Tajima Japanese Restaurant
| Address: | 4681 Convoy St, San Diego, CA 92111, USA |
| Phone: | +1 858-576-7244 |
| Site: | tajimasandiego.com |
| Rating: | 4.4 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–10:30PM 11:30AM–10:30PM 11:30AM–10:30PM 11:30AM–2:30AM 11:30AM–2:30AM 11:30AM–2:30AM 11:30AM–10:30PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 7
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Jay Keyes
Tajima is a Convoy ramen-ya with a craptacular parking situation, but superb ramen. My favorite appetizer is the "Beef Tataki with Jalapeño," described on Tajimas menu as "thinly-sliced seared beef sashimi served with ponzu sauce, grated radish and jalapeño," and also features enough bonito flakes to provide a surprisingly crunchy textural layer to this dish. I also like to order the "Omurice" as an appetizer and split it among my party. Omurice is a unique Japanese dish consisting of an omelette stuffed with rice, typically ketchup fried rice. Here it is stuffed with plain sushi rice and smothered with what tastes like a pot roast beef and mushroom gravy. Its not what Id consider to be authentic Omurice based on what Ive had elsewhere, but its tasty! The reason you come to Tajima, however, is the ramen. The "Ramen with Tonkotsu" (Pork Bone Broth) is what to order. It is served with an ounce of BBQ pork, green onions, seaweed, and a half-egg. I ordered mine with fat noodles (go big or go home), pork belly, an extra half egg, and a red spice bomb. Tajimas slurpable, soulful tonkotsu broth is thick, gelatinous, and salty, while enriched by tiny bits of pork fat, scallions, deep garlic flavor, and sesame. San Diego provides a myriad of options for ramen -- some of which Id advise sophisticated diners to stay clear of (Im looking at you, Underbelly), but most of which are at least OK. Tajima is in the top tier, above most other San Diego ramen-yas.
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Brighton Laiman
Came here on Easter Sunday not because we were craving ramen, but mainly because our first two picks of Lucha Libre and Phils BBQ was closed for the "holiday." Regardless, this establishment has been on our radar for a while and we were glad to see that Asian restaurants dont cease to disappoint us on being open on days when most places would be closed. Heres the breakdown on what we tried out for our Easter luncheon: Takoyaki (5/5): Those who visit ramen restaurants on a normal basis will know what these are. For those of you that dont, these are essentially small pieces of Octopus drenched in some yummy white sauce and essentially deep fried as bite sized spheres. I have never been to a place where Ive been disappointed with an order of these and Im going to take it to the next level in saying that Tajima makes the best ones Ive ever had to date! A definite must if anyone checks this place out. Tajima Ramen (4/5): Im usually not too picky about my ramen... as long as its delicious, fatty, and the noodles arent overcooked, Im content. Unlike most ramen bowls Ive had before, the broth for this entree looked milky. They claim that its an original "Tonkotsu" soup, but I feel like theres a bit of a variation to it from what Im used to. With all that said, the overall quality of this dish was pretty damn good. The only thing I think that would have made it perfect is if theyre able to make the egg more yolky.
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Ezzy Crisan
Happy hour: mon-thursday, 3-6pm. $1 menu: edamame. $2 menu: agedashi tofu, takana fried rice. $3 menu: Gyoza, takoyaki, karaage As you walk in the ramen house, you are expected to put your name in and wait to be seated. Expect long lines, its okay since its worth the wait. If not, come when they first open. Come during happy hour, i noticed its less packed. The usual congestion of crowds come during dinner time. The ambiance of this place is pretty calming, with its neutral tones, yet quirky and playful --with its lucky cats doning on funny faces. I usually come here when I feel like having some noodles. My noodle of choice would be: a mini curry ramen, thin cut, spicy. Just give me a bowl of this and I am in heaven. The noodles are al dente, never overcooked or soggy. The broth is full of flavor, and complex. My husband gets an order of chicken karaage and BBQ rice, which I steal a few bites as well. The chicken karaage they give you is a good & generous portion, and crispy as well. The BBQ rice can be eaten by itself. Its like fried rice with meat on top.
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Reeza Rabara
While I enjoy their food, they have the WORST service of any restaurant I have been to. I walked in to Tajima Ramen House at 9:45 pm while they were busy, so I wrote my name down on the sign up sheet for my party and patiently waited. After about 30 minutes of waiting, two men came in and were clearly friends with the host. After about 10 minutes, the two were seated. They had skipped over at least 4 parties who had been there waiting without any complaints. When I had noticed that the host allowed them to cut in line, I spoke to another couple who had been waiting. Like myself, they were upset. They voiced their complaints to the "acting manager", who then "reassured" them that they had a system to their signup sheet. We were not impressed, to say the least. I would never eat here again nor would I EVER recommend anyone to eat here. Its a shame that the host and "acting manager" (Steve) had to ruin my experience eating at such a nice restaurant. Every other staff member was friendly and attentive.
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Tiffanie Valdez
Tried this place today (a rainy Monday) around 2pm. I had decent expectations of this place but was REALLY disappointed. Our server/service was terrible. He waited until after we ordered to tell us they were out of chicken chasu, so the only other option was pork. He didnt ask what our noodle preference was (thin or fat) and my friend asked for a moment to look over the menu for another option as she doesnt like pork. He ends up bringing her ramen despite her clearly stating she will order something else, and missing ingredients at that. My ramen (tajima favorite) came about 10 minutes before hers which was annoying. He didnt check on us a single time. My ramen had good flavor but so many things went wrong and made for a bad experience so we definitely wont go back. Not to mention that they werent even busy
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Franco Ooi
Terrible. I left fuming. I called asking for waiting time and they told me there was no wait. I told them to hold the table we are really close and we are on our way. We were right across the street at that time by INFINITI dealership, crossing the street took us literally 1 minute. When I got there and told her I called for 6, she said "oh". After a moment of pause she said unfortunately it changed right away and it was then a 20 mins wait. We waited for 10 but at that point, the original 20 mins estimate did not seem possible. We left and the hostess was not the slightest apologetic. At this point I dont care if your ramen was handmade by the angels and the broth brewed by the cherubs. Not only will I never return, I will make it one of my life goals to deter all my friends from ever eating here.
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e18rayan1
Ive been here after drinking because its open late at night and we were greeted with a pretty long line. For appetizers I got the cream cheese filled wontons and they are AMAZING. So hot and so good, so I highly recommend getting those. My friends enjoyed their meat options. As for the vegetarian options, its pretty bland. The vegetable broth needed more salt and it feels like they just add random vegetables from what they have left-over from making the meat options. It just not flavorful, it needed either salt, spices or something else to elevate it from the stock and noodle combination. There are no other vegetarian entrees available, there are more appetizers which were also good, but not enough to rate it higher. Staff was super nice and seating in the middle mini-garden was nice, though.
