Baikohken Ramen

I actually made a yelp account specifically to leave a review here because my experience was lovely! Food: Delicious and flavorful. Definitely a little more on the expensive side but worth every dollar. I got the Miso Hillcrest Special, at my server's recommendation. It's definitely a full portion so I would only recommend having one appetizer for one adult. Service: Undoubtedly, the best part of the restaurant. I had the pleasure of speaking to both servers. The first one was blonde with a face mask and she explained the menu and the different broth types to both me and my son. She explained everything very clearly and respectfully, which is rare for younger servers nowadays. The second server who actually brought us the ramen had brown hair and long eyelashes. She was also lovely, friendly and considerate. Some of the sweetest staff I've spoken to in a while. Ambiance It's Hillcrest so parking is a bit of a struggle. But that's to be expected in this part of San Diego. The restaurant itself is small but clean.

This was the old Menya Ultra's old location which I used to frequent.This new Ramen restaurant has a pretty simple menu, the new decor is nice.For my 2nd visit I went with the salt ramen (Shio) again as it has a nice balance of savoriness and it is light being made from chick and pork bones & fish and seaweed. Tried the Tonkotsu my first visit and thought it was overly salty and not as creamy as other Ramen joints in San Diego, I know this is their specialty so I will try it again in the future. Only complaints are that I wished they would add steamed Gyoza's instead of the deep fried.Great customer service and clean nice inside look. For sure will be back.

ramen shop serving up classics like shoyu, shio & miso!they offer a variety of ramen and plenty of side dishes. we ordered the miso/shoyu hillcrest specials and their takoyaki. the service was really nice and everything came out fairly quick. each dish was a solid pick. the broths were flavorful & the noodles were chewy! the chashu felt a little lacking in flavor but it was tender nonetheless.def worth a try!

First time here, made a reservation but they took us right away when we got there. We did arrive about an hour before closing so the dinner rush had already passed. We ordered the takoyaki as an appetizer which we both equally enjoyed. They have multiple ramen combinations with the main broth choices of shoyu, shio, and miso. My friend and I opted for the shoyu as they noted that to be their signature. All the food arrived in a timely manner. I liked the shoyu, but it did start to get a bit salty for my taste toward the end, but it is a soy sauce based ramen. I would like to try the shio ramen next time. All of the staff was super nice and polite, offered recommendations and checked in throughout our meal. The restaurant is on the smaller side, so I wouldn't recommend going with more than a group of 4 max. It is located in a small plaza with a decent sized parking lot, w head no issues finding parking right away. I would like to come back to try other things!

Solid Ramen spot in Hillcrest featuring ramen with all your favorite broths and beverages.Baikohken Ramen opened up recently in Hillcrest and has replaced the Menya Ultra that was previously there. Per their website, Baikohken is mostly found internationally and this San Diego location is their first in the continental United States. I was eager to try it as something like this feels as if it would be very authentic!It did not disappoint. I came in around noon on a weekday and there were plenty of available seats. The service was attentive and helpful. They walked me through the menu, and their recommendations, and were eager to assist.I ended up going with the Hillcrest Special in the Shoyu broth. The Hillcrest Special features all the toppings so it was a perfect way to see how the ramen was. The Shoyu broth itself felt authentic. It was very flavorful and had the perfect amount of salt. The Chashu was nice and soft. The toppings were excellent. Overall it was an excellent ramen that I'd come back for if I was in the mood. The ambiance felt like a ramen shop with how it was set up which added to the experience.The ramen is solid here and really hits the spot. It doesn't break the mold or break boundaries but it is somewhere I would go when I'm craving ramen.

I was surprised by how unimpressed I was by the food. I never come to this area because parking is always impossible, but I was lured by the idea that this was a Michelin-recognized ramen restaurant. I was glad to have tried it as part of my ramen tour, but it not anywhere close to my top-ranked ramen shops in San Diego. Food: - I ordered the Shoyu Ramen ($14.95) and Shio Ramen ($14.95). Noodles are QQ so no complaints about this. However, there are these super thick chunks of bamboo that really need to be cut into thinner pieces (see picture), because they are not tender enough to be bit into smaller pieces. Chashu was tender but had no fatty components that revealed it to actually be pork belly. The shoyu flavor is clearly apparent in the shoyu ramen, but neither broth was particularly amazing. - Fried chicken ($6.95 for 3 pieces): Batter is very crispy. However, the thigh meat is stringy, as if it was cooked for way too long- Croquette ($6.95): I did not know a deep fried panko-crusted piece of mashed potato could be cooked incorrectly, but the interior literally had zero salt or flavor. Seasoning was needed. Ambiance: Located in a shopping center that has free parking lot. However, based on other reviews stating that it can be hard to get in/out of the lot during busy hours, we chose to do street parking (which was very limited). The restaurant interior is elegant and airy. Service: Quick and friendly

A Michelin-recognized ramen chain has arrived from Japan and it's located in Hillcrest right next to Oscar's and Uncle Biff's. I had high expectations but overall, wasn't too impressed. At the time of visit, they were still working on their liquor license so maybe they're still getting their bearings. Expect a wait during peak hours because there's a bit of hype that comes with being Michelin-recognized. The parking lot is shared between other popular stores and restaurants so you might have to park on the street. If you have a large group, come early to put your name down on the Yelp waitlist! French Fries: This was the biggest disappointment. The fries themselves were actually really good but they gave so little. Just take a look at the picture and you can actually count that there are less than 20 pieces. And for $7, which is $1 more than the normal because we asked for the spicy version (with the spicy sauce on the side). I wonder if this was a fluke or if this is what they actually expect to be a fair portion of $7 fries. Also the spicy sauce is not spicy and has a slight tang. Fried Chicken: Comes with 6 pieces. And just like the fries, you can make it spicy for an extra $1. The spicy sauce isn't spicy at all though. Super crunchy and it's all dark meat too so you know it's gonna be juicy. Hokkaido Croquette: Comes with two pieces. Really surprised by how much I enjoyed these. Panko-fried crispy and the potato filling was soft and fluffy. The sauce on the side to dip tasted just like eel sauce from a sushi restaurant. Hillcrest Special Ramen - Salt: The Shio broth here is very light and clear and pretty good but they didn't give that much. The chasu meat is lean and not fatty at all, which I'm guessing is the Hokkaido-style. The bamboo was cut into thick slices and it's pretty good, but I was expecting a little more flavor. Overall, we weren't completely satisfied with the meal and I'm not sure if we just had a bad experience or if that's the way it's supposed to be. But there's a ton of other ramen shops in San Diego that, in my opinion, are better.

We were told by our friend that a new Ramen shop had opened up in Hillcrest, and saw that Baikohkeh truly did take the spot of previous tentant Menya Ramen. With accolades of being on the Michelin guide of Hokkaido, we had expectations of being impressed, but they fell slightly short.- PARKING -Small dedicated lot to the businesses in this strip plaza. There are a few street parking spots along the adjacent street as well!- SERVICE/ENVIRONMENT -The setup of the interior is pretty much the same as Menya had it, with 2-4-6 person table arrangements available. They have a Yelp Waitlist, so you can check-in online! We came on a Saturday near 6:30pm, and waited about 10-15 minutes. I do think they are still working out the kinks of service as we had several delays throughout our meal. They did graciously separate the spicy sauce for our appetizers, since one of our party members is spice prone. My main gripe was how long it took for our items to come out, considering other tables seemed to get theirs first even though we ordered before them.- FOOD -Fried Chicken (spicy,6pcs - $7.95): Really crunchy skin and juicy meat inside. The pieces of chicken themselves were decently sized too.French Fries (spicy - $7.95): Seeing the price, I would assume it would be like a basket of fries. Unfortunately, this was the most disappointing plate of fries I've ever seen. Not even filling up the entire bowl, and at this cost... it was not worth it at all.Hokkaido Croquette (2pcs - $6.95): Super crispy, well fried, great potato filling! They served it with something that tasted like eel sauce.Spicy Miso Ramen ($18.95): Besides the extra spice (which I think you can ask for chili oil on the side and have the same effect), this differs from the regular Miso Ramen by having woodear mushroom and 1/2 seasoned egg. The spiciness isn't too bad, I actually added in more chili oil and was still fine. The noodles are thin, but have a nice chew to them. The chasiu meat was very tough for me unfortunately, and one of our other bowls had cold slices.- OVERALL -Our expectations fell short in terms of the ramen, and the lacking portion in the appetizer. However, they do have good Fried Chicken and Croquettes... but we probably will have our other ramen shops to go to.

Another day, another ramen spot to check off the list.I finally made it out here for lunch after they finally changed their hours to serve lunch every day instead of just weekends.The first thing I noticed when I walked in was that all of the customers aside from me were Japanese (or at least were speaking fluent Japanese!) so that was promising.I had the Hillcrest special shio and a 3 piece spicy chicken. They offer all 3 of the styles Hokkaido is known for; shoyu, shio and miso.The chicken pieces were very generously sized and came with a sriracha like sauce. The chicken was hot and crispy, but maybe a little dry for my taste. The ramen was pretty good. The use a double soup which is a combo of pork bone and fish/seafood dashi. This resulted in a lighter broth than what you might find at a place that serves just tonkotsu style, but the flavor was still there. Just a little more muted. I didn't mind it. The special comes with chashu, ajitama (egg), menma (bamboo shoot), shredded nori, corn and a pat of butter. I don't normally add butter to my ramen but this is typical of the Hokkaido style and I actually really liked it. The chashu is made from shoulder and not belly which results in a meatier and less fatty cut. It was good though.The noodles were probably the strongest component to me. They were well cooked with good texture. The service was quick and very friendly. Parking is a small lot but I had no issues finding a spot on a weekday during lunch.So overall it was fine, but why only 3 stars? Well it's pricey for one. $25 for the bowl of ramen is probably the most I've spent on a bowl of ramen in San Diego. It's very good, but I'm not sure if it's worth the cost. Also, Hironori is pretty close which to me is currently #1 in San Diego so if I ever found myself in the area craving ramen, I'd go there.Worth a try though.

This is Baikohken's first US mainland location as the only other shop outside of Asia is in Honolulu. It is a Michelin-recognized ramen restaurant that was founded in Hokkaido in the late 1960s. The Hillcrest Center suite where it resides was the home of another local ramen chain until late last year when it decided to focus its business in different areas of San Diego. Baikohken's grand opening occurred earlier this week with operating hours from 5 to 10 pm nightly and from noon to 3 pm on weekends. The parking situation in this plaza can be congested in the evening so be patient.We made an online Yelp reservation, however it was unnecessary as just one group was seated when we showed up at the opening time. A binder containing the menu was at each of the tables which could hold a total of about 50 diners. Edamame and five fried items made up the side dishes. The two of us chose six pieces of Fried Chicken to split. It could be ordered normal (our pick), spicy, or with a smaller serving size of three pieces. The crust was light and crispy. Kewpie mayo and hot sauce were provided for dipping, but I didn't try either as the meat had sufficient seasoning.Three main flavors of broth were featured... Shoyu (soy sauce), Shio (salt), and Miso (fermented soybeans). The base of the "double soup stock" was meat from pork bones and chicken bones and seafood from dried fish and seaweed. There were three pricing levels ranging from the cheapest (Butter & Corn) to the mid-level (Chashu) to the most expensive (Hillcrest Special). Curly noodles, special homemade chashu, and premium bamboo shoots were added to the broth in each bowl. Other toppings were available at a surcharge. They included a soft boiled egg, bean sprouts, extra butter & corn, extra chashu, extra bamboo shoots, and extra noodles.I selected the Butter & Corn Shio Ramen which had a mild salt flavor. That made the broth light and easy to consume at the very end of the meal. A thick slice of chashu was included along with butter, corn, and bamboo shoots. The curly noodles were perfectly cooked. The shoots were a bit chewier than I liked while the chashu was slightly above average compared to other ramen places I have tried. My friend bought the Spicy Miso Ramen which was the hottest version on the menu. A vegan ramen with a tomato base could be ordered if you wanted to avoid meat.Rice with meat was offered as two types of chashu bowls in a small or large serving size. No desserts or sweet items were listed on the menu. Alcoholic beverages were currently unavailable because the ABC license had not been approved yet. The service from the waitress was fine. Before we left, a lady (manager/owner?) handed out a 10% discount card to each of us which we assumed was a grand opening promotion. It's valid until the end of this August. I rated our dinner at Baikohken Ramen with 4.5 stars as a few tweaks could elevate it to a full five star level.