Kaiju Eats Ramen and Izakaya

It pains me to say that I was pretty disappointed. As far as service goes, it was great. The woman serving us was friendly and always filled our water. She’s the only reason they aren’t getting one star. But the food, for the price, was quite bad.
Both appetizers were painfully obviously frozen. Which is the case for many restaurants, no big deal, but only if it stopped there. The sweet potato fries were freezer burned. They attempt to mask the poor quality by pooping sauce and green onions all over them. The potstickers were not as bad, still obviously frozen, and still drenched in strong sauce and green onions.
Both me and my dining partner ordered gyudon. It’s supposed to be kobe beef, and I have no way of confirming this, but it did not taste like kobe beef to me. Large chunks of hard, chewy fat. The gyudon was not bad overall, but when charging 13 $ for it, I expected something more than what I could make at home for a fraction of the price.
I wouldn’t be writing a bad review if the bill didnt come to 47 $, tip included. I’ve had 10x better for this price. I’m sorry.
A poor health score warning also pops up. The place did not seem horrible but not extremely clean, either.
tl;dr: Save your money for somewhere else unless you want to be disappointed and unimpressed.

If I had to sum up Kaiju Eats’s ramen in two words, the best description I can think of would be — «college ramen». Now, I don’t mean that in a negative or derogatory sort of way. Rather, it’s like the instant ramen you made in college, where the toppings you put in is only limited by your imagination… and whatever leftovers you have lying around. Some of it will make sense (meatballs), but others, not so much (hello, tortilla chips). Yet, in the end, it all kind of works.
Beyond the ramen, Kaiju Eats’ menu has plenty more to offer, as they also bill themselves as an izakaya. Most of the offerings are pretty typical (sake/​nigori, sushi, skewers, takoyaki, gyoza, etc.), but a number of them, like the ramen, have unique twists to them. Regardless, a lot of them sound pretty interesting and the two that we tried were actually the best things I’ve had here.
– KARAAGE — Crispy Fried, House Marinated Chicken Bites with Curry Aioli and Scallions…$ 6
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Nothing like the real deal, but pretty impressive! The chicken had the perfect batter to it and I liked how juicy the meat was. The marinade added a nice sweetness to the dish, but the aioli was the star — a bit of spice, some heat, and a lot of flavor. Definitely recommend trying it.
– SKEWERS — Pork Belly (with Teriyaki and Scallions) and Pork Cheek (with Salt, Pepper, and Lemon)…$ 5 for 2 skewers, $ 5 for two skewers
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Between the two, the Pork Belly was the better pick. The cuts had the perfect ratio of fat to meat, a great char, and were seasoned nicely. As for the pork cheeks, the char was great as well, and they were flavorful, but the meat itself was a bit tough.
– KAIJU KOBE — Spicy Beef Ramen, Sweet Onion Sauteed Tender Kobe Boneless Short Rib, Crispy Panko Egg, Garlic Spicy Soy Broth, Tortilla Chips, and Scallions…$ 17
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Pricey, but mostly decent. It wasn’t too spicy (which I liked), the noodles were well cooked, and the tortilla chips (!) added a nice crunch. That said, while the broth was flavorful, it felt a little oily and the dish was heavy overall. Plus, I wasn’t a fan of the egg (or the batter on it, more specifically).
– K.O. RAMEN — Rich Creamy Tonkotsu Ramen with Chasu, Baby Back Ribs, Meatballs, Half a Soft Boiled Egg, Scallions, and Black Garlic Oil…$ 13
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Of the three I’ve tried, this was the best one. The tonkotsu broth could have been a little richer, and the black garlic oil was a little sharp, but the overall taste was still pretty good. Of the toppings, I especially liked the ribs, which were meaty and tender.
– KARAAGE RAMEN — Fried Tender Juicy Marinated Chicken Bites, Curry Aioli Drizzle, Garlic Spicy Soy Broth, Bean Sprouts, Half Soft Boiled Egg, Scallions…$ 12
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Though not as loaded as their other ramen varieties, the karaage was still enough to carry the dish. The broth had a pretty good flavor to it as well — not very spicy, but I liked how garlicky it was. That said, I might suggest just getting the karaage starter and trying a more unique type of ramen.
– FRESH RAW OYSTERS with Ponzu, Tobiko, and Scallions…6 pcs/​$ 10
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To be honest, I had really low expectations, but these were great! The oysters were a lot fresher than I thought they’d be and I really liked how they were dressed — not enough ponzu to overwhelm, but just enough to complement the oyster with the scallions and tobiko.
Provided that you aren’t expecting, or a stickler for, traditional renditions of ramen, Kaiju Eats just might be worth checking out. The experience can vary based on the type you get, but the sides are pretty interesting and the restaurant is über convenient. Parking in the area is a breeze and despite the fact the itself isn’t very large, I’ve never had to wait for a table.
THREE AND A HALF STARS rounded up for the starters and the friendly/​timely service.

Food is amazing, but the slow service costs it a star. We came on a weekend night at 6, had to wait for 35 mins before getting a table, and after ordering, waited another 20 mins for the food.
I tried the spicy miso ramen and sweet potato fries, both were amazing. The broth was rich and heavy (probably due to the fat), but a bit salty for my taste. Only 2 slices of pork, but plenty of noodles to fill you up. The pork was tender but I just wish there was more. My friend ordered the Karaage ramen, and there were quite a lot of chicken, I was so jealous! The sweet potato fries were fresh, crispy and the sauce was excellent! Again, the portion is on the small side.
The restaurant is really small but it is well decorated. I would say this is the best ramen I have had in the Sunset/​Richmond area of SF. Despite the SUPER slow service, I will still come back for more!

Just as before, great service, ambiance and food. Today I tried the Katsu Curry Ramen – LOVED it. The crispy panko fried pork cutlet was definitely crispy but also buttery. The curry stew of carrot, potatoes, onion, garlic spicy tonkotsu broth, and half soft egg were perfect compliments. I’ll definitely get this again.

Came in on a cold Tuesday afternoon. Didnt have to wait for seats. Parking doesn’t seem too bad. We asked for tea, which came pretty fast and refills were a plus. Unfortunately, they were out of the Asari Ramen. The k. o Ramen was fine, but some of the meat seemed overcooked. I still think there’s a good generous amount of noodles though. The chicken wings were pretty good as well. The Jaeger Ramen came with grilled lamb, but I think the curry that was on it was too much. The bill came out to be about $ 70 for four people, which I feel like is a lot just for decent Ramen. I would probably give them another try, however I might just stick with Hawker Eats instead. On Unilocal this location shows a bad health score or something, but I think it was fine. Anyway, maybe I’ll update this but for now it was just alright.

Came here twice and with both experiences I’ve felt underwhelmed and unimpressed.
Came here the second time only because our initial ramen restaurant of choice was closed. By the end of the meal, the whole group was incredibly disappointed and surprised. I had a taste of the coconut shoyu bowl; the chicken was unbelievably dry and chewy! The infamous KO ramen had two baby back ribs that were chewy, hard and dry… pork belly was nothing special worth mentioning. In addition, some of my noodles were clumped together. Both soups had no depth in flavor and was overall just bland in general. Egg was cooked well, however it seemed to have no marination and was also bland.
Expressionless customer service, but it gets the job done. Yes, they have unique menus and unique ramen choices… but when it comes down to what’s important — the actual food — I won’t be back.

The original owners of Kaiju Eats started up a new restaurant called Hawker Eats while the current ownership has kept the same menu items. The food is a reasonable copy of the food the original owners served and restaurant is still good but lacks the friendliness and originality of before.

Karaage ramen?! I’m down.
A friend suggested this place saying that they have the BEST karaage ramen. Seeing as I’ve actually never had it, I was excited to check out his hype. Glad to say it didn’t let me down.
Wonderfully tasty broth (love that spiciness!), LOTS of karaage chicken (definitely a huge portion) with a really tasty mustard-​y sauce over it. I really really liked it… but it was HEAVY. I couldn’t even finish half of my bowl since the portion of meat was so large.
Look, ramen is the epitome of food coma heavy food so it wasn’t anything too surprising. But the karaage on top of the already heavy ramen made it a much bigger portion than what I imagined. Good note! They have SO many other ramen varieties that I want to go back and try. Overall, a nice small place to try some tasty unique ramen. (I’ve heard that this place can get super busy so try and avoid long lines)
P. S. I do have to note that the service was REALLY slow. I think I waited almost 40 minutes before my ramen came out… and the place wasn’t packed when we ordered :/

Wanted to try something new so came here with a group of friends on a Friday night.
**Note: Happy hour ends at 6:30PM now, not 7PM like we had thought from reading older reviews.
We ordered the satsuma fries and a couple of rolls to share. We each also ordered our own bowl of ramen. I got the Karrage ramen. When it came out, the broth looked super red (not too appealing in my opinion). I liked the fries and sushi rolls but when it comes to the ramen, this place isn’t my go to.

It was a cold sf night. Just the start of winter, 60 something degrees outside (cold enough for us). I was like let’s get some ramen at this cute shop with hand drawn menu!
So me and bf went, first stepped In and I instantly thought wow this is such a cozy little shop. Probably seat like 20 people max. This place had great intimate vibe and awesome music choices.
MUST come during happy hour from 5−7pm for some really good deal. $ 5 for all their sushi rolls. $ 2 beer. $ 4 sashimi and skewers or something like that (some nice soul posted a pic of the menu in Unilocal). Granted their «sushi roll» is literally like 5 piece of sushi ($ 1/​piece). Pricey? Idk I think it’s worth it. We got the triple monster which I love an recommend. It has tuna, salmon hamachi and avocado. No extra sauce, just perfect fish. I can come and just eat this alone. We also got spicy butterfish which was also good but the butterfish didn’t have a distinct taste.
We both ordered ramen. It was such a generous portion of food. I got the KO which was like pork belly, some rib, meatball even have eggs! I loved the variety. Meatball and pork belly is a bit on the fatty side. I definitely could’ve shared this with the bf. I would get it again it was like $ 13?
Bf got karage ramen. They drizzle a bit of curry on top of the chicken and that alone was good. IMO I think my broth tasted better. But it’s probably cuz it’s fattier.
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Anyway. We loved it so much we came back the following week. This time we weren’t as hungry and we shared the kobe donburi, more triple monster, Godzilla (meh can live without), $ 1 oysters! Oh the oysters were small and quite delicious. The donburi was also small but it was pretty flavorful and lots of onions beware. Although I felt like it’s something I can make myself, the rice was good and I noticed that they gave a perfect amount of sauce (not in excess). Just get ramen when you’re here.

After all the great reviews and hype around this ramen spot, I finally made it here to try it out. I was already feeling under the weather, so that already gives ramen an edge for being hot and soothing. It just didn’t live up to the hype or did I just order the wrong thing?
We made a classic mistake of ordering the Mango Tango roll, which was actually pretty good. But when there’s sushi at a Ramen restaurant, their focus just isn’t on the ramen.
I ended up ordering the Karrage ramen, because I wanted to try a classic ramen. If it was a good ramen place, they should do this well right? I asked for the karrage to be on the side.
Karrage: Crispy Fried Chicken Nuggets, cabbage, onion tempura, scallion, egg, spicy soy broth ramen.
— the broth was ok, it was simple, tasty, light. I’m a fan of bolder broths so maybe this wasn’t my preference. What I didn’t like was that the karrage came with some curry sauce drizzled on top of it, throwing off the entire flavor of the ramen.
My sister had the Spicy Miso Ramen
Spicy Miso: Chashu, fried potato nest, soft egg, green onion, perfect blend of four miso, house garlic chili sauce
— I wish I got this one, the flavors were definitely a lot more bold. It was definitely different from mine.
Maybe I need to try the non-​classic ramen to get the hype of this place. I just wish I ventured elsewhere to get a classic, delicious bowl of ramen rather than being left unsatisified.

Wow, extremely disappointed in this place. I actually had high hopes for this place because of the glowing reviews they had. My boyfriend and I came here on a Saturday night and there was no wait and parking was fairly easy.
We started off with two skewers. Kobe beef skewer was decent the beef was great on its own but they decided to over drench it with a white mayo sauce. The pork belly was better. It had a great char, it was soft and had a really great taste to it.
Coconut shoyu ramen: ²⁄₅: this was originally not what I had ordered. I ordered the k. o ramen and I had received this instead. I did not realize it wasn’t the ko until I looked at pictures on Unilocal.I was wondering why this broth was absolutely bland and flavorless. It was hard to distinguish what it taste like. The chicken was standard, the lotus chips didn’t add much to this dish. Overall, a underwhelming and not delicious bowl of ramen.
My boyfriend got the kaiju ramen and he said the broth was decent but having beef I. It made the dish really awkward and heavy. He didn’t feel like this price tag matched the ramen. It wasn’t worth it.
Would we come back? Unlikely. We will definitely be stopping by other places with better ramen.
Total for 2: $ 55

Not the best ramen I had but it’s pretty good. I had the spicy miso and my friend had the clam one. We both enjoyed our dish. I didn’t realize until my friend pointed out that the noodles were a bit different in texture. She said it reminded her a little like pasta. Hmm… It’s quite interesting I guess but I assume that was one reason why I thought it was just decent.
Another good note was that surprisingly they were able to serve us half an hour before closing. We even saw customers come in five minutes before closing. That’s nice to know, since some places stop serving half an hour before closing.

Pros: ALL.
MISO SOUP:
Get it! They give you a HUGE bowl and it’s one of the best miso’s I’ve ever had. Not the boring, bland kind where you have to add soy sauce and spice and wasabi and everything on the table. And it’s burn-​your-​mouth hot, just how I like it :)
CHIRASHI BOWL:
We came during the end of lunch and it was only $ 14, so cheap! It comes with mango, which is weird to me, so I got it on the side. Also comes with seaweed and avocado, and generous, but not too thick cuts of sashimi. So bomb!
If you don’t eat all the rice in the chirashi bowl, add it to the miso…2^nd entrée! Lol.
Oh and the $ 14 included the chirashi bowl & miso combo.
NEXT TIME:
I’m trying the ramen with the huge crab claws climbing out!
Cons:
Hmm…booths are too high for the table? Lol does that count as a con?

I am the last person to ask about Asian food authenticity but correct me if I am wrong Ramen does not use spaghetti noodles… right?
Well a family member loves this place so I go.
Don’t get me wrong the food is okay as in it is right next to Mel’s okay… if you get my drift.
Sushi rolls are tiny and just okay. Rice is medicore, fillings are mediocre.
Chicken wings were good
Ramen bowls are okay cept the noodle cluster phuck. The kobe beef one is pretty good and the Karaage is good too.
If you are hungry and near by it is worth stopping by… as prices are pretty good.
Service is nice and friendly

This place is definitely yummy. I came before the dinner rush and there was a seat right by the window for my bf and me. I recommend not coming in a big group. The seating is best suited for pairs. There’s a long bench that runs along the left wall and then tables seated across. It’s not impossible, but some times, if they’ve placed people with space in between, your larger group might not fit.
I order the clam ramen and my boyfriend had the karage ramen. The number of clams you get with your order is generous. It was very delicious, but I wish that I had subbed for a richer brother. It’s my personal preference to like the richer brothers instead of something like the shoyu broth. Next time, I’m definitely going to have try that. I also got to taste some of the karage ramen and it was delicious. It is served with a spicy soup, so be warned. I wish that we had asked for the karage chicken on the side, but no matter. The sauce that was on the chicken was so good. The texture of the noodles were really good. They didn’t look like spaghetti noodles in my bowl, which I was happy about. They were bouncy and very delicious.
I definitely hope to come back again, especially during happy hour to try more of their appetizers.

So nice to see Judy here. She’s the hostess and co-​owner of this intimate izakaya operation on a particularly quiet stretch of Geary. However, I didn’t meet her here first. I met her at her very short-​lived restaurant Kobe Q last December where she served an amazing Korean concoction called Ginseng Chicken which took a Cornish game hen to a whole new level of edible goodness. I was so bummed to hear that she had to close due to the costliness of the overhead. I told her I’d try her original place and here I was rather early on a cold Tuesday evening. I was initially worried that I was once again the only diner in her establishment, but it didn’t take long for the compact place to start filling up with what I presume to be die-​hard ramen-​heads. In other words, hipsters.
Be forewarned there is a lot to review in her hand-​scripted menu, most of it quite tempting. I decided to start with the $ 9 Mango Poke, which was hardly the most traditional of dishes but indicative of the offbeat combination of flavors that appear pervasive throughout the selections. This one consisted of quite a mound of ahi tuna sashimi cubes, similarly cubed mango, seaweed salad and sesame ponzu ina glass cup accompanied by a few crispy tortilla strips for heavy scooping (photo:
). It was a fresh, fairly hearty start to the meal. Then Judy surprised me by serving me a complimentary appetizer, the $ 6 Gyozilla, one of their signature items with a boiled chicken gyoza ladled with a creamy sesame sauce and garlic chili.
It was topped with green onions and crispy scallions (photo:
). That was quite a mouthful of flavor, yummy and gone way too soon. Then came the main event. I asked Judy which ramen bowl I should have since I was struggling between the Spicy Miso which featured braised pork belly and the Jaeger which was premium priced at $ 19, quite a sum for a ramen bowl but I went for it and could see why once I saw the bowl. It was a spicy garlic tonkotsu broth thickened even further by a house curry stew. It featured something called a fried potato nest, which reminded me of the potato sticks that come in those cylindrical cans, and panko-​encrusted semi-​hard-​boiled egg halves.
Both items bordered on overkill for my palate. However, the seaweed and scallions provided some welcome counterbalance, and the topper came with the four skewers of grilled lamb, savory goodness that took the place of the pork chashu I would have expected (photo:
). I genuinely liked the audacity of the presentation although the ore idiosyncratic items like the panko and the potato sticks reminded me a bit of the Jungle Room at Graceland. I mean you can do only so much with a green shag rug. Still I wouldn’t hesitate to come back to Kaiju Eats and try the other ramen bowls and appetizers. Clearly Judy and her chef partner know what they’re doing here, as the eclectic combination of flavors really draw foodies like me in.
FOOD — 4 stars… quite an eclectic combo of flavors are served here so bring your more adventurous spirit with you
AMBIANCE — 4 stars… relaxing space even as it crowds up
SERVICE — 5 stars… Judy, Judy, Judy
TOTAL — 4 stars… not your okasan’s ramen house as the hipsters flock here for the jazzed-​up Japanese dishes

Just tried this place tonight with a few of my girlfriends! We got there around 7pm on a Tuesday and there was no wait, actually the restaurant was empty except for a few tables. I was glad we didn’t have to wait though!
The menu is as cute as everyone says; there are pics of cute dinosaurs n stuff haha. I ended up ordering the KO ramen ($ 14), and my other friends got the coconut shoyu ($ 12) ramen, the mothra ramen ($ 10), and another KO ramen.
The bowls came out in under ten mins so we were all happy ^_​^. We all noticed the noodles looked a lot like spaghetti noodles? Not too sure if they actually were, but they tasted like ramen noodles haha. I really liked the tonkatsu broth in the KO ramen, it was a little on the sweeter side and I loved it! It didn’t get too salty either like some ramen places do. The KO ramen also came with 2 baby back ribs, pork belly, and meat balls! The baby back ribs I honestly could have done without. They were pretty tough and hard to gnaw (yes… gnaw) off the bone. The pork belly was good, but the star was those meatballs!!! They were juicy and flavored really well, kinda like sweet teriyaki. Although I liked my dish, I probably wouldn’t pay $ 14 for this again.
I also got to try my friends coconut shoyu broth and that was pretty good too! I’ve never seen broth like that at a ramen place so I thought that was really cool. They have a lot of different and unconventional options of ramen here, which makes the place really unique! The bowls are pretty pricey though, especially if you get any add ons.
Service was pretty attentive given that we were one of the few parties there. She refilled my water a lot which was nice. One sad thing is that they don’t have extra condiments on the side: chili powder, sesame oil, etc, BUT my friends asked for chili pepper at one point in the meal, and the waitress gave us a small bowl of chili oil! How considerate :-)
I definitely wanna come back and try that katsu curry ramen… Mmmmmmm

Very inventive ramen bowls with less than interesting, overly sweet flavors.
* KAIJU RAMEN ($ 12) — 2 STARS:
house specialty beef ramen with rib eye. includes egg noodles. Low quality mall food court meat. Broth was way too sweet.
* K.O. RAMEN ($ 12) — 2 STARS:
Kaiju style tonkotsu. baby back ribs, tsukume pork, pork belly chasu, onion, egg and cilantro. includes egg noodles. Chasu is subpar, baby back ribs are hard as a rock. The broth was slightly better than the Kaiju Ramen but still too sweet and not good.
* SATSUMA POTATO FRIES ($ 5) — 1 STAR:
sweet potato, curry aioli and rosemary. The potatoes were cut in huge wedges, and tasted dry, chalky and flavorless. The curry aioli was the saving grace, which helped to rehydrate your mouth a bit. Probably one of the worst sweet potato fries I’ve ever had.
* PORK BELLY SKEWERS ($ 6) — 4 STARS:
The best part of the meal was the pork belly skewers!
I hear they’re famous for their lobster ramen but they were «out of seafood completely», how is that possible! I would return for their happy hour which is every day (except holidays), and maybe to just try their seafood ramen. Funny thing is, we came on Easter not even knowing it was Easter, and they wouldn’t offer us Happy Hour!

Yummy! The ramen here is good compared to many places in SF. If you want to save yourself a drive to San Mateo for Dojo/​Santa/​Ramen Parlor, and want good ramen, come here. I came on a weekend around 1:30 and there wasn’t a wait at all. Service was prompt. There was only one guy working though.
I ordered the KO ramen, and asked for it to be spicy! They replaced the soup with spicy miso. My BF got the Tan Tan noodles. He thought it was good, but liked mine better! For the appetizer, we got the Karaage. It basically tastes like popcorn chicken with some sauce. Good, but nothing special.
Definitely want to come back for their happy hour deals!