Top Noodle Shop in Los Angeles
Tsujita LA Artisan Noodle Annex
2050 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025, United States
Allow me to regale you with a tale of taste and wonderment that can only be experienced at Tsujita Annex, my unequivocal favorite among the myriad ramen establishments Ive had the pleasure of sampling. Nestled within its unassuming walls lies a culinary journey that has elevated my ramen expectations to unparalleled heights.From the moment you step inside, the ambiance envelops you in a sense of authenticity and reverence for the art of ramen crafting. Its as if the very air is infused with the centuries-old dedication to this Japanese delight. But its not just the ambience that captivates; its the symphony of flavors that awaits within each bowl.The ramen offerings at Tsujita Annex are nothing short of a gastronomic masterpiece. The broth, simmered to perfection with a complexity of flavors that tell a tale of time and patience, is the heart of this experience. Whether you opt for the rich, velvety embrace of tonkotsu or the harmonious blend of tsukemen, each slurp transports you to a realm where taste reigns supreme.And let us not forget the noodles themselves, each strand seemingly handcrafted to achieve the perfect balance of texture and bite. Every bite is a revelation, a reminder that the pursuit of perfection in ramen is an art form that Tsujita Annex has truly mastered.But what truly sets this establishment apart is its unwavering commitment to authenticity. The attention to detail, the adherence to tradition, and the refusal to compromise on quality all come together to create an experience thats not just a meal, but a celebration of culinary heritage.Of course, as with any masterpiece, there are considerations to be made. The popularity of Tsujita Annex is a testament to its allure, but it also means that patience is often a prerequisite. Waiting for a table might be a test of endurance, but I assure you, its a wait thats more than rewarded with each heavenly mouthful of ramen.In conclusion, Tsujita Annex stands not just as a ramen haven, but as a testament to the intersection of tradition and taste. The flavors are a journey, the ambiance a journey, and the experience as a whole a journey that leaves an indelible mark on anyone fortunate enough to partake. If youre in search of ramen that transcends the ordinary and transports you to the realm of the extraordinary, Tsujita Annex is the destination your taste buds have been yearning for.
Killer Noodle Tsujita
2030 Sawtelle Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025, United States
Went with a large group and everyone enjoyed their meal. I heard it was an excellent Japanese noodle shop but I have had better. I ordered the Vegi Ramen and while the noodles were excellent, great taste, texture and firmness, the veggies were pretty much non-existent. Just a couple shreds of cabbage.
Kai Ramen West Hollywood
349 N La Cienega Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90048, United States
Came after a museum outing for some early dinner. They had lots of stars on yelp. The ramen was pretty good, I got the white tonkotsu ramen. It was very buttery and garlicky. My partner got seafood ramen which I guess usually comes with glass noodles but they didnt have any at the moment so she got the tick noodles. Hers was very tomato-ey but had many types of sea food like crab and scallops. It also had lots of vegetables in it. For appetizers, we got the crunchy rice, steamed pork buns, gyoza. Crunchy rice was too hard and crunchyfor my liking but it did have some spicy tuna on top. The buns were overly filled with lettuce and onion, I guess to cover up the thin piece of pork. It did have a good taste but it was short lived. The gyoza was our favorite since that had the most flavor and it was cooked evenly, not too hard and not too soft. There is free parking around back but the only way to get to it is if you go through a skinny alleyway same for exiting but it is free for 90 minutes unless you want to pay to park on the street near traffic that is in front of the restaurant.There is a surcharge of you pay with a card, fyi regardless of you pay through the app or with your actual card.
Kyodong Noodles at Madang
621 S Western Ave Suite 303, Los Angeles, CA 90005, United States
Ulppong is the most delicious. If you have never tried it, be sure to try it!!There are plenty of seafood and vegetables, and all menu items are very generous.For those who cant eat spicy food, I highly recommend Ulppong rather than Jjamppong! Awesome ? I mainly eat ulppong. Its a menu item you cant taste anywhere else, and its really delicious (however, if you dont want it to be spicy, be sure to ask for the chopped jalapenos to be omitted, or ask for it as a side and add as much as you like.)Once you order and call the number, the food comes out pretty quickly.Its a self-service pick-up service, so you can take as much pickled radish and water as you want (the Korean staff is friendly, so its a good idea to leave a tip in the tip box^^)If you go for lunch on a weekday, you can get Jjajangmyeon for less than $10, which is probably the cheapest price in Koreatown, so its a great place to eat with friends and acquaintances, and the portions are generous enough to share.Ive been stamping it for two days in a row. I enjoyed it today as well. Thank you.Affordable authentic Korean (Chinese cooking style) foodThe black bean noodle Jjajangmyun Jjajangmyeon is one of the most popular Korean food, the bean sauce with pork is really tasty.(As featured in the Korean drama My Love from the Star 来自星星的你)The weekday lunch hour special price for black bean noodle was $7.99 (for dining in only).**Make sure to mix the noodle very well with chopsticks before you eat, ask or look at other people around you if you don’t know how**You can ask for fork if you’re not comfortable using chopsticks too.Super affordable price on all menus, for authentic Korean cuisine dine-in restaurant.This is self-serving restaurant, (this is typical for affordable restaurants in Korea, you gotta understand the cultural difference here, thats why they can keep the cost of the menu affordable) you pay first on the counter and then pick up later when the employee calls out the receipt number; so you have to hold on to the receipts with the number printed to show the person at the counter later.If you love real spicy food (and seafood) Jjamppong is pretty good. Huge portion. (note: pretty spicy for some Korean Americans too. I think the spiciness is same as in Korea menu)I highly recommend Ulppong, so worth trying (**best menu in my opinion for the restaurant, other places do not have this menu**)Ton of shrimp, clams, and squids goes inside, which is similar to Jjampong, but not spicy at all if you ask to take out the jalapeños, good non-spicy option for kids to eat too.Tang soo yuk (sweet and spicy sauced fried pork) is really good too.Overall all dishes are real big portion to share with whole family, or large groups because the prices are good especially on weekday lunch hour.If you share on Facebook or Instagram, you can get a free drink; I got free Milkis, Korean milky soda. (Taste a little bit like Calpico but corbonated version)If you eat alone or have a lot of left over food, you can ask for take out box to go.If you’re looking for cheap eats, what a gem to find in the heart of Koreatown!Located on 3rd story of Madang plaza, free parking validation stamp provided from the restaurant.If you only visited Madang plaza because of Daiso, H Mart, Paris Baguette or Somi Somi, this restaurant is a must-try.Whole Madang plaza has some real good places to visit, both for shopping and eating.Thank you for the great food again,I came 2 days in a row because it was so good!!I’ll come back often :)
Bagan Burmese Kitchen
240 Virgil A, Los Angeles, CA 90004, United States
I ordered the coconut noodle soup and asked if he could make it vegan but he brought it out with an egg in it :/ So I told him and so he went and removed the egg and brought it back. My noodles were a little mushy and mustve been overcooked. Overall the dish tasted okay but I thought it was a little under seasoned, and the portions were a little too small. I was still hungry when I got home.Our dishes didnt come out at the same time so we were waiting a bit for everyones dish to come while our food was getting cold. Keep in mind we were the only group there.All that being said I would give it another shot because there were some interesting items on the menu and my friends seemed to like their dishes (but agreed the portions could be a little bigger)
Bang Bang Noodles
1801 E 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90021, United States
Partnered with my relentless insomnia is the constant scrounging for food videos. Its only been recently that I've been able to actually look through all these trendy restaurants in California and be able to bookmark them down to truly satisfy my cravings. Which goes into how we ended up driving all the way down to Culver city for Bang Bang Noodles, buzzfeed - worth it. The noodle bowl on their recent sauce video caught my husbands attention almost immediately. Was it the slapping effects of the noodles? Was it the way the chili oil drizzled over the fat wide noodles? Who knows, but it captivated us enough to make the hour long traffic ride over and we were promptly disappointed.Szechuan Garlic Noodles - ($18) - Just an FYI, the noodles alone are $15, if you were to add any proteins, which they supposedly added in the video it's an extra charge. And it was like 3 extra pieces of thinly sliced beef. Noodle texture was great, fresh, bouncy and held onto the flavor very well. Noodles alone I would have given a raving review, but we know we aren't here for just the noodles. The noodles were coated in an EXTREMELY salty sauce. We werent even able to taste any garlic flavors. By the time we reached the bottom of the bowl, a pool of oil was sitting on the bottom with the rest of the garnishes that were deemed basically inedible from being doused in a hellfire of salt and oil.So, in summary; would not recommend. Preaching to avoid.
Kai Ramen Westchester
8334 Lincoln Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90045, United States
We had a bittersweet experience at this place.Service: My husband and I went around 7:15 pm on Saturday. It was fairly busy, but we got our order in pretty quickly. Lots of people came after us and started receiving their food. After 20 min in we found out that the server forgot to punch in our order. We didnt mind much because we had time plus the server was brand new so we didnt want to make it hard on him. Our food arrived after 1 hour of placing an order and the appetizers came after the food. I got black tonokatsu ramen. It seemed a little dry and the additonal topping I asked for was missing, so after voicing the concern I got little more broth and topping on side. After eating few bites I found a hair in my bowl so I complained to the 2nd server and she ordered a replacement. As disgusting as it sounds, we agreed to get the fresh bowl.Food: My husband loved his vegan ramen. Vegan Bun was ok, I wouldnt order it. It was dry and chewy. I loved my new bowl of black tonokatsu ramen. I would highly recommend trying it. We also had chocolate mochi which was good.Parking: Street parking could be hard to find, but we parked in the large shopping complex with Bristol farms, CVS, etc. From there Kai is only couple buildings down which takes few seconds to walk.Rating: Despite of our experience Im giving 4 star because this place has a great potential and the food is amazing. It is a brand new place with short staff. They had total 2 servers, 2 cooks and no manager. I would like to give them a benefit of doubt because they might need more time to be fully staffed and pick up on their service. Mai was incredibly helpful to us even though she wasnt our server.Ill update my review based on the future visit trends.
Hakata Ikkousha Tonkotsu Ramen Little Tokyo
368 E 2nd St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States
One of the most authentic Hakata ramen shops outside of Fukuoka, Japan.Love this place. Having eaten ramen in Fukuoka I was deeply disappointed with the offerings in LA. Shops like the much raved Shin Sen Gumi just didn’t cut it for me. But around the corner of Shin Sen Gumi lies this shop without line and less crowded than Daikokuya (1 hr wait) and Shin Sen Gumi (45mins). It must have been relatively new as the ornaments and deco in the shop were in tip-top condition.As a test, I always order the tonkotsu ramen to taste the base broth: pork bone broth. At first sip I knew this was the real deal. The broth was authentic, it was thick and creamy not the kind from powder or flavorings.The noodle wasn’t made in-house but the quality of the bowl collectively was of impeccable quality. I’d come here again but I suspect this place will already grow in crowd number and wait time!
Hachioji Craft & Vegan Ramen
313 1st St, Los Angeles, CA 90012, United States
A very authentic tasting noodle shop with very chill vibes. Brought out the nostalgia from my 2017 Japan trip. Very tasty noodles and lovely staff. Everyone was nice & pleasant to converse with. Got 2 bowls of noodles & a bottle of sake. The portion size was perfect & I got to bring home my unfinished bottle of sake. Relatively inexpensive, unless you get a bottle of sake like I did. Right around the corner from the Doubletree I stayed at & I liked it more than some of the Michelin recommended restaurants around the area. Dropped a pin on my saved list, would definitely eat again if Im ever in Downtown LA.
Mogu Mogu
11555 W Olympic Blvd suite b, Los Angeles, CA 90064, United States
Sawtelle continues to be the ramen mecca of all of LA and just as I thought the area couldn't get better… in comes Mogumogu.Mogumogus addition of Mazemen adds a fresh air to Tsujitas tsukemen, Annexs miso ramen, and Killer noodles numbing tantanmen.Mazemen is a soup-less ramen akin to tsukemen, but instead of dipping the noodles into a broth, the gravy is sitting on the bottom of the bowl and the components (such as garlic, green onions, katsuobushi powder, ajitama, spicy ground pork, and chasu) are beautifully arranged on top. When you receive the bowl, pop the poached egg and vigorously mix everything for about 30 seconds. Eat until about a third of the noodles are left and add the savory vinegar (like you would a lime with tsukemen). Once the noodles are gone, you're offered a scoop of white rice to finish off the delicious traces of the bowl.Now for the food --The noodles - cooked to perfection, and very similar to Tsujita's thicker noodles. I suspect they're both sourced from the local Sun noodles, if not made in-house.Ajitama - the bowl comes with a half boiled ajitama AND a poached egg. Soft yolk and pickled just right.Chasu - the deluxe only came with 2 pieces, but they were both tender and melt in your mouth. It was sliced thicker than what I'm used to, almost like a Korean style samgyupsaalBroth - this is the highlight. Not overly salty and with the spicy ground pork that comes as a base to the Tokyo and the Deluxe, it packs a geat level of about 2 out of 10. One thing to note, if you like spicy, take it easy on the chili oil. It was sesame oil based so it adds TONS of flavor in addition to the heat. The scallions add a nice crunch and contrast to it. The raw minced garlic comes as default, so be sure to opt for more [or less] accordingly. The katsuobushi adds a nice depth without being fishy. I tend to keep the nori separately while mixing and they were a great addition.Setting - great daytime lighting and the owners are extremely sweet. The music wasn't on too loud and the 2 TVs were playing Pokemon and the original Neon Genesis Evangelion. There is no bar for solo diners (ramen is the perfect solo lunch for work), but there were plenty of smaller tables to accommodate solo and small party diners. There were also 2 larger tables that could easily seat 6-8 people at a time.Parking - perhaps the only downside, there's only a few metered spots in front and the streets adjacent to it are all reserved parking for residents (No parking 8a-6p unless if you have the local parking tag). I parked a little further away and walked there.I can't wait to be back, it's the only place in the area serving mazemen!