Kuro-Obi by Ippudo

The Tonkotsu ramen is perfect for winter — rich broth, great flavor, and I finished the whole bowl easily. Taste is definitely on point!
Only complaint: the paper bowl. For the price, it really doesn't match the quality of the food. A proper deep ramen bowl would make a big difference. Hope they upgrade soon!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 3

Loved the Ippudo in Fukuoka, Japan. This offshoot Kuro-Obi (black belt) of Ippudo is not even close. We had the TanTan ramen $26.30 w/ toppings (corn $2.20, bamboo $3.50, scallion $2.50 w/cabbage and bean sprouts $3.30) and the Kuro -Obi ramen $16.80. The noodles here are thicker. Bowls are smaller and made of paper. The broth is 1/2 way acceptable for a Japanese chain.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 3

Service: 3

On a whim, I tried the veg spicy ramen (I believe tantan) and it was amazing!!

The broth has a nice thickness and spice with some amazing toppings. For tofu protein, I saw a couple of long slices! With a beer, it was amazing!

I also checked with them that their broth is fully Vegeterian friendly. No meat broth or fat is used.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Not very good at all.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 2

Service: 1

Worst ramen ever, should have checked the review first. The broth is very oily. Chasu is thick, cold and strong boar taint.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

Unfortunately, the quality of ramen here has gone downhill. It was so bad that despite craving it beforehand, I had to throw out 80% of my bowl. Just couldn't stomach such low quality. I prefer instant ramen over this.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 3

Used to be decent. But now is probably the worst Ramen it can get.

Food: 1

Wow, this place has gone sooo downhill, to the point that I will never eat there again. The Kurt-Obi bowl used to be INCREDIBLE, and I would come to the mall just to eat there OR get take out, and even with taking the ramen home to eat, I could happily anticipate what I knew was going to be really good ramen. They killed the menu, took away most of the variety on their menu. Gone are the warm, soft & fresh buns with crispy & tasty chicken tucked in, which we always enjoyed. The Kurosawa-Obi bowl is not even close to what it used to be, there’s no more bamboo, no more spicy yummy splash of red sauce on top, it’s just ramen, a TINY bit of cabbage, a TON of bean sprouts, fatty/cheap meat, and a spoonful of mashed up fat plunked on top, (this is a new thing since menu changed) I suppose in attempts to bring up the flavor profile? They now offer complementary to-go cups of minced garlic, which they never had before. Maybe they’re trying to disguise the fact that the food is terrible. It was a huge greasy disappointment, especially considering the price. Never again! I’ve tried the Kuro-Obi bowl twice since the menu was decimated, and I’m no longer a customer. Really sad because they had such a terrific menu, and we frequented their restaurant quite often.

Food: 1

Impressed. First time I took the kids for ramen and really not a lot of ethnic experience for them. They devoured the tonkatsu and pork. We had soo much fun. Service was really good despite a lot of orders. The guys working tonight did a great job managing through a steady stream of orders, cooking and doing register at the same time. He was patient with me while I tried to figure out what my kids might like, and then he suggested the perfect meal. I got some good looking one by picture alone and man it did not disappoint !

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Nice and affordable dinner
Quick service too

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Authentic Ramen noodles they serve here! 🤤🇯🇵 I love ramen ever since and this is one of the best Ramen I have around the area and SFO. The pork should be cut thinner tho but overall its an amazing meal 🥘

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

the chasu is cold

Highly not recommended.

It was decent before, considering it’s mall ramen..

Something changed drastically and the change isn’t good. It’s far from what IPPUDO usually puts out. It’s straight garbage now. Totally bland broth, bland meat, and wayyyyy too much bland bean sprouts..

Also way overpriced.

I assume change of ownership / chief

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

The pork chashu is really bad!!!

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 1

I used to enjoy Kuro-Obi Ramen, but whatever changes they’ve made to their menu have completely ruined it. This was one of my go-to bowls, and now I’m just angry I wasted my time and money.

First off, the portion size is laughably small for the price. I left still hungry — and not in a “that was light and elegant” kind of way, but in a “did I just pay for a sample?” kind of way.

Second, the yuzu flavor is completely off. Instead of the fragrant, citrusy brightness of real yuzu peel, it tastes like someone just squeezed a lemon wedge into soy sauce. It’s sharp, unbalanced, and borderline unpleasant. Absolutely no subtlety.

The broth is overpoweringly salty and oily, like it’s trying to hide the fact that there’s no real depth to it anymore. I used to look forward to sipping the broth to the last drop this time, I couldn’t finish half.

Noodles were slick with oil, clumped together, and didn’t have that nice springy chewy just felt greasy and heavy. And the pork? Chewy and dry. A far cry from the tender, flavorful chashu I remember.

Overall, this felt like a cheap, rushed version of what used to be a quality bowl. The changes are not just bad — they’re insulting to anyone who actually appreciates ramen. Will not be returning. Hugely disappointed.

Atmosphere: 3

Food: 1

Service: 3