Kaito

Great place! The ramen is always so full of flavor and so filling. I loved the sides we ordered. The fried gyoza, takoyaki, and the California roll were all so tasty. Definitely recommend

I travel in Japan whenever I can, and matcha parfaits are one of my favorite indulgences. No two places make them the same way. I was excited to learn that Kaito Ramen recently started making matcha parfaits. They are delicious! Kaito's parfait layers vanilla and matcha ice creams with sweet red bean paste, crisped rice (not Rice Krispies, much more flavorful and crispier!), strawberries, and special matcha-dusted warabi mochi (a unique and ancient Japanese sweet made from fern starch). So many flavors and textures! You better be hungry because the parfait is huge, and great value for the price. You want this! ☺️

I am never disappointed. The ramen is sooooo good!! Thank you for your friendly, kind, and warm service. Knowledgeable staff regarding different options. we love the expanded menu options that you have added.

Mai Nguyen

What a wonderful little unassuming and modest Ramen restaurant inside a mall. We were passing through on a cold rainy day, having just spent hours at the Santa Cruz children’s museum right around the corner to let our little one get her wiggles out before a long drive back to the Sacramento region. We ordered an original bowl with extra noodles to share with a 4-year-old and she loved the broth, seafood, bamboo, and the pork (as did I). The gentleman at the counter is just so sweet as well. I love supporting what looks like a small family business here.

Lindsay Mooney

Phenomenal. Let's just start there. Koji Goto is a mastermind of piecing together an authentic Japanese plate despite a major change of location a number of years ago, covid, and the cumbersome nature of operating out of a mall food court. Don't let any of that keep you away- his food is the reason to order and then keep ordering. The ramen is perfectly balanced, the katsu curry is beyond words (as somebody who just spent a month in Japan with a partner who lived there for two years, trust us), and the takoyaki os delightful even for our littlest (not to mention the kara-age). Don't miss this spot- it will never have the ambience of a ocean front spot BUT if you want authentic superb Japanese food as you explore the Santa Cruz and take a break from the routine pub faire, come here. Plus you can always take it to-go for a local park or ocean front table or bench (right down 41st)!

Cinthya Tamayo

Atmosphere is good, inside capitola mall, next to target and ulta. Best authentic Japanese food, last time I got ramen, this time I got udon it has all the sauce on top once you get it, you mix it all up. Delicious and fills you up. Portions are great! Everything was Super good! Spent less than 20 for everything drink, food and dessert.

Jason lee

i have visited many ramen places as you may can check in my Google map review, and I surely can say here is my top3 ramen place i've tried in the US.

Rolando Francia

It's been 6 years since I last visited, and while it was moved into the mall, and the menu was downsized, it's still my favorite place for ramen. Food came out quick and delicious almost as if not a thing has changed. Very thankful that this place is still around.

Seira Tanaka

Delicious quality ramen - ! This place is a hidden gem 💎

Way Beyond Padthai

epic! we love their takoyaki, I hope I will love their sushi next time and yes, we loved their ramen so dang much. I’m happy for you Capitola people! This is such a nice and lovely spot to dine in. Good food, great service, cute staff, and you know… The homemade ice-cream shop next door, ‘Penny’s Ice-creamery’ More info on Way Beyond Pad Thai site and Youtube Channel :)

TheBayArea.831

First time at the Ramon Kaito. Its located in the Capitola Mall food court. When I saw they had sushi on the menu, I had to try it. Its not just noodles here. Im soo glad I stopped by to eat. I really liked the shrimp tempura roll. $9.50 and Im definately coming back. They made it fresh , even the tempura was fresh crunchy. I love sushi, Im soo glad to have found another local spot that makes a shrimp roll to my liking. The food court in the Capitola mall has a huge dining room to eat in. Very clean with restrooms available.

Jenae Lien

Came here because my in-laws swore by the amazing ramen you can find here. They are locals, and my husband and I love to visit and try all their favorite restaurants when we’re in town. Kaito means ‘meeting’ in Japanese. We had a delightful experience sitting out on their patio, during the perfect time before sunset. It was warm and not too breezy. Surrounded by succulents and passion fruit vines, it was such a nice setting. They serve traditional style tonkotsu ramen, which hails from the Southern prefecture of Fukuoka in Japan. Their broth contains a mix of chicken and pork, but they do have a vegan broth available upon request. Add all kinds of toppings like a soft boiled egg (highly recommended) and sea veggies. They have a full sushi bar so you can enjoy sashimi and fresh hand rolls of your choice. Our waiter was very nice. I ordered hot green tea and the refills were welcomed and soothing. Price-wise, it is not cheap. For 3 bowls of ramen and tip, it came out to be over $70.

Qiming Liu

One review said this is the best ramen in Santa Cruz (the only one). I agreed with it, the ramen tasted really not bad. The soup was good, chashu was good, corn was fresh and sweet. Their sushi was also great. I guess whenever I want to eat ramen. I will be back here.

Doris Guido

Great place! The ramen is always so full of flavor and so filling. I loved the sides we ordered. The fried gyoza, takoyaki, and the California roll were all so tasty. Definitely recommend

Janet K. Miller

I travel in Japan whenever I can, and matcha parfaits are one of my favorite indulgences. No two places make them the same way. I was excited to learn that Kaito Ramen recently started making matcha parfaits. They are delicious! Kaito's parfait layers vanilla and matcha ice creams with sweet red bean paste, crisped rice (not Rice Krispies, much more flavorful and crispier!), strawberries, and special matcha-dusted warabi mochi (a unique and ancient Japanese sweet made from fern starch). So many flavors and textures! You better be hungry because the parfait is huge, and great value for the price. You want this! ☺️

Red Herzog

I am never disappointed. The ramen is sooooo good!! Thank you for your friendly, kind, and warm service. Knowledgeable staff regarding different options. we love the expanded menu options that you have added.

Kaito is my favorite local Ramen restaraunt. I love especially their Tonkatsu Ramen and shrimp dumplings yummmm....Their sushi is good and fair though their specialty is Ramen so I don't expect them to also have the best sushi. If I want sushi I go to a couple different places. I used to love Takara. Kaito used to be next door to Penny Ice Cream in a cute little restaraunt with outdoor seating. They had a better sushi set up back then. I'm grateful that they are still open for their Ramen. I order for pick up only bc the shopping mall energy isn't congruent with eating good food! Not ideal for relaxing and digesting for sure.

Hidden gem! Fantastic little Ramen place in the mall. Great food, great prices. Super nice employees. Super fresh ingredients and delicious broth. We love coming back here again and again. The quality is always 👌.

Just another white guy talking, but that was the best ramen ive ever had. And I’ve had a fair amount.

Sherita Ashley

Kaito is my favorite local Ramen restaraunt. I love especially their Tonkatsu Ramen and shrimp dumplings yummmm....Their sushi is good and fair though their specialty is Ramen so I don't expect them to also have the best sushi. If I want sushi I go to a couple different places. I used to love Takara. Kaito used to be next door to Penny Ice Cream in a cute little restaraunt with outdoor seating. They had a better sushi set up back then. I'm grateful that they are still open for their Ramen. I order for pick up only bc the shopping mall energy isn't congruent with eating good food! Not ideal for relaxing and digesting for sure.

Carine “Riot_Gal” R

One of the best Tonkotsu ramen in Santa Cruz. The broth is so creamy and delicious. 10/10

Evelyn M. Creighton

Hidden gem! Fantastic little Ramen place in the mall. Great food, great prices. Super nice employees. Super fresh ingredients and delicious broth. We love coming back here again and again. The quality is always 👌.

This ramen food court @ inside Capitola shopping mall . Ordered black garlic tonkatsu ramen . Noodle was soft but in good texture , creamy soup base , minced garlic brings crunchy texture and aroma , soft-boiled egg so yummy !

Kimberly Iwamoto

This ramen food court @ inside Capitola shopping mall . Ordered black garlic tonkatsu ramen . Noodle was soft but in good texture , creamy soup base , minced garlic brings crunchy texture and aroma , soft-boiled egg so yummy !

Don't order online! I don't rate this a 1/5 because every time I've ordered in person the food has been a bit overpriced for the quality but fine, but both my mom and I (two different dishes on separate occasions) have become violently ill after we ate food we ordered well ahead of time. I'm not sure why this disconnect is but figured sharing the experience would be valuable. I haven't recently ordered there (because of the food poisoning) so I'm not 100% certain this isn't just an issue of them going downhill, but nobody I know has complained about in person orders recently so my guess is it's just an online order issue...? Eaten here a few times before but between both our experiences I can't bring myself to go again.

The Tonkotsu Ramen was not at all close to the item description/photo. Only one small slice of pork, half a handful of corn and the egg I paid extra for. Nothing else besides noodles and a pittance of broth. Also the portion is tiny overall. For well over $25 it was incredibly disappointing. I had to fight with doordash to get a partial refund. I'll likely never order from here again.

Tim Stiles

The Tonkotsu Ramen was not at all close to the item description/photo. Only one small slice of pork, half a handful of corn and the egg I paid extra for. Nothing else besides noodles and a pittance of broth. Also the portion is tiny overall. For well over $25 it was incredibly disappointing. I had to fight with doordash to get a partial refund. I'll likely never order from here again.

What a completely disappointing experience. I arrived at Kaito Ramen at around 1:20 and placed an order for two bowls of ramen, which I was told would be ready in 15 minutes. I then spent the next HOUR watching other customers come up, order food and and be served and leave. Twice I asked if my food was ready, and was told the kitchen was "having an issue". I did not receive my food until nearly 2:35 at which point the server offered a weak "sorry" and handed me my food with no further explanation of why it took them over an hour to make they're most basic menu item, and served other people ramen the whole time while insisting that the kitchen was having issues.

Betsy Levy-Adams

The two ramen types my husband and I ordered tasted okay, but not good enough to order from in the future. Now we’ve found our meal made us both very sick. We will not be ordering from here again.

Alex Wenzl

What a completely disappointing experience. I arrived at Kaito Ramen at around 1:20 and placed an order for two bowls of ramen, which I was told would be ready in 15 minutes. I then spent the next HOUR watching other customers come up, order food and and be served and leave. Twice I asked if my food was ready, and was told the kitchen was "having an issue". I did not receive my food until nearly 2:35 at which point the server offered a weak "sorry" and handed me my food with no further explanation of why it took them over an hour to make they're most basic menu item, and served other people ramen the whole time while insisting that the kitchen was having issues.