Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai - Costa Mesa in Costa Mesa

Usually there is a long wait to get in to dine here. So try to use the yelp waitlist online if you can. Secondly the parking lot here is too small for the number of popular restaurants inside this strip mall. I think it is worth the wait for the ramen being served. They offer tonkotsu, shoyu, shio, and miso stock ramen. Also they have a tsukemen version. Lastly they have curry rices as well. I had shio ramen and karaage. Both were quite good. Although the ramen was great the wait is not convenient. Since the seating area is small you will need to expect the wait. Have a beer at the nearby bar or restaurant while you wait is my recommendation.

I had relatively high expectations however the type of noodles caught me off guard. It wasnt ramen, or at least ones that Im used to eating and loving. It has less substance and is filled with more empty/wasted space which I think was water. Broth was okay and meat was slightly in the salty side.Service and ambiance was great though, still I come for the food so couldnt give it more than 3 stars.

My first time having Ramen and I loved it! Look at my pictures as I pointed what I got and I highly recommend it! It was about $40 for 2 people and make sure to sign in using the tablet in front. My girlfriend loves Ramen and she said she would come back as shes pretty special with food! Ill be coming back. The service was pretty good as well! Its a pretty small place and parking can be hard to find but the cars come and go quickly so just find a spot to wait. I got the miso Ramen.

I ordered the umakara tan tan ramen with a side of veggies to add into it, regular size. Wow! Portions were very generous! I couldn’t finish it all and brought a lot home for dinner. The broth was creamy and very tasty, everything tasted so good!! I am glad I ordered the veggies to add into it, gave it a nice embodiment to complement the creamy broth and noodles. I also ordered the fried chicken appetizer, yum! Large pieces of thighs fried to perfection, really good as well.

Nothing spectacular. I have had better ramens elsewhere. The soup was too salty for me.

Been coming here for years and it is still super high quality. The pork/shoyu broth is delicate and flavorful and their signature wavy noodles have great chew. And I found out they have another location in Fountain Valley with better parking!

My husband and I ate here tonight. We were disappointed in the meal.We sat at a dirty table. The floor was filthy. It was not busy at all. It took 10 minutes after we sat down before we were asked what we wanted to drink. The servers just stood in the middle of the restaurant where the kitchen is. After bringing us our food, no one ever asked if we needed anything or how our meal was. We had to ask for our check. It as strange because the place is tiny. The service was not bad, it was nonexistent.I ordered the Kitakata Ramen. It has 5 thin pieces of pork, which is the best part of the meal. The broth smells strange. The noodles are chewy and flavorless. The bamboo pieces have a bad flavor.My husband ordered the Juicy Fried Chicken Bowl. It was a mix of white and dark meat. Though his meal was slightly better than mine, we still did not like the flavor. The best part of his meal was the steamed rice.I gave this place one star because it was open. I gave it a second star because the food looks good. We were excited to eat here before we tasted the food. As long as you don’t plan on putting it in your mouth, it is fine.

My son and I came to this spot and it was absolutely awesome. Ramen we had were very tasty and the service was top notch as well. It was our 1st time and it was totally awesome. If you like Ramen, come try this place yourself. We had a great experience. Thank you.

My friends and I came across this place by chance, and we decided to check it out. The ramen was full of flavor and the spice level wasnt overpowering. I did think the salt was a little heavy, but the other flavors still come through.

Out of 5Cleanliness 3Service 0Food 3Atmosphere 2Price 3I wish I had better things to say about this place considering the amazing reviews it has. When we first got there, the wait was thirty minutes (I don’t mind). While waiting, I asked for a menu, the host frowned at me and says: yeah, sure. I guess you can take this one. And then proceeds to let me know that there is a menu outside. So I leave the menu and look at the outside menu instead. Once seated, the table and menus were still crusty… there was still crumbs of food on our table.That host… I don’t know if he’s a new trainee or what but he did not know how to be a good server. They never refilled our waters and when I asked, he reached over the end of the table and motioned with two fingers for me to hand him my cup. He then disregarded the rest of our table and I had to share my water with a friend.My order was forgotten. Twice. Everyone else got their food and then two waiters came by to ask if everyone had their food. We informed them, twice that I did not. By the time my food came out, everyone else was done.Also, my friend said the noodles were clumpy but the broth is good. Your karaage is the one thing that semi redeems you.I will not come back ban nai. Your food is mediocre and service horrendous. Thanks but no thanks.