The Ramen Bar
| Address: | 101 California St, San Francisco, CA 94111, USA |
| Phone: | +1 415-684-1570 |
| Site: | theramenbar.com |
| Rating: | 4.1 |
| Working: | 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM 10:30AM–9PM Closed Closed |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 18
IN
Ingrid H
Brought to you by Ken Tominaga and Michael Mina, the Ramen Bar is in the heart of the financial district and totally the bomb! If you guys are ramen fans you know its all about the broth. The broth is not tonkatsu style; it is Tokyo style so it is not as rich and fatty (or not murky as one of my friends called it). The broth was soy based, rich in flavor, but not fatty. I had the braised pork belly ramen and came with a soy cured egg. Add ons available for $2 - definitely add the buttered corn! Pork belly was excellent! Want to try the shrimp with crab dumpling in ginger broth next time. They also have donburi. Dessert was also quite good - coffee jelly with caramel pudding was very good - not too sweet, the sake roll cake with berries was just ok (couldnt taste the sake) and lemon bar cookies, which were my favorite. Check out Pabu next door for drinks as well, which also just opened this week- try one of their signature cocktails like the Citrus: CITRUS with gin #209, fresh grapefruit juice, thyme syup, lavender-wasabi salt
ST
STEVEN VONG
An upscale interpretation of simple Japanese comfort food. This is somewhat of a quick service sit-down restaurant, where your order your food and drink at the counter and then they bring it to you. Theres a few tables inside, some counter and cafeteria style seating inside, and an adjacent fancier restaurant. I ordered a Tokyo Tonkotsu bowl ($14) and a milk chocolate Namelaka from the restaurant next door ($10). The ramen broth was decently flavored, the noodles had a nice consistency, and the meat was pretty good. Otherwise I didnt think it was amazing quality ramen- no umami and the flavor couldve been stronger. The egg was the highlight - so savory and soft, one of the best ramen eggs Ive ever eaten. The namelaka was pretty disappointing, with a not super pleasing appearance, only a small amount of custard, and a small portion of pudding in general. I did like the crunch and texture, it was just very overpriced. Overall, theres a few varieties of ramen that make for a quick meal if youre close to Embarcadero.
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Lisa H.
Im on the fence of whether they deserve 3 or 4 stars. I always get ramen and the broth is very very very delicious. Like crazy good. The bowl of ramen however cost $14. Although the broth seems to stay consistently delicious, which is very important. The pork doesnt seem to stay consistent. I think the first couple times I got pork belly (didnt even ask, thats how the ramen came) then it became the pork shoulder, and when I recently asked for the pork belly instead of shoulder, it was terrible. I didnt even finish it, it was terrible. The egg was super good though, cooked perfectly. Pros: broth and eggs are hella good Cons: high price, pork belly and pork shoulder both mediocre at best.
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Fox Dark
Good ramen. Smooth sake. The ramen is a tad pricey- Between $12 and $16. However, they give you quite a bit of food and its pretty good. Much better than the ramen place in the Ferry building during the farmers market. The staff was nice and the place looked well-kept. Someone spilled their drink while I was in line and it was responded to immediately. I went at 11:30 AM and it was already pretty packed. Expect a 10-20 minute wait time from getting in line to receiving your order.
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Brittany Romby
I would highly suggest going early if you want to avoid waiting in the long lines. If you want to go during your lunch break, I would try to arrive at 11:30am. The cashier was friendly and even though the line was long behind us, she went through the customers pretty fast. The ramen is not horrible but its the best of the best. The broth is tasty but I honestly have ate better ramen in little hole in the whole restaurants.
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Imani Mapp
Yummy ramen and a great place to pop in for lunch b/c it doesnt take too long to prepare. The ingredients are fresh and the staff is friendly. the location is also nice if you want to dine outside the restaurant on a nice sunny day. Ive been open to a whole new world of ramen since coming to ramen bar. The space is very modern and upscale looking...not what you might imagine for a soup shop.
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Charles Dexter Lim
Nice place for ramen. Feels like a mid scale American Japanese fusion Ramen place than a pure Japanese Ramen bar, but thats not a knock on the place at all, it actually makes it a different experience. Close to Financial District and Embarcadero, so the location helps for those who work or live nearby, compared to going all the way to Japan Town.
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Ivan Yudhi
Had a chance to eat lunch here today, and I must say I wasnt too impressed. The noodle was tasteless and theres nothing special with the broth. All that comes with a pretty expensive price. Its not really a bad ramen, but unless youre really craving for a ramen and theres no other ramen places that are open, Id skip it.
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Leonard Pak
Pretty underrated. IMO the best ramen in the financial district/downtown area. The indoor/outdoor seating is better than the other ramen options around here. The broth, noodles, and meat/egg quality are all pretty good. A bit pricier than other ramen places around here though (about ~$14-15).
LE
Leon Dragan
Always a good dining experience here. From the ramen to rolls this place hits the spot every time. I prefer the broth in the Hokkaido ramen as it tends to be a little richer and more flavorful than the one in Shoyu Tonkotsu. Also treat yourself to a few tempura mushrooms!
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Nicole Bradshaw
Pretty good prices and portions for dinner in FiDi. The ramen didnt strike me as anything special or particularly good, but other food (apps, rice+meat bowls) were solid. The sake white sangria with strawberries is what I really crave and brings me back, though.
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Taylor Roan
I had a Wagyu Burger - yummy and compact, on a sweet bun. She had a ramen that was far too large for her to finish, and we both came away happy. Not blown away, but good. They also had lots of choices of different kinds of foods & drinks. Not just ramen.
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Karen Buryn
A little pricey for my taste, but nothing obscene when you factor in how delicious the food is and how fresh the ingredients are. There were some pretty interesting looking desserts as well (wasabi pea marshmallow treats? Im in!).
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Celine Gerakin
These ramen are the best. The noodles themselves are not exceptional but the broth and all the ingredients they used is so delicious. The soy eggs are fantastic, just talking about it makes me wanna go back! Highly recommend.
CH
Chris Peterson
Good but expensive. The ramen is delicious, and the poke bowls are quite good. The specials have been great too the times Ive tried them. The sushi is spectacularly overpriced at $10 for a mundane looking California roll.
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Porfirio Lopez
Service was great, employees were really polite, but I felt as though the food was laking. Ive only ever been to 3 Ramen Shops and this one comes in at the bottom. Id definitely would just go to Sobo Ramen in Oakland.
CH
Chris Garnica
Great lunch and happy hour spot in the financial district for savory ramen, particularly exceptional on a chilly day. Come on a Tuesday for their lunch special, a decadent fried chicken sandwich.
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Alton Yu
Got the Tokyo one (#1). Dont think it stacks up. Broth just tasted like soy sauce. Noodles okay; 1 piece of pork was really tough; the char Sui was good; egg was perfectly cooked. I wont be back.
