Santa Ramen

CJ M

Wonderful ramen in the most flavorful broth. Note that they close on Tuesdays and has limited hours. Very busy for great reasons 😊

Wei-Ai Tai

One of the more established ramen restaurants in the Bay Area, Santa Ramen started serving their authentic ramen soup well before it became trendy. Their garlic pork ramen has been consistently good for the past two decades, and the service has always been friendly and efficient. Parking lot is shared with several other shops and restaurants in the strip mall, so it can get crowded especially during peak meal hours.

Robert Sirchia

For the love of all that is ramen this place is a damn gem. First it’s in a strip mall and looks like a dump from the outside but do not and I mean this do not let this fool you. The inside is just fine. The staff was fast and polite not a lot of time for chitchat they were busy cause this place filled up and fast. The food is honestly some of the best ramen I have ever had. I have been to Japan and I have had my share there. The ramen is wonderful and worth the drive in to try. Do not let the look on the outside scare you away they probably have to do this to keep this place what it is. One of the best ramen places I’ve been to. Bottom line go and go early and go hungry.

Gary Ogawa

Wonderful place for ramen or bento meals. Cozy with friendly service. Large menu selections, alcohol, and Happy Hour specials.

Masayoshi Ikeda

Excellent Ramen and great service. I had Miso and Tonkotsu based broth blend ramen. Soup(broth) varieties are amazing!!! Soy, Miso, and Pork(Tonkotsu) everything rich and flavorful, definitely you’ll find perfect match-ups fits to your needs, Also you can choose the spice level of your soup. Spice lover will love it.

Alan W.

In a city with dozens of ramen shop, Santa ramen is definitely among one of my favorite. Yes, there are better places, but I'm honestly not interested in waiting for an hr+ for ramen dojo or other places. Got here and was seated in under 5 minutes. My delicious bowl of ramen arrived in another 5. Finished my ramen and left the restaurant in less than 45 minutes, with enough time to go back to ramen dojo and be told that I still have another 15 minutes to wait. Lol... 😂 Don't get me wrong, I do like some of the other ramen places, but if I'm hungry, I will go to Santa ramen each and everytime.

Erich Grois

Best ramen in San Mateo, maybe in the whole Bay Area. There’s always a line, so be prepared to wait a bit before getting to enjoy the goods. The space is intimate and the food is straightforward. They’ve introduced a few new items including some seafood based ramen, but the classic pork (medium spicy) is the clear winner for me.

Staff is always nice The chef is consistent with everything that they cook I recommend the crab ramen but get it without the garlic black sauce. This has been the best food I come here all the time

Tracy Jones

Staff is always nice The chef is consistent with everything that they cook I recommend the crab ramen but get it without the garlic black sauce. This has been the best food I come here all the time

I wish the egg in the ramen had a runny yoke instead of being hard boiled, but the broth with the garlic bits tasted really nice in the Tokyo ramen. Takoyaki with ponzu was leaning a bit on the salty side but the refreshing green onions with the citrus taste of ponzu was good. The staff was quick and nice, we accidentally spilled some water and they helped us clean it up.

The ramen here is solid. Probably in the top 5 on the peninsula. The broth is super rich and creamy and packed with umami. The noodles are firm and al dente, just slightly undercooked. The pork belly is meaty and flavorful. Our biggest complaint is that the last couple times we've come here, the kitchen was suuuuper slow. The food took forever to come. In our most recent visit, we waited nearly an hour for our food to arrive. This seems pretty ridiculous. One of the staff is incredible - super warm and attentive. The other staff seem like they'd rather be somewhere else.

I haven't eaten ramen here for a long time. Today I stopped by to eat while shopping at nijiya supermarket. The noodles were cooked to the right texture and the soup was rich, but the pork was too soft and greasy. Service is friendly 💗

I got the pork cheek ramen with extra noodles. I thought the taste was good. It's a smidge pricey ($18 base + $2 noodles) but all the tables were filled when I went, so maybe this is market rate. I had an issue with the clover payment system- the QR code was a dead link on my Android phone. Not sure what was going on, and I consider myself relatively techy.

Ramen and Chicken Bento were delicious. This place is good for easy eats without the frou frou. At this time however, Santa Ramen has limited menu and may not have enough options for some. They do get busy but try to work fast to serve their customers. Good portion is decent to generous. Price is standard for San Mateo. Definitely worth going back to especially if you find their ramen flavors to your liking.

Nice table distancing. Friendly waitstaff (only 1 working). Food was tasty. Be prepared, MSG is used, so dry mouth after lunch. Pork cheek meat was fattier than stewed pork belly. If you don't like all that fat, skip the pork cheek. OUTSTANDING: Must try the fried Chicken Karaage. I would go there just for the chicken. Give this place a try. Sister had pork cheek meat noodle bowl and I had the fried soft shell crab noodle dish.

First time here, and we tried the pork belly with Tonkotsu soup base and regular pork with Tonkotsu soup. I thought the soup was a bit salty, but it did taste ok. The pork belly was in a large chunk so the meat part was a bit tough. My 12yr old liked the soup. He cleaned it up 😁

Erick Tseng

The ramen here is solid. Probably in the top 5 on the peninsula. The broth is super rich and creamy and packed with umami. The noodles are firm and al dente, just slightly undercooked. The pork belly is meaty and flavorful. Our biggest complaint is that the last couple times we've come here, the kitchen was suuuuper slow. The food took forever to come. In our most recent visit, we waited nearly an hour for our food to arrive. This seems pretty ridiculous. One of the staff is incredible - super warm and attentive. The other staff seem like they'd rather be somewhere else.

Kimberly Iwamoto

I haven't eaten ramen here for a long time. Today I stopped by to eat while shopping at nijiya supermarket. The noodles were cooked to the right texture and the soup was rich, but the pork was too soft and greasy. Service is friendly 💗

Kevin Michalski

I got the pork cheek ramen with extra noodles. I thought the taste was good. It's a smidge pricey ($18 base + $2 noodles) but all the tables were filled when I went, so maybe this is market rate. I had an issue with the clover payment system- the QR code was a dead link on my Android phone. Not sure what was going on, and I consider myself relatively techy.

Aaronray Antonio

Ramen and Chicken Bento were delicious. This place is good for easy eats without the frou frou. At this time however, Santa Ramen has limited menu and may not have enough options for some. They do get busy but try to work fast to serve their customers. Good portion is decent to generous. Price is standard for San Mateo. Definitely worth going back to especially if you find their ramen flavors to your liking.

L Lee

Nice table distancing. Friendly waitstaff (only 1 working). Food was tasty. Be prepared, MSG is used, so dry mouth after lunch. Pork cheek meat was fattier than stewed pork belly. If you don't like all that fat, skip the pork cheek. OUTSTANDING: Must try the fried Chicken Karaage. I would go there just for the chicken. Give this place a try. Sister had pork cheek meat noodle bowl and I had the fried soft shell crab noodle dish.

Kathleen Chung

First time here, and we tried the pork belly with Tonkotsu soup base and regular pork with Tonkotsu soup. I thought the soup was a bit salty, but it did taste ok. The pork belly was in a large chunk so the meat part was a bit tough. My 12yr old liked the soup. He cleaned it up 😁

Love this Ramen place. The broth is on point and you can choose your spice level or none at all. The noodles are homemade and delicious, they do not get soft after sitting in the soup thru your meal. Chicken karaage are quite big pieces so the 4 pcs was too much, but happy for the leftovers. I would have given them 5 stars but 2 forgot our extra napkins and a straw. The 3rd one we asked brought it right away.

Catherine Diaz

Love this Ramen place. The broth is on point and you can choose your spice level or none at all. The noodles are homemade and delicious, they do not get soft after sitting in the soup thru your meal. Chicken karaage are quite big pieces so the 4 pcs was too much, but happy for the leftovers. I would have given them 5 stars but 2 forgot our extra napkins and a straw. The 3rd one we asked brought it right away.

I’d heard good things about this place from friends. I wouldn’t say it’s a must-try, but it definitely isn’t bad either, overall, I’d call it decent. The flavors were solid, and the noodles were cooked perfectly. One funny thing was that this was the first ramen spot I’ve been to that served a hard-boiled egg, which felt a little unusual, but I guess it’s a new twist worth trying. All in all, it’s a reliable spot if you’re in the mood for ramen.

Came here for lunch on a weekday and they were half full, busier than expected. The karaage was fried very well and texture was spot on - crunchy exterior with juicy interior. Also loved how you can just order two pieces. However, the chicken had an odd smell and taste to it that was kind of gamey, not pleasant. The ramen was okay, but the egg was way overcooked for a ramen spot. All in all, fine for an average lunch but don’t expect to be blown away.

Ziling Mai

I’d heard good things about this place from friends. I wouldn’t say it’s a must-try, but it definitely isn’t bad either, overall, I’d call it decent. The flavors were solid, and the noodles were cooked perfectly. One funny thing was that this was the first ramen spot I’ve been to that served a hard-boiled egg, which felt a little unusual, but I guess it’s a new twist worth trying. All in all, it’s a reliable spot if you’re in the mood for ramen.

Helen

Came here for lunch on a weekday and they were half full, busier than expected. The karaage was fried very well and texture was spot on - crunchy exterior with juicy interior. Also loved how you can just order two pieces. However, the chicken had an odd smell and taste to it that was kind of gamey, not pleasant. The ramen was okay, but the egg was way overcooked for a ramen spot. All in all, fine for an average lunch but don’t expect to be blown away.

One star for the miscommunication of the restaurant schedule. Got there at around 1:30 and one of the workers said that’s fine then one from the back comes forward and says that’s no we cannot take you. Please adjust the business hours if that’s the case. I’ve been coming to this location for many years and never had this happened to me. Went there today 12/14/25. Good and service usually is amazing just fyi. Work on the training part please.

Endri

One star for the miscommunication of the restaurant schedule. Got there at around 1:30 and one of the workers said that’s fine then one from the back comes forward and says that’s no we cannot take you. Please adjust the business hours if that’s the case. I’ve been coming to this location for many years and never had this happened to me. Went there today 12/14/25. Good and service usually is amazing just fyi. Work on the training part please.