Kai Ramen

Sarah

One of the best ramens Ive had in the states, Julie was a wonderful host, we sat overlooking the street and people watched with the most delicious ramen. A quiet, relaxing place to recharge over lunch. Do your self a favour and visit them, its a homemade recipe and and you can taste it. Scrumptious ❤️❤️❤️

Cassandra Harrison

I was hesitant to try this place because I don’t like ramen personally, but the owner was so warm and inviting I thought I’d try the bowls instead while my friend tried the ramen. We both were blown away by how homemade and delicious the food was considering the reasonable price - will definitely be back!

박대길

The ramen is delicious, and I love the rich, flavorful broth. The service is also very friendly. Highly recommended!

Ynot noredlac

Very Yummy. Highly recommend. Had the Sukiyaki Rice bowl. Don't hesitate to swing by.

Olivia Ruby

i love this place so much! it’s my go to date spot! i start with the fried sesame chicken for an appetizer and then i order the chicken ramen mild, with an extra side of garlic!!!! highly recommend. here’s a bunch of photos i took every time i come!! the presentation is emacualte

Thomas Myers

Food was delicious! And healthy too! It’s detoxing as well! Highly recommend! Hidden gem.

Luis Zambrano

Very nice food incredible tea and the owner is super, super nice. Authentic Japanese restaurant. Will be coming back!

Dhanushree P

Tried my neighborhood ramen spot for the first time - Absolutely loved the food here! We ordered Kai’s buns and bomb ramen, and both were really good. Kai’s buns - the chicken was crunchy and well cooked, I liked the cabbage slaw on top Bomb ramen - that was my favorite. We ordered mild spice, and it was perfect. The vegetables and toppings were delicious and I would highly recommend getting this anytime you come here. The service was really good and I felt welcomed by the host. I will definitely come back!

Mitzy M

I love this place, the food was great and the service was exceptional. The woman who attended us was so sweet. It was my first time trying ramen and it didn’t disappoint!

Kirsten

Kai ramen was super delicious! The staff are very friendly and nice, and the atmosphere was very relaxed. Come and eat here everyone!

Paria Mohebali

Delicious homemade soup and vibes! The bomb ramen was so rich and yummy!

Hyobin Lim

Not too spicy and healthy! I liked that I could choice the spiciness level. The soup was delicious and gave me energy.👍 I had the avocado salmon roll and it was also good.

Went in with my boyfriend while it was raining in LA - it was the perfect cozy meal. Kai always curbs my craving for a good, filling bowl of ramen. Always made with homemade broth, I highly recommend the Bomb.

Kai Ramen in Santa Monica is a solid spot when you’re craving a warm, comforting bowl. The broth is rich without being too heavy, the noodles have great texture, and the portions are generous. Service is quick, the place is clean, and it’s perfect for a casual lunch or dinner. Definitely worth stopping by if you’re in the area.

This place was amazing. Food was great and service even better. Julie is one of a kind and the store felt cozy and welcoming. Will be returning soon 😊

Great food and great atmosphere. First time coming and was highly impressed. Super friendly staff, patio available. Food was healthy, produced a lot of collagen! Actually very delicious and can cure hangovers. Highly recommend

I am so glad I stumbled on this place! The food is incredible, service was great (thank you Julie!) and atmosphere was comfortable and inviting. Plenty of street parking, and totally worth it. I will absolutely be coming back.

So many delicious ramens to choose from! Digital menu and ordering makes for a seamless, easy experience. Everything is homemade and you can really taste it, not a corner cut. Will certainly return to taste more of the menu.

Harriet Riley

So many delicious ramens to choose from! Digital menu and ordering makes for a seamless, easy experience. Everything is homemade and you can really taste it, not a corner cut. Will certainly return to taste more of the menu.

Daniel Cody

Ramen is fantastic. Both the Tonkatsu and Chicken. Gyoza delicious and the seaweed salad perfect. Highly recommend. Also the patio is dog friendly so big plus :)

Noodles are cooked perfectly and broth is seasoned well. I don’t like boiled eggs but I tried this one and it was so yummy and flavorful.

This place was inviting and the service was great. She took her time to answer our questions, since it was mine and my dad's 1st time there. If you have a big group, calling ahead of time would be good. Since the dining area isn't big. I got the Spicy Ramen with extra ginger, my dad that the beef curry bowl, and we ordered fried octopus balls and spicy chicken. All were as delicious as the presentation of the food.

4.5 out of 5 for the ramen. We ordered two ramens: the Bomb Ramen (mild) and the Red Ramen (mild). The broth was good. The ramen noodles were cooked well if not just right, fairly firm. The meat, vegetables, and eggs for both ramens were quite good, especially the chashu pork meats for the Red Ramen. Even though we dined outside there were plenty of space for dine-in for its restaurant size and location. The service is quite good despite the minor language barrier; the server was incredibly nice and returned to refill our drinks.

Robin Calo

This place was inviting and the service was great. She took her time to answer our questions, since it was mine and my dad's 1st time there. If you have a big group, calling ahead of time would be good. Since the dining area isn't big. I got the Spicy Ramen with extra ginger, my dad that the beef curry bowl, and we ordered fried octopus balls and spicy chicken. All were as delicious as the presentation of the food.

Yakkul X

4.5 out of 5 for the ramen. We ordered two ramens: the Bomb Ramen (mild) and the Red Ramen (mild). The broth was good. The ramen noodles were cooked well if not just right, fairly firm. The meat, vegetables, and eggs for both ramens were quite good, especially the chashu pork meats for the Red Ramen. Even though we dined outside there were plenty of space for dine-in for its restaurant size and location. The service is quite good despite the minor language barrier; the server was incredibly nice and returned to refill our drinks.

Cute and cozy ramen spot with a nice atmosphere and overall decent food, though there’s room for improvement. Service felt a bit unattended during our visit. I ordered chicken broth but was served pork broth instead. Some of the ramen toppings tasted like they had just been unfrozen. I also ordered an egg on the side, which was initially forgotten and, when brought out, tasted quite cold. The place has good potential, and with a bit more attention to service and food preparation, it could be a better experience.

It’s a nice little shop ordering through the tablet at your table, but my medium-spicy, classic tonkotsu ramen was plated to-go instead of dining inside unfortunately. It wouldn’t have been too bad of a deal if the ramen had tasted like its price. My server gave me the option to wait for another fresh bowl, but I told her it was ok. She was nice and it wasn’t her fault. Not worth the $20 for a ramen bowl. 1. Tonkotsu broth was light in flavor and thickness. It also had a slight sourness to it (not sure if that’s the norm or an old broth). There were some white specs floating which looked like fat/oil when it’s not hot. 2. The noodles didn’t taste fresh or “bouncy” like most places. 3. There were not enough toppings for the price (2 pieces of pork, scallions, half an egg, and kikurage), and you don’t even get their house chashu but two pieces of pork from the back side that isn’t well cut either. 4. Toppings were $3-$6 which is quite absurd in my opinion. $3 for extra scallions? I’ll pass I finished my bowl and didn’t feel completely full like you normally would at a decent ramen shop. Didn’t finish the broth either unfortunately. The price is definitely just an abuse of its location in my opinion. Nothing about 3 day broth or house-made noodles either. I’d say it’s more of a $14-$15 bowl. Won’t be coming back due to the ridiculous price.

Shubham Kamdi

Cute and cozy ramen spot with a nice atmosphere and overall decent food, though there’s room for improvement. Service felt a bit unattended during our visit. I ordered chicken broth but was served pork broth instead. Some of the ramen toppings tasted like they had just been unfrozen. I also ordered an egg on the side, which was initially forgotten and, when brought out, tasted quite cold. The place has good potential, and with a bit more attention to service and food preparation, it could be a better experience.

Bill Vang

It’s a nice little shop ordering through the tablet at your table, but my medium-spicy, classic tonkotsu ramen was plated to-go instead of dining inside unfortunately. It wouldn’t have been too bad of a deal if the ramen had tasted like its price. My server gave me the option to wait for another fresh bowl, but I told her it was ok. She was nice and it wasn’t her fault. Not worth the $20 for a ramen bowl. 1. Tonkotsu broth was light in flavor and thickness. It also had a slight sourness to it (not sure if that’s the norm or an old broth). There were some white specs floating which looked like fat/oil when it’s not hot. 2. The noodles didn’t taste fresh or “bouncy” like most places. 3. There were not enough toppings for the price (2 pieces of pork, scallions, half an egg, and kikurage), and you don’t even get their house chashu but two pieces of pork from the back side that isn’t well cut either. 4. Toppings were $3-$6 which is quite absurd in my opinion. $3 for extra scallions? I’ll pass I finished my bowl and didn’t feel completely full like you normally would at a decent ramen shop. Didn’t finish the broth either unfortunately. The price is definitely just an abuse of its location in my opinion. Nothing about 3 day broth or house-made noodles either. I’d say it’s more of a $14-$15 bowl. Won’t be coming back due to the ridiculous price.

Jonathan Sweitzer

My wife, my son, and I ate at Kai Ramen in Santa Monica on December 27th while spending the day in the area. The prices seemed reasonable and the reviews were decent, so we decided to give it a try. When we walked up, we noticed the restaurant had a B health rating, which is never great to see, but we’ve eaten at places with a B before that were still solid—so we didn’t let that stop us. You order from an iPad at the table, which was fine. We ordered garlic edamame, a California roll, gyoza, and three miso tonkatsu ramens, along with a Thai tea and two Dr Peppers. They were out of Dr Pepper, so I asked for ice water instead. Unfortunately, the problems started right away. We didn’t receive our drinks until we were almost done with our appetizers, and getting any kind of service was extremely difficult—even though there was only one other table in the entire restaurant. When we asked for sauces, the server would bring ramekins with barely any sauce in them, and we had to keep asking for more. It honestly felt like they were trying to save money on sauce, which is frustrating when you’re paying full price. The table behind us had old ramen bowls and gyoza sitting there the entire time we were eating, untouched and uncleared. When I went to wash my hands, I had to walk past stacks of dirty dishes piled in the hallway leading to the bathroom, and the smell was awful. The kitchen also looked very dirty. Normally, I can overlook some of that if the food is great—but unfortunately, it wasn’t. • The garlic edamame was bad • The gyoza was just okay • The California roll tasted like something you’d get from 7-Eleven • The ramen was maybe a 4/10 at best To make things worse, we couldn’t even get water refills, again with almost no other customers in the restaurant. On top of that, we paid for lemon water and were given lime water instead, which just added to the overall careless feeling. After tax and tip, the meal came out to $112, which felt especially painful given the quality of the food and the terrible service. This was one of those meals where you just want to leave and not look back. I would never eat here again and would highly recommend going somewhere else if you’re in Santa Monica.