Mogu Mogu

This was my first experience with mazemen and it did not disappoint. It was a recommendation from my buddy who lives locally and I will absolutely return. The vinegar adds a delicious change in flavor profile and compliments the egg yolk and the fatty flavor and umami taste and mouth feel. This was one of my favorite things I’ve eaten in the last year to be honest. Fantastic food. Great little atmosphere and great service. Totally decent pricing too.

The Tokyo Mazemen dish was delectable! My friend and I came by after a long day and got a table within 20 minutes. I’ve never had noodles like the mazemen and I enjoyed it throughly, my friend said it was the best noodles she’d ever had. We especially enjoyed the house-made vinegar and rice at the end of the meal.

This place is bomb. They’re known for their brothless Mazemen ramen and they definitely live up to their recognition! The food was spectacular and they give you instructions on how to eat it properly as well. I will say this spot is VERY popular (especially amongst UCLA students) and we did have to wait around 1.5 hours for a table for 3 (no reservations). But honestly we just walked down to the local mall and spent some time shopping before coming back right on time. Again would highly recommend!

We ordered the most poplar ordered dish Deluxe Mazeman. It tasted like Chinese Sesame paste noodle. The noodle is Japanese style, a bit harder and a bit of Ramen flavor. The seats were taken quickly. It’s clean and food served fast! When you mix everything, and finished the noodle, you will be given a small bowl of rice to eat with. Really a good combination !

I love this restaurant! The mazemen here is amazing! I get the Tokyo. The vinegar to change the flavor after you eat half works really well with the original flavor profile. The small cup of rice given at the end of the meal to scoop of the extra sauce is the cherry on top of this excellent meal. I would heavily recommend!!

Vincent Mañara

Tried Mazemen for the first time. No broth, but full of flavor. I started with Mogu Buns, which came in two kind. Both were excellent. Then came the Deluxe Mazemen. The waiter suggested adding their homemade vinegar halfway through for extra umami. When the noodles were finished, I added rice to soak up the remaining umami at the bottom…so freakin’ good. Service was great. Expect a wait. I went on a Thursday night and waited about 15 minutes.

S

Ordered the Deluxe and the Kyoto mazemen. While I’m not a fan of the kale in the Kyoto style, it was still delicious. The Deluxe is pretty close to a Taiwan mazesoba and has quite the spicy kick. Just like other mazemen places, they give you rice at the end to soak everything up, though I wish it was a bit larger portion. Overall it was pretty authentic and I highly recommend!

Edward Su

Ordered the Kyoto mazemen (non spicy) 11/10 flavor and texture. The diced pork was delicious, not too fatty, and paired perfectly with the rice at the end. I will be back to try the rest of the menu!

Jorge Hernandez

Thursday after working OT, my coworker and myself were planning to have dinner before heading back home, while driving down the street on Olympic I saw this ramen shop and I noticed few fellas outside waiting to be seated , and I realized that maybe the place was good. Once we were there we have to write the name. Anyway after waiting for about 15-20 minutes it was our turn. The restaurant is not huge, but is clean. We have to scan the QR and Start from there. My coworker got spicy miso and I ordered the veggie ramen, short time after, we got our food and mine looked amazing, came with cherry tomatoes, fried eggplant, lotus, mizuna, and broccoli. Broth was perfect and very delicious. I believe shiitake would make a good match to the veggies, ear mushroom and nori and some corn, just my personal opinion. However every place is different and have their own ingredients, and I was very surprised when I saw mizuna in the ramen, never had ramen with mizuna. Highly recommend this shop for ramen lovers or anyone interested in trying it. It's worth the shot.

Mat Lit

Mazemen was very nice. Really rich porky meat sauce that filled me up. After mixing, the flavor is earthy and one note, so I strongly recommend adding pepper and the umami vinegar. The chicken was good though would have preferred without their sweet sauce on top. The tiny ball of rice they serve so you finish off the sauce is currently and the perfect portion. Really fun meal.

Stephanie Lau

The Tokyo Mazemen dish was delectable! My friend and I came by after a long day and got a table within 20 minutes. I’ve never had noodles like the mazemen and I enjoyed it throughly, my friend said it was the best noodles she’d ever had. We especially enjoyed the house-made vinegar and rice at the end of the meal.

Jenny Xu

Came here with a group of 4 and had to wait for about 20 min to get seated but it was worth it! Good: - The deluxe mazemen is such a good deal - you get so many toppings and so much food for less than $20. There are loads of noodles you get with each dish, and I liked the way they made their runny egg. - I liked adding the vinegar to the dish and it made it a mix of sweet and savory - such a fun twist - They sneakily added rice to the end of the meal, which was nice for cleaning up the soup - Super nice staff and clean wooden aesthetic Bad: - Takes a while to get into the place, super popular Overall enjoyed this hole in the wall gem near Sawtelle a lot! Would come back for sure

pan s

I usually see a decent line here so I was expecting one and was ready to wait 20 min ish. But we got lucky and were able to get seated asap. Took a bit to get our orders in but food came out pretty quick. The mazemen were great. Enough sauce to finish the noodles perfectly and still have enough to mix in the rice! Noodles were bouncy and thick; really good texture overall. I recommend to give it a try if you like japanese noodles.

Linitha Balan

My daughter was very much looking forward to trying the mazeman, the brothless ramen here. Loved it !! We ordered karaage chicken and a few bowls. The deluxe bowl was the best. The vegetarian bowl was awesome. I did not expect the flavor. The rice bowl at the end was perfect to scoop the last bit of flavor from the bowl. Shishito peppers were ok. Good parking nearby. Great ambience and customer service. Pet friendly:)

Nick P

This was my first experience with mazemen and it did not disappoint. It was a recommendation from my buddy who lives locally and I will absolutely return. The vinegar adds a delicious change in flavor profile and compliments the egg yolk and the fatty flavor and umami taste and mouth feel. This was one of my favorite things I’ve eaten in the last year to be honest. Fantastic food. Great little atmosphere and great service. Totally decent pricing too.

Ross Mantsurov

This place is bomb. They’re known for their brothless Mazemen ramen and they definitely live up to their recognition! The food was spectacular and they give you instructions on how to eat it properly as well. I will say this spot is VERY popular (especially amongst UCLA students) and we did have to wait around 1.5 hours for a table for 3 (no reservations). But honestly we just walked down to the local mall and spent some time shopping before coming back right on time. Again would highly recommend!

Bryce Schaefer

Arrived early here for dinner, had the deluxe mazemen. It didn't disappoint. I was starving so ordered an appetizer. Big mistake. You don't need it! Just stick with the entree. It will fill you up and then some. We had to stuff ourselves with the app (which was the mogu chicken btw and was pretty tasty) and practically roll ourselves to Somi Somi (when in Sawtelle...). It's a small place that fills up quickly so be prepared to wait.

Chin mei Lin

We ordered the most poplar ordered dish Deluxe Mazeman. It tasted like Chinese Sesame paste noodle. The noodle is Japanese style, a bit harder and a bit of Ramen flavor. The seats were taken quickly. It’s clean and food served fast! When you mix everything, and finished the noodle, you will be given a small bowl of rice to eat with. Really a good combination !

Elsa Wallace

I love this restaurant! The mazemen here is amazing! I get the Tokyo. The vinegar to change the flavor after you eat half works really well with the original flavor profile. The small cup of rice given at the end of the meal to scoop of the extra sauce is the cherry on top of this excellent meal. I would heavily recommend!!

Doug Bruhnke

Wadaya is wonderful. Best ramen including mazumen since leaving Tokyo. This is my mecca for a great bowl of ramen to heal the ills of the day. Better than 99% of ramen-ya’s are the appetizers, too - really great! All that’s missing is a glass of Asahi Super Dry and this would be the most perfect place on earth. It's still highly recommended - your ramen and mazumen oasis in Sawtelle on Olympic.

This is genuinely the best food I've had in LA after 5+ years living here. Incredible noodles in a nice casual atmosphere with great service. Great vegan options too, the vegan mazemen and the vegan ramen are both amazing.

Aaron G.

Super good food, reasonable prices. Not a huge spot, packs up fast so show up early. Have not had a bad meal here. Mazemen is great as well as the bowls.

I think the best way to summarize WADAYA is via other similar restaurants in California: Mogu Mogu’s rebrand is Menya Hanabi’s saltier brother and Kajiken’s more casual cousin. While WADAYA is also known for their soup ramens, what makes it worth the trek to Sawtelle is their mazemen (otherwise known as mazesoba or aburasoba elsewhere, but it’s all the same in the end). For this kind of noodle, the actual chew of the noodle was appropriate. However, the dish was a little too saucy ratio-wise and quite salty. I wish there was more meat to balance out the sauce or simply less of it. The small cup of rice (emphasis on small) they give at the end helped finish it off, and the vinegar they recommend you add in the middle of the meal helps add some acidity to round out the heaviness. I’d probably say this is the best mazemen in LA proper!

I saw an ad for $7.99 opening promo for July 15-17. I was not in LA then so I forwarded to a few people. It turns out they have been around for a while operating as Mogu Mogu. They just rebranded to Wadaya due to trademark reasons. The style is noodles is what refer call Mazesoba or oil ramen. I got the ‘Kyoto’ version that has bits of pork as toppings. There is even ‘kale’ to probably ‘Californianize’ the dish lol. It was decent for $15.50. You mix it up, eat it, then mix a ball of rice for remaining oil.

We really enjoyed our visit. Food was well prepared and tasty. Service is very efficient and courteous. Meter parking and a few parking spots in a shared lot. The interior is nice but not really decorated. Can get busy, arrive early and or expect a wait.

First time here - came during Sunday lunch hours and there was a small wait. My group was third in line and waited for around 15-20 minutes outside before we were called in. Overall I'd say the mazeman slaps - my friends and I all ordered different mazemen dishes and they all were very good. - DELUXE MAZEMEN - CHEESE MAZEMEN (this is my friend's go-to) - CURRY MAZEMEN (it was my first time having dry ramen and left a very good first impression, spice-level had a bit of a kick but for someone who has low spice tolerance, it was still manageable and enjoyable0 The mogu buns didn't look as filled as compared to the menu pics but they were still good. I can't not order french fries if I see it on the menu, especially if it comes with spicy mayo. However, I personally love my fries extra crunchy and the ones we received were a little less of that. Still good with the spicy mayo nonetheless. Definitely a spot I'd introduce a friend who's visiting town!

Anna

I think the best way to summarize WADAYA is via other similar restaurants in California: Mogu Mogu’s rebrand is Menya Hanabi’s saltier brother and Kajiken’s more casual cousin. While WADAYA is also known for their soup ramens, what makes it worth the trek to Sawtelle is their mazemen (otherwise known as mazesoba or aburasoba elsewhere, but it’s all the same in the end). For this kind of noodle, the actual chew of the noodle was appropriate. However, the dish was a little too saucy ratio-wise and quite salty. I wish there was more meat to balance out the sauce or simply less of it. The small cup of rice (emphasis on small) they give at the end helped finish it off, and the vinegar they recommend you add in the middle of the meal helps add some acidity to round out the heaviness. I’d probably say this is the best mazemen in LA proper!

Kendrick Khoe

I saw an ad for $7.99 opening promo for July 15-17. I was not in LA then so I forwarded to a few people. It turns out they have been around for a while operating as Mogu Mogu. They just rebranded to Wadaya due to trademark reasons. The style is noodles is what refer call Mazesoba or oil ramen. I got the ‘Kyoto’ version that has bits of pork as toppings. There is even ‘kale’ to probably ‘Californianize’ the dish lol. It was decent for $15.50. You mix it up, eat it, then mix a ball of rice for remaining oil.

Max M

We really enjoyed our visit. Food was well prepared and tasty. Service is very efficient and courteous. Meter parking and a few parking spots in a shared lot. The interior is nice but not really decorated. Can get busy, arrive early and or expect a wait.

Jenn S Lee

First time here - came during Sunday lunch hours and there was a small wait. My group was third in line and waited for around 15-20 minutes outside before we were called in. Overall I'd say the mazeman slaps - my friends and I all ordered different mazemen dishes and they all were very good. - DELUXE MAZEMEN - CHEESE MAZEMEN (this is my friend's go-to) - CURRY MAZEMEN (it was my first time having dry ramen and left a very good first impression, spice-level had a bit of a kick but for someone who has low spice tolerance, it was still manageable and enjoyable0 The mogu buns didn't look as filled as compared to the menu pics but they were still good. I can't not order french fries if I see it on the menu, especially if it comes with spicy mayo. However, I personally love my fries extra crunchy and the ones we received were a little less of that. Still good with the spicy mayo nonetheless. Definitely a spot I'd introduce a friend who's visiting town!