Tokyo Ramen

All you need to know is go here if you ever crave ox tail soup, they make the best ramen ox tail noodle soup. (pork bone broth please) The service and ambiance is very chill, more like a mom and pop joint. The sushi is pretty good, but i had better. But hand down the noodle is main attraction here. Good price on beers, $ 12 dollar pitcher for draft Sapporo. Very good lunch special, I think with an extra side for a roll is only 3 buck more.
There is parking in the back but very tight, I prefer to park on the street.
FYI Make sure you call and ask them if OX tail soup is available, because they do run out.
You can even ask them to save it for you as well.

Both ramen and sushi are good. Ramen broth you can tell they did not do short cut. Especially the nigiri sushi, much to my surprise, they use very fresh ingredient .The tuna maguro that I ordered is in pinkish rosy color, so this tells you it has not been frozen for long. The price is very affordable compare to the surrounding Japanese restaurants. A 20 something dollars or less will feed you and your mate in full.

You know when everything is misspelled on their menu that it has got to be good and authentic. Although it may be on a busy street, the place is so small that it is easy to miss. Apparently, there is parking in the back but perhaps I may check that out next time. I just parked on the street. Also, I would suggest calling ahead just to make sure that they are open as their posted hours are sporadic.
Anyhow, the interior made me feel like I was in Japan in some traditional ramen eatery. I loved the fact it was really laid back. I ordered the Tonkotsu ramen. It was really good. It came in a really large Japanese bowl along with that traditional half cooked egg. The only thing that really could be better about this place is the service. It took a little while to get my drink and check, but I suppose it is understandable because there was only one server at the time.

Contrary to some reviews, they do take credit cards. Now onto the review. As many of you know, ramen places pop up overnight in the SGV but most aficionados go to Shen Sen Gumi or head into Little Tokyo. I’m not sure when Tokyo Ramen started but I saw it a few months ago and made a mental bookmark to try.
This place is a ramen house with a sushi bar but nobody’s at the bar so I’m wondering if they even use it.
I had the Tonkotsu that came out piping hot. the way it should be. Broth was flavorful and above average. I like the side dishes for 2.50 a plate. There are maki rolls and other things which make it a nice affordable meal. There’s not pretentiousness here. just decent ramen and really bad spelling on the menu and signage.
I’ll be back.

The hottie wanted to come here since one of her friends recommended this joint. Its south of Garvey in a not so crowded area. When we walked in it was kinda dark. Not a ramen house. There is a sushi bar so its more like a regular Japanese restaurant. I ordered an ox tail ramen with a spicy tuna roll. The roll tasted like it was left in the fridge. The rice was a bit stiff and the tuna did not taste fresh. There was nothing wrong with the ramen but the broth was just not that tasty. The ox tail was not melt in your mouth, meat fall off the bone tender. It was a bit tough.
The hottie ordered a spicy miso ramen and a curry bowl. Her review of her ramen pretty much matched mine. Nothing wrong with it but not particulary tasty.
Overall, its okay but there are so many better ramen joints out there.

went back again today. Had the Aji, spicy albacore roll and Chocolate cheesecake.
Both were awesome.

Great Japanese Ramen!
Very friendly waitress. Sushi special for $ 2.50 when ya order a soup!
Fresh and sushi chef prepares for you at the sushi bar. Lits of parking in the back. Very comfy booths and TV. Can’t wait to go back!

At first the waitress was nice, then I sent back my order with an apology because it had pork and I wanted no meat. My boyfriend could see the cook from his seat, as he scooped out the meat and sent it back. I told the waitress that I wanted one that was vegetarian (cross contamination is something I care about and avoid). I’m a nice person and asked politely. She immediately gave me attitude and never spoke to us again while we ate. She checked every other table and sweetly asked how they were doing while ignoring us. Talk about shitty customer service! And the food wasn’t even good. Never coming back here again.

I would say Tonkotsu ramen and Curry ramen are pretty good.
What I like this restaurant is there are Good SUSHI with very affordable price!
Also dessert… I usually don’t cake after dinner but I do here. You know what?
The owner chef makes not only Ramen and Sushi but Cakes!!!
Sushi is good, Hot sake is only $ 4, desert is yummy.
One thing I would say, if there are more appetizer that would be good.
Other than that nothing to say. Going Tokyo Ramen couple of times in a month… why not?

Dude, ramen is supposed to be salty! so stop complaining and enjoy the flavors!
this is a nice addition to japanese food in Monterey Park. I think by the name and the popularity of ramen in LA, people assume it’s just a ramen shop but they also have a variety of food, especially sushi and combinations with ramen.
THEY DO ACCEPT CREDIT CARDS!
i love the prices of the sushi! it’s quite affordable so i don’t feel that i have to choose between ramen and sushi, but rather can get both.
As for their ramen, their specialty is the OXTAIL RAMEN. as with ramen restaurants in general, you should get their specialty ramen. so when you come here, get the OXTAIL RAMEN! it’s amazing — and oxtail is a special thing as it takes a lot of time to prepare. i just love oxtail and how it falls off the bone in the broth!!! YUM!
then for dessert– get the cheesecake!

Going out to fulfill a craving and finding out Daikokuya was closed for the day, we decided to try this place out. It was okay. This is not a dedicated Ramen restaurant. They had sushi and other things on the menu.
Now to get to the ramen. Its was good. But the Soy soup base was a light soup. Not thick nor had a lot of fat content for that flavor you look for. But once you add the chili oil, then you start to get a sense of its potential. Definitely not a hakata style ramen, it does have its own qualities and for that I will say it was good.
The Pork soup base on the other hand was definitely on the salty side. Not much to say other than that.
The miso has the flavor but doesn’t have the consistency that other ramen places have with the soup base being a little thicker and milkier as I like to call it.
Bottom line — this place was good. But would I come back? No, not really.

I gotta preface this, the waitress who did the spilling, emailed me a few nasty emails saying i was a lying drama queen… look at my photo, SHE WORKS THERE ! and look at the second photo, she gave her own «work place» good tips/​reviews… and in fact, i am going to call right now to let her Manager know how unprofessional this girl is ! I blocked her so i did not save the emails…
The truth is, the food was not bad at all, i liked it, but what really got me/​us is the fact that the waitress lady spilled two whole cups of iced water all over me. (then emailed me on Unilocal to tell me i am a liar) LOL
Really are you that clumsy ?
I shan’t be returning, that was completely annoying and we weren’t even offered a free dessert or a % of our bill to get taken off.
gotta take care of your customers, especially when your business just recently opened up. she was cleaning the floor rather than get me a towel b/​c all my clothes were wet, even the seat…
Oh and read the review by S. P, she almost spilled the drinks on them. (see i’m not lying, other people have witnessed this)
Can this girl please get some training !!! obviously she is a repeat offender.
P.S, someone either the waitress, employee or friend of someone who works here privately messaged me to say I was lying in this review, .and to stop being dramatic… no one was there when we were so must have been waitress or other staff.
I reported them to Unilocal,that is annoying ! and they didn’t even have any reviews, sounds like a fake account made up to me.
I should have recorded the whole incident… there literally was water dripping off the table… and YES the water spilled all over my shirt, my pants, down my legs. I am not being overly dramatic, it is the truth !
and of course i didn’t make a big deal at the restaurant, i said it was funny (duh i wanted the waitress to go away and for someone in my party to stop tripping) ‚
what i typically do is come here on Unilocal to report my findings, i don’t like in person confrontations. THE END.

Would get 4 stars but omg it’s so salty! Tokyo ramen just opened not too long ago, and my friend recommended it – so I thought I’d give it a shot. I got the tonkatsu ramen, and my friends got the ox tail and the shoyu ramen. All of them were really tasty. The noodles are more on the al dente side, which I really like! We also got california rolls, which were a good deal for being only 3 bucks (although they weren’t the best tasting — but I think its because of the rice, which is a bit too plain). The service is good. I’ll probably be back but I’ll also be ready to guzzle down tons of water!
I just realized some of my ramen reviews talk about places being too salty. As some background, I’m the kind of person who will dump at least 1 full packet of salt on my fries after they’ve already been salted. So I’m NOT especially sensitive to salt, and I love it! So that goes to show that when I think something is super salty and makes me really thirsty… it’s REALLY salty.

Shoyu Ramen isn’t my usual choice but since my mamma-​san said that in Tokyo they are known for their Shoyu Ramen, I thought I’d give it a try. To be exact, I ordered the Ox Tail Shoyu Ramen. I first tried the broth, it was O.K. but I immediately wished that I had ordered it spicy. No worries, I added some chili powder & chili oil & it was more to my liking. The noodles, I must say, were really good. They were firm or al dente for lack of a better Japanese term. We also ordered Gyoza. These were a little too burnt on the bottom. I like them crispy but not burnt. The filling needed a little more seasoning (maybe nira or garlic). To be fair, my mom makes tasty gyoza at home so I’m a tough critic. My husband ordered the Curry Ramen. Note to self, do not wear a White T-​shirt when going to eat Curry Ramen. He said that the broth was a little salty but also liked the noodles. I didn’t try the broth because my hubby has a cold & I didn’t want to catch it but I trust him. My mom makes Beef Curry Rice so he knows his curry.
The wait staff was very attentive and really wanted to know how we liked everything. They just opened so I’m sure they are eager to please everyone. I think they’ll get better over time.
Bottom line, it’s close to home & we like to support our local businesses.

This is one of only two Japanese-​owned ramen restaurants in Monterey Park that I know of. The other being Daikokuya down the street. And I just have to put it out there. Just because you’re Japanese… it doesn’t mean the Japanese food you serve is automatically delicious.
The ramen here is just not very good. I came here with my family and we each ordered something different to try out. We got the miso ramen, tonkotsu (pork bone) ramen, kara miso (spicy miso) ramen, and shoyu (soy sauce) ramen. Oddly enough, they don’t have shio (salt-​based) ramen. My verdict is that they REALLY need to work on the broth.
Trust me, this is coming from a person who have lived in Japan for a time and have eaten Hakata (Kyushu, the southern most island of the four main Japanese islands) ramen, Sapporo ramen (which is bomb! And in Hokkaido, the northernmost island of the four main islands), Kansai region (Kyoto and Osaka area) ramen, and Kanto region (Tokyo area) ramen.
The noodles itself were alright… not too soft, a bit on the hard side, but still tender nevertheless. The chashu was okay too. It wasn’t awesomely delicious like the kinds that melt in your mouth. Bamboo shoots? Not the greatest quality. Had a strong bamboo taste. I like bamboo, so that’s okay for me.
What really got me disappointed is the soup. From what I know in ramen culture, drinking all the soup after eating indicates that the ramen was awesome. Lets say that I didn’t drink the soup.
Since this place is called Tokyo Ramen, I only reviewed the ramen aspect.
The small unagi (eel) don that I got on the side was disappointing, but that’s a whole another story.
Word to the owner and chefs, if you want to improve, work on your soup.
Perhaps watch the 1985 Japanese movie, Tampopo, for some (comedic) inspiration?

Cash only. So go stop by the ATM before coming here if you’re like me and never have cash on you.
I ordered the tonkotsu ramen and the waitress upsold me to the ox-​tail tonkotsu ramen which was $ 2 more. I kind of feel like I got peer pressured into it but I went with it and no complaints. It was pretty good!
I’m taking off a star because they seemed to rush me through my meal. It makes me grouchy when they come by with the check when I am still eating. I mean really. It was 2:30pm and the place was kind of empty.

As Christy H. stated in her review she’s not quite as much a ramen fan as myself, but I’m working on her.
Disclaimer: If you have tried daikokuya and like it, then don’t bother reading this, that place pales in comparison.
On to the review, this place is cash only, which is typical MPK style. The owners are in fact Japanese, which is reassuring. The quaint interior is traditional with touches of contemporary design. The service was as expected friendly and courteous. We ordered a side of spicy tuna rolls which was good, but as my wife said nothing special. But the ramen… let me tell you, it was prepared al dente and met my palette with glee. The ability to add spice as one seems fit is a nice touch too. The typical garnishes accompanied the noodles, the bamboo shoots, bean sprouts and boiled egg. The broth had great flavor and the portion surprised even myself. The pricing wasn’t over the top and I have a new ramen place to call my own, I’m a happy camper.
As a side note, there were a lot of b-​ballers at this place or I missed the memo to wear my b-​ball shorts and sleeveless shirts… was there a J-​league tourney going on on a Wednesday evening that I didn’t know about… just plain weird.

3.5 Stars
I actually liked the broth and the chashu. Chashu was yummy. I am not a fan of yellow noodle. I prefer white fresh noodle. The service was AOK. I was not a fan of the décor. I did not care for the spoon bird lamp or to be surrounded by pillows, but I did like my soup. I might come back here if I am in the area and craving ramen.
Plenty of parking in the back.

A new ramen shop in Monterey Park.
Ordered tonkotsu ramen and it was just okay.
Tonkotsu ramen ($ 7.50): yellow curly noodle with seaweeds, bamboo shoots and few slices of char siu.
The broth reminds me of instant noodle (in a good way) but it’s a tad salty. I am not talking about Maruchan or Cup O’ Noodle, but the real instant noodles from Southeast Asia.
The char siu slices were tender and hanjuku tamago was not bad.
I don’t like to sit with decorative pillows because the seat itself is not that big.
3.5 stars!
Cash only.
Tokyo ramen is almost yummylicious!

Tokyo Ramen took over the spot of a full service Japanese restaurant that has been in the neighborhood for years. Although the sushi bar is no longer used, they do serve up a variety of dishes aside from the ramen noodle soups they offer, which include miso, chicken, curry, tonkatsu, and chasu ramen. Interestingly, if you order the chicken or chasu ramen, you are able to choose either a miso stock (vegetarian?) or the pork stock. The ramen is priced between $ 7.50 to $ 9.50. Since I was in the mood solely for ramen, I did not take the time out to check out the rest of the menu.
I ordered the chicken kara-​age (simply written as Fried Chicken on the menu under Appetizers), and it was good. Portion size was generous, crispy and not very greasy at all. I ordered the chasu ramen which came in a large bowl with at least 5 thin slices of chashu (pork), ½ boiled soy egg, diced scallions, salty pickle ginger, pickles, raw bean sprouts, sesame seeds. The broth was lighter in color than Daikokuya and Ramen Jinya, and although it was hearty, it was not too salty or overwhelming. The ramen was cooked nicely al dente. It was a good bowl of ramen.
Though impressed with the food, the wait staff is not. They’re still in the midst of hiring more wait staff members, and the young lady who waited on me is new and inexperienced. She is polite, and an owner (I presume) and her are quick to refill water glasses before being asked. In addition, the same owner came by each table to check on the customers, which is always a nice touch.
The main reason why gave Tokyo Ramen 4 stars even though I experienced this problem: I paid my bill ($ 14.95) in cash, with a $ 20 bill. My waitress brings back $ 3.73 as my change. I’m wonder, huh? So I called her back and inquired about the incorrect change given to me. I told her my bill was $ 14.95 and that I gave her a $ 20, which meant that my change should have been $ 5.05. She said, yes, $ 14.95 plus tax. I went over the price for each dish (2) I ordered and told her my total is $ 13.75 plus tax is then $ 14.95. She takes the change back and confers with one of the owners and then comes back with the right change, apologizing for the error, saying it was her first day. In addition, the owner came by to apologize as well. Apology accepted, but it’s frightful to know that my waitress didn’t know how to give change!
4 Stars as I am giving them the benefit of the doubt and hoping that they succeed because so far, the food is good.