Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai - Irvine - Irvine, California

Alyssa Nakahara

I've tried this ramen place years ago and happened to see they had a limited summer menu. I was craving cold ramen so i decided to give it a shot.

They are know for having huge portions of toro cha-shu on in their ramen.

They had 2 different cold summer ramens to choose from. They had a soy sauce based on and a creamy one. The server recommended the creamy one to me which has a sesame type sauce base with some vinegar to cut the richness.

The noodles came with a huge portion of cold cubed toro chashu, bean sprouts, tomatoes, and shredded cucumbers plus their special noodles all served in a creamy sesame/vinegar based cold broth. I loved everything except the meat. The chashu was cold and the fat was not the most pleasant with it being cold. I think i would have preferred tofu instead. The chashu hot is a whole different story because the fat melts in your mouth....cold it's like biting into bacon.

Overall i would come again and try something else! Service was quick and fast.

Derek Truong

This place runs like a well oiled machine. I was treated and seated the moment I walked in the door.
I really enjoyed the umakara tan tan ramen, noodles are a perfect delivery system for the rich broth.

I liked the open concept, being able to look into the kitchen area is always a treat.

Chicken karage was so juicy and crispy, and like everything out of this kitchen it comes out hot.

Terry Kim

I tried “Hiyashi Ramen” which is a seasonal limited menu(available during Summer). It was sweet&sour taste(maybe similar to some Kombucha taste?)with some sesame oils. Overall, I recommend you to try it, at least once.

Erin R

This has been my top pregnancy craving in the last few weeks and I’ve had my husband run in to pick it up for me multiple times. The spicy miso is excellent and absolutely worth the pregnancy heartburn. I really appreciate the way the workers package up our order with care — it’s made it so easy to ensure it’s top quality when reheated. Looking forward to our next pick up this weekend, thank you Kitakata.

Juan Cardenas

Place is very delicious, you need to give everything a try.
The fried chicken is good, but personally I enjoyed the pork sandwich more. It was rich with flavor and the pork is basically melting in your mouth and the bread, even though it might have been colder then I would like it, it’s still great. But check this area if you love ramen like me and I guarantee it won’t let you down.

Rakesh Samtani

Good food and excellent service. Love their noodles in the ramen, perfect texture and taste, a little surprised by it, will definitely be back when we in town.

Jonny Steven (JSTV)

We came to this place only because another restaurant had about 1.5 hour wait, but man, I'm happy we did. the broth and flavor of the umakara ramen i got was amazing! Spicy, rich and flavorful. The large portion was indeed large and I was satisfied. My wife got a miso ramen and she loved it just as much. Both ramen really hit the spot. We will definitely be back, definitely our go to ramen spot now!

Ari

went there with my husband for my second time. l got spicy ramen and mu husband got pork ramen with a lot of green onion on top. both are great! especially loved their pork broth with thick noodle. also, our server was awesome! we'd be back when we have chance.