Ramen Gaijin

Delicious. Fresh. Healthy. Aesthetically pleasing. Refined but not pretentious. Friendly staff. Affordable. I could eat here every night. Great contribution to Sebastopol. Bravo!

The food was delicious but I had indigestion all night. The servers were friendly but slow. The drinks were pricey and the food portions small. I enjoyed it but probably won’t go back.

Not the usual Japanese food. Excellent flavor combinations. Nice place good service. The food is an experience I look forward to repeating frequently.

Love the atmosphere! Very enjoyable experience. I wish I had a better review — this is my first time having ramen! (I’m sure instant ramen does not count in this comparison.)

Meh. Nothing special. I’ve had way better for way less.
We had the Spicy Tan Tan ramen (broth had good flavor, was pretty spicy, but heavy with way too much oil) and the Shoyu Ramen (the fish/​chicken based broth, which tasted very fishy and not in a good way…) we opted for an extra serving of pork (extremely dry and lean) and extra noodles, so each bowl came to $ 17. For $ 17 I would have like to seen more than one half an egg per bowl, and more of anything, really. There was some lettuce and wood ear mushrooms that were a nice visual and textural contrast.
The service was nothing to write home about, and we were kind of confused about how to get to a hostess since the stand is in the middle of the restaurant– not intuitive. She kind of slammed our menus down and walked away without saying a word after seating us, which wasn’t a pleasant feeling. Not sure if we will be back, but we may– it’s pretty new, maybe they need to iron out the kinks.

I’ll just start by saying this place was great. It’s like most of the trendy places around Sonoma county meaning overpriced, but the food was good. They used good ingredients and each plate/​bowl is diligently put together and not just plopped down and sent out to you. I was full from a single bowl of ramen and could tell the ingredients were not bought at Safeway. However in comparison to say Sea Thai Noodle it tasted about the same. I will probably return and would say you should at least try it. It is a pretty cool space and the service was good.

Ramen Gaijin,
You can do no wrong. Your shoyu ramen is delicious, I especially love your perfectly cooked charsu pork belly. It’s tender, a bit crispy and o so addicting. The Kabu no Nuta appetizer is sweet and refreshing. After having eaten my share of Japanese ramen in Los Angeles, it’s nice to enjoy a ramen that deviates from the traditional Japanese ramen. The abundance of menma and woodear mushrooms is a welcome change from the typical green onion and corn.

I am reviewing the Happy hour bar drinks and snacks. I have been here two times now and have not been disappointed. Every cocktail I have tasted is divine. I have had the Mujina Mule with Tumeric, their cosmo with cardamon, and a yummy cocktail with Tarragon. The bar snacks are out of this world. My 9 year old son and I came during happy hour to grab a small bite to eat. We loved everything we ordered: The Kaarage, The Yakitori (Chicken, Pork Belly, and German Butterballs) and the popcorn. So delicious.
[ I have not yet had a chance to try the ramen. But I am looking forward to that. ]
Incidentally, since I have moved to Sebastopol from SF 2 years ago, I have not been wowed by any of the restaurants. This place changes that. So glad to finally have a good local eatery.

Wow! Tonight was our first time dining here and it did not disappoint. When we arrived, we were told that there was a 45 minute wait time (they do not accept reservations). We were okay with that and waited in the bar. We loved the décor of the restaurant and the art was amazing. At the bar, we had some tasty appetizers and wonderfully crafted spirits while we waited. Most notably, the Humboldt Kumamoto Oysters, the Gyoza, and the Pork Belly Yakitori. I had the Ichigo Dragon to drink. While I am not normally a gin fan, I may have been converted. This drink is amazing! The hostess informed us that we would be sitting at the Ramen Bar. If you get the opportunity, ask to sit at the Ramen Bar! It is almost like sitting at the Chef’s Table, with a view of the action. It was a pleasure to interact with the staff, Chefs, and other patrons. Now the difficult decision is which Ramen to have. I came into the restaurant ready to have the popular Spicy Tan Tan Ramen, until I heard what the special of the day was. Sometimes in restaurants, the «special» is what the Chef is trying to sell fast as to not waste product. Not in this case. The special of the night was the Tonkotsu Ramen, which was truly special. It consisted of pork bone broth that simmered for 3 days, porkbelly, noodles, Charred miso, Bok Choy, Woodward mushrooms, onset egg (sousvide egg cooked to 63 degrees), scallions, ginger. The flavor was very rich and earthy. It is the best thing I have tasted in quite some time. Thank you Chef Joel! I must also mention the wonderful staff that served us throughout the night. The staff was very attentive, knowledgeable, and helpful. Everyone from the bartenders, waitstaff, Chefs, and Owners were wonderful and it was a true joy to be in their company. I’m sorry I did not remember anyone’s names, it could be from my partaking in the Ichigo Drangon! To finish off the evening, we had the Black Sesame Buffalo Milk Gelato w: Green Matcha Powder «Dust», Miso Caramel & toasted coconut & matcha meringue nibs… Heavenly! I can’t wait to go back and try that Spicy Tan Tan Ramen, that is unless the Tonkotsu is available once again. Thank you for a perfect dinner! I highly recommend this place.

This place is a hidden gem. Their ramen is absolutely delicious! The noodles are just the right texture, the broth is so rich and flavorful, the pork belly melts in your mouth, and the egg is soft boiled and amazing. I’ve had the tan tan ramen both times I’ve been there.
I’d like to try other items on the menu, but it’s so good! I added fried chicken to mine, which was a good choice.
My husband and I got the pickle plate as an appetizer, and it was really tasty, with a variety of picked veggies.
It’s a bit on the expensive side for ramen ($ 15) but they use really great ingredients, and you can see them prepping and tasting every dish that is served.

I’ve only been here once, but once was review worthy. So damn good!
We slipped in through the bar, stopped there for a drink while we waited for a table. The bartender was attentive and clued us in to a few items we might be interested in.
We got to our table, I couldn’t focus on the menu because the art in this place is aaaamazing!
Once I finally did figure out what I wanted it was there in no time. We started with a pickled plate. I think this is a permanent menu item. If it is, and you like pickled… you must try it.
I got the Miso Shiitake Ramen, which seemed to be bottomless. There was so much food.
If you like ramen, stop in!

This is the best ramen I have ever eaten. I live right near Orenchi Beyond in SF, which is also remarkable, but this place blew my mind. My boyfriend and I both had the spicy tan tan ramen, which was wonderfully rich and spicy. We also shared the fried chicken thigh with miso ranch and the poke. We will surely be back.
Additionally, my boyfriend had the misfortune of having his wallets stolen minutes before we were seated. The staff was SO KIND helping us look for it (we initially thought he had dropped it when we sat down while waiting for our table). Such a top notch spot.

Cant order ramen at the front bar, so I got the fried rice for $ 11, and the sunomono salad $ 8. Both GROSSLY misrepresented, as you can see there was no watermelon in my «watermelon daikon salad».
Rice tasted like that spicy salt, veggies tastes like vinegar pickles.
Double IPA $ 6 and was half the size of a normal beer anywhere else.
I left hungry, and out $ 40 for 20oz of beer, the tinniest bowl of rice and a literal handful of raw veggies in vinegar. Soooooo disappointed.
Service was good. Two stars for service.

I don’t want the bowl of ramen to ever end. You can taste the fresh ingredients. You can taste every single favor they lovingly add. Its an exquisite masterpiece of culinary art. It’s cozy and warm and makes me sooo happy. A MUST-​EAT in Sonoma County. You’re missing out!

AMAZING — all across the board.
Many options — gluten free /​vegan & beyond.
HIGHLY RECCOMEND it.

Good ramen highlights this spacious new (ish) restaurant in downtown Sebastopol. Service was friendly, if a bit slow. The no reservations policy worked out for us (last minute diners), but would be annoying if I was planning a night out. Wine list is very short and limited, unlike the sake list, which is rather extensive, at least for these parts. Nice to have this place around!

We came in at 545 and the wait was an hour even though we were a party of 2 and there were only two names ahead of us. I had the Ramen before they got their liquor license and they focused only on the ramen. It was good! But since they don’t take reservations, I’m not willing to drive half an hour just to wait an hour. Their ramen was good, but not that good. I look forward to when they either serve ramen at the bar or start taking reservations.
Or, you know, just serve food at the bar like a normal restaurant (the full menu, not these transparently scammy appetizer options). The worst part is, even though I was the one being inconvenienced and trying to give them money, the vibe was that I should just be more chill and be willing to wait an hour, not that they should get their systems in order.
If you look at my profile you will see I am more of a 5-​star reviewer than anything else. But as a business owner, I expect a certain level of respect when I have become the customer. Not the case at Ramen Gaijan.

This place is in a little shopping center and the entrance is easily missed. Inside there is a bar and in the back is the dining area. It was pretty busy but I was seated right away. All the staff members were super friendly. It was my first time trying real ramen. I ordered a spicy tan tan ramen. All the flavors were amazing! I will defiantly be coming back!

A very nice addition to Sebastopol. I just wish they would include Phở or at least move into a greater selection with their ramen offering.
I guess I should update this since loads of people (guilty of a not very close reading) have wrongly assumed I don’t know my noodles – which I do. Lots of people have decided to unpack a load of their own provincial assumptions about me based on my brief review. I was merely expressing my desire to have Phở more nearby. I didn’t make the moronic mistake of miscegenating my noodle’s nation of origin. Most of my critics were bumpkins from Santa Rosa so I’ll trot out my bona fides: I was married to an Asian woman for 20 years, lived in SF’s China Town annex, I can tell one Asian person from another, I do know the countries of origin for noodles. Now that that is all settled. I’d still like to see this place add Phở, though I probably make the best PHO and Mein in my own kitchen. Sayonara to all of you in the boobacracy.

SO GOOD. I went here over the weekend with some friends, and it was a little hard to find because the building still says Forchetta Bastoni, but the struggle and the price was all worth it.
I got the Spicy Tan Tan Ramen and tried to savor every moment of it…$ 15 is kind of a lot for a bowl of ramen, but the noodles here are definitely authentic, high quality, and come in a pretty large serving. One of my friend basically loves having Japanese ramen pretty frequently, and she gave the place her stamp of approval :)
Also, the egg in the ramen was a wonderful surprise… The pictures on Unilocal look great, with the perfect runny yolk and everything, but you can’t really tell that it’s ALSO A TEA EGG that’s been pretty much seasoned flawlessly. And the Pork Belly? I still think about it every so often at work when I’m hungry…
I’ll be coming back!!! Another note, this place also seems to be great as a lunch spot for people coming alone, so you can come and sit near the kitchen and eat your noodles in peace and 100% concentration!