I don't think I can recommend this place. My wife and I have had ramen at all of the other locations in san mateo and only this place has made us felt very sick.
Nancy Rivera
I had tried this place some time ago and my friends wanted to go try it again. We went about 8 pm on 12/2. It was completely empty when we got there and that already raised some flags. We were served pretty quickly, but at the end of our meals I got the worse stomach pain ever. Point is I ended up in the ER, with food poisoning from this place. I will never again go back.
Dennis W.
Ajisen Ramen has a prime real estate spot in busy downtown San Mateo. Their interior space is quite large, unlike several of the other ramen shops within the downtown area. Although I have walked by their storefront too many times to count, I have never stopped in to try a bowl of their ramen until last month. I decided to try the Premium Pork Ramen. First off, the pork tastes and appears to look more like teriyaki ramen, which struck me as odd and definitely not traditional pork slices you would find in other ramen shops. The noodles were not anything to write home about. The broth was rich and solid. Our waiter was quick and solid. One of the bright spots for this shop is they are still open when all of the ramen shops nearby are closed(between lunch and dinner). So if you're craving ramen and it's past 2:30pm but not after 3:30pm(when the other ramen shops are closed) then this is likely the only ramen option in the area. They do close before dinner between 3:30pm and 5:30pm, 7 days a week.
Zain Tahir
If you like spicy ramen then you'll really like their spicy miso pork ramen. I added the extra volcano sauce and I didn't regret it! It was very tasty.
When I lived in San Mateo, Ajisen Ramen was the spot. Their ramen was and probably still is the best in this area. I loved it, if my stomach would allow me, I would have ate here every day, but the spicy is a killer. I could hear my stomach crying throughout the day and into the next morning after eating their Ramen. Even with all of the pain, I continued to eat here. I love it. Every time I come back to San Mateo, this is my spot.
Just stopped by here coming through San Mateo and was pretty hungry. I was looking forward to this place because I've had good experiences in the past. Sat down and a dude next to me was blowing his nose next to me. At a time like this, I hope people mind their hygiene. Moved to another seat and ordered the tonkatsu ramen and really looked forward to it. Got my food in like 15 mins and this dish was super salty and pork was dry and over fried to my liking. Worst of all, when I went to pay, I scratched out my tip when paying credit card and the lady told me I need to pay tip. She assumed I wasn't going to pay and I told her I pay cash for tip so more can be kept to the staff. She was really rude about that and I told her customers decide how much tip you deserve. In my opinion, if you do a good job, you get a good tip. I really felt like giving her nothing but gave it anyway to support restaurant workers in general. This experience gave me a bad impression and will not come here again.
I'll preface by saying that the Rowland Heights location was my go-to local ramen spot when I lived in SoCal. I was exploring San Mateo for the first time and was so excited to find an Ajisen in the Bay Area. Unlike the Ajisen from back home however, this location was pretty empty and had a much smaller menu. On my first visit I ordered the spicy pork miso ramen. IT WAS INCREDIBLY SPICY. A few months later I decided to give this place another try and ordered the tan tan ramen. If you're like me and don't have a big tolerance for spicy food, I would recommend getting the ground pork on the side. Both times our food came out very quickly, but we weren't too impressed with what we ordered. The customer service and ambiance were also lacking- which are two things I tend to value. Downtown San Mateo has so many great restaurants to choose from, I'll most likely check out a different Japanese restaurant the next time I'm in town.
Very good ramen. I had the regular "most popular" pork ramen with extra noodles Very tasty. Enjoyed it a lot. Could not finish it all. Tasted great next day I would say my only neg is it is very skimpy with any vegetables or some other items in there. It got boring. Some meat and broth and noodles Next time I would skip extra noodles and ask for extra veggies The spicy ramen my friend had was VERY spicy. I had a tiny sip and was coughing and sneezing and my eyes watered. Not busy at all, empty in fact, on a Tuesday afternoon around 1 pm Easy walk from caltrain. Enjoyed my visit with a friend of almost 50 years before she moves to Nebraska.
I think this place deserves better than 3.5 stars. I tried their pork rib ramen recently and was favorably impressed with the broth. The servings were also extremely generous.
Kinda average place, service and food are ok. Took kids here in a Sunday noon and ordered ABC ramen, unagi fried rice and Ajisen ramen. Need to be here a bit early to get a descent parking spot before the crowd.
Went for my son's 15 birthday and it was amazing! We will be there next year as well!
On December 13th, 2019 (5:32 P.M) I took a video of my water cup. I have received a dirty water cup. Usually this place is super clean. I am not sure why this cup is very dirty. It looks like someone has drank out of it and, the people served me their used drink. The food that night didn't taste any great. And usually I order the same thing. I felt very disappointed.
Seriously, i think i came on a bad day or something. Usually a place you go to often you can easily forgive if they have a bad day. But since this was my first time, i will not go again. I ordered the ajisen ramen, they dont ask you if you want it spicy or not and shortly found out why. It came with ONE SLICE of pork, cheapos. And when i asked for hot sauce, she said 1.50. Ahhh, thats why they dont ask for spicinesd. All of the ramen places Ive gone to ask if you want it spicy or not. But the one slice of pork was what really disturbed me. I could be equally as satisfied making a cup noodle at home and throwing some spam in it. On top of that when we walked in, she said "go sit over there" no hello, no nothin'. So sorry, but wont be coming back.
The best Ramen since I was in Japan.
Restaurantji Recommends
Good ramen, good broth.
For those with a weak stomache I don't think I can recommend this place. My wife and I have had ramen at all of the other locations in san mateo and only this place has made us felt very sick.
I had tried this place some time ago and my friends wanted to go try it again. We went about 8 pm on 12/2. It was completely empty when we got there and that already raised some flags. We were served pretty quickly, but at the end of our meals I got the worse stomach pain ever. Point is I ended up in the ER, with food poisoning from this place. I will never again go back.
Ajisen Ramen has a prime real estate spot in busy downtown San Mateo. Their interior space is quite large, unlike several of the other ramen shops within the downtown area. Although I have walked by their storefront too many times to count, I have never stopped in to try a bowl of their ramen until last month. I decided to try the Premium Pork Ramen. First off, the pork tastes and appears to look more like teriyaki ramen, which struck me as odd and definitely not traditional pork slices you would find in other ramen shops. The noodles were not anything to write home about. The broth was rich and solid. Our waiter was quick and solid. One of the bright spots for this shop is they are still open when all of the ramen shops nearby are closed(between lunch and dinner). So if you're craving ramen and it's past 2:30pm but not after 3:30pm(when the other ramen shops are closed) then this is likely the only ramen option in the area. They do close before dinner between 3:30pm and 5:30pm, 7 days a week.
If you like spicy ramen then you'll really like their spicy miso pork ramen. I added the extra volcano sauce and I didn't regret it! It was very tasty.