Menya Inshou Japanese Ramen
| Address: | 2944 S Norfolk St, San Mateo, CA 94403, USA |
| Phone: | +1 650-212-7768 |
| Site: | menya.inshoujapanese.com |
| Rating: | 4.2 |
| Working: | 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 11:30AM–2PM 5:30–10PM 12–2:30PM 5:30–9PM |
Location
Photos 100
Reviews 9
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Sherry Li
Ive been on a ramen binge this month before I go back on a gluten-free diet. Conveniently, Menya Inshou is a 5-minute drive from my office and I dont like our office lunch on Fridays. I have very mixed feelings about my lunch here. There were some missteps along the way, while other things surprised me in a good way. The Ramen - 4 Stars Not the best ramen Ive had, but it was pretty good, in the end. I got the tonkotsu and added some bamboo shoots. First impression of the broth was mediocre. I like that it wasnt super greasy (I guess Im still reeling from the oily, sub-par experience at Ramen Parlor). Good spread of toppings and I was glad to not see any leafy greens in there (I dont get the whole lettuce or spinach leaf trend...). The chashu, I thought, was the weakest part of this ramen. You get 4 thin sliced, lean pieces. I prefer my chashu thicker and fattier. But I thought the flavor was good, despite it being so lean. If you like lean meat with your ramen, youll like it here. The noodles are the thin kind, which I didnt mind, and cooked perfectly, the way ramen noodles should be. If you like thicker ramen noodles, you should probably go somewhere else. The egg was actually the best part, I though. The yolk was half runny, which is great for ramen. You basically get three different textures in the egg. It was also very well seasoned -- such that after you bite into the yolk, youre hit with a nice soy sauce flavor from the egg white. In hindsight, I shouldve gotten an extra egg! Karaage - 1 Star, if at all Wanted to highlight this... DO NOT GET THE KARAAGE. This is the reason why I couldnt give this place 4 stars. The karaage was terrible, probably the worst Ive ever had at a decent ramenya or izakaya. First mistake -- pieces were too big. Karaage is best at bite size pieces. Second mistake -- the meat was too dry and not tender at all. They should use higher quality meat. The fact that the pieces were big compounded the problem, sadly. Third mistake -- not serving it with lemon. It just came with Japanese mayo and some scallions. Scallions were nice touch but completely unnecessary for the karaage. I dumped them into my ramen instead. Mayo as a sauce is fine, but when the chicken is so dry, it makes things worse. The only good thing about the karaage was the batter seasoning. It was salty and slightly spicy. Great batter! Please re-appropriate on some better pieces of chicken.
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Charlee Chay
This was my first experience here, so to gauge the place I tried the Tonkotsu ramen. It is the flavor that I used to gauge most ramen shops in the area, assuming that they serve it. Although it wasnt bad ramen, it definitely was not a favorite. The fact of the matter is that they are close enough to Ramen Dojo/Palace, that it is hard to think that Menya Inshou is a better choice for ramen. Really, if it was just for the ramen, I probably would have just gave this place a 2-star rating. The 3rd star is for the Rafutedon that they serve is amazing. Enough for me to return and instead of getting ramen, just get the rice bowl. Admittedly, Ive not tried the miso ramen or shoyu ramen, so this rating is based on my favorite flavor. Ill be back, and try the other flavors later. At that time, Ill update the review. Lastly,the customer service here is great. No complaints in that area.
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Tyler Style
Hole in the wall, with decent family-run business decor and ambiance. Music was far, far too loud however! Went by myself, while on a business trip. Staff were all friendly and helpful, but somewhat slow. My server admitted she was very new, so YMMV. Quality was satisfactory but not exceptional. I had the bara chirashi, which was tasty except for the salmon (muddy flavour, likely from not being skinned well enough). Sushi rice is well seasoned and tasty. The california roll was neither here nor there. They had Asahi black, one of my favourite dark beers, so kudos for that. Prices were on the high side of average, but not unreasonable. Id go back, but theyd have to agree to turn down the music before Id bring someone else along with me as the volume would make conversation difficult.
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Nancy Chang
Excellent service! We tried 2 appetizers and 4 dishes. The appetizers came out quickly. My young daughter really enjoyed the seaweed salad. Our ramen arrived shortly after with a smile. I like that the bowls arent identical. Everyone enjoyed their dishes. The wait staff came and refilled our tea and water and checked on us throughout our meal. There were 2 TVs in the restaurant. One of them was playing a Totoro movie. At the end of the meal, one of the wait staff came over and asked how I liked the Tsuke Men Miso. We talked about the broth and he explained the change in the recipe to suit their customers. I really appreciated him taking the time to find out how his customer liked the dish. His attentiveness made me a fan. We will be back.
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A Private User
We keep going back. Our family eats here often. From our first visit on opening night when we asked the owner to surprise to last week when we ordered a couple of our favorites and as always, something new, we have never been disappointed. Our list of favorite dishes is frequently updated because the large daily special menu that is placed on a chair in front of your table when you are seated, changes often. My current favorite is baked sea bass, avocado and mayo. Who would have thought that baked avocado would be good? Be sure to try the spicy plum wine, especially at happy hour when the price is a bit easier to ... swallow. Our 10 year old seems to be stuck in a rut and always orders the beef toungue. Enjoy!
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Kay Z
The two-start rating is compared to its service two months ago! Id been a fan of this restaurant for a year due to the service and decent meals. Then I was too busy to come in the last two months. But when I came back last week, I found out that they have new waitress and Id say the service now is really NOT PROFESSIONAL compared to that from the previous ones. I would love to give five stars to the previous service I experienced before November 2016, but now I feel that they are pushing away.
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A Private User
The Japanese food here is fairly good and fresh. I really like the vegetable tempura don bowl I had today that came with a small salad and miso soup (great miso soup!). My other colleagues ordered the sushi lunch combo for $13.50 and liked the sushi but were not as impressed with the udon. They also have a happy hour for drinks from 5 - 7 on weeknight and 9-10:30 pm on Friday and Saturday nights. My biggest complaint is all the rich, yummy food made me tired afterward!
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Rick Henrikson
Sashimi salad, tasty pork belly kimchi, awesome food and price. Ive been here a few times and thus far it seems like one of those rare places that has both a high diversity of options and somehow none are bad. It really doesnt seem like you can go wrong with anything you order here. They have a top 10 list and you should definitely try those. The prices are also pretty reasonable and meals are sort of tapas style. Worth multiple visits.
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Andrew Huang
The best Japanese sushi/izakaya of 8 San Mateo Japanese restaurants ive tried. Since we discovered this place 4 months ago, weve literally visited the place 3 times a month. Im amazed by the consistent quality across such a large menu. Their sushi, soups, and tofu are particularly strong. This place is a hidden gem that by my estimation is >80% asian customer base. Service is good and people of all backgrounds will feel comfortable here.
