Ramen Zetton

Whether it’s a hot or cold day, I can never stop eating ramen! Got the dipping ramen and I was able to make 2 moderate size meals out of it! Came with onions, half a soft boiled egg and 2 fatty pieces of pork. The broth was thick and oily, and super flavorful. The noodles were al dente and very chewy. I love that they have the sauces on the side side as the hot sauces to supplement my noodles. Yum!

This is my favorite ramen place. They have a pretty varied menu, but I haven’t tried most of it only because the ramen is so good.
I have been hesitant to leave a review because it’s a small place and I don’t want it to get crowded. But — they deserve the public recognition.

I got the chicken shoyu and it is really good. A really good portion was given to me. I have to say the service was a little slow, but you do get what you paid for.
I went with a couple of friends and they seem to be satisfied with their orders as well. And they got the #8 and pork ramen.

ShiO– Salt | Shoyu– Soy Sauce, now you know!
Spicy TanTan– small ground chicken in the broth, no chasu, very fatty but most flavorful but at the end too oily
Spicy Pork ShiO– good but I kept having to add spices to it
Spicy Garlic Edamane– SO GOOD! use the leftover garlic and dip your meat in it. YUM
They have a slice a butter in certain ones. I haven’t tried it yet but it looks so interesting! I don’t know what it does to the broth. More rich probably?
It’s not too bad of a ramen place. Very tiny inside. So prepare to wait!

This is my second time here. I got the Special Pork Shoyu ramen. The broth is really tasty and rich, but maybe a little too salty for my taste. The pork chashu was good. It had just the right amount of fat to meat ratio.
Overall, I would say this is one of the better ramen places I’ve been to.

Consistently great ramen and extraordinarily delicious and unique side dishes.
I also agree with her, kind of …

I think I have found my favourite vegetarian ramen place!
Get #13. It had lots of veggies. The broth is flavourful without being too salty. I added a ton of spicy miso on the table to my ramen, and it was absolutely heavenly. My boyfriend got one of the regular ramens, and the broth had a nice bonito flavour. I liked that it was not greasy like all the tonkotsu soup a lot of ramen places serve. (Tonkotsu = Overrated!!)
The staff were polite and attentive. i do want to go back for more veggie ramen!

I like coming to Ramen Zetton on my lunch breaks because the service is fast and the food is pretty good and the prices are fair. Today I came for lunch and ordered the Special Pork Shoyu ramen and added the sautéed green onion rice in the side for $ 2 more.
The pork in the ramen is pretty good although establishments like Ajisen have far superior meat with the perfect day to meat ratio. This place definitely hits the spot though if you need to quickly satisfy your ramen craving on the cheap.
Be careful coming here during the busy lunch hour as seating is limited inside!

I just don’t know how I went so many years without writing a review. Every time I’m in town stop by here! must try it! you will not regret either you are carnivorous fiend who wants more authentic chashu, emrican chicken, or a vanglorious vegan (I’m a pretentious pescan so cheer up) this place has it! Asahi on draft with specials, sake, great side dishes — I try a diffrent one each time.
Okay brave yourself. This hole in the wall is small. Avoid during rush hours if your strapped for time. Otherwise this place is affordable on any budget and has some amazing service. Obviously I waited to the end to explain that the ramen is top notch. There are many options around here but I highly recommend this place as over the years it has proved to be better than average, it’s splendid.

This place is a solid 3 stars. It’s not going to be the best ramen you will have or the worst. Nothing really stood out for me.
The service is attentive and wait time isn’t too long. I would come back but only if I ever got tired of Santouka or Kitakata.

I’m indifferent about this place. Ill begin by saying that my party and i arrived at 10:30 pm when it closed at 11pm. None of us had ever been here before so we didnt know what to expect. This place is suuuuper small that was had to wait 30 mins with out a line a head of us. My veggitarian miso soup was good though it was too salty. The portions of noodle was good. I added pork to veggitarian brooth (i know) but the pork was amazingly delish! The menu was a bit confusing since it was full of characters i dont understand. Also the server barely understood our questions about the menu and waant very much help. It’s worth another try although i wouldnt go out of my way to comeback.
Its open till 11pm on weeks days so thats a plus.

If you need late night ramen on a weekday after a show in Costa Mesa, Ramen Zetton is it!
There are about a million ramen places in Costa Mesa (at least 10), but apparently not many open past 10 p.m. on weeknights, so that convenience is definitely appreciated. They are open until 11 p.m.
It’s located in the same center as «The Huddle.» There will be signs that scare you away from parking in the center, but ignore those and go right in. You are fine as long as you aren’t there because you can’t find parking at Mesa or the Camp. The restaurant is tiny and can sit about 20 – 30 people max.
Sesame Miso Tan Tan — Probably their most known dish and I can see why people come back for it. It’s a thick broth that I had hoped would have more sesame flavor but subdued nature grew on me more after a few bites. It looks like a runny curry. This dish uses chopped, tender, marinated chicken instead of pork and is topped with chopped green onions, shredded long strings of raw green onions and dried, shredded red pepper. If you just have the soup itself, it’s blander than other miso soup bases I’ve had but combined with the chicken and the shredded green onions, the onions have a sweetness that accentuates itself more and more with each bite. The red pepper strings aren’t very spicy, but you can spice up the dish by using the bomb soybean pepper paste that is at each table. This is a hearty dish, so if you aren’t feeling like having a heavy soup, order one of the other ramen dishes. Overall, an enjoyable bowl of noodles.
Special Pork Shoyu — Tender, fatty pork served with chopped green onions and dried seaweed squares. Shoyu broth is good. Nothing too crazy here, just a solid bowl of ramen.
What also caught my eye… the Cold Tofu and the Chashu Quesadilla and their creative lemonades. I’ll have to try those next time!
The do have happy hour drink specials before prime dinner time and their late special is $ 2.50 for a side of fried rice after 10 p.m. Service here was fast.
***Hot Tip*** If you are hungry, go large with your bowl of ramen for only $ 1.50 more. You get around 50% more noodles and soup by doing that.

Good happy hour deal — sesame chicken and beer for I think only $ 6.
Ramen wise– noodles are on the chewier side if you like that. Broth that I got was good, I think I got one of their unconventional «combinations» but I really liked it. They also have chicken broth as an option here, but I would say stick with the pork broth all the way.
Also shared some other dishes — friends thought they weren’t on par with what they have had previously, but I didn’t mind it at all (one was a takoyaki that looked like a lasagna and I can’t place what the other dish was…)
It is small inside, so don’t expect to go with a group larger than 4.

After seeing all the high ratings for this establishment I feel horrible leaving such a low rating but my first experience here was much less than outstanding. We came last night around 9:30pm and there was a little bit of a wait — which is not a problem — but you could tell they were all over the place.
It took a while after we were seated to receive menus. I ordered an asahi, our server came back ten minutes after I ordered it to check my ID…
Everyone was really polite but the service was not good. I think they just needed a little bit more organization last night.
On to the food… now THIS is the real reason for the two stars.
I ordered the veggie tan tan men and my friend got the miso butter corn… both were sweet tasting. There was WAYYY more noodle than broth, it was so disproportionate. I didn’t enjoy my ramen at all and neither did my friend. The gyoza was just OKAY. It also had a sweet taste to it for some reason. The food lacked good flavor. The part of the meal I enjoyed the most was the asahi to be honest. The only thing we finished.

Tiny store, big portions of yummy food!
The service at zetton is always great :) the servers are very polite and efficient!
It is a small store so if you come at a busy time, there might be a bit of a wait. I recommend calling ahead.
So far I’ve tried the chashu quesadilla, the tan tan mein, and the special chicken shio
They use a chicken broth here for the soup but you get to choose between pork or chicken for the meat!
The soup tastes amazing here but I find that sometimes the noodles are a little too hard for my liking. However, it’s still a great bowl of ramen!
Prices on menu are for regular size but I typically get a small (-$ 1.50) which I would suggest for people who aren’t too hungry or like to order appetizers
Or you can also get a large (+$ 1.50) for bigger apetites!
My favorite thing is probably the chashu quesadilla because seriously– where can you get that?! It comes loaded with meat and it’s not too cheesy. The salsa and sauce they provide are like crack sauces but I especially love the salsa! It’s great to share but I find myself wanting to be greedy and eat most of it :)
I’d also check out their happy hour and daily specials for some great deals!

Want a unique and kitschy Ramen experience this winter? Look no further.
Ramen Zetton is a Japanese Ramen Den in Costa Mesa. It’s the most hidden member of Costa Mesa’s Ramen Row, wedged into the same obscure strip mall The Huddle calls home, right across the street from OC’s beloved Barley Forge. Offering less than 10 tables, the restaurant can get packed quickly so show up while they open to ditch the line. The interior is cozy (okay: small) and the service is hurried thanks to the cramped environs but plenty friendly.
The Tan Tan Men Ramen is an interesting bowl of slurpables indeed. It is easily the thickest Ramen broth I have ever had, thicker than even Tsujita’s Tsukemen! The broth has the texture of a gravy and features ground meat making it almost like a chowder or chili in mouthfeel and it really packs a porky punch. The noodles were a perfect al dente upon serving; nice and chewy. I would probably spring for the flavored egg next time around to mix things up. Price of admission? A reasonable $ 9.00. I am hardly one of those ramen purists who swear by the fat content in a particular broth or where the meat is sourced from, but these are honest bowls that work wonders against all the ailments of the human condition on any brisk winter afternoon.
I suspect I will be making another pilgrimage to Costa Mesa for Ramen Zetton again soon and I am happy to have added this entry to my Ramen Resume.

We came to Zetton only after seeing the wait at the neighboring ramen joint, Kitakata. The restaurant is small and can only accommodate few tables at a time (maybe 10?), so this may be a problem in the future as Zetton gains popularity.
We were very happy with our meal! We had gyoza, the butter/​corn/​miso ramen, and chicken shoyu. All were very good… gyoza were just like how my grandmother in Japan used to make them when we were kids. Soup bases were flavorful and the noodles were cooked perfectly.
Overall, a great but small spot with many Japanese stops nearby, including Mitsuwa!

I met up with Mari H. for lunch at Ramen Zetton. It’s located next door to Ikko behind the CAMP in Costa Mesa. The place is small and the tables are first come, first serve. There is a whiteboard where you can write your name and # in your party. I wouldn’t recommend any groups of more than 4 and you’d have better luck with smaller groups. The menu is fairly simple with photos illustrating the items.
We ordered a spicy garlic edamame ($ 5) to share. Mari had the vegetable ramen ($ 8.50) while I had the spicy garlic tan tan ramen with pork ($ 8.50). We also had hot tea ($ 1 each). There is an additional $ 0.50 charge for credit card transactions below $ 15. This disclaimer is posted around the room so that you’re aware. The spicy edamame is deliciously addictive. I want to make it at home now. Yum!
My ramen bowl was slightly less impressive. The noodles were fine. The shoyu broth was tasty. I didn’t care for the broken up meatball that I had in my bowl. I had expected slices of pork but maybe I was unfamiliar with the type of ramen I ordered. It was okay but I didn’t really like the texture. If I return, I’ll try something else on the menu. It’s nice that they offer chicken broth and vegetarian options to those who don’t eat pork. The service was great. We were in and out within an hour.

Finally had a chance to try this place out!
Ordered Tan Tan Mien. Tan Tan Mien is a thick noodle soup base with thin noodles. The soup is extremely thick, which was something I wasn’t expecting. The flavor of the soup has a perfect balance of saltiness. The green onion adds a little bite of spiciness to the noodle soup, which complements it well.
Also ordered the Zetton bimbimbob rice dish. The difference between this version and the korean version is that the sauce is a little sweeter and it comes with seaweed. I really enjoy this version of it because of the sweet and spicy combo.

More like a 2.5. My buddy and I came on a Friday night, luckily we beat the prime time rush. I ordered the butter corn ramen with an egg. The best part of that meal was the egg. I don’t know how they perfected the egg, but it was the saving grace. I received a slab of butter in my soup, but I only used a little bit. Noodles were of a good texture, not too soft or hard. My biggest gripe is the saltiness of the soup! This was the first time where I didn’t finish my bowl of ramen! I usually at least finish all my noodles, but I couldn’t this time. It was THAT salty!
Service was fantastic. No one hurried me or my friend. Seating is NOT plentiful. In fact, all the chairs/​tables are squished so close together that I heard everyone’s conversation around me. The 1 unisex restroom was clean. Parking is plenty.
I can’t say that I’ll be back, but I really did enjoy the egg!