Totoro Ramen is very good for San Mateo standards. It is a good attempt from a non-Japanese ownership. I can tell because I've been going to Japan since the 1990's. We had their chicken karaage $10, black garlic ramen $18 and a tonkotsu ramen $18. The chicken karaage was good because of the light batter, crunchiness and with the two aioli sauces, which made it more delicious. We would order this again in a heartbeat. Although they did give us the oldest wedge of lemon ever with no juice inside.
The broth for the ramen were rich and creamy with a lot of depth. The broth flavor was very good for the black garlic ramen and not so much for the tonkotsu ramen. The tonkotsu broth seemed weaker and not well balanced. It was the opposite for the black garlic ramen where two cloves of garlic were on top and tasted divine. As for the noodles themselves, this fell short. It was missing that kansui consistency that I love. Service is as expected for a fast pace ramen restaurant.
In terms of ambiance, this might not be the best place to have a conversation. It was loud at dinner time. Not the fault of the restaurant, but the tables are right next to one another. These annoying tech older bros were talking very loud about defunct technologies as if they were still relevant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Carol cen
Their curry ramen is a must order item. Their curry broth is thick and flavorful. Not the typical sweet Japanese curry. They blend in some other spices which bring the flavor to a next level. I hope they have an option to choose either ramen or udon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Curry Ramen
Albert
Loved our experience here! The food was fantastic and the service was top-notch.
* Food: The ramen is delicious and packed with flavor. We got the veggie and curry ramen and would recommend both. Great to see clear vegetarian and vegan options available.
* Ordering & Service: You order from a tablet at your table, which is convenient and lets you customize your bowl extensively. The staff is very friendly and our food came out fast. A nice perk is the free hot tea and water you can add to your order.
* Price: It's pretty standard for prices these days. You're paying for high-quality ingredients and a great meal.
Definitely recommend giving them a try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Albert Wang
Loved our experience here! The food was fantastic and the service was top-notch.
* Food: The ramen is delicious and packed with flavor. We got the veggie and curry ramen and would recommend both. Great to see clear vegetarian and vegan options available.
* Ordering & Service: You order from a tablet at your table, which is convenient and lets you customize your bowl extensively. The staff is very friendly and our food came out fast. A nice perk is the free hot tea and water you can add to your order.
* Price: It's pretty standard for prices these days. You're paying for high-quality ingredients and a great meal.
Definitely recommend giving them a try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Antonio Paulo
Great food. Great service.
Recommended dishes: Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen
Joshua Walker
The food was amazing, service and atmosphere was even better. Unfortunately Totoro took the food to the back and had his way with it but I can’t complain because when it came back it tasted even better than before.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Wei-Ai Tai
Cute little ramen restaurant, tucked away in the Woodlake Shopping Plaza in San Mateo. The Agedashi tofu was delicious and perfectly cooked. The ramen soup broth was tasty and full of flavors, with a well-proportioned amount of noodles and pork slices. Fast and friendly service. Large free parking lot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen, Agedashi Tofu
Fernando Abdala
Unfortunate. Ordered the curry chicken at had almost no chicken . A lot of sauce and rice. The meal itself was fine.
Food: 3
Veronica Gonzales
The staff was attentive, efficient, and very friendly! Loved the ramen.
We ordered the veggie ramen, it was okay, soy broth, noodles were not fully cooked. We were so hungry that the taste didn't matter at the end. Also they don't have many options in vegetarian/vegan.
Excellent ramen restaurant! Probably one of the best in the Bay Area in my opinion. Food and service are fantastic! Yuri and Ryota were both kind, considerate, quick, and caring to make our dinner a wonderful experience. Food is delicious and quick.
Highly recommend!
I wish it were closer to San Jose!
Parking can be a bit tight sometimes, but not terrible.
Tip: if eating with kids, keep them away from the ordering screen so they don't accidentally order items ?
Kid-friendliness: Servers are wonderful with kids. Kind and helpful. Appropriate utensils and serving dishes for kids
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu, Chicken Karaage
Mark Stanger
Very wonderful and hospitable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen
Priyanka Shah
Good vegetarian ramen. Just wish they had more vegetarian sides and options
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Kat Chu
Delicious and great service
Tobias
Good Ramen Restaurant, broth could be a little bit more intense, otherwise good.
Totoro Ramen is very good for San Mateo standards. It is a good attempt from a non-Japanese ownership. I can tell because I've been going to Japan since the 1990's. We had their chicken karaage $10, black garlic ramen $18 and a tonkotsu ramen $18. The chicken karaage was good because of the light batter, crunchiness and with the two aioli sauces, which made it more delicious. We would order this again in a heartbeat. Although they did give us the oldest wedge of lemon ever with no juice inside.
The broth for the ramen were rich and creamy with a lot of depth. The broth flavor was very good for the black garlic ramen and not so much for the tonkotsu ramen. The tonkotsu broth seemed weaker and not well balanced. It was the opposite for the black garlic ramen where two cloves of garlic were on top and tasted divine. As for the noodles themselves, this fell short. It was missing that kansui consistency that I love. Service is as expected for a fast pace ramen restaurant.
In terms of ambiance, this might not be the best place to have a conversation. It was loud at dinner time. Not the fault of the restaurant, but the tables are right next to one another. These annoying tech older bros were talking very loud about defunct technologies as if they were still relevant.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Their curry ramen is a must order item. Their curry broth is thick and flavorful. Not the typical sweet Japanese curry. They blend in some other spices which bring the flavor to a next level. I hope they have an option to choose either ramen or udon.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Curry Ramen
Loved our experience here! The food was fantastic and the service was top-notch.
* Food: The ramen is delicious and packed with flavor. We got the veggie and curry ramen and would recommend both. Great to see clear vegetarian and vegan options available.
* Ordering & Service: You order from a tablet at your table, which is convenient and lets you customize your bowl extensively. The staff is very friendly and our food came out fast. A nice perk is the free hot tea and water you can add to your order.
* Price: It's pretty standard for prices these days. You're paying for high-quality ingredients and a great meal.
Definitely recommend giving them a try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Loved our experience here! The food was fantastic and the service was top-notch.
* Food: The ramen is delicious and packed with flavor. We got the veggie and curry ramen and would recommend both. Great to see clear vegetarian and vegan options available.
* Ordering & Service: You order from a tablet at your table, which is convenient and lets you customize your bowl extensively. The staff is very friendly and our food came out fast. A nice perk is the free hot tea and water you can add to your order.
* Price: It's pretty standard for prices these days. You're paying for high-quality ingredients and a great meal.
Definitely recommend giving them a try!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great food. Great service.
Recommended dishes: Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen
The food was amazing, service and atmosphere was even better. Unfortunately Totoro took the food to the back and had his way with it but I can’t complain because when it came back it tasted even better than before.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Cute little ramen restaurant, tucked away in the Woodlake Shopping Plaza in San Mateo. The Agedashi tofu was delicious and perfectly cooked. The ramen soup broth was tasty and full of flavors, with a well-proportioned amount of noodles and pork slices. Fast and friendly service. Large free parking lot.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen, Agedashi Tofu
Unfortunate. Ordered the curry chicken at had almost no chicken . A lot of sauce and rice. The meal itself was fine.
Food: 3
The staff was attentive, efficient, and very friendly! Loved the ramen.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen, Veggie Ramen, Soup, Spicy Miso Ramen, Agedashi Tofu
We ordered the veggie ramen, it was okay, soy broth, noodles were not fully cooked. We were so hungry that the taste didn't matter at the end. Also they don't have many options in vegetarian/vegan.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 3
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Veggie Ramen
Restaurantji Recommends
Excellent ramen restaurant! Probably one of the best in the Bay Area in my opinion. Food and service are fantastic! Yuri and Ryota were both kind, considerate, quick, and caring to make our dinner a wonderful experience. Food is delicious and quick.
Highly recommend!
I wish it were closer to San Jose!
Parking can be a bit tight sometimes, but not terrible.
Tip: if eating with kids, keep them away from the ordering screen so they don't accidentally order items ?
Kid-friendliness: Servers are wonderful with kids. Kind and helpful. Appropriate utensils and serving dishes for kids
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu, Chicken Karaage
Very wonderful and hospitable.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Black Garlic Tonkotsu Ramen
Good vegetarian ramen. Just wish they had more vegetarian sides and options
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Delicious and great service
Good Ramen Restaurant, broth could be a little bit more intense, otherwise good.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
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