Santouka Ramen

We love the spicy miso ramen here. We have been coming for years and we are hooked! This is one of the places we go to get our ramen fix.
The broth is lovely (sometimes its on the greasy side, but not too much. Mostly depends on the day i guess). I do miss the thin sliced pork that used to be given out before, now a days they serve cubed and/​or sliced pork over ramen (delicious either way).
We usually get the ‘set’ option which comes with a hard boiled egg and rice with chasiu pork. The green onion or the salmon over rice is a good option too.
Few things to know:
— cash only
— no take out
— finding a place to sit and eat can be hard sometimes
— place closes at 8:30pm

Living in Central Jersey, there is not much authentic ramen around me. I have been going to Santouka Ramen (Mitsuwa Marketplace) for several years now and I have to say each time I go and get the ramen I always leave satisfied. Typically, I order the combo that includes Miso or Soy Sauce Ramen with a bowl of Charsiu Rice.
Note: This place only accepts cash (like the rest of the food at Mitsuwa Marketplace) and usually around eating times such as lunch and dinner the food court is full. My tip is you order and you go look for a place to sit and by the time you find a place to sit your food will be ready at the same time :)
~ Stanley

Love the Ramen here, It is tasty, and consistent. Stop for a bowl whenever we make the trip up to Mitsuwa. Usually go for the Shio Ramen. Also especially love the soy sauce eggs. Usually take a few of these home to use afterwards.
Note — they do not offer takeout containers at all, so if you want to take something home like I did, bring your own container.

My favorite.
The broth of my Soy Sauce Ramen is always killer. The Melty Pork is gelatinous heaven. The soy sauce egg and the rice & pork are a delicious accompaniment if you get the combo. The price is extremely affordable considering what most up-​and-​coming ramen places are charging so go ahead & get extras to mix into your ramen. And service is quick even though they’re always busy.
My strategy: they only take cash so hit up the atm if you must before you get on line, put down a plastic bag (or one of those recycled grocery bags) to hold your table (so you’re not walking around with a tray of food & no place to sit), THEN get on line & order your food.

I like Ramen and chose this instead among the other food court restaurants. It was not the ramen you cook at home which is for me better than here.

Very good, satisfying ramen shop, better than quite a few that I have had in Japan itself, and IMO can hold its own against some of the best within Japan. Noodles have good body and texture, great soups, and the cha-​shu pork is very luscious. Broth is piping hot as it should be with a flavorful, clean taste. Our family’s favorite is the cha-​shu salt ramen (regular size) and although my girls are still youngsters, they’re able to finish the entire bowl without any help from me! I liked the addition of a pickled plum to this ramen. My wife has also had their ikura salmon roe rice bowl and liked it very much, very fresh flavor. Grab a table by the windows and enjoy a tasty bowl while enjoying the river view! Cash only. They also have a shop in Cambridge, MA, and it’s equal in quality as this Mitsuwa shopping center one.

Ordered the spicy miso ramen and it hit the spot! Pretty much any time i come to Mitsuwa, I come here to grab a ramen! Prices are good, lines can get long and they only take cash!
Ramen was spicy but wasnt super spicy, just right to me. The Broth isnt overly thick, not Totto Ramen thick, but still good.
The Charsiu isnt very thick, and is probably my only gripe. I ordered the regular, but if you are pretty hungry, you will want to get a bigger bowl.

We used to love coming here and still do, but there are forces at work that make coming here an uncomfortable experience.
Food: the spicy miso ramen is still wonderful with cha-​siu, or pork slices. I also recommend the combo with fish eggs.
Service: grab and go. The microphone is broken so listen for your number.
Décor: communal seating makes this place an undesirable place to be on weekends after 11:30 a.m. There are those from a certain part of Asia who have no manners and prove that money does not buy class. In fact, many of those who subscribe to the philosophy requiring superficial ostentatious displays of wealth may not have had a chance to obtain an education or learn even basic manners. It is a sad testament of our times that this communal seating area, which used to be such a pleasant experience, is now a nightmare. It’s not even the restaurant’s fault!
Come on a weekday.

Santouka is a great place for Ramen in NJ… i would say my second favorite… :)
This place is always crowded… so if you are here on weekend or during lunch time or dinner time… make sure you go with people so someone can go look for a seat and someone can go wait in line to order…
I always get the Special noodle spicy… they serve the meat and side separately and you can mix them in yourself when you get to your seat… Egg is extra! Price is decent compare with all the other ramen place in NJ/​NY… and portion is just right! (they do have different sizes if you want more noodle.) They also offer other size like rice with fish roe, and matto if you want to be adventurous…
then you can always walk off what you ate in the market place which offer food, alcohol, snack, household products…

Quick, simple, and delicious — what more do you want from a ramen place?
Cash-​only, Santouka is located inside of Mitsuwa Marketplace. We arrived during-​the-​week, sometime after lunch, but not quite before dinner so there was NO line. I appreciate the small-​medium-​large options. At the most basic level, ramen is simple. There is a soup, which consists of a stock and a seasoning. There are the noodles. And there are the garnishes.
At Santouka, the depth of flavor in the soup is interestingly complex. The soup is deeply flavored, the noodles are perfectly al dente and the slices of pork alternate between buttery smooth and chewy and muscular. Simple. And at $ 7 – 10 a bowl, it’s very affordable.

I ordered the B Combo, which consists in shake Ikura Rice Bowl (Grilled Salmon & Salmon Roe) with Soy Sauce Ramen.
The Salmon Roe was very fresh and delicious. Once I placed them into my mouth they melted right away and became very juicy. A wonderful feeling!
The Soy Sauce Ramen was well made and very delicious. The flavor was great. The soup broth was rich and very delicious. The broth combined with the Ramen made it a wonderful ramen. In addition, the pork from the ramen was tender and fresh. Nicely made ramen.
This place is definitely a MUST come for Ramen. They are wonderful!

Stop by any Santouka branch and you are likely to find a line. Their ramen – original miso, spicy miso, or shio – is what everyone comes for here; they also have some tasty sides that go with their combos/​sets.
Spicy Miso Ramen: The most popular ramen at Santouka. I can definitely say that it is very rich, but a little on the salty side. However, you can tell the cooks are generous with the miso paste, which is always a good thing. There was plenty of broth, which seems to be a rarity in many restaurants. The texture of the noodles is great (not soggy), while the broth remained hot while I was eating! The spiciness is just right.
We also ordered the original Miso Ramen. It’s the same thing, but it is not spicy at all. Santouka Ramen is always a good choice if you cannot decide on what you want to eat at Mitsuwa. I don’t mind getting the same thing next time.

One of the best ramen bowls I’ve had on the east coast. Located in the mitsuwa marketplace aka cluster express asian super market in north jersey.
It’s one of the places in the food court– CASH ONLY!
I got the soy sauce ramen combo with salmon roe over rice and a side of eggs. Total was around $ 14 but I also got a sprite. The line is long but it moves fast and they prep the food fast as well.
The broth is SUPER flavorful and they give you a decent amount of noodles with like 2 pieces of meat. I really like the salmon and salmon roe over rice along with the soy sauce eggs. I was pretty full after the meal and I am a greedy person when it comes to food.
They have other types of broth– spicy miso, regular miso, soy sauce miso. Next time I come back I want to try the spicy miso.

A cash only place that serves a delicious hot bowl of ramen! The broth is very rich and the portion is big.

Before all the Ramen Explosion, Santouka ramen was and always has been so popular in every Mitsuwa market.
It’s soo delicious that I rather come to NJ to have this than eating in the city.
As per my friend Kino’s Review
«Santouka Ramen is an authentic ramen chain that originated in Asahikawa, Hokkaido (Japan’s northernmost island).
The tonkotsu ramen broth (cooked over a long time with pork bones) is better than anyone’s NYC (Minca, Ippudo, etc). Santouka labels it as „shio“ (salt) though. It’s actually pork stock. Their noodles are good too, and are supposedly flown over from the motherland.»
I have ordered the Cha Sium Spicy miso ramen in a large bowl ($ 13.00) which is not bad (no need to pay tips, just need to find your own spot to eat when you get there). The broth is soo thick, so salty from the long cooking time of the pork stock and yet very simple bowl of Ramen.
Winter time is perfect to have it! But expect a long line and is CASH ONLY! (There’s a Chase ATM machine there just FYI).

We were missing Japan so what do we do, we drive to mitsuwa for some Japanese goodies.
We love santouka. I always go for the spicy miso with the melty pork and a chasu bowl. It’s delicious and it never disappoints. I just wish that instead of a hard boiled egg, they’ll serve it with soft boiled one. Then it’ll be perfect.

I’ve had a lot of ramen lately and the ramen here is so-​so.
The noodles are ok, but lacks the silkiness or lightness of fresh made noodles. Can’t be sure, but I do not think they make the noodles on site here. The miso broth lacked depth and oomph. The egg was a disappointment. It was a regular hard boiled egg, seeped in soy sauce. Come on… do the egg right please.
Overall, the experience was just one notch above instant ramen.

Seriously, don’t come to Santouka when you’re hungry. No, seriously. Don’t do it because you’ll find yourself in an awful position.
Not awful in that the food is bad, it’s actually quite delightful. But you’ll end up doing the worst thing you can do at Mitsuwa Marketplace, where Santouka is located. It’ll play out like this: «Hello, can I get the Toroniku Ramen?» «Sure, what size?» «Uhhh… (stomach rumbles) the large, please?» «Sure, what flavor? Miso, soy, salt?» «Uh… miso?» She hands you a slip and you wait until they call your number on the loudspeaker. You see it – it’s big, it’s hearty, it’s freakin’ delightful and oh gosh, they separated the ingredients too? Wonderful!
You run and try to find a table. You’ll probably have to wait a bit. But when you get it, you throw the ingredients from the plate and soak it in the broth. And the pork cheeks, oh gosh, they are just amazing. And the broth is so salty, so warm, so perfect for the 40 degree weather. Halfway through you realize, dang, you’re full. You’re literally so full but you realize that there’s so much more food to try. And what do you do? Stuff yourself or take it to go? You realize, you should have ordered a small…

CASH ONLY
For being located in a cafeteria smack dab in the middle of a busy Asian marketplace, this tiny little ramen shop is the light at the end of the tunnel. While Mitsuwa Marketplace has plenty of delicious cuisines to offer, I had to give SANTOKA* a try after my BFF Annie K. raved about it.
LOGISTICS:
1. Browse their extensive menu as you wait in line (more than likely there will be a line).
2. Order, pay, and take a number.
3. Pick up your order when your number is called.
4. Find a seat and enjoy!
I ordered #34– a regular sized spicy miso ramen with chashu pork. The broth was super flavorful! You can taste the richness of the miso and it had a nice little kick to it. The chashu pork was cooked to PERFECTION. Succulent, tender, juicy, and generously portioned. Toppings included beans sprouts, green onions, nori, and mushrooms– it all worked well together. The noodles had a great texture and the portion of the bowl was filling for me. I believe this place is decently priced and worth every penny.
A definite must when coming to Mitsuwa!

Storefront spells Santoka but the receipt spells it Santouka.
I think it’s a typo by the construction guy/​company who did the lettering and if so why not fix it or have it reflect the receipt?
Strange.
But I came here for the ramen not proper spelling.
Miso Ramen is quite good here. Not overly salty. The ramen noodles has a very nice texture and consistency.
Is it better than Ippudo or Toto Ramen? Absolutely not.
Is it better than most mall foods? Yes.
Then I ordered the Spicy Ramen. This was delicious. The spiciness was at a perfect level for me. Well balanced. The spicy ramen also came with a whole tea stained egg and a side of rice with miso and sliced scallions.
Great presentation. Very good taste.
If I visit Mitsuwa again, this is probably the only place I will revisit.
FAN.