Iza Ramen

San Francisco, United States

3.8

Closed now

20 reviews

Accepts Credit Cards

Contacts

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Telephone:
+1 415-926-8173
Website:
izaramen.com
Address:
237 Fillmore St, San Francisco, CA, 94117
b/t Laussat St & Haight St
Lower Haight
Nearby public transportation stops & stations:
840 ftChurch & Doboce
900 ftDuboce & Church Street
910 ftDuboce & Church
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Bussiness info

Takes Reservations
No
Delivery
No
Take-out
No
Accepts Credit Cards
Yes
Accepts Apple Pay
No
Accepts Bitcoin
No
Good For
Dinner
Parking
Street
Bike Parking
Yes
Wheelchair Accessible
Yes
Good for Kids
Yes
Good for Groups
Yes
Attire
Casual
Ambience
Trendy
Noise Level
Average
Alcohol
Beer & Wine Only
Outdoor Seating
No
Wi-Fi
No
Has TV
Yes
Dogs Allowed
No
Waiter Service
Yes
Caters
No

Today

Today 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Closed now
Local time (San Francisco) 14:37 Friday, 29 November 2024

Business hours

Monday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Tuesday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Wednesday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Thursday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Friday 5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Saturday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm
Sunday 11:30 am – 2:30 pm
5:00 pm – 10:00 pm

Description

History

Established in 2013.

Established in 2013. Blowfish to Die For’s Executive Chef, Ritsu Tsuchida, unveiled the now-​legendary ramen recipe at the Iza Ramen and broke the widely held belief by Bay Area’s ramen connoisseurs that one must venture outside the city to enjoy authentic ramen. Iza ramen is comprised of painstakingly slow-​cooked, impossibly tender BBQ pork belly, fatty triple-​stock broth, perfectly chewy noodles, soft boiled egg, and a variety of other tasty topping options. Chef Ritsu is also offering Tsukemen for those who prefer dipping their noodles to letting them soak. The Iza Ramen pop-​up shop operated for two and a half years at the Blowfish Sushi in San Francisco. Even with the limited open hours, Ramen lovers from Bay Area supported and enjoyed Iza’s Ramen as well as a selection of Japanese Izakaya appetizers including well-​known Iza original Karaage Fried Chicken. After years, Iza Ramen found a perfect permanent location in Lower Haight.

Meet the Business Owner

Ritsuo T.

Business Owner

Rituo Tsuchida (Ritsu) is the co-​owner and the Executive Chef of Blowfish Sushi to Die For which opened the original location in Mission, San Francisco in 1996. Chef Ritsu comes from a long line of chiefs and his family takes great pride in being in the restaurant business in Tokyo for several generations. He received a traditional training by a renowned Sushi Master in Tokyo before immigrating to Bay Area. Chef Ritsu’s remarkable and innovative dishes and his food artistry quickly gained popularity in San Francisco and he expanded Blowfish to Hollywood, New Zealand and Santana Row, San Jose. His talent was recognized by the prestigious James Beard Foundations and was invited to present his culinary skills at their San Francisco event in 2005. Chef Ritsu has worked all over the world as a guest chief alongside of celebrity European chiefs and continues to explore his unlimited pallets and creativities.

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20 reviews of Iza Ramen

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Place rating: 3
Bakersfield, CA
Seems like there are not many «obviously great» tsukemen options in San Francisco, despite the many great ramen options. Iza looked promising. I tried their spicy tsukemen with fish powder, garlic and chile powder toppings. Their spicy wasn’t spicy, so I added the extra chile powder and it was a hint spicier. The noodles had a great bite, but zero bounce back which lead to a little bit of a dough consistency at the end of the chew. The broth was a breath of fresh air with layers of pork, relatively heavy fish, heavy salt and hints of sweetness which were reminiscent of Tokyo broths. The chashu was sparse, but had been presumably torch seared which led to a fantastic finish. The lean meat was satisfying to break down and the fat was reduced to a custard consistency. I would definitely recommend trying this if you’re in the area. One point of frustration was paying for chile powder and garlic toppings. It seems a bit much to me to charge for these very small spoonfuls of usually free toppings.
Place rating: 4
Concord, CA
My eyes lit up when I saw Tsukemen on the menu! If you’re not familiar with Tsukemen, it’s cold noodles separated from the broth. I like the idea of being able to dip my noodles into a warm, rich, thick broth! Nothing like a little dip dip on a Saturday night.
Look people, order the Tsukemen here. You will walk out happy and satisfied singing «I put my hand upon your hip, when I dip, you dip, we dip.» Promise! I had my friend try out my Tsukemen and he went into a deep depression because he wished he had ordered the same.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Service was super great! The waitress sat us down super fast! I loved the interior of the whole restaurant! Very modern! Food was great! A little salty though~ felt very dehydrated after but that tends to happen after I eat ramen so… Haha
Definitely returning and trying their rice bowls!
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Iza Ramen — traditional ramen with rich broth, thin straight noodles.
Tsukemen Ramen — dipping ramen with super thick rich broth, thick cold noodles served on the side. Noodles were delicious.
I liked both and found both very filling because the broths were so thick. We were stuffed and didn’t need and side dishes.
Place rating: 1
San Francisco, CA
Tsukemen dipping ramen noodles were good, but the dipping ramens broth was just too salty. It gad no flavor. We ordered 3 and we weren’t impressed. We ended up not finishing it.
Service is great but being excited for dipping ramen and ending up eating a salty and tasteless broth really disappointed us. First and last time here.
Place rating: 5
Fullerton, CA
Spicy Ramen: lets start with the broth, the broth was flavorful, even though it was spicy. The heat from the chilies didn’t over power the flavor of the broth. It was a good balance between spicy and salty. The ramen was good, it was firm but not too firm.
Service: Service was good.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
I love the interior of this place — super welcoming, clean, great décor and furniture.
We ordered one regular ramen, one regular tsukemen and one seaweed salad. The seaweed salad was nothing to write home about, and was somehow sort of swimming in a liquid which was a little strange.
The regular ramen was very good, but the noodles were thinner and not as good as the tsukemen noodles. It was also not a huge portion, especially for $ 12.
Tsukemen was $ 12.50 and the dipping broth was very flavorful and thick, but the star was definitely the thicker, chewier noodles — SO good! Again, not a huge portion.
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Iza Ramen has been on my must try list for the longest time. It was just hard for me to make my way there because everyone I was eating Ramen with had to go to Mensho Tokyo. I finally got a couple of friends to come with me and knock Iza Ramen of my list.
We arrived around 6 PM and there was no wait for our party of 3. No line? Fine with me! I already made up my mind on the Spicy Tsukemen (dipping Ramen). My friend got the «Iza Ramen», a mix of tonkotsu, chicken stock, and a fish dashi. We also grabbed a few imported beers from Japan, each with a unique can. My Tsukemen came out quickly and I was slurping away once my bowl hit the table… Well after I took a picture of course. The bowl was a perfect balance of spice and savory broth. The broth had a fishy essence in a fresh ocean sense. The toppings were basic but delicious. The bamboo did not have an overpowering fermented flavor and was super tender. The noodles were thick and chewy, which paired nicely with the broth. They do not cool down the noodles like other places, so the last bite was a little overcooked, but delicious none the less.
I had a slurp of my friend’s Iza Ramen and it was just as tasty. It reminded us of a thick Shin Ramyun broth, except it doesn’t leave you with a feeling that you drank a spoon of salt in every bite.
We both had to order an extra serving of noodles to appease our appetite, but our eyes were bigger than our stomach. We went with a full order of noodles but should have went with the less carb intensive half order. It was a delicious struggle that ended in soup sweats, but there were not regrets.
The Ramen here goes for the average going price for Ramen at 12 – 13 dollars. While other places like Mensho charge you more, they will fill you up with a standard serving. With the great service and slick décor, Iza is easily 4.5 stars. I won’t hesitate to come back here soon.
Place rating: 3
Chicago, IL
Never had dipping ramen… It’s interesting… and i like the fact that I could control the amount of sauce/​soup on my ramen… i also had some of my mom’s regular miso ramen…
the noodle was good… but other than that… the sauce/​soup was on the bland side and lack of depth… the hamachi appetizer and shisito peppers were as good as anyone else’…glad we didn’t have to wait…
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
I LOVE their tsukemen here! I have had this place bookmarked for a while and one of my friend’s and I were trying to find ramen restaurants open on a Monday but realized most of them are closed then… except Iza! So we were happy to have our ramen craving satisfied on a cold Monday evening after work.
Walking in, I realized how modern and clean the interior is! It’s not the brightest lighting but it’s a very comfortable ambiance. We got seated right away and took a glance at the menu. We got served water in a cute mason jar (just another hipster trend in SF). They don’t have an overwhelming selection of ramen (thank goodness) but have their classic Iza ramen, tsukemen, and vegetarian ramen. I opted for the spicy tsukemen ($ 12.50 for non-​spicy, $ 13 for spicy) and my friend got their spicy ramen (same price as the tsukemen for non-​spicy and spicy). I was amazed at how flavorful my dipping sauce was for the noodles! It also came with an egg, pork, bamboo shoots, seaweed and green onion. Like the waiter described the spicy tsukemen; it wasn’t too spicy where I couldn’t taste anything, but definitely spicy enough where the broth has an extra kick to it.
The service overall was really good, fast and efficient. Our ramen came out within 15 minutes of ordering. They do the «Welcome!» traditional Japanese greeting, which adds some fun and excitement upon entering. I could only remember that distinctly when I was in a ramen shop in LA, but it’s cool that they do it here too!
Place rating: 5
San Francisco, CA
Yup. This place is still the best tsukemen in the area. After discovering their pop up last year, the SO and I were excited to finally give their brick and mortar a try. The restaurant is actually fairly sizable and located in the heart of the Haight Ashbury area — so smart, convenient location. When we arrived around 7pm on a Sunday, we had about a 20 minute wait which wasn’t too bad. Their table turnover is pretty quick — when parties left, they were more or less ready in less than a minute which was impressive.
For food, we decided to give the beef tataki and the iza ramen regular and spicy flavors a try. The beef tataki was a great cut of beef, and the ponzu marinade complimented it really well. I was a little less thrilled about all the onions topping the beef — maybe that’s just tataki, but I didn’t think they added much to the experience itself.
The star of the meal though, the ramen, is still very much on point. I had the regular Iza Tuskemen. Portion size was great — I felt super full after my meal. Tsukemen is also pretty thick, so it’s one of those things that fill me up really quickly and then I get really hungry later on. I think Iza really nails the texture and flavor of the broth. The broth is always distinctively peppery to me, though not overwhelmingly peppery. Lots of complex flavors and nice tender bamboo shoots and bean sprouts in the broth itself. I noticed that they mixed it up this time by putting all the «sides» directly into the dipping broth itself, and I thought that was a really nice touch.
The noodles are prime — very chewy and delicious, and are on the thicker side as to be better dipping noodles. The only minor wish I had for them on the noodle side is to make sure to strain the noodles more effectively so there isn’t a puddle of noodle water when you finish the dish. Otherwise though, I love the tsukemen here. Probably one of the few places in the city where you can get this dish and definitely one of the most delicious ramen dishes I’ve had.
tldr; if you’ve never had tsukemen, definitely give this place a try — it’ll give you a great introduction to the dish. also probably my favorite ramen place in the city
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
I was so excited to try dip ramen (tsukemen) for the first time, but my experience here was subpar. Meh. The interior is nicely designed like a typical SF trendy restaurant and the service was good, but the food was just OK. I liked the texture of the curly ramen noodles (al dente), but the broth was so salty. Why. The chashu and egg were alright, not very memorable. I probably wouldn’t come back. There’s much better ramen in the Bay Area for much less money!
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Great ramen! There weren’t a ton of ramen choices, but then again if it’s good, you don’t need many options. I got the spicy ramen and it was delish! Perfect amount of spicy!
Noodles were really fresh and flavorful too. I’d say the only potential complaint would be that there weren’t a lot of toppings that come in it as is. One slice of pork, half an egg and a sprinkle of other things (seaweed, etc). I’m usually in it more for the noodles but I know people like their toppings, so you may need to add more.
Potstickers/​Gyoza were pretty good too.
Second time we went they were very slow to seat us. They said 15 – 20 minutes but it ended up being at least 30 min and they let about 4 groups of two go before us. So that was annoying but food was still good and quick.
Place rating: 4
Fremont, CA
I was searching for a place that served decent ramen in San Francisco and came upon Iza Ramen on Unilocal.Lower Haight seemed like a friendly neighborhood so I decided to come on Monday night with my boyfriend. There seems to be limited street parking but luckily we snagged a spot within a block from the restaurant.
There was a short line but we were quickly seated within 15 minutes. The restaurant isn’t too small but most of the tables are arranged towards the door. I’m guessing they want to leave space near the kitchen for the staff to move around.
My boyfriend and I ordered the Iza Ramen with buttered corn, Iza Tsuekemen and Takoyaki octopus balls. We were a bit skeptical with the octopus balls given that Unilocal is filled with Kaarage fried chicken but it turned out fine! I’d recommend it if you want to try something other than fried chicken.
This was my first time having tsukemen, where noodles and broth are served separately. The broth is thick and you’re suppose to take a few strands of ramen and dip it into the broth every bite. Pretty much felt like Chinese lo mein haha.
Iza Ramen broth was a bit salty. This place would be my number one place if the broth wasn’t as salty. and if a bowl was less than $ 12.50.
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Tsukemen in the city? Heck ya. The broth is spicy (builds up) but pretty good considering I had my fair share in Japan.
The regular ramen was good but small portions and of course, an SF price tag to go with it.
The place gets busy so come early so you don’t have to put your name on the waiting list.
3.5 rounded to 4 stars.
Place rating: 3
Sydney, Australia
We didn’t end up liking the tsukumen we got (at all, tasted like wonky oyster sauce mixed with fishy flavor).
But we loved the tori chili rice. I’d go back for that. And whatever deep fried dish everyone else was getting that we missed ordering (I’m assuming this was the karrage).
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
The thing that stood out the most about Iza Ramen was the excellent service. My boyfriend and I were seated immediately, our orders were taken, and our food arrived in the blink of an eye! Of course this also meant that I felt rushed out of the restaurant, but I’ll overlook that because I thought the food was fantastic.
We started out with takoyaki which I LOVE… the takoyaki here was one of the best I’ve ever had. As far as ramen goes, I’ve never tried Tsukemen before (or even heard of it) but it sounded appealing to me because I don’t like soft, soggy noodles in my broth. Turned out to be amazing! And now I’m on a hunt for even better Tsukemen around the world. Well maybe not the world. Anyways, apparently I love having my noodles and broth separate. The broth was thick. Plenty of vegetables. Decent portion size.
Again, excellent service and quite tasty food. Not sure if it was good enough for me to want to come back again, but I would definitely recommend this restaurant! It’s also open relatively late (10:00pm) which is a huge plus.
Place rating: 3
Daly City, CA
I used to frequent Haight on a weekly basis but mostly upper Haight where all of the shops are. So when I heard there was a ramen place out here, I decided to see what the hype was about.
Warning, this was my first Tsukemen experience so I really have nothing to compare it to aside from just regular ramen with broth. A friend and I came here to celebrate my belated birthday and we both opted for the Tsukemen. She’s had it before and wanted to try it out here. As for me, after seeing so many pictures and the cute presentation I had to try it for myself.
First impression: the noodles were perfectly firm. Not too soggy and just the right. I decided to get the regular and not spicy which I chose correctly considering my friends broth was dark red. The broth itself was very flavorful and thick. Overall, it was quite a lot of work and by the time I finished dipping half of my noodles, the broth was already cold.
Overall: I’m torn between 3.5−4 stars and once I try their regular ramen, I’ll probably update my review. Parking is a beezy out here. It’s pretty much to be expected. I’d come back here again if I’m in the area but I won’t go out of my way to have their ramen. Friend and I didn’t leave extremely satisfied.
If I am back, I’d probably get the regular ramen and not Tsukemen. I’m a big ramen fan but I just felt the broth was a bit too thick which allowed me to realize I probably prefer regular ramen. Prices are fair and what you’d see at most ramen places. I’ve heard a lot about their chicken karage which I did not try, so that’s definitely on the list!
Side note: as we ate throughout the entire dinner, everyone who came in was greeted with a loud hello or loud chant. Others that exited were also greeted with this chant. When we came in, we were barely acknowledged and as we left, same thing. Super strange to us… staff was friendly don’t get me wrong but we were seeing a pattern of who would get those welcome chants and who wouldn’t. :(
Place rating: 4
San Francisco, CA
Since my trip to Japan I’ve been on a hunt for Japan-​like ramen.
Iza Ramen does a pretty good job! Broth is flavorful, ramen is perfectly soft but not too soft.
I ordered spicy Iza ramen and it was delicious. BUT pork was way to small for the order. It was good, but I must say its a greedy slice.
As of now I would choose Mensho Tokyo over Iza Ramen. Broth there is just heavenly.
Place rating: 3
San Francisco, CA
I was super excited to try IZA RAMEN because the menu is really similar to my favorite ramen spot in LA. I’m sorry but this is going to be a 3 star review. When you had better, you will compare to what you know best. I’m such a ramen fan that I always on the hunt for new places and excited to try them.
My friend and I got there around 745pm on a Thursday evening. Wait wasn’t too bad, about 6 parties ahead of us, 30 min wait. The wait got longer the later it gets. We started off with the Chicken Karaage. The pieces were huge and juicy but I wish it had a little more flavor. They have a dipping sauce on the side but didn’t do much for the chicken. As for ramen my friend got the Regular Iza Tsukemen and I got the Spicy Iza Tsukemen. Well my friend wanted the Iza Ramen but the server heard wrong. But that was okay, not a big deal. He wanted to try both anyways. It’s pretty loud inside the restaurant tho.
Why the 3 star. It’s a $ 13 dollar bowl of ramen. That’s the standard these days for San Francisco, therefore it’s okay. The noodles was really good but I kinda notice they do put a little more oil in the noodle for the noodles not to be stuck together. I got the spicy but didn’t think it was spicy enough. Doesn’t have that kick to it. The soup was a pretty salty. I love salt and if I think it was salty, I don’t think others will enjoy it as much. Salt more than the spicy. They only give you one tiny pork belly. ONE? And mine was all fat. I was pretty bumped. It also came with half an egg. Maybe the egg was cooking in the soup when they were bring it to me? maybe? but I think it was a bit over cooked.
Over all I did like my meal. Nothing special because I have had better. I will come back because I do want to try their Iza Spicy Ramen.