Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai - Costa Mesa

Parking in this plaza is horrible. Parked across the street at the school district. We waited about an hour on a Saturday. Inside, the restaurant itself is small. I had the aburi miso ramen and bf had the chasu ramen. Noodles were amazing! Crimped noodles, tasted really fresh. As for the broth, it was nothing special. The chicken karaage was okay.. Overall good service, but I prefer Gomen.

I came for dinner on a Wednesday night, and there was no wait. The service was quick, and our waitress was friendly. The restaurant was small and cozy.

My friend and I both got the regular spicy tsukemen ($15.95 + $1.80 for spicy). We both loved it, slurped every single noodle. The dipping broth was delicious, so flavorful and the bean sprouts were a nice crunch. Noodles were perfectly chewy and wavy. Eggs were jammy, chashu was tender, and bamboo shoots were a great addition.

Overall, I would so go back for the tsukemen and to try their other hot ramen! Everything was simple yet so delicious!!! Give this place a try, you'll love it.

Finding parking was pretty challenging, especially because we came on a Saturday night. The restaurant is situated in a small plaza, right next to in-sit coffee. I ordered the Green Chili Shio Ramen - it's a solid 4/5 stars for me. It was very light, flavorful, and had the perfect amount of spice (I can't typically tolerate spice and this dish isn't too spicy - it's more on the mild side). However, I felt that the amount of green onion slices was a little excessive and would just ask for light onions next time.

All their noodles (their "Ban Nai" noodles) are softer in texture compared to any other ramen spots I've been to. If you prefer a chewier texture, you can let the server know and they'll cater to your preferences. I enjoyed their Ban Nai noodles and would come back as it was the perfect texture for me!

I ordered their signature ramen it's decent but if you're looking for a creamy deep flavored tonkotsu ramen, this isn't it. It's a miso or shoyu based ramen depending on what you order but it's much lighter. That said, they don't claim to be a tonkotsu ramen so I can't fault them for it. It's a very clean tasting broth and the noodles are a bit soggy but there was a sign saying you can request for them to be more Al dente.

The chashu was fantastic and the egg was nice and jammy. Note that the egg costs extra but it's worth it in my opinion.

Make sure to check in on yelp for the waitlist as the wait can be quite long.

Very cute little spot. Staff is very friendly. The food was really good. I just wish they had more veggie options. But overall great experience. I had the vegan miso ramen and it was very flavorful and really big I had to take half of it to go.

My boyfriend and I found this place randomly on yelp and decided to give it a try. The parking lot is small, but off hours it was easy to find a spot right in front. There is an iPad out front to add your name to the waitlist. The top 5 on the list can walk inside to check in. We were seated right away. The restaurant itself is small and seating is close to other tables. Staff is very welcoming.

Food Review:

Gyoza: (4/5) They were pretty tasty, nothing special.

Ban Nai Bun: (5/5) The best thing I had at the restaurant. Great flavor. The pork was delicious. The bun was cooked perfectly.

Miso Ramen: (3/5) Honestly, I was surprised at how unappealing the broth was. It had a weird aftertaste I had to add lots of chile oil and flakes to give it better flavor. The pork was okay tasting, but had way more fat than meat. The noodles were mushy. Good portion.

Tan Tan Ramen: (4/5) The broth was way more flavorful than the other one; however, it still lacked flavor. Noodles were a little mushy. Lots of meat in the broth, which was a nice surprise. Good portion.

one of my favorite warming meals is kitakata's chasu bowl. the fatty meat is seared, lending a nice smokey flavor, and theres even a side of soup to wash everything down w. i'm not the biggest ramen fan but i do rly like their green chili shio! i enjoy the lighter style of broth and the pile of green onions and chili is delicious. also if there's karaage on the menu, i'm ordering it xD

I will admit that I rarely find a ramen spot that I actually enjoy. I'm not the biggest ramen fan because good ramen is hard to find and most of the time I think it's grossly overpriced for what you're getting. That's what Kitakata was for me.

My boyfriend and I have been researching Japan for our upcoming trip and had a massive craving for ramen. After looking on Yelp, we wanted to give Kitakata a try. The experience was beyond disappointing. For a restaurant that wasn't full, the serving staff was incredibly stressed and the vibes were definitely felt. We weren't ever checked on by our server while we watched other tables being properly serviced - whatever.

As for the ramen itself, I order the Kitakata Ramen and my boyfriend ordered the Spicy Miso Ramen. Both lacked flavor and the noodles were overcooked - they were more mushy than they were on the chewy side. Also, I know the house sake is never supposed to be THAT great but man that was like taking shots of gasoline.

I will continue on my journey to find good ramen in OC, but I would say that Kitakata is best off your list.

I'm obsessed with this ramen. The meat is rich and the fat melts in your mouth. The broth is absolutely delicious. I always get the Green Chili Shio Ramen with a Seasoned Egg. I ask for the onions and chili paste on the side so I can season it to my taste.
I was feeling under the weather and this ramen brought me back to life.
The service is always fast and friendly.

I've have never this much protein in my ramen bowl ever! And I absolutely love it. To start, let me talk about the appetizers we had to r pan fried gyozas and the takoyaki. Both were delicious. I'm a sucker for a good gyoza and this was excellent. It was fried perfectly and the flavor was on point! I'm not the hugest takoyaki fan, but this one was pretty good. An amalgamation of flavors in fried octopus ball.

But the main dish is where it is at! I had the Large Chasu Ramen and that was LOADED with delicious pork Chasu pieces. Most ramen comes with 2, maybe 3 pieces of Chasu. This had aver 15 pieces. You can definitely split this into two meals hands down if you wanted. The both was flavorful and pork was tender. Although this ramen looks plain, the simplicity of it highlights and accentuates the flavor profile even more so! Definitely give this spot a try, especially if you're tired of 2-3 pieces of Chasu.

Got the Tan Tan Ramen here.
Broth was pretty good overall but just a tad too salty (not some thing I say often)
The interesting thing is they use pork chunks instead of the normal ground pork. I actually liked it more this way but that could have contributed to the salt factor.
The noodles were the thicker wavy noodles.
The bean sprouts mixed in with the noodles made it seem like there was more noodles but it was just a lot of bean sprouts.

I was there for an early dinner, walked in and didn't have to wait for a table. Servers were pretty attentive and quick when needed.

Overall, pretty good and I would come back in the future if in the area.