Genki Ramen
| Address: | 3944 Geary St, San Francisco, CA 94118, USA |
| Phone: | +1 415-752-2663 |
| Site: | genkiramen.com |
| Rating: | 3.8 |
| Working: | 5–11PM 5–11PM 5–11PM 5–11PM 5PM–1AM 11AM–1AM 11AM–11PM |
Location
Photos 1
Reviews 6
MA
Mary Wang
Wow, what an incredible menu they have. Some ramen places just have a handful of options and thats all they specialize in. Genki Ramen not only has soupy noodles but also izakaya or Japanese tapas style plates such as deep fried items and grilled items plus okonomiyaki, rice plates, yakisoba, and house specialties. Its not your typical chicken-teriyaki-California-roll establishment. Its definitely not a sushi spot otherwise it would be Genki Sushi. (By the way, "genki" in Japanese can mean energetic, lively or healthy.) Here are some of the items we ordered: Pinky Sour Cocktail $5.00 "soju, famous japanese soft drink peach Caplico & lime juice" Beef n Enoki Roll $6.75 "shredded kimchi and enoki mushroom wrapped in sliced beef, seasoned with spicy miso sauce" Shishito $2.50 "Japanese green pepper with salt" Chashu Ramen $8.95 "house made boiled pork, half boiled egg, bamboo shoot, green onion and red ginger in tonkatsu base" Kimchi Ramen $8.95 "spicy pickle cabbage, mushroom and house made boiled pork in tonkatsu base" Yasai (Vegetable) Ramen $8.75 "stir fried mushrooms, asparagus, tomato, carrot, onion, shredded cabbage, green onion and shelled edamame in tonkatsu base" -- However my friend substituted with vegetable broth instead. Vegetable Okonomiyaki $8.75 mushroom, tomato & asparagus topped with mayonnaise and okonomi sauce and bonito flakes I had the Chashu Ramen, a standard basic ramen to serve as a basis for comparison with other restaurants. The rest of my group had the Yasai (Vegetable) Ramen, Kimchi Ramen, and others. I found the Chashu Ramen left me wanting more. There were a lot of noodles which I didnt finish because I dont digest such noodles very well. The broth was so-so and I would have wanted more toppings. My friend who likes noodle soups such as ramen and pho thought it was good which goes to show everyone has different tastes. This one wasnt for me. Luckily, there are so many other yummy items on the menu to explore. The okonomiyaki which is like a Japanese pizza or savory pancake was gooey and tasty. Id go back to try the other ramen and plates. They even have takoyaki (octopus balls) on the menu! 4 stars for the menu selection. 2 stars for the ramen. Id go back to try the other items on the menu but not for ramen.
JO
Joy-Lu Broas
There was so much hype about this place, that I really wanted to like it. Even after reading the reviews on how their service sucks, we went anyways. Id like to report that their service still sucks... they asked everyone else if everything was ok, but never asked my husband and I anything though their turn point to circle the restaurant was right next to our table, each girl passed by at least 5 times each, and not a word was said to us. Their ramen is SUPER oily.. there was this sheen over the broth in my bowl, that I had to scoop out to eat my ramen. If I wanted to lap up oil I wouldve bought a bottle of cooking oil from the market across the street. I got the garlic tenderous ribs ramen combo with 2 gyozas (gyozas... Ive had better store bought ones. ramen-was only tasty because of the added garlic chips and ribs) while my husband got the chashu ramen combo with chicken karaage (he said it was tasteless and mentioned the oiliness). Weve been to plenty of other ramen places that give you a full oozy boiled egg with your ramen. This place is greedy enough to give you HALF a hard boiled egg (close to being over boiled as it was a hint greenish grey). We both got the caramel milk tea smoothie which was probably the tastiest thing we had from there, sad its not what they specialize in. I dont recommend coming here to be ignored, nor pay close to $10 for oily and mediocre ramen with half a hard boiled egg.
AL
Allen Fuqua
Get the unagi tempura! Had to put that in first in case youre just skimming reviews. The perfectly crunchy exterior with the warm unagi taste is a match made in heaven. Its good enough that Ill likely be special requesting it at Japanese restaurants here and there from now on. Although they say they are basted with soy sauce, I swear the tasty little asparagus bacon robatayaki we had was covered in sweet bbq sauce. I kind of wish I had tried more of the non-ramen dishes like the okonomiyaki but since ramen was in the name, I had to give it a go. For the record, if you have a craving for ramen, this will put the hungry monster to rest. But if youre going to rate the ramen as ramen then theres more to it. The broth was average, the noodles were subtly too hard, and the pork was pretty decent. The egg was on its way to being great but yolk didnt fully achieve that gooey texture nor did the egg white soak in enough flavor. So like I said, the ramen is good enough to quell a craving, but Im sure there are better ramen shops in SF so stick to the rest of the menu. Unagi tempura... mmm....
JA
James Bostock
This is our go-to place for delivery ramen, but he restaurant itself never seems to be super busy so when we go there in person. Id probably give it a 3.5 out of 5 given the option, but the fact that delivery is generally quick and the food still hot gives it that extra 0.5. Ive only ever had the ramen, but Im assuming if youre looking at the restaurant youre primarily interested in ramen. Ive yet to have a bad experience and Ive had everything from the Chasu, Kimchi, to the Butter ramen (Ive gone through the entire list). Would definitely recommend for anyone looking for decent ramen without much of wait. Sure, there are better places in the city, but sometimes I just want it delivered or not wait an hour to eat. My only real complaint would be that when the ramen is delivered the soup base isnt labeled with which ramen it comes with. Some soups use the same base, but it isnt particularly obvious at times until its too late...
YU
Yuki Miyoshi
I went there Monday early evening. kinda big place, lots of seats. we didnt need to wait to be seated but its on Geary boulevard so needed to drive around to find a parking spot. servers are ok. they just come to my table to take order and bring food. I dont expect much more than that cause its not that kinda restaurant, period. I ordered negi beef ramen added kimchi. beef part is just like jambalaya. kimchi is not homemade, I believe (cause bit sour.) taste like any kimchi you can get from markets. soup is tonkotsu and it tastes like pork bone based soup. those in one, tastes like a circus. I tasted beef and next moment, I tasted kimchi. its like buffet. you want beef. you want kimchi too. dont forget ramen soup. it wasnt bad but lots of flavors with rap music. I would come back but next time, without kimchi.
IU
Iurii Azgaldian
I wanna say just two things about this place good food and rude service. Once I went there with my girlfriend and waitresses was very mean and rude to us . In the end after I pay my bill I didnt have a cash and I couldnt leave her a tip on what she (the waitress ) start argue with me why I dont give her a tip. I tried to explain her politely that I dont have cash to leave u a tips and Ill do it next time. She got mad at me like I stole her money . Im sorry but this place lost another costumer. I hope the owner of this place will think about what I wrote.
