Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

By far my favorite ramen spot in San Diego. My best friend, who’s from Japan originally, showed me this place and told me it’s very similar to what I’d find in Japan. Boy was I not disappointed. The broth is delicious, the noodles are perfection and the service is always surprisingly fast. At one point in time, my friend and I came here at least two times a week for lunch and sometimes more. I ordered the number 8, which is the salt ramen with special pork (toroniku ramen). This «special pork» name is not a misnomer! So tender, and seasoned just right. A must have!

Consistent quality. Good price. Best tonkotsu broth around. Noodles are the perfect consistency. Char siu pork melts in your mouth. Ramen toppings are spot on. This place is more like a cafeteria than a restaurant. Cash only. I am never disappointed with Santouka Ramen. They deliver.

I’ve eaten at many ramen restaurants, and there’s only three I can recommend: Yamadaya, Nishiki, and Santouka.
If Yamadaya is an apple, then Santouka is an orange. Both have amazing tasting broth, with Yamadaya taking the slight edge. However, Santouka’s noodles and pork are noticeably better. Get the regular salt flavored broth here. The noodles are perfectly al dente with nice flavor, and the pork is consistently so tender and flavorful.
I’ve only eaten at Nishiki once, and while the broth wasn’t as intense in flavor (I read that the tonkotsu broth is mixed with chicken broth), the balance between all the other ingredients was terrific. I’ll have to try Nishiki again.
Other popular ramen restaurants aren’t anywhere as good. I don’t know why many San Diegans rave about the ramen at Tajima, Raki Raki, and Yakyudori – I wouldn’t even eat their ramen for free with the exception of Raki Raki’s chicken broth ramen, which is good when you desire something light, crisp, and refreshing.
My main complaint with Santouka is that it’s cash-​only.

My baby sister took me here for a quick snack before we headed out for a later dinner. Either way, this is located in the Mitsuwa marketplace and they have ample seating if you don’t come during lunch peak hours.
Her absolute favorite is the toroniku with the seasoned pork slices on the side. The soup base is a tad bit salty, but had a good mixture of woodear mushrooms, pink fish cake, julienne ginger, and I think some sort of bamboo shoots.
We ordered a large to share and there were a good 7 pieces of pork on the side. The slices were slightly fatty, which made it taste that much better, but mostly meat with great seasoning and a sprinkle of chopped green onions.
The ramen itself was not too al dente and it was good down to the last slirp. A bit pricey for a snack, but just try to share the large to get the experience and watch the figure. hahaha…

The ramen is very delicious! (*^^*) It does taste authentic Japanese food. I’m Japanese btw

Mmmm. Toroniku ramen… salt. I’ve been here before, but never got the pork cheek. It’s a lot more tender than pork belly and you get more slices. A bit pricier, but it’s worth it.
Cash only. I’d recommend coming in for an early lunch because this place gets busy fast. Parking is a nightmare during the lunch hour, but that’s Kearny Mesa in general.

Located inside Mitsuwa Marketplace, this place looks like one of those jenky, awkward marketplace food places but is actually an authentic ramen joint. You order at the front and pick up your order when its ready.
The ramen is okay, I was very hyped up before coming here because this place is supposed to be one of the top ramen places in San Diego. Very pricey, ramen broth tasted fine but nothing that was extremely memorable. My friend and I got the shio and shoyu ramen and the broth’s were creamy and not too salty. The best about the ramen was the chasu but the meat portions are super skimpy and my biggest disappointment was that the egg was not really soft boiled like other ramen places and wasn’t as flavorful. I did like how they put mushrooms and bamboo shoots which many other ramen places don’t care to do, but maybe thats to hide the fact that they give you a small sliver of meat.
Overall, decent but not as worth the hype as I depicted.

Supermarket ramen, so how good can it be? It’s amazing!
I am not sure if this is the same chain as the Mitsuwa in San Jose (I think it is), and this is consistent with the food there, except for the line is much shorter! I wish there are more seating for the food court, but if you just come a bit earlier than lunch, you’ll get a seat.
I liked the spicy miso — not too spicy or salty, and the serving is just good enough for a quick ramen lunch.
The food court setting is not the most kids friendly, and you can only get a high-​chair here if you are lucky (we saw 2 floating around, there may be more).
Oh, another big plus is that you can bring your own drinks and food from the supermarket. nothing beats a good ramen lunch with some sushi or sashimi!

This review is for those who have been to Japan and know what REAL Ramen tastes like.
After craving Ramen for the last 3 weeks I finally got my first taste of it since I left Japan a while ago. When I was living there I would always get a spicy miso Ramen at the local Ramen shop a few train stations away in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture… Because I lived in Japan, I am terribly picky when it comes to Japanese food, so for those who have never been there may like it here. It may be a curse for me now.
Naturally, I chose Spicy Miso Ramen. This review is for it, and since I hadn’t tried the pork or salt ramen I cannot give an overall review of it’s Ramen… but I am not sure I want to return to find out.
For one, the noodles… they were not cooked properly with the right consistency and it had a weird taste to it. Noodles practically make Ramen what it is and if the noodles aren’t done properly in the spicy Miso it leads me to believe that the other dishes had the same consistency.
The other thing is the broth. It looked good, and it was sort of okay. It taste rather bland for a spicy miso broth, which rather bummed me out.
I was so stoked it get Ramen at the Mitsuwa Marketplace thinking it could be close since Japanese from Japan shop and eat here (maybe only for a shadow of what they miss at home?), but when I ate it all I could think is that it was just okay… rather depressing wouldn’t you say? I will keep on the look out for other Ramen joints in San Diego and see if there is something out there that can possibly match Ramen from Japan. Fingers crossed.

I would have to say that out of all of the ramen places that get hyped up in San Diego, Santouka is the most consistent. I’ve never ordered anything other than the shio (salt) ramen and salmon/​ikura (salmon roe) bowl, but they are both delicious and fill me up with happiness :)
The only downside is that the parking lot is a bit tight and seating can get quite crowded especially during lunchtimes. Also, it’s cash only. But there’s a Bank of America ATM inside that you can utilize, or just bring cash! I promise, it’s worth it.

Things to know:
— this place has good ramen. it is not life changing ramen.
— this place has great value. ramen + rice combo is delicious.
— this place is cash only. and you may have to vulture a seat when its crowded.
personally, i thought the ramen was a little too salty. but the noodles were the perfect consistency. how does it compare to tajima or yamadaya? like always it comes down to personal preference. go out and explore! be your own judge!

I’ve been recommended Mitsuwa by many friends and I can easily say it lives up to the hype. The salt ramen is to die for. Don’t be worried by the name though! It is not salty at all. The noodles are soft and chewy. The cha sui pork belly is melt in your mouth deliciousness. Most definitely my favorite ramen place in San Diego. Service is quick and fast without quality being compromised.
It is cash only so keep that in mind when you go there. If you forget, there is an ATM inside the supermarket. Lastly, if you have a group, have one person order and the others find a table because the seating section is rather small.
Overall, I will definitely be coming back. Superb on every aspect of what ramen should be.

First thing, the food places at Mitsuwa are cash only. So if you don’t have cash on hand, there is always the Bank of America ATM adjacent to the food court. I typically go to the other food place at Mitsuwa but I decided to switch it up and go to Santouka instead. I ordered a small bowl of the Salted Ramen. It wasn’t expensive and it took a few minutes until they called my number. It was served with a bowl of the ramen with a small plate of the pork and other soup items which you just put into your bowl. The soup was good but it was on the oily side. You can see a layer of oil floating on top of the soup when they hand it to you. Despite my best efforts to scoop it away before putting the other stuff, the soup still gave me an oily lip gloss residue. I’ve had better Salted Ramen at other ramen joints but it’s still good for its price. I’ll probably try something else next time I’m here.

Located in mitsuwa Japanese market, to the left.
Ordered a bowl of ramen a few weeks back. The window display is definitely a good visual aid when deciding what you want to order. Different sizes and broths to choose from. Prices are fair, about $ 6 – 8 a bowl.
So I ordered, and it was ready in just a couple minutes.
To be honest, I can’t even remember what I ordered, but the quality of the broth and ingredients is evident. Rich, savory broth without being salty. Dense, chewy noodles. Delicious.
Super casual dining, think food court, but awesome quality. It’s also fun to check out mitsuwa before or after eating and picking up some Japanese snacks and candy. Yumm!
This place Definitely hits the spot!!!

Yum! I’m so glad my friend and I decided to hit up Santouka today. It was the perfect bowl of ramen for a cold day. Located in Mitsuwa market Santouka is a great restaurant to add to the ramen rotation of Yakudori, Tajima, and Hinotez. The ambiance is super chill and reminds me of the restaurants in Asia.
My friend and I both ordered the Shoyu ramen with an egg on the side. The broth was super good! The noodles were perfectly cooked. The pork belly was flavorful. The one blah moment was that the egg was overcooked. I’m thinking it might have been because my friend and I went right before closing. I hope that if we go earlier in the day the egg will be a soft boil consistency. But the broth definitely weighs out and makes up for the overcooked egg.
I will definitely be back to try some of the other ramens!

I can’t believe I haven’t actually reviewed this place. Maybe because I thought what’s the use if everyone else is writing the same thing? hahaha.
You can never go wrong with the ramen here. My all time favorite has to be the Toroniku with either miso or salt base soup. Toroniku is when they have the toppings on the side. The pork is labeled as Special Pork. It definitely is not the same pork with the one already topped in the soup. This pork is salted and cold/​room temperature. It has lots of flavor and most of the time the ones I get is not fatty at all.
The soups are generally consistent. I have probably only complained about the soup being too salty once over the course of 3 years eating here. So overall that get a 5 stars in my book.
The restaurant as everyone stated is located in Mitsuwa, unfortunately their seating area is really small and also sucks that people already saved seats when they are still waiting for their food. Luckily for me I tend to crave Ramen after work which is a time of plenty of seating and when craving Ramen on the weekends I tend to go to some other or just mentally prepare when I do come here.
Another thing that Santouka serves that is my favorite for when I’m not wanting soup is their Hiyashi Chuka (Cold Ramen Noodles with Sauce). I think they only have it during the summer because I don’t see available right now. Anyhow, I do think they give you a lot of sauce so I tend to pour it out on my own. The toppings are generally, ginger, some type of mushroom, bean sprout, cucumber, strips of egg omelet (tamagoyaki), and two slices of pork. If you’re wanting more meat order extra. Otherwise enjoy this lighthearted dish.
I love it.

More of a 4.5 star place, but right up there. Just a food stand in the tiny Food court of this Japanese mall. Walk up and order one of a half dozen ramen options. I got the spicy miso which was in fact a little spicy. While it was very good, there are other places that have good ramen. What sets this place apart is getting the rice bowl side dish. You can get them separately or as a part of a combo. I got the salmon one and it rocked my world. Very simple sushi rice bowl with a good sized piece of salmon and salmon roe. I could snack on this every week, if only I lived close.
Overall a very solid and reasonably priced lunch option. I would never miss coming here if in the neighborhood.

Located in the Mitsuwa Market Place.
There seems to be 2 restaurants next to each other so make sure you go to Santouka. CASH ONLY.
I ordered the popular ramen and I forgot the soup base but it was good. It was recommended to me by the cashier and she said it’s the best. See photo.
The char siu is the best in SD. Soft and flavorful unlike others I’ve had.
Definitely one of the best ramen I’ve ever had.

Each time I walk into Mitsuwa Market, I always look back at Santouka Ramen to see if it’s a good day to try it out. All those days, it never was. It was always crowded, the seating area is small and I didn’t feel like fighting my way through it. On a 90 degree day during lunch, I went and thought «Who’d be this crazy to get ramen when it’s this hot out?»
This is my second favorite after Tajimas (in Hillcrest). I don’t know if I like it equally or more than the other. I’m still trying to figure that out. There is no service here. You order, you pay, you sit down, they call your number and you get your food. Oh, and this place is CASH ONLY. They have an ATM, but they do charge an extra $ 3 if you have a different bank.
I got the shoyu ramen with char siu bowl and the boyfriend got the toroniku shio ramen. The broth was flavorful and the pork was tender. The char siu bowl was delicious and I’d definitely would come back for that. I really liked the toroniku. The pork was really tender. I’m a sucker for tender pork. The bowls are pretty small and it’s pretty pricey, but I think it’s worth it. They have a nice selection to choose from and I’ll be back to try everything else.

I’ve been here so many times but I can’t believe I haven’t written a review for them yet!
I burned all my calories from brain and physical activity at my cello lesson today and was starving! Toward the end of it, all I could think of was the salt ramen from Santouka with tender pieces of pork cheek. And guess what I’ve got — salt ramen from Santouka with tender pieces of pork cheek (toroniku), and EXTRA green onions (I paid extra 50 cents for the green onions which I thought might be unnecessary because they gave me quite a lot to begin with, so I ended up with 3 mounds of green onions in the bowl, on the pork cheek plate and on the extra plate separately hahaha! but I ended up eating every bit of green onion!)
Wow so hearty, savory and satisfying. This Santouka (since I’ve never been to any other) made one of the best tonkotsu ramen bowls I’ve had outside of Japan (not that I had many or remember I had when I was in Japan a long time ago.) one thing they miss is a delicious easy to medium boiled egg, but it’s alright their soup and noodles are amazing and I can do without it!
Some people complained about how much MSG they put in it. That’s like going to KFC and complain about how they deep fry their chicken making unhealthy food. I never think ramen is healthy since it’s mostly carbs, meat and shit ton of sodium with no fresh vegetables. So I go in there, expecting to be thirsty after the meal but I still love it and will keep going back!