The seafood ramen had lots of seafood. Server was really nice with us. Nice place to eat.
Jenai C.
Kai Ramen has been the go to spot since my bf and I relocated to Santa Monica. Sometimes we eat there, but usually we order out. We have found that we get the best results when we go to the place to order for take out and just wait for the food to be ready (rather than order online in advance). The food comes out hot and we're a short drive away so our food is never sitting out waiting for us to pick up. Another benefit from ordering at the place is when we would order for pick-up, if the food is sitting for some time, the meat and egg can continue to cook while inside the container and the meat would be more cooked than we liked. We've not had that issue since we changed our method. It could be a coincidence, but that hasn't been proven yet. We've tried various ramens on the menu, but my preference is the Classic while my bf tends to like the White Ramen with some spice. You get an egg with each one, but my bf doesn't eat them so I always get 2. The owners are always very nice and polite and the food usually doesn't take long to come out. We will definitely be back for more in the future I'm sure lol
Chris C.
I mean what more can you ask for? Lovely atmosphere, great food, tremendous service. Come here for a nice $18
Grier W.
it's really good i come here a lot and i like it very scrumptious!! great service nice environment
Jean Labat DE
Amazing ramen and great service!Will definitely be back ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Beef Ramen with Tofu, Spicy Miso Ramen
Kari D.
My family and I are visiting LA for our cousins birthday party this weekend. It is freezing outside and we wanted a nice hot bowl of Ramen. Kai Ramen answered our prayers. Exactly what we were craving! I got the Spicy Chicken Ramen. My sister got the Pork Miso Tonkatsu Ramen. We had a spicy tuna crunch roll and pork gyoza for the table. Our daughters had chicken teriyaki bowls. We left happy with full bellies. I absolutely recommend!!! 5 stars!!!
Maria O.
loved the ramen there! my fave place on the WESTSIDE! quiet and nice ambience, fast service. spicy ramen is my fave.
Gloria K.
Walked in after a long day for some hot soup and was pleasantly surprised to have wandered into this gem of a spot! The broth perfectly balanced the creaminess of the deep tonkatsu broth with black garlic and was neither too salty nor too bland. The chashu bun was well made--the combination of sweet and savory, soft and crispy, with fresh veggies on top really hit the spot and complemented the ramen fabulously. 5 star service from the lovely couple who owns the place. Will definitely return!
Aislin L.
I walked in and it was full of car air freshener and random candles all over the place. It feels very cluttered and where there was no room to begin with. They have fake plants and flowers at all the tables and if it's busy it feels very chaotic. The lady that seats you is very aggressive about everything and isn't the nicest. The guy who took the order let us get the children's ramen and then as we got the check the lady came over and yelled at us and told us we weren't allowed to have us and then proceeded to up charge us to what a normal meal would have been. The ramen is good but with all of the air fresheners it makes it taste gross. I wouldn't reccomend there are better ramen places than this.
Nicole P.
It's as bad as they say. I walked in and immediately knew it was either going to be really good or really bad because it's a tiny restaurant with loads of boxes and cartons and junk everywhere. But the prices are on par for popular (and better) ramen spots. First thing is the smell of cigarettes. The door was open while someone was smoking. I'm assuming it was the male owner because when he walked in, the smell got stronger, he chewed some gum, and went in the back. The lady owner/waitress sits me down in a corner table and takes my order and shows me the order to confirm she got it right. Perfectly fine. I guess she goes on lunch and she switches place with the guy. Another customer comes in and he seats them at my table despite other tables being available. Weird but okay. He brings out my food and the crispy rice was good. But the black ramen had no flavor. I put so much soy sauce in the broth to taste SOMETHING. The meat was dry and taste like it was cooked early this morning and warmed up. The egg had the same situation as the meat. I ask for my bill and he brings me a to go box. I deny the box and ask for my bill. He gently then not so gently told me I should package the food to go so I can eat it later. I kept saying I didn't like it but I'll still pay. He says I wasted food and that food is medicine and we just kept repeating ourselves until he notices the other tables are looking at us bicker. At this point, he takes the half empty bowl. the cooks make an extra ramen by accident and he starts yelling at them. Again, the kitchen and dining area are one so more awkwardness. He starts rubbing his head and clearly upset but I once again ask for my bill. He is no longer speaking to me and we settle the bill. Also noted that he does look at the reviews as another customer stated it was the best vegan ramen ever and he asked for her to leave a good review. I wish I had the same experience but this was the worst ramen spot. And I been to gentrified ramen spots. I only came here because I had some business down the street and was really hungry (and it's cold). I have no reason to come back.
I used to go more often and the experience was....ok. But it seems like the place has new owners , a couple that apparently has no ideas what they are doing , kind of rough , barely spoke English. Good luck in keeping this place open !
Carlos G.
Just read some other reviews... didn't realize this place was under new management. Now my experience a few weeks ago makes sense. My wife placed an order using chownow, which is the official ordering method for their website. I went in to pick it up, and whoever the man was that was handling the online orders proceeded to treat me like a piece of trash that's so obviously beneath him. He just ignored me for a long time and then when I finally asked about my order, he barked at me asking which service DoorDash, Uber eats, etc. then it became clear he thought I was a food delivery driver, and I'm thinking to myself DUDE you know what it says about you when you treat people you "perceive" to be "below you" so terribly?? Yea, it basically says YOU are a terrible person. So I explained many many times that I am not a food delivery driver and that we ordered directly on their website. But since it was in my wife's name, he WOULD NOT give me the order. I guess I look like someone that would come in there, randomly guess her first and last name, then hit the jackpot and steal some take out ramen . Finally my wife sent me a screenshot and he still was confused and asked me to set the order as picked up on the app... which is absolutely not an option if you are not a driver and order FOR YOURSELF on chownow. My poor guy doesn't even know his own systems. What a shame. Hopefully they get their act together.
James Collins
It's all good but, they need to wash the windows.
Laurene chi river von klan
Food is amazing and I am not getting paid to say this but plz come eat here it’s worth it trust me if not then that’s ur
Seems like it's been a common trend with this new management. Visited twice since the new year and have been disappointed and honestly a little annoyed, especially after my second visit. The old management had a grip on service, was attentive, super nice, and patient. On my first visit with this new management, they completely butchered the order. Fine, maybe I did not communicate my order well enough. 2nd visit, I can honestly say I've never felt more disappointed. Took them 20 minutes to take my order. Upon taking my order the manager decides to slam the menu and toss it to the side, ok...? Food comes out a bit after along with the check. This is where I genuinely become annoyed. Just don't serve me food if you're going to hand the check toFood was great as always but their service has taken a free fall. I love this place and hope they can get it together
The seafood ramen had lots of seafood. Server was really nice with us. Nice place to eat.
Kai Ramen has been the go to spot since my bf and I relocated to Santa Monica. Sometimes we eat there, but usually we order out. We have found that we get the best results when we go to the place to order for take out and just wait for the food to be ready (rather than order online in advance). The food comes out hot and we're a short drive away so our food is never sitting out waiting for us to pick up. Another benefit from ordering at the place is when we would order for pick-up, if the food is sitting for some time, the meat and egg can continue to cook while inside the container and the meat would be more cooked than we liked. We've not had that issue since we changed our method. It could be a coincidence, but that hasn't been proven yet. We've tried various ramens on the menu, but my preference is the Classic while my bf tends to like the White Ramen with some spice. You get an egg with each one, but my bf doesn't eat them so I always get 2. The owners are always very nice and polite and the food usually doesn't take long to come out. We will definitely be back for more in the future I'm sure lol
I mean what more can you ask for? Lovely atmosphere, great food, tremendous service. Come here for a nice $18
it's really good i come here a lot and i like it very scrumptious!! great service nice environment
Amazing ramen and great service!Will definitely be back ?
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Spicy Beef Ramen with Tofu, Spicy Miso Ramen
My family and I are visiting LA for our cousins birthday party this weekend. It is freezing outside and we wanted a nice hot bowl of Ramen. Kai Ramen answered our prayers. Exactly what we were craving! I got the Spicy Chicken Ramen. My sister got the Pork Miso Tonkatsu Ramen. We had a spicy tuna crunch roll and pork gyoza for the table. Our daughters had chicken teriyaki bowls. We left happy with full bellies. I absolutely recommend!!! 5 stars!!!
loved the ramen there! my fave place on the WESTSIDE! quiet and nice ambience, fast service. spicy ramen is my fave.
Walked in after a long day for some hot soup and was pleasantly surprised to have wandered into this gem of a spot! The broth perfectly balanced the creaminess of the deep tonkatsu broth with black garlic and was neither too salty nor too bland. The chashu bun was well made--the combination of sweet and savory, soft and crispy, with fresh veggies on top really hit the spot and complemented the ramen fabulously. 5 star service from the lovely couple who owns the place. Will definitely return!
I walked in and it was full of car air freshener and random candles all over the place. It feels very cluttered and where there was no room to begin with. They have fake plants and flowers at all the tables and if it's busy it feels very chaotic. The lady that seats you is very aggressive about everything and isn't the nicest. The guy who took the order let us get the children's ramen and then as we got the check the lady came over and yelled at us and told us we weren't allowed to have us and then proceeded to up charge us to what a normal meal would have been. The ramen is good but with all of the air fresheners it makes it taste gross. I wouldn't reccomend there are better ramen places than this.
It's as bad as they say. I walked in and immediately knew it was either going to be really good or really bad because it's a tiny restaurant with loads of boxes and cartons and junk everywhere. But the prices are on par for popular (and better) ramen spots. First thing is the smell of cigarettes. The door was open while someone was smoking. I'm assuming it was the male owner because when he walked in, the smell got stronger, he chewed some gum, and went in the back. The lady owner/waitress sits me down in a corner table and takes my order and shows me the order to confirm she got it right. Perfectly fine. I guess she goes on lunch and she switches place with the guy. Another customer comes in and he seats them at my table despite other tables being available. Weird but okay. He brings out my food and the crispy rice was good. But the black ramen had no flavor. I put so much soy sauce in the broth to taste SOMETHING. The meat was dry and taste like it was cooked early this morning and warmed up. The egg had the same situation as the meat. I ask for my bill and he brings me a to go box. I deny the box and ask for my bill. He gently then not so gently told me I should package the food to go so I can eat it later. I kept saying I didn't like it but I'll still pay. He says I wasted food and that food is medicine and we just kept repeating ourselves until he notices the other tables are looking at us bicker. At this point, he takes the half empty bowl. the cooks make an extra ramen by accident and he starts yelling at them. Again, the kitchen and dining area are one so more awkwardness. He starts rubbing his head and clearly upset but I once again ask for my bill. He is no longer speaking to me and we settle the bill. Also noted that he does look at the reviews as another customer stated it was the best vegan ramen ever and he asked for her to leave a good review. I wish I had the same experience but this was the worst ramen spot. And I been to gentrified ramen spots. I only came here because I had some business down the street and was really hungry (and it's cold). I have no reason to come back.
Restaurantji Recommends
I used to go more often and the experience was....ok. But it seems like the place has new owners , a couple that apparently has no ideas what they are doing , kind of rough , barely spoke English. Good luck in keeping this place open !
Just read some other reviews... didn't realize this place was under new management. Now my experience a few weeks ago makes sense. My wife placed an order using chownow, which is the official ordering method for their website. I went in to pick it up, and whoever the man was that was handling the online orders proceeded to treat me like a piece of trash that's so obviously beneath him. He just ignored me for a long time and then when I finally asked about my order, he barked at me asking which service DoorDash, Uber eats, etc. then it became clear he thought I was a food delivery driver, and I'm thinking to myself DUDE you know what it says about you when you treat people you "perceive" to be "below you" so terribly?? Yea, it basically says YOU are a terrible person. So I explained many many times that I am not a food delivery driver and that we ordered directly on their website. But since it was in my wife's name, he WOULD NOT give me the order. I guess I look like someone that would come in there, randomly guess her first and last name, then hit the jackpot and steal some take out ramen . Finally my wife sent me a screenshot and he still was confused and asked me to set the order as picked up on the app... which is absolutely not an option if you are not a driver and order FOR YOURSELF on chownow. My poor guy doesn't even know his own systems. What a shame. Hopefully they get their act together.
It's all good but, they need to wash the windows.
Food is amazing and I am not getting paid to say this but plz come eat here it’s worth it trust me if not then that’s ur
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: White Tonkotsu Ramen Vegan Sushi, Soup, Chicken Ramen, Spicy Tuna Roll, Volcano Ramen, Shishito Pepper, Bomb Ramen, Spicy Beef Ramen, Beef Soup, Potato Croquette, Red Ramen, Spicy Beef Ramen with Tofu, Chicken Wings, Spicy Miso Ramen, Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, Pork Bun, Pork Gyoza
Seems like it's been a common trend with this new management. Visited twice since the new year and have been disappointed and honestly a little annoyed, especially after my second visit. The old management had a grip on service, was attentive, super nice, and patient. On my first visit with this new management, they completely butchered the order. Fine, maybe I did not communicate my order well enough. 2nd visit, I can honestly say I've never felt more disappointed. Took them 20 minutes to take my order. Upon taking my order the manager decides to slam the menu and toss it to the side, ok...? Food comes out a bit after along with the check. This is where I genuinely become annoyed. Just don't serve me food if you're going to hand the check toFood was great as always but their service has taken a free fall. I love this place and hope they can get it together