Tasty tsukemen with fresh noodles and tender protein, tanginess and flavourful soup. However Saturday evening would potentially lineup for an hour. Be aware of this.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Sona M
Avoid. Fell very sick after eating here.
Food: 1
Yuya Fujimoto
Hands down best ramen restaurant in the Bay Area. From food to service, everything is excellent.
Changed menu recently and taste is not the same anymore
eDNA
Taishoken opened with a lot of hype (I remember having to stand in line before opening time). The swarms of influencers have gone elsewhere, but Taishoken remains a mainstay of ramen and one of my favorite spots for tseukemen.
The noodles are so fresh, hefty thick like udon, and cooked al dente. Interestingly, there is a unique buckwheat taste blended into the flour (I tell myself it's healthy). It pairs perfectly with the flavorful broth, which is not too salty like some other tsuekemen places.
I got their bestseller, which comes with a decently sized cut of pork and a soft boiled egg. We also shared the chicken karaage, which was also good but rather standard.
Other notes: -Just one ramen entree is a lot of food, so I suggest coming here with an appetite. - Fun drink options, including a matcha IPA that I like. - It's downtown SM, parking is not entirely impossible but brace yourself if you're coming at peak times.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Jessie Lopez
The dipping noodles are amazing. Try the spicy one.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Charles Webster
Super busy and crowded. I enjoyed the unusual food and will eat there again if I'm in town
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Trang Ouk
Mid-size restaurant with efficient service and good Japanese tsukemen. The food comes very quickly once your order is in. The Gyozas are very good, both in fried and steamed versions. There seems to always be a line of customers waiting, even in the middle of the day, so it's not a place you go to linger and chit chat once the meal is over (the waiter brings your bill whether you've asked for it or not!). There is a limited Happy Hour menu on Fridays and weekends, and paid street parking except on Sundays.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Mandy Wong
Went to eat here with my husband and two toddlers yesterday. Ramen was good and had a lot of flavor. Liked that they actually had toddler utensils for my kiddos and sippy cups. However, my son finished his water and when I opened his sippy cup to refill the water I noticed a lot of black and brown specks at the bottom of his cup. It wasn’t backwash but more like dirt and sand. I checked my daughter’s sippy cup and same thing—also dirty. We told the waiter but nothing was done about it other than trying to give us their stainless steel water cups. But it was already too late as my kids already drank most of the water and we were about to pay the bill. I wouldn’t have known unless I didn’t open the cup to refill the water. So if you bring your kids there please double check their waters.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 2
Wenny Ong
After trying quite a number of ramen places in the peninsula, I feel like Taishoken should be having higher stars. We ordered both the tsukemen and ramen and both were great. Eggs cooked perfectly and the broth is simple yet flavorful.
Ramen was very good, lemonade was okay, could be better. Staff seemed very nice and attentive to guests.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
Jiahui Zhou
One of my favorite ramen places. The Tokusei Tsukemen was excellent. The broth was deeply flavorful and well balanced—rich without being heavy—and paired beautifully with the house-made fresh thick noodles, and the chashu was very tender. We also loved the Tori Chintan Ramen—the chicken broth was full of umami and deeply satisfying, and the touch of yuzu was a lovely, thoughtful accent. Will come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Lynn Cheung
One of the first meals I had when I moved to San Francisco, and it’s become a familiar comfort spot for me! Always consistent and always delicious
Karen Hii
Good bowl of ramen after a morning mountain biking. Otherwise will be carb overloaded. 😄
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Signature Tsukemen Soup
Clarin Houle
Came here at 11:30 on Sunday and beat the lunch rush with no wait. Had the chicken ramen and it was absolutely delicious.
Tasty tsukemen with fresh noodles and tender protein, tanginess and flavourful soup. However Saturday evening would potentially lineup for an hour. Be aware of this.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 3
Avoid. Fell very sick after eating here.
Food: 1
Hands down best ramen restaurant in the Bay Area. From food to service, everything is excellent.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Signature Tsukemen Soup, Chashu, Deep Fried Gyoza, Potato Salad
Changed menu recently and taste is not the same anymore
Taishoken opened with a lot of hype (I remember having to stand in line before opening time). The swarms of influencers have gone elsewhere, but Taishoken remains a mainstay of ramen and one of my favorite spots for tseukemen.
The noodles are so fresh, hefty thick like udon, and cooked al dente. Interestingly, there is a unique buckwheat taste blended into the flour (I tell myself it's healthy). It pairs perfectly with the flavorful broth, which is not too salty like some other tsuekemen places.
I got their bestseller, which comes with a decently sized cut of pork and a soft boiled egg. We also shared the chicken karaage, which was also good but rather standard.
Other notes:
-Just one ramen entree is a lot of food, so I suggest coming here with an appetite.
- Fun drink options, including a matcha IPA that I like.
- It's downtown SM, parking is not entirely impossible but brace yourself if you're coming at peak times.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
The dipping noodles are amazing. Try the spicy one.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Super busy and crowded. I enjoyed the unusual food and will eat there again if I'm in town
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Mid-size restaurant with efficient service and good Japanese tsukemen. The food comes very quickly once your order is in. The Gyozas are very good, both in fried and steamed versions. There seems to always be a line of customers waiting, even in the middle of the day, so it's not a place you go to linger and chit chat once the meal is over (the waiter brings your bill whether you've asked for it or not!). There is a limited Happy Hour menu on Fridays and weekends, and paid street parking except on Sundays.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 4
Went to eat here with my husband and two toddlers yesterday. Ramen was good and had a lot of flavor. Liked that they actually had toddler utensils for my kiddos and sippy cups. However, my son finished his water and when I opened his sippy cup to refill the water I noticed a lot of black and brown specks at the bottom of his cup. It wasn’t backwash but more like dirt and sand. I checked my daughter’s sippy cup and same thing—also dirty. We told the waiter but nothing was done about it other than trying to give us their stainless steel water cups. But it was already too late as my kids already drank most of the water and we were about to pay the bill. I wouldn’t have known unless I didn’t open the cup to refill the water. So if you bring your kids there please double check their waters.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 2
After trying quite a number of ramen places in the peninsula, I feel like Taishoken should be having higher stars.
We ordered both the tsukemen and ramen and both were great.
Eggs cooked perfectly and the broth is simple yet flavorful.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
Ramen was very good, lemonade was okay, could be better. Staff seemed very nice and attentive to guests.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 4
One of my favorite ramen places. The Tokusei Tsukemen was excellent. The broth was deeply flavorful and well balanced—rich without being heavy—and paired beautifully with the house-made fresh thick noodles, and the chashu was very tender. We also loved the Tori Chintan Ramen—the chicken broth was full of umami and deeply satisfying, and the touch of yuzu was a lovely, thoughtful accent. Will come back!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of the first meals I had when I moved to San Francisco, and it’s become a familiar comfort spot for me! Always consistent and always delicious
Good bowl of ramen after a morning mountain biking. Otherwise will be carb overloaded. 😄
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Signature Tsukemen Soup
Came here at 11:30 on Sunday and beat the lunch rush with no wait. Had the chicken ramen and it was absolutely delicious.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Signature Tsukemen Soup
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