Ramen Dojo

After several years of wanting to eat here, I finally was able to after working nearby three weeks ago, 1.23.2016. I live on the opposite side of the Bay Area and I ain’t just talking about Hayward.
Anyways, I arrived solo a half hour before they closed. I was next in line and the host/​server announced that the highly sought-​after garlic pork flavor just ran out. SMH
I could’ve left, but instead I decided to get the other flavor. I ordered the spiciest option, despite regulars sitting next to me warning me that it’d be too hot. When my ramen arrived, the aroma was heavenly. The veggies were fresh, the noodles were on point, but the broth was only alright. The supposed hottest level was tame for an Asian restaurant, which was disappointing.
This place was once touted as the best ramen place in the Bay Area, but the hype has unfortunately died down. However, I will return and I will have the garlic pork ramen! Until then, I will change my star rating… or keep it the same.

To say this place is over rated is being polite.
The food here is served quickly and has pretty good taste. The pork was cold, and that was a a huge disappointment. But the whole experience is a let down. Not only is it super small, they cram you next to each other to the point where your elbows are almost always bumping into who ever is sitting next to you.
Service here is pretty unwelcoming. I never got a refill on the water that was in a tiny glass. I never got the soda I ordered. I got charged for it though. I asked for it to be taken off the bill and they at first acted like it was my fault.
I was very surprised to find this place so sought after and then to be so disappointed. I won’t be coming back.

Dining here is a monumental pain in the ass.
— lines are super long
— very tight space leaving you little elbow room
— they run out of tonkatsu broth, which lets be honest is the only reason to be there in the first place
— they are randomly closed all the time.
That being said, this is the best Ramen on the peninsula. It’s spicy style ramen but it’s incredible. As much as I bitch I will stand in that 45min line in rain and hail if I can get a bowl of their delicious tonkatsu.

While I’d prefer the Ramen Parlor, which is Dojo’s sister restaurant and is located right across the street, Dojo was… decent. I don’t see the hype behind this place either as the Ramen Parlor’s ramen has a better flavor and a better setting. If you wait an hour for your table, you’ve waited too long. GO somewhere else, you’re not missing much.
Note: The server mentioned that their side dishes are not made in house. ie: the takoyaki

Honestly some of the best ramen ever. Stellar kitchen concept with the walk through to bathroom. Love the simplicity and well executed style!!!
I will be back.

I’ve heard a lot of hype about this place so I had to give Ramen Dojo a try. I came in at lunch around 1pm on a Monday and the wait wasn’t crazy as expected; I was seated right away. The menu was clear and easy to read. You have three choices to choose from for your broth: soy sauce, garlic pork, or miso. Then you choose your level of spiciness, which ranges from non spicy to very spicy. Finally, you can add as many extra toppings as you want for a pretty reasonable price. I ordered the garlic pork, medium spicy level, and added corn and fresh seaweed. Their broth was savory and not too salty and the pork melted in your mouth. I found it interesting that they included a piece of lettuce in your ramen. I thought it was them being cheap but it’s actually unique and was a tasty addition.
As for service, no complaints. From taking your order to the amount of time it took to get your ramen on the table, everything was quick. Even though I prefer Orenchi’s, I’ll definitely be coming back.

This is my favorite ramen place in the Bay Area. I love the fact that this place probably has the most toppings in the regular bowl. I always get the garlic pork flavor in regular spicy. For the add-​ons, I get: the extra noodles, boiled egg and corn. The noodle is slightly thicker than your usual ramen places. But I like that cause you can taste the texture and it’s actually really filling! The regular spicy is just enough to get your nose running but not to the point where you’re dripping with sweats and boogers. The broth is so amazing too!
Parking can be tough around the area since this restaurant doesn’t have a parking lot. The wait can be reallyyyy long if you come during lunch/​dinner hours.

We rolled up to Ramen Dojo around 6:30 PM, which had a small gathering of people in front of it in the light drizzle, and put our name down on the list. In total, we waited about 30 minutes or so to be seated and were asked our order before it was our turn to go in. I usually am not one to be down with waiting more than 20 minutes for ramen, but we had heard good things!
Both of us ordered the garlic pork broth, while my partner got extra noodles. The prices are kind of on the high end, especially for the add-​on options. It sounded like most people in line were getting add-​ons, such as bamboo shoots, extra quail eggs or chicken eggs, extra pork slices.
The garlic pork broth was pretty delicious, being pretty full of garlicky flavor. The pork flavor was definitely present as well and it was reasonably well-​rounded, if not a little salty in my opinion. I’m not a fan of eating intact garlic cloves, so I didn’t eat the two in my bowl. The pork slices were truly delicious — my two pieces both had good amounts of fattiness, which was much appreciated. The noodles themselves were of a pretty good, springy texture. Honestly, I prefer chicken eggs, so the quail egg (which was hard-​boiled) wasn’t my favorite.
My partner said that he enjoys Orenchi more at its best. I think they are both pretty good options!

First review of the year. Came here with my Aunt around 11:30am when it opened. Apparently people already line up before it opens. We waited about 20 mins to be seated. They took our order while we were in line. I had the garlic pork while my aunt had the soy bean. We both added cabbage as an extra topping.
The serving size is decent for the price. However taste wise I felt that it wasn’t anything special. I’ve definitely had better Ramen elsewhere. The quail egg was also cold. The pork was dry. The broth is nothing to brag about. The noodles were so so. I was disappointed since I’ve been wanting to try it for the longest time. Most likely won’t come back.
Cards accepted. Parking on street.

My uncle criticizes people spending exorbitant amounts of time waiting in line for ramen. «Why do young people spend so much time waiting in line for ramen?! Don’t they have more meaningful things to do?!» I couldn’t agree more, but alas, the intrigue of a famed ramen shop is among my greatest weaknesses.
Dojo has several characteristics of a classic ramen hot spot: more hype than its seating capacity can contain and higher prices than you would expect for a bowl of noodle soup. To address the elephants in the room–
[1. WHAT IS THE MOST EFFICIENT WAY TO GET A SEAT?]
I came on the first Monday after New Year’s for lunch, which is probably in the low season since everyone is on new year’s resolutions to be healthier, eat out less, be more gluten-​free, etc. We arrive a little after 11 and scored a parking spot, a place towards the beginning of the line, and the satisfaction of watching the line quickly growing behind us.
A waitress comes by to take your order while you wait in line, even before they officially open, so you get your food promptly after you’re seated. With their efficiency, the turnaround time is quite fast. However I do suggest arriving before opening, due to the small restaurant size with a few tables and a small bar area (max capacity of ~24), exacerbated by the growing population of ramen fanatics and the food porn stars of Instagram. (…I think I just made fun of myself…)
[2. IS THE TROUBLE ACTUALLY WORTH IT]
I appreciate Dojo’s original touches and high quality. The broth in the garlic pork is flavorfully tonkatsu, not too unbearably salty or fatty, and compares to top-​notch ramen places like Orenchi. It synergistically brings out the best of the other ingredients: the wonderfully springy noodles, the melt-​in-​your-​mouth chashu slices, the kikurage, the leak, even the lettuce. The lettuce… I was skeptical about this and thought they were just being cheap in substituting nori with lettuce, but it was surprisingly tasty. It’s not the boring romaine lettuce in sad salads; it’s large, leafy, and slightly nutty, bringing an interesting taste and texture to the accompanying umami broth.
I would have liked a whole chicken egg to come with the ramen, but on second thought, the quail egg was unique and delicious. Although not the most photogenic, the quail egg has a slightly different taste than regular eggs, and the most memorable part is how you can eat it whole with the soft-​boiled yolk mini explosion when you bite into it. (Reminds me a bit of when I discovered the novelty of popping boba).
They usually have those cool red curly things as a topping, but I guess they ran out when I went – I braved an order of extra spicy but my ramen anticlimactically lacked the flair and turned out considerably mild.
We tried the garlic pork and soy bean ramen, basic and no additional toppings, both $ 11.75. I was surprised that the broths tasted noticeably different – the garlic pork is richer and bacony, while the miso is more earthy with a hint of fruitiness.
[THE VERDICT]
Dojo sets a rather high price for a bowl of noodle soup (in terms of monetary and opportunity costs), but the skillz and OG-​ness of it all as a well-​established ramen shop in Downtown San Mateo makes it worth a try, definitely at least once, definitely for foodies, definitely for Instagrammers looking for yet another bowl of photogenic ramen.

Back when I was a wide-​eyed and impressionable college kid, I believed the hype for Ramen Dojo, and (relatively) happily thought that waiting in line for close to an hour was a good use of my time. Now, I am an adult, and realize the worth of my time is more than a bowl of ramen.
THE HIGHLIGHTS.
~ Pretty decent bowl of ramen (but not wait for hours in the cold good)
~ They tend to sell out of items on their very small menu on a regular basis (not sure if to generate supply/​demand or poor inventory)
~ On a near nightly basis, it seems like everyone and their mother waits in line for dinner here (no idea how the hype has not died down in years)
Pro tip — if you’re desperate for a bowl at Ramen Dojo, I would recommend trying for a weekday lunch, when the wait is much more reasonable. Overall, I’m a little over Ramen Dojo, personally.

Owen showed up around 7 PM and put us on the waiting list after he got off work, but I was driving in from home. The wait was 30 minutes, but since I wasn’t there we ended up getting our table as soon as I arrived around 8 PM. Nice!
We started off with an order of takoyaki, which was ok. Tasted like there was too much flour and it was overloaded with bonito. I was actually surprised when the waitress told me that they don’t have chicken kaarage.
I ordered the miso tonkotsu broth medium spicy and it was really salty. I tasted Joshua’s shoyu broth extra spicy and his was pretty salty too, but not as salty as mine was. However, Owen’s garlic tonkotsu broth was actually really tasty and he was kind enough to offer to trade with me.
Owen usually doesn’t complain about salt content because he can handle more salt than I can, but he did agree that the miso broth was really salty even for his taste. Guess we’ll remember to not order that next time.
The noodles were cooked more on the former side, which I didn’t mind.
My son says, «we’ll definitely be back…»

I think this place is overrated… and I know that puts me in the minority. I thought everything was pretty bland on my first visit, but chalked it up to a head cold clouding my taste buds. But I was perfectly healthy on my second visit and still thought it was pretty bland.
The noodles are fine. The broth is fine, but lacks the depth and flavor of Orenchi. The toppings are also fine. I did think that the presentation was nice — it made for a very picturesque bowl of ramen.
The wait is torturous, but they do take your order while you’re in line to help expedite the process.

Best ramen in NorCal… seriously! I absolutely love coming here for my ramen fix. There’s nothing like it anywhere else. In terms of broth flavors, you can choose soy sauce, garlic pork, or soy bean. Get the garlic pork! It’s delicious with rich flavors. I had the garlic pork flavor with extra quail eggs and corn toppings. Each bowl of ramen was $ 11.75. They have fifteen different toppings available ranging from $ 1.00 — $ 4.95.
If you’re planning to catch some ramen before lunch, get here EARLY! This place opens at 11:30am. We arrived at 10:50am, and there were already 4 separate parties ahead of us. By 11:15am, there was a line wrapping around the corner. I usually wait outside 30 mins before opening to guarantee entry as the first batch of customers. It’s not pleasant being the second batch as you have already waited for the place to open on top of waiting for the first batch of customers to finish eating. Sometimes they have a clipboard outside. On other occasions, they send the server to go around the line and write down our orders in chronological order.
There is street parking. I haven’t had a problem finding a spot. There are plenty on both sides of the street. I will definitely be returning for more when I’m back in the bay area!

I have been to Ramen Dojo twice now. Pre and post move to their smaller location. I have to say I miss the original location, it just looked way nicer. If you thought the first place was small, this location only seats 24, it’s super cramped and there is no privacy between tables. The Garlic Pork Flavor ramen broth is fantastic. So much flavor in 1 spoonful. The wait is a little ridiculous but the ramen great, I recommend holding off on dinner and arriving around 8PM.
Customer Service: B — Very authentic staff and once you are seated the food comes pretty fast. Our server was not the most personable but it was probably because it was so packed.
Food: A+
*Appetizers: Potstickers — great! /​Octopus Legs — so good!
*Garlic Pork Flavor Ramen — Once again the broth in ramen steals the show, a-​mazing. The pork has to be the best I have had, super tender so much so that you barely have to chew it. All of the veggies were good which is typical with most ramen but I loved the quail egg. It’s pretty much cooked all the way through but the quail yolk is salty and a different texture than a normal egg. I love salty yolk, just a personal preference.
***Cleanliness: D*** — I would have given this place 4 stars despite the wait because of how great the ramen is… but then I went to the restroom. I was directed towards the kitchen, I walked past all of the food out in the open. The restroom for employees and customers is literally 2 steps from the food. It’s so close that I had to turn my body to make sure I didn’t touch anything. I found it absolutely disgusting. I’m a stickler for restaurant cleanliness so I won’t be coming back here. I get it, rent in that area is expensive but with 3000+ reviews that all pretty positive I am sure Ramen Dojo makes enough money and has a strong enough customer base to move to a bigger spot. The previous location was beautiful, I would even go anywhere on the peninsula to get a bowl, but staying in that hole in the wall is just cheap on the owner’s end.
*Quick Review: Great ramen but I choose not to return because they have customers walk through the kitchen to get to the restroom literally arms distance from the stove. I was disgusted when I found out.

Decided to come here after a friend recommended it, and I was really glad I took their advice!
Parking is difficult around the area since it’s all street parking. Fortunately we found a spot not far from the restaurant.
Since we got there a little before closing, we really didn’t have to deal with any line, and we were seated within 5 minutes of arrival. The service was ok. You can tell they are used to dealing with a lot of people, as they were constantly moving, almost to the point where it felt like they were rushing you. It kinda makes sense tho given that the place is not very big. The food did come out quick, which was nice since I was starving when I got there.
The ramen was really good! We tried the Garlic Pork and Soy Bean flavored ramens, both of which were delicious. I tried the garlic pork with mild spice, and it wasn’t bad at all. Probably could have gone even more spicy. The pork slices were thick and not overly fatty, which I really liked. The presentation was also great, probably the nicest I’ve seen from a ramen place. The gyoza was ok. Decent flavor, but only came with three pieces.
Overall, solid ramen spot. Definitely recommend this place!

My boyfriend and I came here for dinner, we didn’t want to wait too long so we came exactly when it opened. However there was still a line, but wait was not bad 15 – 20 min. They don’t have much seats inside, therefore the wait can get really real.
I heard many positive things about Ramen Dojo and I must say it does live up to the hype. I tried their Garlic Pork Ramen and it was very tasty. The broth was smooth with a good amount of garlic taste. The noodles were chewy and cooked well and the pork was tender. We came here during the summer so OMG it was hot. I hope to come here again during winter so I can enjoy it even more.

Update: Tried one year later to see if it was just an off visit last time. The ramen sadly has not changed. The price, however, went up to $ 11.75 on bowls of ramen and almost all of the toppings went up 50%. (Eggs are now $ 1.50 rather than $ 1, pork is $ 2.25 rather than $ 1.50).
So in addition to still being average and overrated, this place is now officially overpriced.

As strange as it may seem, I kept my expectations for this place very low. There are just so many raving reviews and beautiful appetizing photos that I felt like Ramen Dojo would never be able to live up to the hype the precedes it.
Thankfully. Ramen Dojo was pretty freakin’ great. It’s a little bit difficult to explain. There was no specific part that blew me away but the entire experience and combination of flavors mad me veryyyy satisfied.
I was expecting a long wait since Ramen Dojo is quite popular on Unilocal and in the local community. However, my friend and I waited about 30 minutes for 2 spots at the bar. Not so bad for such a tiny establishment!
Service was quick and nothing crazy. Efficiency is what I like so A+ there.
The ramen though… I got the medium spicy garlic tonkotsu (pork) ramen with corn. OH MY GOD. That chicken gravy and cooked whole garlic really sets this ramen apart. The two THICK slices of roasted pork were the perfect mix of tender and meaty.
The best part about the ramen was that it was simultaneously flavorful, filling, but not too heavy. That’s extremely rare to find in such a typically heavy noodle soup.
Price can get up there if you start including a lot of add-​ons.
They use quail egg, which is fine by me but I still prefer my soft-​boiled chicken eggs.

Now I admit I haven’t gotten the chance to try many ramen places yet, but this is by far the best one I’ve tried.
Reading everyone’s reviews, I assumed coming here on a Saturday evening at 8pm would be a bad decision, but I was pleasantly surprised to find out there was only about 10 parties in front of us. We waited about 30 minutes before being called. I have to give this place credit for having a very efficient process considering their capacity is only 24 people.
The host, who was this sweet little Asian lady, gave us our menu when we were runner up for a table and asked for our order so by the time we sat down at our table, food was brought to us almost immediately.
Step 1: Choose a broth. They ran out of soy sauce broth, but good thing my SO and I both wanted garlic pork anyways.
Step 2: Choose level of spiciness. We both went with mild.
Step 3: Choose extras! They have such a wide variety of extras including pork, mushrooms, garlic, corn, bamboo, quail eggs, regular boiled eggs, spicy roe, (I’m sure I’m missing some).
Appetizers included edamame (sold out by the time we got there), seaweed salad, and boiled pot stickers. Disappointed to know that they didn’t have takoyaki or karaage.
Dessert included mango (sold out) or green tea mochi.
Drinks: Standard soft drinks, beer was Sapporo (small or large). I loved that they freeze their glasses for all drinks.
The service was great. The host and the ladies walking around were attentive and made sure to refill our waters.
Now onto the food! The broth was absolutely delicious! I could drink a bowl of that any time. The texture of the noodles were perfect. The pork was cut thick. I really enjoyed the pieces of fried garlic included. The portion was very adequate and I was definitely satiated at the end of the meal. Next time I want to add corn!

Definitivamente, el mejor restaurante de ramen de la península. La relación calidad-​precio es difícil de superar: un cuenco de ramen son 10 dólares más o menos, y le puedes añadir extras por un poco más.
El local en sí es pequeño, pero bien decorado, íntimo y bien iluminado. Hay varias mesas y una barra aceptable. Se llena hasta los topes por la noche, así que hace falta ir pronto si no quieres hacer cola.

Des très bons ramens à San Mateo. Préparez-​vous à attendre un bon moment sur le trottoir. En arrivant, vous inscrivez votre nom et le nombre de personnes sur une feuille près de la porte d’entrée. puis commence une longue attente. Le samedi soir, il est courant d’attendre plus d’une heure pour avoir une table. Mais…
une fois le pas de la porte passé, la qualité de la nourriture est excellente. Les portions sont généreuses et les ramens très bons. Je conseille les Spicy Garlic Pork. Si vous n’appréciez pas trop la nourriture épicée, évitez le Regular Spicy et rabattez-​vous sur le Mild Spicy.
Les tarifs sont raisonnables: environ $ 30 pour deux personnes sans boissons et avec pourboire.