Yokohama Iekei Ramen

I’m quite sad the ramen here is not as good as it used to be. Various factors made us disappointed in the end, but the customer service convinced me to lower my rating for this place.
It took at least 10 minutes for any employee to notice us standing around and direct us to a waiting list clipboard hidden in the ledge. Quite a few employees saw us but avoided eye contact to continue their jobs. One lady finally walked by us and in a condescending tone said «please put your name on the waiting list» and pointed at the hidden clipboard. Quite disrespectful I must say.
I had the jigoku ramen level 3 spicy (second highest spicy). It’s super spicy, I would not advise the mediocre to mild spicy lovers to order it. It had a good burn but my stomach was in pain the rest of the day! The broth was too mild; it lacked flavor and the noodles were a bit thick. Not enough toppings as well! For $ 11, I expected more. Plus the «soft-​boiled egg» turned out over-​cooked. My bf was very sad since he loves soft-​boiled eggs. We were still hungry towards the end so we went a few stores down and ordered dessert.
Overall the taste was just not there given the price and the workers seemed very rude. I don’t think we’ll becoming back here and will drive an extra 5 minutes to Tadamasa on the other side of the city. Or spend a few dollars to cross the bridge for richer tasting ramen in San Mateo.

The wait time for this place was worth it. I’ve been here twice and was deeply satisfied with the ramen that I got both times.
Visit 1: Jigoku Spicy Tsukamen dipping ramen.
I was humbled. Believing myself able to tolerate spiciness, I went for Level C. It was gooooood… but I probably would have enjoyed myself more if I’d gone with a less spicy broth. Noodles were perfect, broth was otherwise delicious and the ratio of «toppings» seemed just right.
Visit 2: Black garlic ramen
This broth does not come with customizable spice levels, but it was still one of the best bowls of ramen I’ve had. Noodles were again, the perfect firm chewiness. Despite being pretty full, I drank all of the remaining brothy goodness. Black garlic flavor was rich but subtle from the fermentation process that makes it black.
I would be here more often if it wasn’t a bit of a drive from where I live. Can’t wait to come back again, though!

The noodles are very fresh! The classic karage is pretty good and the classic ramen was good as well. Next time I will have to try the garlic ramen.

The food did not quite live up to the hype.
The wait time for our table was about 30 minutes, which was not too bad. However, it almost took the same amount of time to catch the waitress’s attention. I felt extremely bad for her. She was the ONLY waitress for a packed house. When she arrived at our table, we put in our order. We ordered the Jigoku, Black Garlic, and 2 Classic Iekei’s.
While the waitress was at our table, she gave me sass when I asked for a few cups of water. I was not too angry about it, since I understood her stress. However, I was angry at the restaurant for having only ONE waitress on a BUSY Friday night. That’s just unfair to the workers.
After a long wait, we finally got our food. To our dismay, the ramen was nothing special. I tried all of the broths, and nothing stood out to me. The flavors were on the blander side, and the portions were small.
Maybe I came on an off day, but things didn’t go so well. The restaurant was understaffed, and the food was underwhelming. I wanted to like this place, but it did not leave me with a positive impression.

2^nd time here… trying all their classics first, then I’ll move onto the spicy. Chicken karage is their go to starter… I think I’ll try their gyoza next.
Great find in the East Bay… looking forward to trying all their food!

Ordered the jigoku spicy ramen, black garlic ramen, and takoyaki.
So for the ramen, you have a choice of heavy, normal, or light broth and stiff, normal, or soft noodles.
The spicy ramen, you can choose 4 different levels. From 1 to 4 (4 being the highest), I choose level 2 spiciness and it was pretty spicy.
For both ramen’s, we got heavy broth and normal noodles. The wifey and I were disappointed because the broth was light. It didn’t really have the full, tonkatsu flavor. The takoyaki was good. I didn’t love it because it wasn’t Krispy on the outside enough for me, but the octopus was very tender. My wifey liked it though cause she said that it’s just like how they serve it in Japan.
Overall, I was disappointed, but I am willing to try it again in case this was just a one time thing for the light broth.

This place is definitely one of my favorite places to go to especially on cold overcast days. The service is prompt and the staff tries their hardest to provide fast, efficient, friendly service. It also helps that their food is very delicious and flavorful.
My favorite ramen bowl here is the Jigoku Spicy Ramen level C. The way it’s spiced and flavored amazes me every time I order it. I’m salivating right now as I type this review. The portion sizes are generous and you are able to customize the broth strength (strong, normal, light) as well as the noodle firmness (stiff, normal, soft). I usually go with strong broth and normal noodles and it doesn’t disappoint. For those of you that are garlic lovers, you must try the Black Garlic ramen. It’s pretty epic.
As for appetizers, if it’s your first time here, try ordering the Karage Chicken with Yuzu sauce and the Agedashi Tofu. Make sure to check in on Unilocal for the 2 free quail eggs. This can be used every time you come in. I make sure to check in every time.
If you want fast, friendly, and efficient service with delicious food and reasonable prices, then this place is right for you.

I really like the ramen here, authentic experience. And you can customize the ingredients, strength of the broth, and texture of noodle. 4.5 stars!

Do not listen to those ass hats who complain about oil and salt.
FYI SHIO RAMEN MEANS SALT RAMEN
I’m a huge fan of ramen, particularly this location because the results are 100% consistent, I’m not the type to sit there and trip off a rude waitress who’s been on her feet all day so I go for good food and they never disappoint me.

Summary: Very good ramen, better than most places in Sunnyvale-​San Jose, on par with San Mateo (e.g. Ramen parlor, santa ramen)
Noodles: Cooked well; you can ask for softer or harder noodles, my girlfriend requested softer noodles but they still came out al dente. I like a bit of chew to my noodles so no complaints here.
Broth: The best part. I got black garlic pork flavor, and the balance and strength of the flavors was perfect. My girlfriend got the spicy one, level A (the lowest level) and it was way too hot for me. For those with low spicy tolerance, I would suggest avoiding that one.
Meat: This is the reason it’s just a 4 star rating rather than 5. The pork was a lot tougher than any other ramen place I’ve been to. It didn’t give me the sense that it was stewed and braised for a long time. It tasted alright, but the dryness was far from the pork I’m used to having in my broth.
I’d definitely go back, just with lower expectations for my pork. Definitely good to see ramen of this caliber in this area

I was warned of the heat of the spicy levels of this place. I squeaked by with «b» level. No wonder it’s called «hell» because it’s hotter than «you-​know» if you ordered level «d».
They ran out of the square stew pork so I’d have to come back for it.
I think I’d like the black garlic flavor one better.
I will come back. It’s very good. Service was also excellent.

The ramen has a nice texture and broth flavorful. For most people the standard spice is enough. Price is maybe $ 1 more than it should be but still fair. Note: tea is not free. Bowls come only with 2 small slices of pork, you can add extra for $ 1.90. I opted for the extra egg which is also $ 1.90 extra. For the egg it was soft boiled like it should but not very flavorful. I have had egg where it is marinated and the flavor comes through. This egg probably was marinated but it’s flavor did not stand out. That would be my only knock on this place regarding the dish. Service was good. Though tea is not free. You pay for a pot of tea which is common for ramen places. The pot costs I think $ 3-​$ 4. This is probably ok if you have several in your party but if eating alone I am not paying that much for tea.
But, I nice place for lunch but a wait usually.

One of the best ramen I’ve had so far. I came here with 6 other friends. I ordered the spicy miso ramen and dont forget to check in on Unilocal to get 2 free quail eggs (boiled and delicious). I love the spicy miso, not too heavy and right amount of spice. It also comes with an whole semi boiled egg, the yolk just melts in your mouth! If you’re ever in town and want some good ramen, I would highly recommend this place.
There was like 10 other people on the waitlist, we waited for like 30 to 40 minutes but it was worth the wait! It just shows how yummy the ramen is right?

Seems like they had some trouble getting the orders filled. Ramen only came out after a long time of what seems like 20 minutes.
Their spicy level is calibrated to very spicy so even the minimum level is pretty darn spicy which happens to be just right for me. The meat is not exactly melt in your mouth but it’s pretty good. The ramen noodles are boucy but not as fresh as it can be.
The whole thing is pretty salty as with most ramen so I would recommend to eat the noodles and food but very sparingly drink the broth.

2.5 for my bowl but rounding up based on friend’s bowl.
Maybe I got unlucky and had a bad bowl. I ordered the black garlic but I tasted nothing but oil. The broth had no distinct flavor and was so greasy I stopped halfway. The eggs were salty as heck. But my friend got the shio and she said it was just okay. Check in for quail eggs!
The cool thing about this place is that you can adjust your soup and noodles to your liking. Such as heavy, normal, or light soup base. The noodles can be normal, soft, or regular. I ordered soft but it didn’t feel soft.

First time I’ve had ramen that was actually amazing. Santouka/​Mitsuwa and Orenchi suck compared to this place.
Monk fish liver ⁴⁄₅ — a must try. Good appetizer! it was like eating sashimi. Soft and tender, with great delicious green onion garnished with chili and shredded daikun — and a KILLER sauce.
Takoyaki ⁴⁄₅ — MUST TRY!!! Great appetizer! I still don’t know what it is. It’s a ball covered with fried flakes and a doughy chewy center that tastes sweet and salty.
RAMEN: Jigoku kara (1B) ⁴⁄₅ — Could have used extra meat. But everything was perfect — the spiciness aided the flavor and gave a kick to your head a sense of clarity between dense bites of egg noodle that soaks up the perfect amount of creamy, salty, and spicy soup as you spoon more hot soup into your mouth. Juicy, freshly cooked bites of pork cha shu (it only comes with two, I recommend gettin extra) that had INTENSE marination flavor, crispy crunchy ends, flavorful fat, and great quality consistency: it was a great combination with the soup and noodles. Quail eggs were an ok addition but the soft boiled egg was great! The yolk leaks out perfectly to give you 1 – 3 spoons full of yolky soup!!! (If you control it right and don’t let the yolk mix into everything)

Hands down one of the best ramen place I’ve had in the Bay Area. Better than the super hyped ones down in San Jose/​Milpitas/​Cupertino. Came here on a Sunday afternoon with 4 other friends and although we were like the 7^th party in line & the place was kind of small, we didn’t have to wait more than 30 minutes to get seated.
We ordered the Black Garlic Ramen, Spicy Miso Ramen, Jigoku Spicy Tsukemen (A level spicy), JIgoku Spicy Ramen (A & B level spicy). We also ordered the Gyoza and the Karage for appetizers.
The Jigoku ramens series were true to its name and was indeed spicy as hell. Beware, the Tsukemen (since the dipping sauce is super concentrated) was really spicy, even for an A level. I only had a little bit of the Tsukemen, but it was enough to make my lips a little numb. The regular Jigoku Spicy Ramen was less spicy, but I would still suggest against it if you really can’t stand heat. If you like spicy, but are a little too afraid to go Jigoku, get the spicy miso instead!
The gyoza was good, but nothing too special. Opt out of that unless you’re really craving gyoza. The karage on the other hand, was good, crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside! The sauce was also pretty bomb.
I was won over by Black Garlic Ramen, which was SO good. The soft boiled egg was perfection. We left one in there until the end of the meal and it was still soft inside. It was flavorful on the outside and cooked just right on the inside. The char-​su was good too, fatty, and not too thin. What made the black garlic ramen really good was the broth. Super rich (but not salty) and the black garlic gave it a subtle but good under taste to it.
Oh yea, make sure to check in on Unilocal to get the 2 free quail eggs, which were also cooked to perfection (a little soft boiled on the inside too!)
Definitely would come back here again next time! So glad I found a ramen place up to my standards :)

Not going to lie, when I saw all the warnings and different spice levels for the Jigoku Spicy Ramen, I was a bit intimidated. Do I want to be sweating during dinner? I changed my mind once I read the last line: *****this is very spicy ramen, eat at your own risk*****
In that case, I’ll have the Black Garlic Ramen please. No shame in playing it safe! The broth was flavorful, and I liked the texture of the thicker ramen.
Also, we enjoyed the chicken karage. Big pieces of juicy chicken, seasoned well that we didn’t need to dip in the sauce it came with.
TIP: 2 free quail eggs with Unilocal check in!

I got the shio, really flavorful!
Henry got the spicy one, and it really had a nice kick.
Delicious noodles, and great broth. I would totally go more if they weren’t in East Bay.
Totally awesome though to have it there cuz for those once in the blue moon times when we are on the other side of the bay, it’s nice to still get to eat tasty ramen!

BEST. RAMEN. EVER.
Came here a few times & haven’t been disappointed. The times I’ve been here, I was able to try each broth! WARNING: when it says spicy, it is definitely spicy, lol. Most bowls come with pork, nori, mushroom, bamboo & soft boiled egg.
TIP: check in for 2 free quail eggs!
I love the way everything is marinated together giving your taste buds a ride of flavor! The broth is so gooooood, you can totally just sip on that. If you’re looking for a new ramen place, this place is #1!