Santa Ramen is a very popular Japanese noodle Ramen restaurant in San Mateo. Located in a small shopping mall with a Fresh Choice and JoAnn’s, the restaurant has achieved a legendary cult following and long lines at both dinner and lunch times. We have eaten here many times with our last visit in April 2013.

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Why did we dine here? – Orenchi is a very popular Japanese Noodle House that has been on our hit list for a while. They are a sister restuarant to Sumika in Los Gatos. The broth that they use is cooked for a minimum of 18 hours. It is made with organic chicken, Canadian black pork, and filtered water. There is a line much of the time. We had to wait approximately 45 minutes for a Saturday night dinner. They close up when they run out of broth, which happened about 8:30pm on this particular evening.

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Why did we dine here? – Ramen Parlor is the third location in San Mateo from the legendary Santa Ramen folks. It is located one block from the original Santa Ramen, which now houses the very popular spicy ramen oriented Ramen Dojo. All three are owned by the same person.
This restaurant uses the same noodles as Santa Ramen but adds some lobster oil as well other toppings. In the evening, they have additional items on the Ramen Parlor menu including skewers. We have been here for both lunch and dinner with our last visit was in the spring of 2013.

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Ramen Dojo recently opened in San Mateo at legendary Santa Ramen’s original location, no doubt hoping to capture some of its good karma. In fact it’s owned by the same people. They focus on spicy ramen, specifically Sutamina Ramen (aka Stamina Ramen) that is served in a couple restaurants.

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Ramen Santouka is a legendary noodle shop located inside the Mitswa supermarket in San Jose just off Highway 280′s Saratoga exit. They have locations in many different cities around the world including Los Angeles. Read the rest of this entry »

Himawari is a Japanese Ramen Noodle house located in downtown San Mateo. Every block down here has a Japanese restaurant. Their chief rival, a couple miles away, is the legendary Santa Ramen along with its sister Ramen restaurants. They have a broader menu than Santa Ramen, with Rice Bowls, lots of appetizers, and many ramen options. We came on hot day and noted no air conditioning, just ceiling fans cranked up. Last visit October 2012. Read the rest of this entry »

Maru ichi is a Japanese Noodle restaurant on Castro street in Mountain View. With so many restaurants nearby, this place stands out. Read the rest of this entry »

Ramen HALU is a popular Japanese noodle house in a strip mall off 280 in San Jose.  There is wait here most times, but not as crazy as well known Santa Ramen in San Mateo.   The main draw is the tasty ramen noodles in four different styles but just one broth.  This is in contrast to Santa Ramen that has one type of noodle, and 3 types of broth.  There is a limited selection of salads and appetizers. If you are not into noodles, avoid this place. Read the rest of this entry »