Santa Ramen Restaurant Review, San Mateo
Posted by Food Nut
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Santa Ramen 1944 S El Camino Real San Mateo, CA 94403 (650) 344-5918 |
Santa Ramen is a very popular Japanese noodle house in San Mateo. It has a legendary cult following and long lines.
There is almost always a line even before the place opens. You should arrive about 15 minutes before it opens to ensure you get a seat, otherwise come late and be prepared to wait. The main draw is the tasty ramen noodles in various broths. If you are not into noodles, avoid this place.
Menu pics (Click to zoom in on any picture)
Desserts
Picks:
Soy Sauce Ramen ($7.95) with roasted pork, green onions, bamboo shoots, roasted seaweed. Broth has a heavy soy sauce flavor. This is not instant ramen for sure. Decent quantities but many with larger appetites, order it as we do with extra noodles ($1.25) and extra pork ($1.50) or order an appetizer with it.
Add 2 pieces of the legendary Stewed Pork ($4.50). It is a fatty pork that has been slowly stewed a long time. It is more of an acquired taste. The noodles are fresh and hot out of the kitchen. The broth is probably one of the better ones around, with the noodles being ok. Noodles are on the al dente side. The roasted pork reminds us of old Swanson’s pork TV dinners. Comfort food for some.
Pork Flavored Ramen ($7.95) with roasted pork, green onions, kikurage mushrooms. Add some Corn ($1) to round it out. Another fairly low cost meal. I prefer pork flavored broth to the other ones, but this is a matter of taste.
OK:
None
Pans:
Grilled Whole Squid ($7.50) is simple and tasty. Sometimes it is grilled too long and takes like charcoal.
Grilled Chicken wings ($4.75) are just too charcoal grilled flavored to be good. Also there isn’t much meat. Grilled corn is the same.
The draw is the ramen. It is unusual that this home made ramen does not contain eggs. The service is ok. It takes about 30 minutes to get your ramen, once you order. Santa Ramen is not a place where you linger. Be warned that they start running out of broths around 830pm, so do not come too late. Most people are out in 45 minutes, as the people in line ‘pressure’ you to leave. 90% of the people in this restaurant are of Asian descent.
An other arguably better option is Ramen Halu in San Jose. eat.tanspace.com has a ranking of San Francisco Bay Area Ramen places, ranking Halu #1, Santa Ramen #6.
September 2009 update: Quality and pricing is the same. Lines are shorter due to economy. On a Sunday, we did not have to wait to sit down at opening time.
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Overall Rating: 
(Good)
Come Back? 
| Food Rating: | (Good) |
| Service Rating: | (Good) |
| Atmosphere Rating: |  (Above Average) |
| Value Rating: | (Good) |
Guide: 0 = poor, 1 = Fair/Average, 2 = Good, 2.5 = Very Good, 3 = Excellent , 4 = Extraordinary
| Alcohol: | Beer, Wine, Sake |
| Attire: | Casual |
| Hours: | M,W-Sun 1130am-2pm. M,W-Sun 530-9:30pm. |
| Parking: | Lot |
| Reservations: | No |
| Prices: | $7.95 |
Related posts:
- Ramen HALU Review, San Jose
- Ramen Club Restaurant Review, Burlingame
- Himawari Restaurant Review, San Mateo
- Noodle Theory Restaurant Review, San Francisco
- Maru Ichi Restaurant Review, Mountain View
Filed under: $, 2 stars, California, Dine Again?, Go Again, Japanese Restaurant, Restaurant Cost, Restaurant Cuisine, Restaurant Location, Restaurant Rating, Restaurant Review, San Francisco Peninsula, United States | Tags: Dinner, Foodie Must, Lunch, Noodles, Ramen, San Mateo, Stewed Pork
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4 Responses to “Santa Ramen Restaurant Review, San Mateo”
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September 23rd, 2008 at 12:14 pm
[...] you, the best time to visit would be during lunch. You’ll get a lot of bang for the buck. Santa Ramen is the place to go if you want top notch [...]
June 29th, 2009 at 12:01 am
[...] this place but warn that many items are on the spicy side. Compared to noodle legends like Santa Ramen in San Mateo, the broth, meat, and noodles are not on the authentic side. This environment is far [...]
September 18th, 2009 at 12:04 am
[...] block down here has a Japanese restaurant. Their chief rival a couple miles away is the legendary Santa Ramen. They have a broader menu than Santa Ramen, with Rice Bowls, lots of appetizers, and many ramen [...]
September 27th, 2009 at 12:05 am
[...] wakame and seasonal greens was a solid bowl of ramen. The broth and noodles do not hold a candle to Santa Ramen, but they hit the spot for a quick meal. It was garnished with menma and spring [...]