Tatsu Ramen

I used to really like this place, but the quality of food and service has gone down to a completely abysmal point. Here are all the bad points:
1) My friends and I (3) were seated at the communal time, and when we tried to move to a bigger side the waiter said he said he told customers that they could sit there so we couldn’t move there. 2 people sat at the larger side and the 3 of us had to be squeezed to a smaller spot.
2) The waiters keep bumping into your back as they walk around. They have this nonchalant attitude and treat customers way too casually (it’s not bad, just feels really awkward when you have a waiter say «hey» to greet you but it feels like you’ve failed to recognize an acquaintance).
3) I bought an egg for the ramen separately and I had to argue with the waiter because he didn’t believe I bought it.
4) The egg I did get was COLD. My friend also got a cold egg. Absolutely disgusting. Are they keeping eggs stored in the fridge for a long time or something? They should be boiled in with the broth or at least kept warm WTF.
5) Their broth is so gross and thick to the point where I feel like I’m drinking oily salt.
I really don’t have any expectations for service since I’m Asian and used to that style of service. Tatsu waiters obviously hate working there and are probably going to quit in 2 weeks.
I also eat everything and find all foods to be average to good. I actually had leftovers, and that never happens.
Avoid this place and go to Daikokuya, Shin Sen Gumi, or Tsujita. Or maybe just buy a Maruchan cup for $ 0.80 and stay home.

Pretty damn good. I have gone here a few times and I usually get the red ramen which is really tasty BUT I do have to say this place is really pricey for ramen. One serving will get you full (whereas if I go to shin sen gumi or daikokuya one bowl is enough for me to have two meals). For the price I would much rather go to another ramen place… when I go here its generally for convenience (open later /​new years day).
I have also gotten the pork bun here which was okay… it was SUPER oily even for a lover of saturated fats. My friend said he really liked the fried rice.
The ordering is kind of stupid here, because you would think that the iPad system makes it automated aka the servers would know as soon as you pay but NO lol. You have to pay, print your receipt, then show it to the host who will then seat you and put in the order. If you don’t do this you will never get your food!
I feel like this defeats the purpose of having an iPad/​is very misleading. It may not be an issue when the place isn’t busy but when I was there last time eating in it resulted in us waiting an insane amount of time for our food…
There is very little seating area too, which is another con. I would probably just prefer to take this to go.
All in all I would go if it was my last choice.

It’s great if you want to dine-​in, but if you are getting something to-​go, forget it. I drive for a company that delivers food to customers, so I see a lot of people and a lot of restaurants. I’ve been to this restaurant multiple times and each time I have to wait a ridiculous amount of time to get my food. I watch so many parties of people come in, order their food, get sat, and receive their food. All the while I wait outside to pick up my orders.
This last order I was on, there was only had two pork buns to it — that’s it. When I got there I was told that the order had already been placed but only 20 minutes ago, and the typical wait time right now was between 30 to 40 minutes. So I sat and waited, until finally 35 minutes went by (making it a total of now 55 minutes since the order was placed), and when I went into go to check on the order, all of a sudden the order had «just come out» right after the server asked me what the name of the order was again. Yeah. Right.
My advice to management: have your people take to-​go orders as seriously as they do dine-​ins. I get it, you’re trying to move tables and trying to get people out, but still — delivery drivers are trying to make a living too. You also have customers waiting for you at the other end of our deliveries.

I was so pleasantly surprised with this spot! I have never tried a ramen place before, and now all I want is to find a similar one close to where I live.
Visiting the area for an event down the street, my boyfriend and I stopped here for a bite before heading back home to the valley. I loved the simple ordering system and how easy it was to be seated. We ordered the Red Ramen and the Original Ramen (with Chicken for me). Loved it so much, I couldn’t stop eating!
Definitely coming back when I’m back in the area.

My girlfriend and I came here for dinner yesterday. We waited about 15 minutes to get seated, which isn’t bad at all for Tatsu. About 10 minutes later the cooks gave us our pork chashu rice. I love the rice, but it seems to get greasier every time. About 5 minutes after that our water came. I’m not sure why it took so long to bring us water, but the worse part was the water must have been sitting for a long time because all the ice had melted, and the water was lukewarm. They also didn’t bring us straws, which isn’t a big deal. However, they usually do, so I just went to the checkout station and grabbed straws myself.
After about 30 minutes of sitting, our ramen finally came. I ordered the bold ramen, and my girlfriend ordered the old school ramen. The ramen was good as usual. However, the service seems to have gone down a lot. Waiting 15 minutes for water is a little ridiculous. Also, the waiters didn’t come by at all and check to see if everything was okay. Since, no one came by it was difficult to get to go containers, so we waited awhile until one of the hosts finally stopped near us. I used to love coming here, but now I want to try other ramen places.
The parking around here is also a pain. There’s street parking and valet, but the valet people can be super rude.

Way to ramen!
We waited almost an hour to be seated, but saying it was worth the wait is an understatement.
The electronic ordering system allows you to have control of all the details of your food, the ambience is cozy and casual, and it’s an overall pleasant place to have ramen on a colder day.
…but the ramen. The ramen is the star. The ramen had me questioning my life and the turns that made me end up there. The ramen, so fatty and warm, gave me feelings of what I can imagine cuddling with my grandmother feels like… this is particularly meaningful because both grandmas lived in another country and they’ve both passed on. The spicy has a magical balance with the euphoric surprise brought by the pouring yolk of the soft-​boiled egg into the thick broth, and the visual created by the fried pork and its crunchy edges is straight out of a dream.
Go, wait, enjoy!

The three star maybe unfair to Tatsu because Sawtelle is home to some undeniably fire ramen spots — so, a review within context of radius it is. Tatsu is a cute spot in a mini strip mall chock full o’ Asian delights, but also in a packed area (read: don’t come with a lot of friends because there isn’t too much open seating)
iPads are a gimmick but you knew that; I ordered the red ramen and we were soon served after. Mine was a bit heavy (I love a good bold Tonkatsu, too) so I didn’t have much of the broth. I don’t know that I was ready for that thick of broth (and it could have said so on the iPad as I was ordering but I felt a bit rushed by the line behind me).
Maybe come during off hours and spend some time with the menu. I do think it’s a bit too expensive but maybe because tipping is less convenient with this type of ordering model? Servers were very friendly though.

Tatsu, right in Sawtelle area. First time being in Sawtelle, and so glad I went. Love the area!
Met up with a cousin at Tatsu and was very impressed. They were pretty packed at 10pm on a Thursday. Small inside, but have outside seating. You order on the tablet once you get in. You add whatever you want and done! Seating is limited for sure, so hope you can grab one before its taken. They also have vegetarian options too. That was definitely helpful!
I ordered the bold. Had pork and an egg. The brother was very delicious! I added some seaweed flakes in there and I was golden. Big portion and price was decent. I’d def come back!

So you basically walk in and order on an iPad and wait for the next available seat. Noe was awesome and a really nice guy, greeted us at the door and showed us the way.
We ordered the Bold ramen and juicy pork bun. Waited only for about 10 minutes and got seating outside. The ramen had a great tasting broth but honestly I could only stomach about half. It’s very oily and salty. The pork was overly seasoned and the egg was cooked the way I love it but the broth just permeated the entire bowl. The pork bun was definitely soft but not juicy more dry to the bite.
Overall it’s good, but for me too salty and oily. If you can stomach that then you’ll like this place. But for me this will be the last.

YES YES YES FOR TATSU!
Tired of the crazy lines at Tsujita? This place won’t disappoint you. My friend and I went at around 6pm so it wasn’t as packed as we were expecting. You can find free parking next to Marshall’s.
You order from an iPad, there’s an open kitchen and services is super fast! I ordered the Bold Ramen which is their most famous ramen! Ahhhhhhh, pork broth, chasiu, and the best part is the soft boiled egg that comes with the ramen is so so so delicious.
My friend got the chicken ramen, which comes with the yellow (egg based) noodles. ORDER IT!
4.5 stars because it was a little salty!

I’m giving this place an updated review because of how kind the owner is. After my first review, he wrote me a note that he would go over restaurant etiquette with his staff and to come back in for another meal on the house. A very nice gesture. I probably wouldn’t have gone back, but the mister really enjoys the ramen here, so I gave it a go.
This time around, the waitress didn’t have long nails like the other girl. But I’m still a firm believer that they should all have a glove on when serving the bowls like the chefs do at the counter. I can see how tough it is to hand someone a bowl with one hand and not cause the tip and dip of the finger… eek. Some places use two hands to serve the bowl, but I guess whatever works. As long as I don’t get a fingernail in my soup!

I was excited to check this place of my ramen list but I don’t think I will be frequenting this place… or ever coming back.
The parking is hard so you gotta get lucky somehow and let’s not forget to read the many street signs so you don’t get a ticket !
You order through ipad first and then you get seated. The food comes out quite fast ! I was so excited to eat it and the free seaweed on the side got me all giddy. I ate it pretty fast because I was extremely hungry but then the fun stopped there.
The broth is extremely oily and salty. me and my boyfriend ordered the bold which consists of 11 «bold» ingredients but idk I think it was just 11 typa salt!
I have a pretty weak stomach to anything oily or fatty so yes definitely this ramen made me feel a little uneasy and nauseated throughout the day); overall I thought it was OK and I could’ve saved a little bit of cash and ate somewhere else. So maybe you guys should do the same !

My friends and I basically live here.
The ramen is great. The pork chashu bowls are life. And their eggs are the best soft boiled eggs I’ve ever had. The yolk is still wet, and they are the only place I know that can do it. Trust me, I’ve tried looking all over.
Plus, the prices are pretty reasonable, and everyone I’ve taken here (including my family) love this place.
They also use a flame torch to cook their pork so it comes out really juicy each time.
Considering that the student life is night owl status, I really appreciate how this place is open late. Plus it’s funny to see friends from school, and the other schools all coming together at Sawtelle.
The only struggles that this place has/​I would say are long lines since it’s always busy, and parking. If you come later at night, it shouldn’t be too much of an issue, but sometimes there’s valet til 10 and then other times you have to park in the neighborhoods and walk.
Useful tip. LA yellow loading zones are free game after 6pm!

We found Tatsu from Unilocal after we had some mediocre sushi from Kula. We decided that why keep on stuffing our faces with mehhh sushi, when we can just go to the next restaurant we like to try.
Tatsu to me is just fancy ramen with ipad ordering at the door or order online for take out. Is it good ramen? That’s just a matter of preference. I can see why all the buzz about the el dente this and the soup base that. However, over all it was just an experience for me. As usual, we order the lightest flavor with the chicken soup base which they call it Cheeky ramen. $ 12 which comes with an egg, white breast meat chicken and onions. You can add more toppings for some change, but we like our food simple. So we had one Chicken Cheeky and one Pork Cheeky with eggs, no onions, and no garlic (special request only).
The wait for the table was exactly 1 hour and 20 minutes and followed by the wait of our food for another 15 minutes. Worth the wait or not, I’ll let you decide. Finally the ramens arrived and was it flavorful? Yes. If extra extra extra salt, MSG and grease mean flavorful then this would be one orgasmic bowl of ramen. If chowing down a bowl of ramen have to followed by gulping down a few gallons of water to cure my dry mouth, then this may not be my cup of tea (or in this case bowl of ramen… lol). As far as ramen goes, it’s a meh for me, but I am sure whoever is selling salt, msg and pork grease to Tatsu, sure is cha-​ching it to the bank… LOL
So, 2 stars for the excellent white chicken breast meat which was very tender and cooked to its perfection. 2 stars for the cha shu pork meat which was also cooked to its perfection. 2 stars for the accommodation of no garlic (I am big on when spice is a choice not forced). Minus 1 star for too much salt. Minus 1 star for too much MSG and minus 1 star for too much grease. So there you have it, 3 stars! Do I highly recommend this place? Yes, but I won’t be back. Sorry.

Tatsu Ramen is a popular ramen noodle shop that opened in West LA’s Sawtelle Japantown in Spring 2012. A second location opened a couple years later on Melrose. At the time of writing this review, Tatsu Ramen Sawtelle has an average 4-​star rating with 1,338 reviews. I agree with the rating and had an enjoyable experience here.
The restaurant is located in a strip on the south corner of the Sawtelle Blvd-​Mississippi Ave intersection, across the street from Sawtelle Place (the two-​story shopping center with Nijiya Market). Complimentary valet parking is available at this strip (it can get rather busy) or you can parallel park for free along the residential side streets west of Sawtelle Japantown (which is what I recommend).
Tatsu Ramen is a modern take on the traditional ramen shop in Japan. Two reasons why:
1. You order and pay upfront before sitting. In Japan, you typically punch buttons on what looks like a vending machine and the machine spits out your order ticket which you then hand to a server or chef. At Tatsu Ramen, you order and pay on an iPad, then hand your ticket to a server as you sit down.
2. Tatsu Ramen has a standard ramen bar setup offering over a half-​dozen different types of ramen with traditional options like the classic tonkotsu (listed as «Old Skool» on menu) to new variations like the «Naked Ramen» which does not come with broth (also available on UberEATS) and the «Hippie Ramen» which comes with vegan broth and an optional cheese topping.
Ramen orders are highly customizable as you are able to adjust the levels of spiciness, garlic, and chopped green onions in your bowl of ramen as well as toppings such as eggs, meat, tofu, mushrooms, sweet corn, and more. I see what they’re trying to do with the ordering system, but it feels a bit gimmicky to me with touchscreens. I wouldn’t mind sitting down and ordering the old-​fashioned way, but whatever works.
I tried their top two ramen:
* Soul Ramen ($ 12) — tonkotsu broth, mayu (black garlic oil), sweet umami sauce, ground beef, chashu pork, green onions, wood ear mushroom
* Bold Ramen ($ 11) — tonkotsu broth, 11 «bold» ingredients (not disclosed), soft-​boiled egg, chashu pork, green onions, wood ear mushroom
Overall, I thought both bowls were delicious and filling and I can’t say I preferred one over the other. The tonkotsu pork bone broth here is very rich and flavorful, almost to a fault. While it was good, I couldn’t finish the broth in the Soul Ramen because the salt was too much for me.
The addition of both mayu and umami sauce to the Soul Ramen makes its broth intense. Add in ground beef on top of pork and you have more savory meat than your typical bowl of ramen. The Bold Ramen is like conventional tonkotsu ramen on steroids. The flavors of the broth are more pronounced and impactful. I don’t think it’s necessarily better than «plain ‘ol» tonkotsu ramen, but it’s pretty gratifying.
Other ingredients added to the ramen were sesame seed and crispy fried shallots. On the table are peeled cloves of raw garlic, garlic presses, nori (dried seaweed), shichimi (Japanese chili pepper spice mix), chopsticks, soup spoons, and napkins. I love ramen shops that provide these condiments. Raw garlic, nori, and shichimi can make a big difference to me.
I should point out the chashu pork (braised pork belly) is made from kurobuta pork, which is considered to be top-​notch pork from Japan, similar to wagyu for beef. Chicken is all-​natural, tofu is organic, and the eggs come from free-​range chickens. All of this is printed on your receipt. Suffice to say, Tatsu Ramen uses high quality ingredients.
In addition to ramen, Tatsu Ramen sells a wagyu ramen burger (wagyu beef patty in between two dried ramen noodle «buns» for $ 7), pork buns (Taiwanese bao), and various fried rice bowls. The buns and rice bowls run about $ 4 – 4.50 each. I tried the Veggie Fried Rice ($ 4.50) and it was compact and tasty. The rice had egg, plenty of fresh, chopped scallion, and pickled red ginger.
Service was good. We sat at the bar and watched the chefs work away. It’s fun and entertaining. Tax is 9%. Be sure to leave a tip.
The restaurant is small. There’s not a lot of seating. Inside, the bar can seat about 10 people. Then there’s a square communal table that can probably seat about 8 more. After that, you’re looking at the outside tables of which there are only a handful. They do have heat lamps for when the weather gets cool.
This place was bustling the night we went (a Friday night) and people started waiting for tables as early as about 6pm. Apparently, you can’t sit down and claim a table until it’s been cleaned by the staff. I watched as one party tried to do this.
Tatsu is open late: Until 2am, Sunday-​Wednesday, and until 3am, Thursday-​Saturday.
One final note: The restroom is old and needs a refurbishment.
TL;DR: I thought the ramen here was good and would recommend it if you like ramen.

I don’t understand why people feel the need to rate a place high because it serves pretentious hipsters, and people who don’t know what real food is. Maybe I am the only one when it comes to not liking this place, but it was a mess. First of all, when you come in, there are 3 ipads on the wall. I get it, you’re trying to be different — but it’s not working. When there are 10 people cramped up trying to take an order from those ipads, there shouldn’t be a line going out the door just to have the newcomers dread the wait for an hour.
There was one waitress — I kid you not — for the entire floor. I felt bad for her but then I’m sure management probably didn’t do the schedule right. Their waiting system sucks. You order from the Ipad, pay with your credit card, and then you have to wait for your number on the receipt to be called so that you can get your table. Not cool when 30 people are waiting in a room smaller than a walking closet. That feature is also making the dining experience less personable in my opinion.
My bill came out to be 15 dollars. My friend, about the same. I ordered the chicken ramen and added tofu/​green onions. The broth was gross. Hated the taste — it tasted like rubber or some shit. The soup was not cold considering it was a rainy day — and to top it off, we sat outside. I hated this place, and I am never coming back for sure. Save your 15 dollars and just go to to Daiso across the street.

Came on a Monday evening, ordered our food on the iPad at the entrance and then had to wait an hour before we were seated. Never doing that again. SO NOT WORTH IT. BUT… the ramen is good so I will be ordering food to go and not waiting in the chaos of people swarming the tiny restaurant.
Anyway 1 hour passed. We went to put more money in our meter parking. Parking is awful around here. We were lucky to find meter parking close by. Came back and were seated. Once seated we waited another 20 minutes for our food to come out.
Finally when the ramen came it was delicious. Worth the wait? No! But like I said, totally worth getting pick up.
I got the vegetarian «hippie ramen» and added an egg to it. Add the egg no matter what you get, so worth it! I’ve had vegetarian ramen at a couple other places and just thought ramen could not be made good vegetarian. Was going to write it off and never try again but my faith has been restored and this was so so good! Husband loved his meaty Bold Ramen as well.
So glad I have found a ramen place that can make good vegetarian ramen as well as ramen for carnivores.

raMMMMMMMen!
So I’ve been wanting to come here for awhile now and we finally came here last Saturday.
Place has that modern vibe. Staff are nice and their service is good. Clean bathrooms and they have valet parking.
We came not too long after they opened so it was not as packed. (Hint: One of the best times to come)
As soon as you walk in, you’ll see their iPad ordering system. Their menu is simple: pick soup, choose the level of spiciness, then the meat, then how much green onions and garlic. They have appetizers and sides available to order as well. Then you pay and print the receipt and give it to their hostess. While waiting you can pick the spot where you’re going to sit: either the bar or tables inside and outside the place.
I ordered their Bold Ramen and a side of spinach. First sip from that soup… I was in heaven! The broth was so flavorful and it complimented the noodles and pork. My boyfriend ordered the same but the way spicier version with fried rice on the side.
Best ramen spot for me! I cannot wait to come back.

One of the best ramen in LA! I would rank this along with Shin Sen Gumi. The broth was flavorful, on the salty side but not too much, it was just right. The pork was cooked nicely and soft. The noodles weren’t super soft but still slightly hard which was good to me. Corn is free to add if you wish. I seriously finished the bowl all the way down lol… coz they have cute messages!
Also, it’s very convenient to order since there are three tablets at the front ready for you with pictures too. For those who aren’t tech savvy, don’t worry it ain’t hard to figure out how it works. And food comes out pretty quick!
Parking is a little crazy btw, there’s a parking structure for free at the chicken dijon area then just walk to tatsu.
My only critique is that there’s barely any tables for big groups. There’s one big wooden table at a corner, but anyone can sit even just two people.

If you’re coming here, you gotta be a really patient person. This place is always crowded and the restaurant is pretty small too so it feels 10x as crammed. Not to mention, Tatsu is understaffed and the waiters seem to be overwhelmed with so many requests all the time. The cool thing about this place is that you get to order via iPad when you first walk through the door. Seating is more of a communal style but when its packed, the waiters will seat you.
They have plenty of condiments at each table (seaweed, garlic, chili pepper, etc…) so you don’t need to ask for extras of anything. When I was waiting for my food, I was just shaking my head the entire time. There was a girl across from us that literally ate from the communal seaweed box. DUDE, IT’S FOR THE ENTIRE TABLE. She was literally just poking her chopsticks in it and eating from it like it was no big deal… Where are your manners at??? Good thing there was another seaweed box at the table…
As for the ramen itself, it’s pretty darn good. I got an order of the bold ramen, and I love how the noodles are cooked — al dente. I’m a big fan of the broth as well. Delicious. You can easily customize it to your liking. Also, don’t forget… there’s FREE corn. Other places typically charge for that but not here!
This place serves you a quality bowl of ramen. I just wish people would have better table manners…