We were super excited for kajiken since we had a great experience last summer; however, it was sad to see that the quality went down significantly. The dumplings were cold and sunomono lacked flavor. Fried tofu was ok and the abura soba wasn’t bad. The worst part was when we were asked to be quick about leaving literally 5 minutes after we paid because people were waiting. This was shocking to me because I have never seen a restaurant treating customers this way, not even in restaurants with 2+ hour wait time. I will not return and cannot recommend an establishment operating in this manner—very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
Spencer Chase
The spicy tonkotsu and karaage are amazing! We came from NYC just to try Kajiken and we weren't disappointed! All the employes are super friendly. Nicole was helping us and we'll definitely be back soon!
Perfect location for some comfort ramen!! Located literally right next to John’s Hopkins University, Kajiken is ideal for students, visitors, locals who are craving a savory, hot meal. The noodles are made in house and the veggies taste so fresh!! The broth was heart warming and the ambience isn’t loud and distracting, but not library quiet so having a meal with friends would be perfect!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
chardae hall
Chicken was raw on top of my noodles and nothing was done about it. Not sure if this is cultural? :(. Boyfriend recommended we come bc he loved it the first time by himself. Ramen Utsuke has way more options for ramen and other dishes. Noodles were great. Portions were very small. Didn’t want to pull this card, but I’m sure it was bc we were the only heavily melanated couple there. I would’ve gotten the ramen, but only saw pork broth available on the menu.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen
caroline gutberlet
I gave this spot a second chance.Our ramen was essentially tasteless, we kept trying to add spices, pepper etc but nothing brought the flavor out. Same as last time. Passion fruit soda is not passion fruit soda it’s passion fruit juice with orange and it’s from Hawaii (who cares, but still, I wouldn’t have bought it if I had known). Not a great experience. Service was ok. Atmosphere at the bar is tight fit.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Anna Mian
Absolute favorite. Would go everyday for the rest of my life!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Shumpei
Great aburasoba. Only 4 stars because they got rid of Umeboshi as a topping :(. It was so hecking good. Appetizers are okay. The fried squid was hard and chewy (not tender with a snap) and the sauce wasn't very flavorful either.Their vegan option is insulting. Please do better!! It's 2023.Edit 6/2023: the pickled plum is back thank the Lord. Secret menu item!! Still want a more exciting vegan option please.Edit again 7/2023: they have a new vegan option (that tasted great!) and the pickled plum is back on the menu. I've changed the review to five stars. Great work! My only new small complaint is the mochi on the side of the cheesecake was still frozen, not great.Edit 2/2024: the vegan option now has fried tofu, but the fried tofu is cold. I ordered mine with extra tofu (not knowing this) and the whole bowl quickly became luke warm and the cold tofu was unenjoyable. Please warm this up before serving!Vegetarian options: Great vegan option
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Honmura, Matcha Crepe Cake
Allana James
I am obsessed with this place. It really makes you feel like you’re in Japan getting ramen. Highly recommend the Old Bay Ebi, karage and dumplings. We ended with red bean taiyaki and matcha ice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gyoza, Taiyaki & Ice Cream
John Wu
Best ramen in Baltimore -- both with or without broth. Not much more to say.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Natascha
The portions were all wrong. My wifes noodle dish had way too much oil. It made her sick the next day. My dish was way too fishy. To the point it was inedible. I probably didn't get sick because I stopped eating. I asked to substitute my poached egg with a soft boiled egg, and they said no substitutions. There is your sign that everything is pre made and packaged. This place is a guaranteed money maker with its location and client base. I will never return. Also, I forgot to add that my seaweed salad came with mixed greens. I've never had it served like that anywhere.
Great go-to ramen and mazesoba place! Their homura aburasoba is great if you like spicy as well as their original. They provide chili oil for everyone who likes to spicier food as well, which is a plus. At times, their service can be lacking, but this has really only happened once for my group. There is usually a wait time for dinner, but they seat and serve you quickly afterwards. Definitely a great place if you're looking for close ramen.
Susan Y.
First time checking out this spot after getting recommended by a friend! Appetizers were fine with takoyaki being the table favorite. The mendaiko don was VERY underwhelming given the size of mendaiko given for the price. The ramen was fantastic!! Definitely recommend the sukiyaki over the shoyu as it was more flavorful and the noodles were bouncier. Service was great and the ambiance was warm. Downside was the long 30minute wait, but it was worth it.
Caroline Plummer
Food was out of this world good. I got the spicy brothless ramen. We were visiting from out of state and this is still a meal I think of often and wish we could find locally. There was a wait around 7pm on Friday night but we were seated in 20 minutes. Not a huge lobby so we waited outside in the cold. Barnes and Noble is across the street so that's an easy place to est up wait time if needed.Server gave us water and greeted us / took our order quickly. Food came out in a reasonable amount of time. Tables are very close together- I kid you not maybe 3 or 4 inches AT BEST between the tables. So I basically had to drag myself across our table neighbors dinner plates to get out of the booth side of my seat. Very awkward and embarrassing. I am not a huge person, just average size so i can see this being a problem for some people for sure. Our server was great but also just seemed very over it and tired, kept forgetting small things and our water was empty most of the meal. Forgot to ring in another tables food and rolled her eyes (embarrassment perhaps) rather than apologizing. No biggie though, it was busy so I get it. The cheesecake is incredibly small for the price.Parking: Parking availability may depend on the time of day- evening was fine for us. You have to pay up till a certain hour then it's free (maybe like 8pm? I forget exactly)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Fried Squid
Kayla J.
Had a taste for ramen and decided to try somewhere new and ended up at Kajiken. The hostess was not very pleasurable upon arrival but she seated us right away. Luckily, our server was so nice and accommodating even though they were nearing their closing time. The restaurant is very cute inside and nicely decorated. It's fairly small so if they were ever busy there would likely be a wait! We tried the takoyaki and karaage for starters. Usually, I am not a fan of takoyaki but I actually enjoyed it here. The karaage was extremely juicy and tasty. I liked the sauces that they served with it. Also, we tried the tonkotsu ramen Tori Abura soba. If you're looking for a ramen with broth, this may not be the best option as there are only 3 ramen options all with pork broth. My boyfriend wanted ramen but does not eat pork so he tried the soba instead. He enjoyed it! I found it to be tasty as well. If you like more variety, you can build your own soba bowl. They offer a few sides to add to the ramen bowl as well. I added sweet corn and ichimi which was so good! The pricing is very fair and you'll be full leaving this restaurant.
We were super excited for kajiken since we had a great experience last summer; however, it was sad to see that the quality went down significantly. The dumplings were cold and sunomono lacked flavor. Fried tofu was ok and the abura soba wasn’t bad. The worst part was when we were asked to be quick about leaving literally 5 minutes after we paid because people were waiting. This was shocking to me because I have never seen a restaurant treating customers this way, not even in restaurants with 2+ hour wait time. I will not return and cannot recommend an establishment operating in this manner—very disappointing.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 1
The spicy tonkotsu and karaage are amazing! We came from NYC just to try Kajiken and we weren't disappointed! All the employes are super friendly. Nicole was helping us and we'll definitely be back soon!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen, Chicken Karaage
Perfect location for some comfort ramen!! Located literally right next to John’s Hopkins University, Kajiken is ideal for students, visitors, locals who are craving a savory, hot meal. The noodles are made in house and the veggies taste so fresh!! The broth was heart warming and the ambience isn’t loud and distracting, but not library quiet so having a meal with friends would be perfect!
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Chicken was raw on top of my noodles and nothing was done about it. Not sure if this is cultural? :(. Boyfriend recommended we come bc he loved it the first time by himself. Ramen Utsuke has way more options for ramen and other dishes. Noodles were great. Portions were very small. Didn’t want to pull this card, but I’m sure it was bc we were the only heavily melanated couple there. I would’ve gotten the ramen, but only saw pork broth available on the menu.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 4
Recommended dishes: Tonkotsu Ramen
I gave this spot a second chance.Our ramen was essentially tasteless, we kept trying to add spices, pepper etc but nothing brought the flavor out. Same as last time. Passion fruit soda is not passion fruit soda it’s passion fruit juice with orange and it’s from Hawaii (who cares, but still, I wouldn’t have bought it if I had known). Not a great experience. Service was ok. Atmosphere at the bar is tight fit.
Atmosphere: 3
Food: 2
Service: 3
Absolute favorite. Would go everyday for the rest of my life!
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great aburasoba. Only 4 stars because they got rid of Umeboshi as a topping :(. It was so hecking good. Appetizers are okay. The fried squid was hard and chewy (not tender with a snap) and the sauce wasn't very flavorful either.Their vegan option is insulting. Please do better!! It's 2023.Edit 6/2023: the pickled plum is back thank the Lord. Secret menu item!! Still want a more exciting vegan option please.Edit again 7/2023: they have a new vegan option (that tasted great!) and the pickled plum is back on the menu. I've changed the review to five stars. Great work! My only new small complaint is the mochi on the side of the cheesecake was still frozen, not great.Edit 2/2024: the vegan option now has fried tofu, but the fried tofu is cold. I ordered mine with extra tofu (not knowing this) and the whole bowl quickly became luke warm and the cold tofu was unenjoyable. Please warm this up before serving!Vegetarian options: Great vegan option
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 4
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Honmura, Matcha Crepe Cake
I am obsessed with this place. It really makes you feel like you’re in Japan getting ramen. Highly recommend the Old Bay Ebi, karage and dumplings. We ended with red bean taiyaki and matcha ice
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Recommended dishes: Gyoza, Taiyaki & Ice Cream
Best ramen in Baltimore -- both with or without broth. Not much more to say.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
The portions were all wrong. My wifes noodle dish had way too much oil. It made her sick the next day. My dish was way too fishy. To the point it was inedible. I probably didn't get sick because I stopped eating. I asked to substitute my poached egg with a soft boiled egg, and they said no substitutions. There is your sign that everything is pre made and packaged. This place is a guaranteed money maker with its location and client base. I will never return. Also, I forgot to add that my seaweed salad came with mixed greens. I've never had it served like that anywhere.
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 1
Service: 3
Restaurantji Recommends
They vibe and the food of this place is
Atmosphere: 5
Food: 5
Service: 5
Great go-to ramen and mazesoba place! Their homura aburasoba is great if you like spicy as well as their original. They provide chili oil for everyone who likes to spicier food as well, which is a plus. At times, their service can be lacking, but this has really only happened once for my group. There is usually a wait time for dinner, but they seat and serve you quickly afterwards. Definitely a great place if you're looking for close ramen.
First time checking out this spot after getting recommended by a friend! Appetizers were fine with takoyaki being the table favorite. The mendaiko don was VERY underwhelming given the size of mendaiko given for the price. The ramen was fantastic!! Definitely recommend the sukiyaki over the shoyu as it was more flavorful and the noodles were bouncier. Service was great and the ambiance was warm. Downside was the long 30minute wait, but it was worth it.
Food was out of this world good. I got the spicy brothless ramen. We were visiting from out of state and this is still a meal I think of often and wish we could find locally. There was a wait around 7pm on Friday night but we were seated in 20 minutes. Not a huge lobby so we waited outside in the cold. Barnes and Noble is across the street so that's an easy place to est up wait time if needed.Server gave us water and greeted us / took our order quickly. Food came out in a reasonable amount of time. Tables are very close together- I kid you not maybe 3 or 4 inches AT BEST between the tables. So I basically had to drag myself across our table neighbors dinner plates to get out of the booth side of my seat. Very awkward and embarrassing. I am not a huge person, just average size so i can see this being a problem for some people for sure. Our server was great but also just seemed very over it and tired, kept forgetting small things and our water was empty most of the meal. Forgot to ring in another tables food and rolled her eyes (embarrassment perhaps) rather than apologizing. No biggie though, it was busy so I get it. The cheesecake is incredibly small for the price.Parking: Parking availability may depend on the time of day- evening was fine for us. You have to pay up till a certain hour then it's free (maybe like 8pm? I forget exactly)
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 5
Service: 3
Recommended dishes: Takoyaki, Fried Squid
Had a taste for ramen and decided to try somewhere new and ended up at Kajiken. The hostess was not very pleasurable upon arrival but she seated us right away. Luckily, our server was so nice and accommodating even though they were nearing their closing time. The restaurant is very cute inside and nicely decorated. It's fairly small so if they were ever busy there would likely be a wait! We tried the takoyaki and karaage for starters. Usually, I am not a fan of takoyaki but I actually enjoyed it here. The karaage was extremely juicy and tasty. I liked the sauces that they served with it. Also, we tried the tonkotsu ramen Tori Abura soba. If you're looking for a ramen with broth, this may not be the best option as there are only 3 ramen options all with pork broth. My boyfriend wanted ramen but does not eat pork so he tried the soba instead. He enjoyed it! I found it to be tasty as well. If you like more variety, you can build your own soba bowl. They offer a few sides to add to the ramen bowl as well. I added sweet corn and ichimi which was so good! The pricing is very fair and you'll be full leaving this restaurant.