Spicy vegan ramen is š amazing too good one of the best I have tried around bay area
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
juan pineda
Ramen was great, thick well season broth, noodles well cooked and meat portions awesome. You'll have to wait a little, but it will be worth. Once inside is quiete crowded but foos comes fast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Zora Long
Noodle is good. But service disappointed me after many visits. Owner's wife touched my stuff without my consent.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 1
Jane Liu
The way Ramen Hajime makes ramen is like how a great orchestra plays a piece of music. When the sound is so definitively good itās almost like this is how the composer meant for the music to be played. Ramen Hajime makes ramen like this. So good that Iāve just about forgotten any other version of ramen out there. First, their broth game is very strong. The broth is complex with a lot of umami flavors. It is on the salty side, so I opted for less salt, which came out perfect.
Second, their chef is a master of texture. My ramen had the exact same texture as the kikurage mushroom topping making it hard for my tongue to discern where the ramen ended and the mushroom began. So interesting!
The only downside I encountered was that by 7:30pm on a Saturday they couldn't take any more customers because the waitlist was too long. Please be open until later!
This establishment is a paean to the art of ramen-making. I look forward to (arriving earlier and) trying out the rest of the menu!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Akhil Varghese Mathew
One of the best Ramen in the bay area. Creamy and flavorful broth. Chicken Karage was great as well.
Rishabh Jinesh
Was first in line, filled out the waitlist but apparently never got added to it. Staff didn't care and wanted us to add ourselves again which also didn't work.
Service: 1
Annie Chang
Has the best chicken karage!!!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Lilian Zhang
Great food, but the AC was not on and I was sweating the whole time.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
SH
Great service and great food! Hope they can have more tables and longer hours, and we ramen lovers can have a shorter wait ~ haha
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
ricky arora
Very good ramen ..I had tonkotsu. It was very nice but felt somehow more on the creamy side which was sort of different what I am used to have in japan
From the moment I stepped into this restaurant and heard the music playing, I knew right away this was an authentic Japanese ramen shop.
I ordered the Kiwami Tonkotsu Ramen, and it was hands down one of the best ramen Iāve had on the West Coast. The broth was rich and deeply flavorful, the noodles were perfectly firm and springy, and the chashu and other toppings were incredibly fresh and delicious. The first sip of soup instantly transported me to Japan.
Throughout my meal, I heard songs by two of my favorite Japanese artistsļ¼Gen Hoshino and Fujii Kaze as well as theme songs from anime Iāve watched. It made the whole dining experience feel personal and nostalgic.
The staff were kind, polite, and welcoming, and the atmosphere in the restaurant was cozy and inviting. Iāll definitely be coming back often. This place is a true gem.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Joseph Stein
Small shop, but big quality. Iāve gone a couple of times and loved it. The servings are plentiful, the food is tasty. I like how the staff are attentive but not overbearing. The atmosphere is also pretty relaxed inside. The ONLY thing Iād warn of is the wait list. But it usually goes pretty quick.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kiwami Tonkotsu Ramen
Tim
Solid ramen spot. Can't say it's the best but ramen doesn't really wow me even in Japan. Tried the kiwami spicy miso and kiwami tonkotsu ramens (both $16), both good but miso is pretty salty. Tonkatsu was rich and savory. The 2 bowls have different kinds of meat, miso one is more fatty, both very thin slices. Typical ramen portions and ingredients. You can actually substitute the kind of noodles without extra charge. Like 80% noodles, half an egg, some meat, etc. Service was good and fast. Very busy place. The wait was about 1 hr for 2 people on Sat at 6:30 pm. They use an iPad wait list and will text you. Big shared parking lot
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kiwami Tonkotsu Ramen
Alex Yeh
The ramen is good, authentic, and you can tell itās made with care.
However, the waitlist system is confusing for newcomers. I came on Juneteenth slightly before they opened, and there was a perfectly formed queue to the right of the restaurant, so I got in line. Turns out, you have to go into the store to put your name/phone number down on a tablet. You can enter the restaurant before it opens even though the closed sign is up, the door is closed, and the restaurant is dark. The parties both before and after us were similarly confused and werenāt able to put their names down on the list until after the restaurant opened at 11 AM, whereas other people in the queue had already put their names down ~15 minutes before opening. I had to wait another 20+ minutes before we were able to get a seat.
I wish they would have an employee check outside the restaurant before opening to let people know they need to sign up on the tablet and also to prevent people from forming a queue since theyāre going to call from the waitlist. Or, place the tablet outside in a more obvious spot before the restaurant opens.
Service was polite and efficient but seemed understaffed. There was only one waitress taking orders/dealing with bills/etc.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
Noji Oji Oji
I really wanted to like this place, but it just didnāt live up to the hype. The food wasnāt badāit was fineābut nothing memorable. I had the spicy miso ramen, and while it had a bit of heat, the broth lacked depth and richness. My partner had the tonkotsu, which was better, but still didnāt wow us.
I was very sad about the pork slices. It was the standard portion, but the pieces were so thināthinner than shabu cuts. You barely get any protein, which was pretty disappointing.
Also, the seating situation was odd. There were multiple empty tables inside while a long line of people waited outside. Not sure if it was a staffing issue, but it definitely made the experience feel disorganized.
All in all, not terrible, but I wouldnāt go out of my way to come back.
Spicy vegan ramen is š amazing too good one of the best I have tried around bay area
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 3
Ramen was great, thick well season broth, noodles well cooked and meat portions awesome. You'll have to wait a little, but it will be worth. Once inside is quiete crowded but foos comes fast.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 4
Noodle is good. But service disappointed me after many visits. Owner's wife touched my stuff without my consent.
Atmosphere: 2
Food: 5
Service: 1
The way Ramen Hajime makes ramen is like how a great orchestra plays a piece of music. When the sound is so definitively good itās almost like this is how the composer meant for the music to be played. Ramen Hajime makes ramen like this. So good that Iāve just about forgotten any other version of ramen out there. First, their broth game is very strong. The broth is complex with a lot of umami flavors. It is on the salty side, so I opted for less salt, which came out perfect.
Second, their chef is a master of texture. My ramen had the exact same texture as the kikurage mushroom topping making it hard for my tongue to discern where the ramen ended and the mushroom began. So interesting!
The only downside I encountered was that by 7:30pm on a Saturday they couldn't take any more customers because the waitlist was too long. Please be open until later!
This establishment is a paean to the art of ramen-making. I look forward to (arriving earlier and) trying out the rest of the menu!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
One of the best Ramen in the bay area. Creamy and flavorful broth. Chicken Karage was great as well.
Was first in line, filled out the waitlist but apparently never got added to it. Staff didn't care and wanted us to add ourselves again which also didn't work.
Service: 1
Has the best chicken karage!!!
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 4
Great food, but the AC was not on and I was sweating the whole time.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great service and great food! Hope they can have more tables and longer hours, and we ramen lovers can have a shorter wait ~ haha
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Very good ramen ..I had tonkotsu. It was very nice but felt somehow more on the creamy side which was sort of different what I am used to have in japan
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 4
Service: 5
Restaurantji Recommends
From the moment I stepped into this restaurant and heard the music playing, I knew right away this was an authentic Japanese ramen shop.
I ordered the Kiwami Tonkotsu Ramen, and it was hands down one of the best ramen Iāve had on the West Coast. The broth was rich and deeply flavorful, the noodles were perfectly firm and springy, and the chashu and other toppings were incredibly fresh and delicious. The first sip of soup instantly transported me to Japan.
Throughout my meal, I heard songs by two of my favorite Japanese artistsļ¼Gen Hoshino and Fujii Kaze as well as theme songs from anime Iāve watched. It made the whole dining experience feel personal and nostalgic.
The staff were kind, polite, and welcoming, and the atmosphere in the restaurant was cozy and inviting. Iāll definitely be coming back often. This place is a true gem.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Small shop, but big quality. Iāve gone a couple of times and loved it. The servings are plentiful, the food is tasty. I like how the staff are attentive but not overbearing. The atmosphere is also pretty relaxed inside. The ONLY thing Iād warn of is the wait list. But it usually goes pretty quick.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kiwami Tonkotsu Ramen
Solid ramen spot. Can't say it's the best but ramen doesn't really wow me even in Japan. Tried the kiwami spicy miso and kiwami tonkotsu ramens (both $16), both good but miso is pretty salty. Tonkatsu was rich and savory. The 2 bowls have different kinds of meat, miso one is more fatty, both very thin slices. Typical ramen portions and ingredients. You can actually substitute the kind of noodles without extra charge. Like 80% noodles, half an egg, some meat, etc. Service was good and fast. Very busy place. The wait was about 1 hr for 2 people on Sat at 6:30 pm. They use an iPad wait list and will text you. Big shared parking lot
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Kiwami Tonkotsu Ramen
The ramen is good, authentic, and you can tell itās made with care.
However, the waitlist system is confusing for newcomers. I came on Juneteenth slightly before they opened, and there was a perfectly formed queue to the right of the restaurant, so I got in line. Turns out, you have to go into the store to put your name/phone number down on a tablet. You can enter the restaurant before it opens even though the closed sign is up, the door is closed, and the restaurant is dark. The parties both before and after us were similarly confused and werenāt able to put their names down on the list until after the restaurant opened at 11 AM, whereas other people in the queue had already put their names down ~15 minutes before opening. I had to wait another 20+ minutes before we were able to get a seat.
I wish they would have an employee check outside the restaurant before opening to let people know they need to sign up on the tablet and also to prevent people from forming a queue since theyāre going to call from the waitlist. Or, place the tablet outside in a more obvious spot before the restaurant opens.
Service was polite and efficient but seemed understaffed. There was only one waitress taking orders/dealing with bills/etc.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 5
Service: 3
I really wanted to like this place, but it just didnāt live up to the hype. The food wasnāt badāit was fineābut nothing memorable. I had the spicy miso ramen, and while it had a bit of heat, the broth lacked depth and richness. My partner had the tonkotsu, which was better, but still didnāt wow us.
I was very sad about the pork slices. It was the standard portion, but the pieces were so thināthinner than shabu cuts. You barely get any protein, which was pretty disappointing.
Also, the seating situation was odd. There were multiple empty tables inside while a long line of people waited outside. Not sure if it was a staffing issue, but it definitely made the experience feel disorganized.
All in all, not terrible, but I wouldnāt go out of my way to come back.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 2
Service: 4
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