Sanoya Ramen

This place holds a special place in my heart and stomach. There are a few reasons why I love this place so much.
Quality Service — my friends and I come here pretty much every Thursday night after our weekly large group meetings for our church group. The workers here are friendly and patient. We have a large group of college students and I know it can be challenging getting our orders together, but Mariel (and one of the other waiters, I can’t remember his name) are always really patient, never speaking rudely toward people. They’re so fun and are constantly checking up on people.
Good deals — I personally love the udon set. It tastes good. But it’s also such a steal. A bowl of udon, chicken Katsu, rice and Kim chee all for like $ 8! For everyone living on a budget, this is the place.
Late hours — So you know how usually you go to some late night event and then by the time youre done the only restaurant that’s still open is Zippys? Well you can count on sanoyas to be open late too. While I do like zippys, I think I would pick sanoyas over zippys because of the good food and because I swear zippys keeps increasing their prices.

This place might not have a fancy décor, but it has delicious food.
I had Tonkotsu Ramen priced at $ 8.25 and it was delicious. My gyoza was perfect too, 6 pieces were only $ 4.25
The customer service was great, my son and I got our food quickly. The owner Mr Ono came to talk to us, and he was really nice. He mentioned that they will be opening another restaurant in Ala Moana Mall. Can’t wait for that, it will be much closer for me to grab something quick to eat after work.
Good experience, we will definitely be back. I love small mom and pop joints like this one.

Nice casual atmosphere and the service is so quick! I come
here every week and order the udon set and never get tired of it! Would definitely recommend it!

What a horrible experience tonight. Our sui gyozas were still partially raw when served to us! The pork inside was still dark pink. Then we found a bug in our champon ramen when we were half way done with it! We always knew that they weren’t the cleanest restaurant around, but they really need to work on sanitation. Hope my family and I don’t end up getting food poisoning…

Did the chef change here? Normally, I would give this place a 3.5– 4 star, because their ramen is not that bad. Today I ordered the spicy miso ramen, and the stock was hot (temperature wise) and delicious, but the noodles were stretched out. Ok, that, in my opinion, is a major flaw in a ramen dish! Soggy noodles… ugh… yuck! This place is a ramen establishment, known for their ramen, so they should be good at the one thing they do. Noodles should be aldente, they should bounce off your palate as you chew, not mash into oblivion with toothless gums. It’s not as though I ordered a steak at a ramen establishment… I ordered ramen. Ok, I have vented. Needless to say, whoever was in the kitchen today needs training.

Hate writing bad reviews, but this used to be one of our favorite places since we moved to town about 8 years ago when the same Asian lady with the glasses worked there. Granted we didn’t go frequently but at least several times a year.
However our visit on Wednesday is our last. One third of the tables were full and five were full of dirty dishes, only one two top was open but we had a party of four. There was one male server working and a woman by the register just looking around. Keep in mind you can see the entire restaurant from the cashier stand.
The male server passed us three times in ten to fifteen minutes while we stood waiting in the middle of the restaurant though he never acknowledged us or cleaned a single table. Then the two employees started talking by the cash register while they were looking at something. By the fifteen minute mark I’d had enough, at least recognize you have people waiting and clean your tables especially if your not busy doing anything.
Sad to say goodbye to the place, it used to be awesome! Would rate it negative stars if I could. My fault for telling people how great this place was even though they told me service sucked I would always tell them to try again, my bad.

1. perhaps most notable is SR is open 11 AM to 3 AM 7 days a week. also, their sign up high you see driving on King St. is not in English, but Japanese or Chinese-​looking characters. ah! but the back side (like the dark side of the moon!) of this sign facing Diamond Head is in English.
2. sometime in 2015 the Dept. of Health shut them down for a few days/​weeks for violations.
3. there’s about 6 parking stalls behind SR
4. the décor is very plain inside with glass walls (facing King St.) from floor to ceiling. it’s awfully noisy if there’s a large group of diners. these glass walls were frosted with curvy lines in 2015 — not much of an improvement
5. Champon Ramen, most expensive ramen choice, had lots of veggies, but the broth was very tasteless. perhaps that’s why there’s many (unlabeled) condiments on each table. best ramen broth i know of is at Menya at Shirokiya (Ala Moana Center), Man-​Ichi at Windward Mall (very elegant décor — restraintful in a Japanese way; high prices), & on Kona St. near Ala Moana Center. i told them guys — very, very tasty broth, but i’ll croak if i eat there every day! must be lots of oils mixed very flavorfully.
6. Sanoya Special ramen is my favorite. almost identical ingredients as their Champon Ramen, but the Special has a thick, tasty broth. enjoy the tasty gyoza (side order) too — no dipping shoyu needed — broke da mouth!

I loved this place. I loved the generous portion and affordable price and even I loved the taste! But you know what, they didn’t use gloves when they make the gyoza. I was very disappointed because when I was eating gyoza they made some gyoza infront of me, and I saw the server lady didn’t wash hands. It was a around 3pm and just few customers were there.
I know when you make the gyoza, it is better without gloves because you need to put some water in your fingers in order to put together the shell. I know that but she touched money and the cashier machine but didn’t wash her hands so that was disgusting.

I always come here when I crave chicken karaage. So good! Everytime so cheap! They have happy hour before 6:30pm every night when appetizers and some plates are a bit cheaper. They’re open until late too!

I like the ramen here enough to eat here in the middle of the night after a night of heavy drinking. However when you go during the day the conditions are much less sanitary looking. My friend ordered curry udon last night and pulled a metal string from her broth. The metal string was a piece of a dish scrubber that had somehow made its way into her curry broth. When we told the waiter he asked if we wanted another one or wanted to «cancel. «they comped her udon but it was pretty gross to think about.

My boyfriend and I got recommended to come here. We loved the casual atmosphere, reasonable prices and generous portions. We wanted to love this place, swear to god! Before we even finished our meal we were talking about the next time we’d return… cut to an hour later.
My bf ended up with a terrible case of food poisoning. Almost a week he was puking nonstop and couldn’t keep any food or fluid down, poor thing. Sorry Sanoya but food poisoning is just the worst and not acceptable.

I’ve been coming here for years. My parents used to love this place too. They would always order the mini. Since they both ordered it, they commonly referred to the place as Mini Mini.
It’s not the best place but it’s great for a cheap meal and they are open late.

I came here on a whim because I wanted to go to the new Medieterrean location across the street, but since it was a ‘cash only’ night I opted to come here instead. This is not a bad reflection on Sanoya Ramen, but rather a blessing to have another ramen shop to visit in Hawaii.
I ordered their TanTan Ramen, which had two chili peppers symbols next to this selection, which indicated the spicyness level. My dad ordered some type of seafood ramen (I can’t remember the name of this dish) and my mom ordered their Mabo Ramen. We also shared their 6 piece gyoza, which happened to be during Happy Hour, so that was a $ 1.00 off.
I actually liked their TanTan Ramen, but didin’t think it was spicy enough to warrant two chili symbols. There was a kick, but I would equate it to more mild/​medium than actual spicy. (Disclaimer: I have a somewhat high tolerance for spicy food).
I would definitely be back to try their other Ramen options.
Pros:
(1) open late (I think until like 2am)
(2) BYOB
Con:
(1) parking — it’s King Street, enough said!

This place was a decent place to eat ramen. I say it was average and the price was good. I got the shoyu ramen which was $ 7.50 and a side of 4 gyoza for $ 3. The service was decent. I felt like the ramen wasn’t substantial enough for my appetite, but would be good for an average person (I have a very large appetite for a girl. lol).
The noodles were thick and tasted dough which meant they were fresh. The shoyu ramen was garnished with fish cake, a nori, green onions, vegetables, and char siu. The broth tasted okay. I consider this place a cheap place to get ramen, but not the best.
The gyoza was fantastic on the other hand. Crispy on one side and tasty, I could have eaten more, but was on a strick budget. I wished they labeled their seasonings because I mistaken the chili sauce for gyoza suace :/

Great place for udon! so tasty but the only thing i didnt like was when we had to wait for the wakter to refill our waters. took forever! its also a very noisy place and they accept you bringing your own alcoholic beverage. AND they open late so if your out one night you dont have to worry where to eat cuz they close at 3!

It’s been a few years since I’ve been so this visit was a stroll down memory lane. Parking is still tight, but at 2am there’s parking nearby whether street or lot. Crowd is usually younger guys getting some food before they head home from a night of drinking. And unbelievably the server is the same woman!
Ok, so we get in and there’s only a few patrons and the one server. Service here has always been lacking so don’t expect much and you won’t be disappointed. Few minutes pass and we get menus, a few minutes we order, and finally the cook brings us water. Strange but ok. As I said, in this place don’t expect great service. Total time from ordering to getting the food was about 7 mins.
I ordered the Katsu Curry Fried rice plate for $ 8.75 + $ 1.50 for fried rice and a 4 piece Gyoza (pot stickers) for $ 3. The Gyoza here is and has always been outstanding. I’m not sure if they make them here or if their previously frozen but they’re awesome. The Katsu Curry was killer! Their Katsu is super crispy and not at all chewy, while the Curry (brown) is loaded with meat chunks and veggies. Together with their fried rice is killer!
So my stroll down memory lane was not a disappointment at all. I even look forward to my next visit. Prices are still low, portions are big, food tastes awesome and service is lacking. Consistency is so important. Be back soon.

Yes the place seems old and dirty, but the food is good! The thing I liked most about this place is that they had these small portions you could order. As you can see from the pic I posted, I got a small portion of ramen, a small portion of beef curry with rice and a side of mac salad. It was late night after going out so I didnt want to stuff myself like I normally do as that’s what I was doing the entire time I was there. Totally a fan!

I grew up eating here. I know everyone worries about how messy and dirty this place is, but even after 20 years of eating here, I haven’t gotten food poisoning.
The gyozas are actually what makes me come back. It’s super garlicky so if that’s your thing, you’ll love it.
There’s usually only two people working at a time so if you are getting impatient, don’t get passive aggressive and wait for 20 minutes. Just wave your hands at them. They’ll come.
It’s just a good cheap eats place that’s open really late. They were a part of the reason why I was able to survive my broke ass early 20s.

Joining the mediocre late night food bandwagon is Sanoya Ramen.
Located on S King Street, this place as been a late night Japanese staple since 1990.
Parking is limited in back of the restaurant, though it is shared with a handful of other establishments.
With local favorites such as Katsu Curry, assorted ramens, fried rice, gyoza and udon they are sure to have something for your craving.
For $ 7 – 9, you can get a pretty hefty sized meal for one, or you can choose to add fried rice or gyozas to make things even heavier.
No alcohol served here, but they do have a soda machine if you choose to purchase some bubbly sugar pop.
As many other reviews state, service and cleanliness are not their forte.
Grimy tables, rice on chairs, unfilled shoyu & vinegar bottles are a normal thing here. Also don’t count on getting share plates or shoyu dishes at the time your food is delivered. Depending on the time visited, they may be busy with take-​out orders (think weekday dinner time and weekend late nights) which may in turn be a longer wait for sitting customers.
All jokes aside, for the price paid, I think Sanoya Ramen does an-​okay job with the flow of service.

After seeing a lot of these negative reviews about Sanoya, I’m gonna chime in about my dining experiences here. I have been coming to this place for quite some time now because I do work a swing shift in Waikiki and there aren’t too many decent places I can eat some decent ramen at after midnight.
Si I’m solely doing this review from my times eating here during these times. I can tell you this, if you see this older Filipino lady working her butt off taking orders and serving your food, give this lady some slack. Do you realize she even does the cooking as well? Mary Lou is someone that I truly admire for all that she does for this place. She is the reason why I come here time and time again because no matter how busy she is, she still has a smile on her face and does her job well.
Who I should crucify is the owner who makes her work this hard and not giving her the adequate help that she needs during these busy times when people are drunk as a skunk after going to a nightclub that come here to eat and all these rude people who eat here treating her like crap. I admire someone like Mary Lou who at least tries her best during these busy and gets the job done.
If there is someone who deserves five stars and more, it’s definitely you Mary Lou. I just want to thank you for all that you do and tell your boss, it’s you that’s keeping this place in business and he should be ashamed of how he utilizes you in more ways than one. If I ever owned a Restaurant Mary Lou, I would hire in a heartbeat and let this tyrant boss have his establishment shut down knowing that you are the reason Sanoya’s is still afloat.
Now on to the food. I will say this. The Ramen here to me isn’t the greatest, but it does it’s job. The price point here is another reason why a lot of people dine here. The portions here are quite substantial and the Ramen and Udon Set’s are very reasonably priced and is actually pretty good.
What we usually come here for is the Kim Chee Fried Rice with Egg. Whenever Mary Lou makes it for us it is amazing, but when someone else does, it just doesn’t taste right. And for me, there is one thing I order 90 percent of the time, and that is the Gomoku Yakisoba on Crispy Noodles. This dish when Mary Lou makes it is like heaven to me. The mixed seafood with pork and vegetables in gravy over the crispy cake noodles which gets nice and soft after mixing it in with the other components makes me shudder with sheer happiness. Mary Lou turned me on to this dish and I never order anything anymore because this is my go to dish at Sonoya’s each and everytime now. And eating this with a side order of Kim Chee truly hits the spot.
Did you also know that this place is BYOB as well? That’s another plus if coming here as well. Sanoya’s may not be for everybody especially if you are a Ramen Afficionado, but like I said, where else can you go after midnight to eat decent ramen? I really like coming here to see Mary Lou because like any great server, she knows exactly what you like and she doesn’t even give us menu’s anymore. It’s like she reads my mind each and everytime. And know matter how busy she is, Mary Lou will give you her all and my friends is PRICELESS. These kind of attributes can’t be taught.
So if you see this older Filipino lady working after midnight running around and giving her all, please give her a little slack because she is truly a gem and hard working people like this make my visits here at Sanoya worth my while. Mary Lou, we love you and keep up the great work that you do.

SOOO good! Tastes just like Japan!