Misoya

You know something’s not quite right when your ramen comes with soggy fries on top. The broth was not flavorful and the chicken karaage was dry and overcooked. The egg wasn’t marinated long enough to have that nice soy sauce flavor. The chasu was so thick it’s like eating a pork chop. I will not be returning.

I love the Ramen explosion! The best part is that there isn’t just one ramen shop with one style, we have tons of shops with multiple styles each! And Japan is taking notice and sending some of their chains over to the US… such as Misoya!
The turtle at the door is cute, but a little scary. But anyway, they don’t serve turtle, they serve ramen, and the ramen is really good.
I went with the Tokyo style Miso Tonkotsu Ramen, and it was fab! The broth was great, the perfect blend of mellow miso and deep roasty bone broth. It wasn’t overly fatty as some of these could be… you could really taste the bone. It also already came with a generous amount of toppings (fish cake, corn, spinach, ground pork, wood ear mushrooms) but I felt like being even more generous to myself, so I added a parboiled egg (perfection) and a slice of chashu! The chashu was not your standard. Instead of a thin light melt in your mouth slice, I got a thick meaty smoky roll of chashu that bounced back after every bite. I think I like it.
Oh, I also got it spicy for +$ 1. This was the only disappointment. The spicy sauce wasn’t really that spicy, and didn’t really gel well with the miso or tonkotsu in the broth. It reminded me of Korean gochujang… which I like, just not in my ramen.

Came here during my lunch on a Monday and it wasn’t too busy. I got the Cha-​shu miso ramen spicy, and it was pretty good.
Cha shu slices are pretty thick, but good, but three slices is too much for my liking.
Had the perfect spice, noodles weren’t over cooked, and the ground pork was yummy!
I say. Try it!!!

Spicy ramen is incredible! I recommend loading it with Miso egg and Chasu. Some might find it a little too salty, so you might prefer going to the other ramen house across the street. I prefer MIsoya.

There’s something really salty/​oily/​overly greasy about the broth (even the vegetarian). Made me sick both times I’ve been here. Never again.

I’m writing this review to warn others that there ramen that they provide gave me the worst stomach flu for more than 4 days. I will never step foot at this restaurant. I shouldn’t be in this much pain Still. Thank you for the food poisoning!!!
If you cherish your health, your better off to run far away from this place. This is the worst restaurant i ever ate at. I rather eat at mc Donald’s than here.

I love their soups! Every time my girlfriend doesn’t know where to eat I always suggest this place first hoping we will get to go again! It is both tastey and feels healthy! Also very reasonably priced and they have the big Sapporos!

With this place listed on a KQED guide called «10 Favorite South Bay Ramen Shops», I honestly expected better. I mean, the place is aight. It does ramen aight. Nothing amazing, nothing horrible. Just aight. So if it’s on a list of the 10 best in south bay, that’s just a little depressing.
I enjoy the customization options of having 3 «Styles» of miso and then under each, different toppings, and I have to say, their portion size is decent, the plating is nice, and their takoyaki was great. But the list of positives stops there. The kaarage chicken was terribly bland. I ordered the «bitter» miso flavor with chasu, tempura and ground pork, and was unimpressed by the flavor and broth. A bit bland, esp. the pork, until you get to the end of your noodles and you suddenly feel like you’re drinking a salt lake. Eugh.
I also don’t understand the menu pricing… the first option for each «cooking» style comes with chasu pork, and then some other main topping. One was potatoes, one was tofu, then the one for the «bitter» style was tempura shrimp and ground pork. Yet, each of these 3 bowls were priced at 12.50−12.60. Why would someone pay the same amount as a tempura/​pork bowl to get a bowl with potatoes or tofu? That’s just stupidity. I found that annoying because the pricing of the bowls basically forced me to buy the «bitter» style, to get the most bang for my buck. And yet I actually wanted the original miso style soup, but since that one came with potatoes only for 12.50, my wallet refused to let me make that choice. See what I mean? That’s a poorly designed menu. You should be making the chasu potatoes and chasu tofu bowls cheaper than the third one, so then people will feel like they can order whatever style broth they want while also paying a reasonable price.

This was the first time I was trying ramen so I have nothing to compare against. They had an interesting menu, simple yet offering plenty of choices. I like the ability to customize my ramen with whatever I wanted.
The food was definitely good, although it is quite salty at the bottom.
We went here on a Saturday evening and had to wait for about half an hour even after having reservations, which was odd.

Came in for dinner on a semi crowded night and got seated at the bar.
On the menu, there are three different types of ramen you can order and they differ by their soup base and toppings.
My boyfriend and I ordered the chashu ramen (mine Nagoya style with an egg and Kyoto style for my bf), and hot tea to drink since they didn’t have many drink options.
I really liked the Nagoya style soup, which is supposed to have a bitter after taste. I didn’t think it was too noticeable, the broth color was a see-​through brownish color. My boyfriend loved the Kyoto style, next time we’re both probably going to try the full bodied style.
Overall, this is your basic ramen joint. I would choose this restaurant for days when I’m craving a buttload of toppings.

Miso-​ya is a ramen chain from Japan, that specializes on miso style ramen (making 3 types: Kome-​miso = red rice miso from Hokkaido, Shiro miso = white miso from Kyoto, and Mame miso = soybean miso from Nagoya). Started in 2003, the company grew in Japan by adding miso ramen into already established ramen shops.
About miso types:
Miso specialty shops in Japan have dozens types of regional miso (way more than 3 types), in many different shades of brown colors, depending on what grain and/​or vegetables were used to make it and its fermentation period (longer fermentation = darker color).
This is the first US location, and they’ve since opened branches in Manhattan, NY (Sep 2011), Las Vegas (Apr 2014), Chicago (Jul 2013), and recently in downtown Chicago (Dec 2015).
I’ve been here several times since it first opened, and in my experience the kitchen has not been consistent. Sometimes the soup is too salty, one time it was a bit gritty in the bottom (I think they use the cheapest quality miso), and another time they forgot to torch my chasu, so the cook took the meat back. My soup was getting cold while I waited (they should have given me a new bowl instead). This ramen is nowhere near other better miso ramen I’ve tasted.
The chahan (fried rice) was greasy but tasted really good, although the side dish portion is small (Himawari in San Mateo is a bit more generous). It had pieces of both pork & seafood. The gyoza is okay, with a good crispy bottom. Service has been pleasant every time I’ve visited, no complaints.
When Miso-​ya first opened there was no egg in their bowl. I know that some regional ramen styles don’t include an egg, so I have no problem with that. But they charge a high price for a basic bowl, and their competition includes an egg at no extra charge. So after numerous customer complaints, in 2012 they finally conceded to add an optional miso marinated soft boiled for $ 1.50 extra.
Yes, they make their own noodles (in a machine). That’s because a member in the ownership group also owns a noodle factory (Yamachan brand) that supplies most Bay Area ramen shops.
I don’t mind driving a long distance to Orenchi (on the shopping center across the street), but I wouldn’t do the same for Misoya. Only if I was in that neighborhood, or the waiting line was too long at Orenchi (or closed on Mondays).
About false health claims:
No matter what anyone says, eating ramen is bad for your health. Because it has too much fat and salt. There’s no difference with miso ramen. Any possible health benefits are eliminated by miso’s high salt content, plus the added salty and fatty pork broth. So if u are on a low sodium diet, miso ramen is really, really, really bad for u.
Japanese marketing is notorious for dubious health claims, on both TV and print media in Japan. I eat ramen because I like it. When I want healthy food I eat quinoa.

So let me begin with: this review is not about the service more about the taste, flavor and quality of food.
My fiancé and I stopped by this misoya because we had such good experience at the misoya in New York, we were craving for the flavorful ramen. So we ordered the fried oysters, cha-​han (fried rice), Tokyo miso tonkotsu and mame miso with shrimp tempura.
The cha-​han was severely lacking in flavor in my opinion but my fiancé had nothing to complain about. Fried oyster on the other hand was edible it tasted okay nothing spectacular.
So here comes the harsh part, hate to say it but ramen was not up to par. The mame miso was lacking in flavor it is supposedly a thicker miso but I felt that it had a lighter taste than normal. Noodles, were… let’s say rubbery and severely lacking in flavor in both ramens. On the other hand the shrimps tempura were actually pretty meaty and good.
Tonkotsu ramen broth on the other hand tasted different but not the usual silky broth I am used to. The flavor was still there but I felt was a lot more watery. I also had their chili oil, not as tasty I suggest stick with the spicy miso paste.

Best cha shu. Thick slices of meat. May have to wait some times as they get busy.
Very good overall.

I should’ve known the second my ramen showed up with french fries in it… This place had traded authenticity for something akin to the greasy, overly-​salty lovechild of the classic American diner and traditional Japanese cuisine.
The Hokkaido style Cha-​Shu Ramen (with extra noodles) started off on a good note, the miso broth doing a good job of enhancing the flavor of the noodles. But after awhile, the flavor of the miso was drowned out by the overwhelming saltiness of the soup, each bite brining my tongue until it felt numbed and heavy. I finished my ramen and then gulped down water until I was on the verge of a brain freeze, but the taste lingered in my mouth. Bleh.
I definitely wouldn’t come back. This place caters to a more Americanized palate, and I left the place feeling slightly cheated and fifteen dollars poorer.
PS: Service was kind, but slow, and the wait was (understandably) short.

YUMMY ramen spot in the Bay Area, ESP if you don’t want to wait for Orenchi which is always super packed and down the street
—Classic shiro miso ramen: mmm flavorful with a nice chew to the ramen noodles. i was a huge fan of the fatty char Sui pieces but could’ve done without the fried tofu
one gripe: the restaurant was pretty empty but it still took a long time to prepare our bowls (that’s the hangry girl in me talking)
NOTE: if you want a boiled egg it’s extra, i didn’t try it

We came here in a Friday evening, and there was no wait. Maybe that was a bad sign. We promptly ordered two spicy ramen bowls (no additional toppings) along with the spicy mayo gyoza.
The gyoza filling was good, but I didn’t care for the spicy mayo which wasn’t spicy but too creamy for my taste. The ramen was WAY too salty! Omg the next few hours, both my bf and I were burping up the broth and extremely thirsty. The next day my face was swollen. Too much salt! The taste of the broth was not too spicy but yes rich in flavor, however rich doesn’t always mean it has to be done salty. I should’ve gone next door to Gombei like planned.

Came here with 8 coworkers since Orenchi had an hour long wait and we were 8 people needing to get back to work. We got here just before the place filled up, no doubt only because they gave up on Orenchi.
I had the Cha-​shu hokkaido ramen.
It was salty, barely any pork fat in the broth, and seemed kinda americanized. There was corn and steak fries in my soup. I don’t know if legit Hokkaido ramen is like that, but it was literally steak fries in my soup. Weird stuff. At least the pork is decent.
When you have pork base soup for ramen, you expect it to be fattier. The ramen was expensive like all the other places, but it seems the soup wasn’t even boiled for ¹⁄₁₀^th as long as other ramen places or it was just watered down.
I would not make it a point to come here without first trying to get into Orenchi or at least Kotetsu.
On comparison with ramen from Kyoto and Tokyo, I’d give this a ²⁄₁₀ mostly due to the soup base being basically watery.

This place normally isn’t super packed but we came here on a Friday night, around 6:30 and it was bustling. We waited for about 40 minutes for a table for two. The good thing is that the waiting area is relatively roomy so we didn’t have to wait outside in the cold.
We ordered takoyaki, I ordered the miso hokkaido ramen and my sister got the spicy tokyo miso ramen. The ramen came with three large slices of tender pork, baby bamboo, and a few fried potato wedges which was interesting. I was surprised to see that an egg costs extra here, and we opted not to add it in. The noodles were a bit on the thicker side, but my ramen was flavorful and delicious. I don’t really like the flavor of miso soup, but this soup was really good, and the different flavors mixed well together.
My sister’s ramen came with a dollop of spicy bean paste/​sauce on top. She said after she mixed it into the soup, the bean paste taste was a bit too strong, but aside from that she really liked the ramen. The takoyaki was also yummy. It was soft and tasted fresh and flavorful. We also really liked the sauces they drizzled on top of it, they were a bit tangy and sweet.
Their service is great, their staff members are all super friendly and they don’t try and rush customers out, despite a waiting list of people.

Tried to come here once when Orenchi was impossible (as expected).
But there was also a wait list (not expected).
So I decided to come here another time for an early dinner to avoid the crowd, but it turned out to be mostly empty (not expected).
!!!
Anyways, Misoya is another ramen place in Santa Clara that’s been around for awhile. I think their food is quite standard, and they stand out mostly from the marketing:
1) With ramen named Kome, Tokyo, Kyoto, and Hokkaido, you can’t help but think it’s unique (esepcially after Sharetea has conditioned the general population to associate Hokkaido with deliciousness).
2) The menu describes ramen broths like wine. «full bodied», «fruity and natural flavor», «bitter finish». Fancy-​sounding but frankly a strange way of talking about ramen which had its origins as grab-​n-​go street food in Japan.
3) Who doesn’t love the schemxy grill marks on chashu… think about how many more Instagram likes you will get in comparison to chashu without grill marks :3
The ramen itself is not bad, but nothing phenomenal. I did like the nice chewy noodles and the tasty broth – if you think of wine of it like wine you could pick up the subtleties. However, it is quite lacking in complimentary toppings, as the egg costs extra, and the famous chashu was tiny, thin, and no visible grill marks for me :((

Overall ramen is 3 stars, +1 star for the pork cha-​shu
Their cha-​shu is worth coming for. The Cha-​Shu Ramen bowls come with three generous slices. If you are crazy enough to not order that type, add it on! The miso marinated pork is extra thick, juicy, and has great smoky flavor. Misoya’s version is the best I’ve tried.
The house-​made spicy miso paste is also excellent. I suggest getting this on the side and adding to your taste. The paste isn’t that spicy and really brings out the broth, which was just okay without the addition of the paste. The noodles were also too soft for my preference. The fried potato that is served with the Kome styles is just crappy. Basically frozen thick cut French fries. Why? I did like that all the bowls come with menma (fermented bamboo shoots).
Misoya is no Orenchi, but it doesn’t have long lines and the pork cha-​shu is fantastic.