Ramen Tomo

We took an über to this spot and had our hearts shattered. Literally best ramen my boyfriend and I ever had. Vegetarian ramen extra spicy will forever have a place in my heart. Goodbye ramen tomo :(

Had this place deliver two times this week. Each time the Ramen was just damn good, hit the spot every time.

Ordered delivery. It took them over two hours to get it to us, even though we were less than half a mile away. Got order wrong, sent an unrecognizable weird cold deep fried mush roll instead of a straightforward spicy tuna roll. Tempura was good, but the sauce was strange, sweet and a bit thick? Tempura crunch roll was doused in the same sweet sauce, mushy and strange. Not a fan…

Totally solid place. I can’t speak for their sushi, but I had a bowl of veggie ramen and it was delicious. It came with a small delicious salad prior to the ramen, dressed in maybe rice vinegar. My ramen was misunderstood (order miso for the broth of the veggie one, the others may not be vegetarian and are at least misunderstood as other menu options.) but was replaced quickly by the right one, and I was happily surprised to find it topped by tempura tofu. The tofu should’ve been seasoned (or at least salted) beneath the tempura coating, but the rest of the ramen components were delicious and perfectly prepared. The large portion sizes was a great surprise, as was a complimentary tempura Oreos for each person at our table. I’m interested in trying their sushi and making use of the delivery option in the future!

Really kind waitress, great bowls of ramen. They got our order mixed up at first but were quick to bring us the right ramen. Each ramen came with a fresh salad and we got complimentary tempura Oreos at the end of the meal. Definitely plan on returning!

Came here the other day because I was craving ramen and I drive by this place everyday. The service was friendly and they were super nice about making changes to the menu for me (sorry for being that customer). I got traditional ramen and it was delicious. Perfect amount of everything really. I’d probably give this place 5 stars, but I want to check this place out a couple more times.

Been here a couple times and everytime I’m reminded that this is very mediocre ramen. Not great, not the worst, but definitely doesn’t hit the spot when I have a craving. The noodles cooked way too long, and no soft boiled egg either. Probably won’t come back anymore, sorry.

Save yourself and run for the hills! I ordered this on Grubhub late one night. Not only did it take nearly 2 hours to arrive but it might have been the worst food to ever touch my mouth. I took a bite of each item and although starving couldn’t even consume it. Don’t say I didn’t warn you!

I used to be a regular here my part time hours were kind of weird and it was just a great place to get some late night Japanese for any occasion if you have any cravings the servers are nice and it’s not a very noisy place late at night. I love it here!

Came here last night on 4^th of July before heading to the Emeryville Marina for fireworks.
When it comes to Ramen, I’m willing to try anywhere, but my standards are pretty high, thanks to one little ramen place in San Mateo, so for me to give another ramen place 4-​stars says something.
Not a lot of people dining, so we were able to sit as soon as we walked in. Service was friendly, I think she may have been the owner.
Went with the Miso ramen and a spicy tuna hand-​roll. While we were waiting, got a nice little salad. The dressing was amazing — I even drank the rest like it was soup. Asked what it was: Ginger, apple, sugar and vinegar — a nice mix of sweetness and acidity.
The spicy scallop hand-​roll also didn’t disappoint.
Ramen and hand-​roll finally came. YUM, broth has that nice semi thick consistency, the pork slices were delicious, the hard boiled egg cooked just right with the yolk semi soft. Hand-​roll was equally as delicious. Just the right amount of spice, with a generous helping of tuna (seemed bigger than normal hand-​rolls)
friendly service, good food, good prices. Looking for a quick place for a good meal, come here!

I must admit that service here has been spotty from time to time… they’ve even been closed unexpectedly during two of our attempts to eat here, and they’ve hired questionable wait staff that didn’t last very long, but we still love this place. We’ve had about ¹⁄₃ weird service and ²⁄₃ excellent service. They’ve changed management at least once here. Their broth has definitely improved a lot since my first review (they were under different management back then).
Their menu is changing a lot too; up until a few months ago they had chicken wings, among different fried appetizers. They’ve since discontinued those, but have expanded their sushi rolls menu!
My husband and I frequent this place about every 1 – 2 months. Even though their menu is always changing, one thing that has stayed is the Tomo ramen — my favorite and most recommended: D

It’s under new management. They are open much later than before. I had the Shoyu ramen this time. The broth is very clean. There isn’t a lot of variety to the toppings so it keeps the entire flavour very one dimensional. My only complaint was there was too much bean sprouts. It made the broth taste so «sprout!» j/​k Next time I’m going for the tonkatsu ramen and see if it’s better than the shoyu.
It’s a good bargain though overall if you get the additional tonkatsu side meat dish along with your ramen. It’s like $ 3 more but the tonkatsu is huge for that price. The chicken side with ramen isn’t just grilled but seasoned tastily.
I’m going back!

BEWARE!!!
Ordered food for delivery @ 10:11pm. Got
confirmation email food would be delivered between 11:10−1120pm. Called the restaurant @ 11:30pm to be told wait 20 more minutes and it will be there. Waited 30 minutes & still no food so called again and they just aren’t answering their phone. Not ok on any level. Two and a half hours later and I’m ordering papa john’s because I honestly have no idea what is going on because I CAN’T GET AHOLD OF THE BUSINESS!!!
Not ok! Do not order from them unless you feel like POSSIBLY NEVER RECEIVING YOUR FOOD. Ever.

Ordered delivery from here after a long day of moving.
Got about $ 40 worth of food, ramen sounded so good!
Got a call about a little over an hour after placing my order from a guy with broken english saying the driver has been driving around lost.
confirmed my address, finally got food after another 35 mins, ramen noodles hardened in its container already and the boiled gyozas turned a bit mushy. Fried gyozas were fine.
BUT was missing my order of California roll. So, so, so disappointing.
Called them and the guy said sorry but didn’t really offer anything else…
Overall, really poorly run establishment with normal food (neither exciting and neither terrible).
Come on guys, just get it together!

It may be hard to resist that ramen craving but seriously don’t come here even if it’s the closest ramen place around. The service is absolutely terrible and the food takes forever.
40+ minutes and the place isn’t even half full.
We ordered hot tea and it tasted like water. Another friend asked for hot water and the waitress said it’ll take a long time to brew hot water so she suggested to order something else. Makes me question how she gave us hot tea.
The food isn’t good enough for the wait to be worth it.

WTF.
Literally, the worst bowl of ramen I’ve ever had in my life.
The menu description should read «Bland ramen with thin broth, underseasoned tonkatsu, and cold egg. $ 11.»

After reading reviews I hung outside this place for a bit deciding if I wanted to eat now or walk to another ramen spot. This place was open and on my way home so I went in. It’s a brightly lit spot with some Asian television on a flat screen and a semi-​open kitchen. About half the tables were occupied but I did not have to wait for service.
I got a tofu dish and some veggie ramen. As some of the other reviews indicate, it’s good just not great. There’s really nothing to complain about, but nothing to really recommend here. If you’re passing by, hungry, and want ramen it was decent food. The staff is nice too.

Ramen Tomo is a ramen noodle restaurant in Oakland’s Korean-​centric Temescal neighborhood. This place serves up OK ramen. I can see why some people, particularly ramenphiles, don’t like the ramen here. In almost any other American city, Ramen Tomo would probably get 4 out of 5 stars. Unfortunately, in the ramen-​rich Bay Area, Tomo’s ramen probably rates closer to 2 out of 5 stars. Overall, I give the restaurant 2.5 stars rounded up to 3. The ramen is average and the service is great.
Tomo is a Korean-​owned and operated Japanese ramen restaurant. There’s a Korean-​owned and operated Vietnamese phở restaurant across the street. The best ramen restaurants in my hometown of Atlanta (Umaido and Raku) are Korean-​owned and operated. Tomo looks relatively new, especially when compared to some of the neighboring Korean restaurants. The restaurant labels itself as an izakaya (Japanese bar serving food), but it doesn’t feel like one. More like a casual, almost Americanized, Asian restaurant.
The restaurant atmosphere is laid back. There’s a sushi bar in the rear (they serve hardly any sushi here), which I don’t think many people sit at. Everyone sits at the tables. The tables are small and movable so this is a good place for groups since it’s easy to rearrange tables. Part of the kitchen is open. You can see Tomo’s two giant pots of boiling ramen broth. All ramen orders are cooked fresh to order in these pots. Japanese TV shows are broadcast on the wall and some of the latest K-​pop (Korean pop music) hits play over the speakers.
The menu has 9 kinds of ramen. They are:
Tomo (tonkotsu) ramen — pork bone based broth
Shoyu ramen — soy sauce based broth
Shio ramen — salt based broth
Tomo no tan tan ramen — spicy broth
Butter corn ramen — butter based broth
Miso ramen — miso based broth
Wonton ramen — another butter based broth
Vegetarian ramen — sesame sauce based broth
Most ramen orders come with a soft boiled egg, chashu pork (slices of roast pork), green onion, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, sesame seed, and seaweed (both nori and wakame varieties). Other ingredients may include fish cake, spinach, bean sprouts, Tokyo leek (another type of green onion), and bok choy.
Most of the ramen are reasonably priced at about $ 9 per bowl. Portion sizes are generous. One bowl will fill you up.
I have tried the Tomo (tonkotsu), shoyu, and shio ramen. I think the tonkotsu and shoyu are OK. I’m not a fan of the shio ramen. The broth isn’t as appetizing. The tonkotsu has a somewhat milky, creamy looking broth. It is relatively richer and more full-​flavored than the other broths offered. The shoyu ramen has a lighter broth, but it seems almost as tasty. I’m interested in the butter corn ramen and will probably try that on my next visit if I ever return.
Generally, as far as the ramen goes, the noodles, broth, and ingredients are a noticeable step below in taste and quality when compared to many of the Japanese ramen places I’ve tried in San Francisco such as Izakaya Sozai, Tanpopo, etc. It simply doesn’t taste as good. Some glaring examples are the noodles, pork, and some of the veggies. The pork tastes more like Chinese-​prepared roast pork than Japanese pork.
The rest of the menu has izakaya-​like items such as rice bowls, skewers (including chicken gizzards, sea snails, squid, quail egg, oysters, shiitake and enoki mushrooms), salads, karaage (Japanese fried chicken), agedashi tofu (marinated deep-​fried tofu), edamame (soy beans), gyoza (potstickers), takoyaki (fried octopus balls), etc. When it comes to true izakaya style dining, Tomo’s menu is basic.
I do recommend small dishes to share like the karaage, agedashi tofu, and takoyaki. It’s hard to go wrong with the karaage. Who can turn down tasty, crispy, boneless fried chicken? It comes topped with chopped green onion and served with a side of Japanese mayo-​based sauce. Good stuff.
Service is excellent. The servers are kind and attentive.
In the end, I think Ramen Tomo works in a pinch, but there are many better ramen restaurants in the Bay Area.

Someday I’ll make it to the much-​publicized Ramen Shop further down on College Avenue, but I’m usually in Oakland in the early afternoon on Saturdays and not when they’re open after 5PM. There are competitors popping up in the vicinity like the new ramen menu at Rikyu (review:
) and this new Korean-​owned shop that opened on Telegraph Avenue across from Sahn Maru and the Casserole House. Jamie W. and I came here on a whim on our way back from a party we attended in the Oakland Hills. I had never heard of it and thought we could take the chance since I had been hankering for some ramen all day.
I went for the version that would have inspired Paula Deen before her kamikaze career move on the Today Show, the $ 8.80 Butter Corn Ramen (photo:
). It was actually pretty decent if not very authentically Japanese. It came with chashu pork slices, a halved hard-​boiled egg, and plenty of bean sprouts and nori. There were at least two pats of butter dissipating gradually in the tonkatsu broth, and it’s probably a decadence that shouldn’t turn into a habit. Jamie got the $ 5 pair of Yaki Onigiri with Kimchi and Bacon which wasn’t as lowbrow as it sounded (photo:
). It had a nice salty flavor even thought the rice was too abundant in portion.
FOOD — 3 stars… diner-​style ramen bowls and onigiri rolls
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… nothing all that special
SERVICE — 3.5 stars… friendly though a bit preoccupied with the rest of the staff
TOTAL — 3 stars… not all that distinctive, but they serve butter corn ramen if you need some comfort food

Ramen Tomo is Korean owned and operated and takes the space next to Koryo Jja Jang on the Telegraph Ave side. Apparently its a Ramenya by day and Izakaya by night (
). In addition to ramen, the daytime menu has sashimi, salads, and a long appetizer list including takoyaki and a French Fry Okonomiyaki.
They have four pictured ramens (Tomo (tonkotsu), Shoyu, Shio, and Tomo no Tan Tan (spicy) along with 4 others listed (Miso, Butter Corn, Wontan, and Vege). I went with the namesake Tomo Ramen ($ 9, Tonkotsu base, soft boiled & seasoned egg, pork, green onion, bamboo shoot, mushroom, sesame seeds, nori seaweed)
A basic salad comes out first (the Kirin is extra
)
The bowl had a messy presentation with most topping submerged including the formerly crispy square of nori which is the dark stuff at the top (
). The seasoned egg is whole and there was spinach instead of the menu listed woodear mushrooms.
When they deliver the bowl they have a garlic press and a container of raw garlic cloves and they offer to crush raw garlic into the broth which I did (
).
The raw garlic flavor dominated the broth so be prepared for that if you choose that option. The broth itself was not very porky and had strong bamboo shoot flavor. I didn’t mind it as a soup base, but it wasn’t a very good tonkotsu. The wavy noodles were cooked al dente, but had several clumps of stuck together noodles (
).
The egg was medium boiled with a soft yolk (
) and little flavor from the seasoning; still a step up from Santouka’s overboiled examples. The best part of the bowl was the pork with maybe four 3 – 4 inch rounds; it had a sweet marinade and was super tender.
Not sure if it’s an Grand Opening Special, but the Kirin on tap was $ 2.50, not the $ 5 listed on the menu.
The delicious pork and friendly service are keeping this at 3 stars.