There is only One reason I give this 4 Stars. It's just not quite as good as the Ippudo's that I have eaten at in NYC. With that said if I could I would give it 4.75 stars. It's very close. Ippudo is an experience & for me comfort food. The one spectacular thing they do here in Los Angeles (Santa Monica) that they don't do in NYC. They allow you to choose the firmness of you ramen. To me this was something always wished I could do. The ability to choose Firm Ramen makes the tactile experience.
Brian W.
Shoyu ramen is by far the star here, none of us were particularly impressed by the rest of our orders. In fact we were all pretty meh on the rest of our orders, compared to the one person in our group who got the shoyu. Let's not knock the Akamaru modern or the Shiromaru classic. Both were best described as fine but completely forgettable; in a place with a less crowded ramen scene they'd be acceptable options, but not in this area. Kara age and edamame were both above average, but again not enough to make the meal. Kara age in particular were a bit more skin than expected, which, while a nice change of pace, was a surprise. And I have yet to meet a bowl of edamame that significantly changed my rating of a meal. The space is open and welcoming in the slightly sterile Japanese modern fashion, and the staff do a decent enough job. 3* seems harsh but with so much competition, looking back at places I've given 4*, Ippudo feels decidedly short.
Vanessa Gomez Brake
Slow service, but great food.
Jenny J.
Very surprised that there is no wait at this Ippudo. I used to go to the one in NYC Where there was always a line during lunch or dinner hours that I had to go during off hours. But in terms of the taste of ramen, I would say it's pretty much the same as New York City although the hustle and bustle of New York City and perhaps the waiting time made the ramen in New York City a little bit tastier. I always get the Akamaru Modern because it always tastes good no matter what. Pair that with the spicy sauce (extra charge but so worth it!) and it is delicious! They're also famous for their pork buns, but after staying away from refined carbs, the artificially white buns sort of turn me away from ordering it now. Expect to see lots of young families here!
Victoria Nova
simple delicious with complex flavors
Pak L.
The food is good but the employees have to be trained. The Japanese employer only managed to train them to smile. Deep inside, you can tell they're not enjoying their work but worse than that, you can tell these employees from a different Asian descent don't really have the Japanese kindness. They know only to smile in a fake way. They don't have the Japanese sincere attitude.
I. A.
Yum yum yum! The pudding here ! Omg!!! So delish! We had a party of 12 and everyone was happy with their food!
Yesenia Mora
Ramen was great, full of flavor!! But that chicken bun!!!! Yuuuuuuuuum!! Ordered 2 more directly after tasting the first!
Janae' V.
This review is mostly on the service.I visited this place while in LA. I'm actually still here as I write thia review. I hadn't eaten all day and just stumbled upon them while walking. The menu seemed right up my alley. When I entered there was one couple in front of me. We all waited for longer than expected since it wasnt busy at all. There were only 4-6 other customers besides us. I was asked if I wanted to sit at the bar (I'm assuming this since I was by myself) I accepted. I sat and browsed the menu and realized I'd just be staring into their small kitchen while I ate so when I was approached to see if I was ready to order I asked to move to a table that was open and the waitress gave me attitude. Once I came to the table she didnt follow me to take my order, she proceeded to take other patrons that came in after me. I hadn't even been served a glass of water. Everyone here had been approached with service including the person that got sat in the seat that I was previously in. I stood up to leave and only then did the waitress come to take my order. I had a question about something on the menu and she acted like I had already been here and was hesitant to give me the description. I should have left but was way too hungry this point. I ordered 2 chicken buns and only received one. When she finally came back to check I placed and order for the second one. She hasn't been pleasant at all nor has she even checked to make sure I needed anything. The 2 chicken buns were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, I actually want to order more food but the service is so shitty that I don't want to stay. I know one off situations happen and why I'm always hesitant to do long reviews but as a person that uses others reviews I think it's important to share just incase this isnt a one off. The food was great that I had but my experience was not!
Rick Hoskinson
This was pretty great ramen, especially for the location. Rises above the usual touristy nonsense in the area. I quite likes the pan fried gyoza too, though that was a bit on the steep side price wise. Honestly though, this is going to be a new regular spot for me when I'm at the promenade.
Delicious and fresh food ! Good quality services ! And friendly recommended for food lovers ;) !
Eoghan Geoghegan
Delicious Ramen and Ippudo buns. Will definitely be back. Friendly service. Asahi beer taking me back to Tokyo!
William Werblow
From start to finish one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. The two stars are for the classic ramen broth, alone, and I’m being generous. I must also note that I’ve enjoyed eating at other Ippudo locations. Now to the review: When I first entered there was no hostess at the podium but five servers passing by many times without acknowledging the the line of people. Eventually, after being seated It took 10 minutes to flag down a waiter to get water. To my surprise, the bowl of ramen came quickly...but the order was wrong, fine, they fixed it relatively quickly. Then after finishing the noodles I ordered kae-dama. This second batch of noodles was so undercooked, it felt more like eaten uncooked pasta than a ramen noodle. Then, I ordered the Hojicha pudding, I love hojicha so I was excited for it to redeem the experience. The pudding came and was room temperature so that the pudding had started to separate like yogurt and had a layer of watery liquid on top. It didn’t taste like hojicha, or any tea-like flavor for that matter, just sugar and vanilla. When I thought the experience couldn’t have gotten any worse—and I wish I was making this up—the kitchen started to flood and water leaked into the dining area. Before I could flag down a server to alert them, a small child slipped and fell. Fortunately the child did not want to press charges As I exited the restaurant I prayed that the light fixtures wouldn’t fall on my head. Good thing they still know how to make the broth though.
Tracy W.
I'm not a ramen enthusiastic but I do find some ramen enjoyable and Ippudo definitely had good ramen. The texture of the noodle was just right! The pork broth from the classic was also perfected, not too salty or blend. You could also add another portion of the noodle to your bowl; however I found the portion just enough. The decor of the place was also very intriguing. Parking can be challenging on the street but there are some garages near by.
gale
the noodles were delicious and food overall was well-priced. the place was also very clean. i really liked the presentation of the food and restaurant. however, service was abysmal. we had to ask for the check three times, and they forgot about one of our orders. when we asked them to check with the kitchen, we got no response back. our receipt was incorrect as well. granted, there weren’t a lot of staff, and everyone seemed to be working their hardest. i think one of their receipt machines was broken as well, which was probably the reason why service was so slow and bad. they compensated us with a voucher for a free bowl of ramen, which was very nice of them. :-)
There is only One reason I give this 4 Stars. It's just not quite as good as the Ippudo's that I have eaten at in NYC. With that said if I could I would give it 4.75 stars. It's very close. Ippudo is an experience & for me comfort food. The one spectacular thing they do here in Los Angeles (Santa Monica) that they don't do in NYC. They allow you to choose the firmness of you ramen. To me this was something always wished I could do. The ability to choose Firm Ramen makes the tactile experience.
Shoyu ramen is by far the star here, none of us were particularly impressed by the rest of our orders. In fact we were all pretty meh on the rest of our orders, compared to the one person in our group who got the shoyu. Let's not knock the Akamaru modern or the Shiromaru classic. Both were best described as fine but completely forgettable; in a place with a less crowded ramen scene they'd be acceptable options, but not in this area. Kara age and edamame were both above average, but again not enough to make the meal. Kara age in particular were a bit more skin than expected, which, while a nice change of pace, was a surprise. And I have yet to meet a bowl of edamame that significantly changed my rating of a meal. The space is open and welcoming in the slightly sterile Japanese modern fashion, and the staff do a decent enough job. 3* seems harsh but with so much competition, looking back at places I've given 4*, Ippudo feels decidedly short.
Slow service, but great food.
Very surprised that there is no wait at this Ippudo. I used to go to the one in NYC Where there was always a line during lunch or dinner hours that I had to go during off hours. But in terms of the taste of ramen, I would say it's pretty much the same as New York City although the hustle and bustle of New York City and perhaps the waiting time made the ramen in New York City a little bit tastier. I always get the Akamaru Modern because it always tastes good no matter what. Pair that with the spicy sauce (extra charge but so worth it!) and it is delicious! They're also famous for their pork buns, but after staying away from refined carbs, the artificially white buns sort of turn me away from ordering it now. Expect to see lots of young families here!
simple delicious with complex flavors
The food is good but the employees have to be trained. The Japanese employer only managed to train them to smile. Deep inside, you can tell they're not enjoying their work but worse than that, you can tell these employees from a different Asian descent don't really have the Japanese kindness. They know only to smile in a fake way. They don't have the Japanese sincere attitude.
Yum yum yum! The pudding here ! Omg!!! So delish! We had a party of 12 and everyone was happy with their food!
Ramen was great, full of flavor!! But that chicken bun!!!! Yuuuuuuuuum!! Ordered 2 more directly after tasting the first!
This review is mostly on the service.I visited this place while in LA. I'm actually still here as I write thia review. I hadn't eaten all day and just stumbled upon them while walking. The menu seemed right up my alley. When I entered there was one couple in front of me. We all waited for longer than expected since it wasnt busy at all. There were only 4-6 other customers besides us. I was asked if I wanted to sit at the bar (I'm assuming this since I was by myself) I accepted. I sat and browsed the menu and realized I'd just be staring into their small kitchen while I ate so when I was approached to see if I was ready to order I asked to move to a table that was open and the waitress gave me attitude. Once I came to the table she didnt follow me to take my order, she proceeded to take other patrons that came in after me. I hadn't even been served a glass of water. Everyone here had been approached with service including the person that got sat in the seat that I was previously in. I stood up to leave and only then did the waitress come to take my order. I had a question about something on the menu and she acted like I had already been here and was hesitant to give me the description. I should have left but was way too hungry this point. I ordered 2 chicken buns and only received one. When she finally came back to check I placed and order for the second one. She hasn't been pleasant at all nor has she even checked to make sure I needed anything. The 2 chicken buns were ABSOLUTELY AMAZING, I actually want to order more food but the service is so shitty that I don't want to stay. I know one off situations happen and why I'm always hesitant to do long reviews but as a person that uses others reviews I think it's important to share just incase this isnt a one off. The food was great that I had but my experience was not!
This was pretty great ramen, especially for the location. Rises above the usual touristy nonsense in the area. I quite likes the pan fried gyoza too, though that was a bit on the steep side price wise. Honestly though, this is going to be a new regular spot for me when I'm at the promenade.
Restaurantji Recommends
Delicious and fresh food ! Good quality services ! And friendly recommended for food lovers ;) !
Delicious Ramen and Ippudo buns. Will definitely be back. Friendly service. Asahi beer taking me back to Tokyo!
From start to finish one of the worst dining experiences I have ever had. The two stars are for the classic ramen broth, alone, and I’m being generous. I must also note that I’ve enjoyed eating at other Ippudo locations. Now to the review: When I first entered there was no hostess at the podium but five servers passing by many times without acknowledging the the line of people. Eventually, after being seated It took 10 minutes to flag down a waiter to get water. To my surprise, the bowl of ramen came quickly...but the order was wrong, fine, they fixed it relatively quickly. Then after finishing the noodles I ordered kae-dama. This second batch of noodles was so undercooked, it felt more like eaten uncooked pasta than a ramen noodle. Then, I ordered the Hojicha pudding, I love hojicha so I was excited for it to redeem the experience. The pudding came and was room temperature so that the pudding had started to separate like yogurt and had a layer of watery liquid on top. It didn’t taste like hojicha, or any tea-like flavor for that matter, just sugar and vanilla. When I thought the experience couldn’t have gotten any worse—and I wish I was making this up—the kitchen started to flood and water leaked into the dining area. Before I could flag down a server to alert them, a small child slipped and fell. Fortunately the child did not want to press charges As I exited the restaurant I prayed that the light fixtures wouldn’t fall on my head. Good thing they still know how to make the broth though.
I'm not a ramen enthusiastic but I do find some ramen enjoyable and Ippudo definitely had good ramen. The texture of the noodle was just right! The pork broth from the classic was also perfected, not too salty or blend. You could also add another portion of the noodle to your bowl; however I found the portion just enough. The decor of the place was also very intriguing. Parking can be challenging on the street but there are some garages near by.
the noodles were delicious and food overall was well-priced. the place was also very clean. i really liked the presentation of the food and restaurant. however, service was abysmal. we had to ask for the check three times, and they forgot about one of our orders. when we asked them to check with the kitchen, we got no response back. our receipt was incorrect as well. granted, there weren’t a lot of staff, and everyone seemed to be working their hardest. i think one of their receipt machines was broken as well, which was probably the reason why service was so slow and bad. they compensated us with a voucher for a free bowl of ramen, which was very nice of them. :-)