Konjoe Tei

Until I saw the more detailed menu, I thought the pricing for a bowl of noodles seemed really off. The wall menu doesn’t list much about what you’re getting aside from the soup base and ramen so it seemed pricey at first, but it is actually on par with other ramen joints in the area.
A typical order comes with all the basic toppings you’d expect, including an egg that is actually soft boiled! Big plus for ramen shops that make the effort to do this, makes the meal so much better with a runny yolk! I ordered the shoyu ramen, the broth had some subtle differences that set it apart from the ordinary taste. It’s nice to see Konjoe Tei’s spin on this popular broth style. The pork belly here is fantastic and was really one of the highlights here. My only complaint about this was the raw white onions placed inside. That seemed really unusual to me and very out of place. The sharpness of the raw onions really didn’t set well with the rest of the ingredients. While I usually opt for the dish as the chef intended, I’d really consider requesting no white onions here. Also got to try their karaage chicken, it could use a lot of improvements. It was awfully bland, and tasted very different from traditional karaage chicken.
Overall still a pretty decent spot for ramen. While it fell short in some areas, they still do very well in others. I’ll definitely be back to try their tori coconut ramen which sounded really unique.

I don’t know why everyone knocks his ramen so, because it’s hella delicious!
You know, why it tastes different?
Here’s a place who has honest food. There is no MSG! Which is good for me. I can’t have MSG so whenever there is ramen like this, I am down.
So white onions give flavor to the broth and so does everything else that is made fresh that day to have that flavorful broth of shout goodness.
I am glad it’s back on the menu.
The pork belly is lovely. It’s charred in some places and unctuous in other places. It’s what Pork Belly should be.

Konjoe Tei is a noteworthy ramen joint in the new and trendy San Jose SoFA market (it’s essentially a mini San Pedro). I can’t speak for how busy it is on regular days, but during the Fanime con weekend it wasn’t surprising that it was popular among the otakus. And rightly so, because the food was delicious!
My friend and I shared a chicken karaage appetizer (aka fried chicken) and the chicken was cooked to perfection! For my entrée, I ordered their brothless ramen (I forget the menu name). The ramen had thick noodles and the meat was extremely tender and melts in your mouth.
It seems like they change their menu often, so you never know what they have in store. I was a bit disappointed when I came back recently and they no longer have the brothless ramen on their menu.
As for parking, you can either attempt street parking or park in one or the Downtown garages. All the restaurants in SoFA validate parking (yay!) and contrary to what one of the workers told me, the validation works for any of the SJ PARK garages, not just the one on 2^nd street.

Big fan! We always get the braised beef bowl. Always tender and tasty! They also have uni pasta which is a nice yummy treat. I’m also a high fan of the chew to their noodles.
Whenever we go to sofa we always go to konjoe

I needed to supplement the fries I got from On the Flip Side with something that was actually substantial, so I placed an order for baos at Konjoe Tei. I have been meaning to try their ramen but I am more partial to the Burger Bar at San Pedro Square so I don’t find myself here often (not to mention I am more likely geographically closer to SPSM like, 100% of the time) and wasn’t super in the mood for soup on a hot Friday night so I just went with something I knew I would enjoy.
You’ll get 2 baos here for $ 7.50 as opposed to the 3 baos you get for $ 11 at the Burger Bar, though for the difference of about $ 0.09 for one fewer bao the only altered ingredient is the sauce they put on the bun. Konjoe is consistently delicious so I’m sure when I do visit to try other items, I’ll be satisfied — I now know I can definitely skip On the Flip Side if I am ever in doubt and just head straight here.
My buns came out fast and were definitely tasty. The staff is friendly and helpful (you might recognize some familiar faces from one Konjoe or the other helping out when you visit either location) so make friends and enjoy your meal! It seems this «food court» restaurant model is really successful for the folks at Konjoe so I’ll be eager to see what they do next.

Just wandered by and was in the mood for noodles. Was intending to go to the Phở shop up the street, but for some reason wandered into the SoFA Market.
The miso noodle chicken soup and pork buns were the best I’ve ever had. If I could’ve eaten two helpings, I would have. Next time I’m in the area, I’m going back.
The Market is a cool spot. Watched the Sharks/​Pens game while enjoying a surprisingly great meal from Konjoe Tei. Full bar available and other food stands.

Pricy, small portion of food and tasteless and super oily. The noodles are chewy though, but not tasty.
I will not come back.

Ok, I really need to update my review since this ended up becoming my favorite weekly spot!
The food is experimental and different and always prepared perfectly. My favorite things are the chicken karaage appetizer and spicy coconut ramen. The ramen is just incredible, rich and savory and you’ll be thinking about it for weeks afterward.
Now, you can order at the counter and sit anywhere in SoFa. But if you buy a beer from them, you’ll need to sit at the counter. I recommend coming at an off-​time (early or late dinner/​lunch) for the best experience.
I’ve never had a bad server and they are all so friendly without being overbearing. My absolute favorite spot. Thank you Konjoe.

All the staff are super friendly!
Located in Sofa market, which is a open space for small vendors to sell food.
Plenty of seating and I love the green and eco friendly environment. Sofa Markets space has outdoor seating
Pro:
They give you a buzzer to let you know when your food is ready you can go find a table and grab yourself some complementary water that they offer.
Super fast, and loved the ramen they had! Ordered the Pork Belly Ramen. Especially when you are looking for a quick bite and in the area.
Can’t back for sure!

Located inside a small food court, this ramen place is not bad.
The staff are all young teens. The sitting area is «bar style» bar seats, which is pretty cool the way they set it up. The service is ok, a little on the slow side as it takes time a while to make the ramen. The food quality is actually pretty good – the broth tasted pretty legit, and we slurped up the ramen very quickly. The half-​boiled egg was pretty good, with the oozing core at just the right temperature. The price is what you’d expect for places around the area.
The menu is a little small though – they removed most of the ramen items, so the only ramen item is the «coconut ramen» which is odd. I wanted real ramen, so after chatting with the waitress she agreed that I should get the «Inaniwa Udon», but replace the udon with ramen. How weird – this is a ramen shop right? Shouldn’t there be more than one kind of ramen, other than just «coconut ramen»?
Anyways, a good place to try out.

This restaurant comes equipped with friendly employees, modern and comfortable chairs, and delicious ramen that is a little overpriced.
I recently stopped by during lunchtime and ordered Spicy Coconut Ramen ($ 12) and Chicken Karaage ($ 5). The ramen was packed full of flavorful ingredients such as pork belly, a soft-​boiled egg, pickled onion, mushroom, cilantro, crackling, and nori. The broth had a beautiful blend of coconut milk and some type of spicy liquid; the coconut milk cut through the spicy liquid, however, I had to keep slurping the coconut milk to cool my mouth down… …I think that’s the point with this particular dish (5 stars). While the ramen was legit, the chicken karaage was basic as… …yeah! The outer texture of the chicken was all wrong, and the wasabi mayonnaise they drizzled over the chicken was watery, and should have came in a separate dish (2.5 stars).
Due to the ramen being overpriced — as well as the basic af chicken karaage — I wanted to give this restaurant 3 stars, but I just couldn’t. The spicy coconut ramen is so damn good that anything less than 4 stars for a restaurant with a legit product and friendly employees would be unfair.
Will I eat here again? Probably. But since I live near an amazing ramen restaurant called Ramen Seas (located in Sunnyvale), I’m unlikely to rush back to Konjoe Tei right away.

My review is solely on the spicy coconut ramen. I walked in around 6 – 6:30 on a Sunday night and the place wasn’t too busy. They have maybe 10 or fewer seats around the bar, but there are tables in the area behind where they’re located. You go up to the register to order and they give you a buzzer thing that vibrates when your food is ready, so it doesn’t matter where you sit.
I ordered and the spicy coconut ramen was $ 13 with tax; I added tip on top. At first I thought I shouldn’t have later because I had to get up from my seat to get my bowl (i.e. no table service), but there’s an employee that cleans up for you when you’re done, so I’m glad I left one :)
I liked this ramen — the coconut base is creamy and it’s a unique taste. I was a little hesitant to get it, but I’m glad I did. It’s not super spicy right off the bat, but it builds as you eat it. I appreciate that there isn’t an over abundance of the spicy oil. Now for the food — that pork belly strip is off the hook! It’s a pretty decent sized strip. The crackling pieces inside as you’re eating the ramen is like a little flavor bomb when you get it in a bite. I liked the mushrooms they use too — really tender. I wish they put a while egg in though… they only put in half, but the egg is perfect with the slightly runny and chewy center. At $ 12, it’s not ridiculous and I’d go back to Konjoe Tei for it again!

tl;DR — Some hits, but also some inconsistent misses with the ramens keep this at 3 stars overall.
But you can’t go wrong the Karaage.
— — — — — –
In the SoFA Market. .. the name (SoFA, not Konjoe) makes we want to hunker down with the remote and strike an Al Bundy pose…
Anyway, on the seating /​eating bar area there are few things to spice up your bowl. .. Sriracha for your ramen? (
) and two togarashis (chili powders) to choose from ichimi (pure chili flake like Korean gochugaru) & shichimi (seven spice blend
). The menu is constantly changing with a few apps, noodle & rice bowls, and, of course, a few ramens. Ramens are in the $ 12 range.
Karaage ($ ⁵⁄₆ pcs
) is the best thing I’ve had on the menu, and I’m not just saying that because it’s one of the things that has consistently stayed on the menu! The fry is perfect with juicy, succulent thigh meat chunks with a solid batter /​crust. The wasabi mayo sauce is very subtle with light wasabi, and the chicken would be great even without the sauce.
On my first visit, I had the Paitan Coco (thick cut pork belly, cracklin, ajitama egg, shitake, corn, pickled onions
) which is one of the more creative ramens I’ve had in the bay area.
Paitan is generally a cloudy bone based broth (i.e. tonkotsu is a paitan broth), but at Konjoe it’s their name for a milky chicken bone broth. For another twist, the Paitan Coco is their take on curry ramen and was *really* rich (kotteri). .. I would have like more pickled onions to cut some richness.
To keep to the thick theme, the slightly wavy noodles were medium thickness and had good chew (
) and the thick cut of pork belly was tender and flavorful (
) Two halves of a soft boiled (but not runny) egg were decent (
)
The most recent bowl of ramen I’ve had here was Shoyu + 63 degree egg subbed for the ajitama egg (
)
This was a pretty hit or miss bowl. Lighter and thus more slurp-​able broth. Noodles were soft and overcooked. The thick slice of pork belly was, as always, excellent. The extra-​charge 63 degree egg was a fail (for me) with the whites completely not set (
) while the yolk was overcooked (for a 63 degree egg
) from being held at temp for an extended period of time.
Service has also been up and down and does not seem correlated with how busy they are.

Didn’t realize they had a rotating menu, with only one ramen with broth bowl item on the main menu today. Luckily they had Tokyo Shoyu Ramen as a special because I came specifically for ramen and wasn’t up for the Coco Ramen yet.
Order at the cashier under the sign and if eating at the bar, they’ll bring your food to you and bill you at the end of your meal. We ordered two dishes:
— Salmon Bowl ($ 13)
Liked the crispy texture on the salmon, although on the salty side.
— Tokyo Shoyu Ramen Special ($ 11 + 0.50 for another half egg)
Good bowl of ramen. Broth was on the saltier side for my taste and the pork belly was very little meat, but the egg was pretty good with a silky yolk.
Not wowed but would come back to try their other ramen bowls.

This restaurant is in the developing food court of the newly branded SoFA district, which is conveniently called SoFA market.
Food is quite interesting for Japanese. My sister ordered the Spicy Abura Soba (Abura means no broth), which was spicier than I expected. It was an interesting flavor, but I wouldn’t personally order it again. The Karaage was your typical fare, but I really liked the sauce that drizzled on top.
Now the Udon Pasta, which is basically Salmon Udon Alfredo… That was the bomb diggity. Lots of salmon roe included. I love me some Alfredo.
A little slow on really busy days. They can also bump down the price a little, by a dollar or two. I would go to this spot again, and I’ll probably go before it closes at night for minimum wait.

This location reminds me of Anaheim packing district. I had the coconut ramen– this was really unique and a different flavor of ramen I’ve ever had. The broth was rich. Coconut was not overpowering.
My cousin had udon pasta. It was very thick… After a while, feels like you are just eating sauce. I’d put less sauce on this dish for sure. However, the flavor was good. The eggs were salty and complimented the dish. I’ll skip the udon pasta, but definitely have coconut ramen again.

I’ve never been to the SOFA Market before. if we venture into downtown San Jose for dinner, it’s usually San Pedro Square cuz there’s just so many food stalls to try. I’ve heard so many good things about the food made at Konjoe Tei that I’ve bookmarked it for a while now. I liked that they also have other small plates (thus the «Izakaya» part of their name.) n also rice bowls. that’s a good thing cuz my guy likes his rice. :)
Konjoe Tei is located inside the still on-​going renovated SOFA Market on South First Street. I think it’s trying to become the next San Pedro Square, but it seems pretty small n dim so I highly doubt that traffic will b as much here as it is over there. we’ll c. perhaps after the rest of the area is done, it will b more attractive to customers.
the parking situation is bleak, but that’s how it is in downtown areas right? there’s metered parking so b sure to bring some change. there’s also a large parking garage right across the street. I believe it’s called the Convention Center Parking Garage. we parked in there cuz we just didn’t feel like driving around the one way streets looking for empty spaces. it still took us a while to find a space in there though cuz it was during dinner time.
when we walked into the market, I noticed it’s pretty dim. perhaps they haven’t finished with all the lighting fixtures yet? the Konjoe Tei stall is to the left side of the pathway when u enter. there was no one else there yet so we took our time to look over their cute menu placed on a clipboard. their employee was super friendly n answered my questions about the spice level of the ramens. he took our orders n we sat at their cute bar area to wait for our dishes.
Spicy Tori Coconut Ramen: I really looked forward to this ramen cuz I love coconut juice n also Thai coconut soups. it was totally worth it! the soup was delicious n not overly thick. the coconut flavor really came through. the pork belly was a generous thick slice. the pickled onions added another dimension to the flavor of the soup. the noodles were perfectly al dente. I didn’t care for the mushrooms only cuz I’m not into eating them. there’s a few drops of chili oil? but it really wasn’t that spicy, only cuz I had ordered it with less spice. they were very accommodating. :) definitely would order this again!
Korean Short Rib Rice Bowl: he really liked this! there wasn’t much to dislike. the rice was perfectly fluffy n cooked through. (if that’s cooked wrong then u really shouldn’t b doing Asian food.) the meat tasted like it was grilled on a charcoal grill even though it probably wasn’t. the yolk was nice n jelly-​like in the egg. even the broccoli had good flavor! the bowl was just the right amount for dinner. he said he would totally order this again.

Konjoe Tei was our first visit to the SoFA Market. It’s not a huge space but is modeled after the popular San Pedro Square. There are about 4 – 5 vendors thus far, with about 1 – 2 more opening to fill the place.
Konjoe Tei was one of the first vendors to open and is clearly one of the more popular ones, having name recognition from their Konjoe Burger.
We stopped by and decided to try the ramen bar/​izakaya. First point is that Konjoe Tei isn’t a traditional izakaya by any means. Although there are some staples like karaage and hamachi collar, all items are prepared more in line with Asian fusion or nontraditional flavors. There’s a few mentions on the menu of 63 egg and pork belly, so sous vide is probably their chosen prep method. Our selection:
Spicy Abura Soba (Brothless) — $ 11.5. I love soba so was interested in trying Konjoe Tei’s take. It’s served with the aforementioned 63 degree soft boiled egg and also two slices of pork belly. There’s plentiful scallions and green onions and a dollop of sriracha-​based sauce. The noodles, despite the soba name, tasted more like cooked traditional ramen noodles. And while it’s clearly stated, soba is oftentimes served with a side bowl of hot broth that I enjoy so I did miss it here. Despite the negatives, the 63 degree egg was cooked perfectly and tasted delicious and the pork belly was also very strong with a nice smoke flavor and a great ratio of fat to lean as well as being amazingly tender.
Spicy Tori Coconut Ramen — $ 12. Another patron commented that there was only one ramen selection and I’d agree it would have been nice to have more than one to chose from (the other noodle dish was a udon pasta). Nonetheless, the coconut broth ramen was tasty and delicious. Like the prior dish, it included a whole egg, two slices of that delicious pork belly, and the same ramen noodles, except they were bathed in a wonderful coconut milk savory broth complete with bamboo shoots and green onions. It definitely was an alternative type of ramen but very enjoyable.
Asahi Beer — $ 6. Nice beer on tap.
Overall, we had a nice meal at Konjoe Tei. Though the dishes are totally non-​traditional, everything tastes good and is well done. Prices are a tad high, but the convenience of the Food Hall concept (where you can choose many vendors) sort of justifies it once they open more main vendors.
Konjoe Tei accepts credit cards, including American Express.

My best friend was craving ramen one chilly night on the way to christmas in the park, and this place was close by. We navigated while walking and it was super confusing because it kept telling us to go somewhere else. We finally stumbled upon the SOFA market, which is pretty much a minuscule version of San Pedro Square (building with a bunch of shops/​eateries inside). Konjoe Tei was right across the bathrooms and right next to Hawaiian Poke. The workers were friendly and funny and one of them helped me figure out what I wanted to order since I wasn’t feeling very ramen-​y that night.
What we ordered: I got the PORK TOAST. Let me just say that this pork toast was probably one of the most amazing things I have eaten and I think if you’re in the area of you’re planning to have dinner here, this is a must to get. The pork toast has bacon pâté, pork belly, ciabatta, pickled jalepeno, radish, and cilantro. The toast was perfectly crispy in contrast to the extremely tender, fatty, soft, pork belly pieces on top. The bacon pâté and jalepeno ranch added a nice spicy touch while making every bite saucy and moist. It was beautifully assembled and demolished in 10 minutes by my hungry self + friend.
As for ramen, we got the shoyu ramen (pork belly, ajitama, menma, scallions, kombu, mushrooms, nori, and schichimi. The egg was perfectly soft boiled to a firm yet runny center, which is always the goal when eating ramen. The broth was pretty yummy, but I was still drooling over the pork toast tbh, so the ramen wasn’t too memorable for me, just very okay. I would still come back here because there aren’t too many ramen places in that area of san jose, so props to bringing it here!

Cold, Saturday night, wanting to fill a ramen craving hole in my belly? Give me ramen!
The boyfriend and I came here last Saturday (¹¹⁄₂₈) because we were both craving ramen and the first time we came here was a few weeks prior but they were out of the Shoyu ramen. I came in hoping they didn’t run out of ramen again so we asked before sitting down, the server said they will have ramen. HA!
FOOD:
— Paitan Coconut Ramen: paitan coconut broth, mushroom, lemon onions, cilantro, crackling, furikake, roast pork, scallions, ajitama (seasoned egg) and nori. Holy crap. This is probably the best tasting ramen I’ve had so far! It’s pretty unique — who knew using coconut milk on a ramen would taste so delicious?! The bowl definitely had great aspects– noodles were al dente, the broth was a bit creamy but that’s okay, great amount of spiciness into it and eggs were soft boiled to perfection (at least on my bowl).
— Grilled Octupus: Okay, this one… from the picture I’ve uploaded it had some fried ball thing that’s cut in half and then the meat was on the center of the plate. We found it a bit… over cooked? It was still delicious though.
Server was friendly and refilled our waters constantly. I have no complaints.
Going back here for sure to try their other ramen.