Hokkaido Ramen Santouka - Harvard Square

Absolutely AMAZING experience!!Small menu with a good variety of options and an ability to customize your dining experience. They have different bowl sizes, different broth sizes, combo options, a variety of sides and toppings, and they offer a generous student discount!As for the food itself, absolutely packed with authentic, modern japanese flavors. The noodles were cooked to a perfect al dente and the broth packed a creamy umami punch!The service was incredibly kind, efficient, and accommodating. They even offered us a little basket to place our bags in! The restaurant, too, took on a homey, communal feel as we were seated around a large shared table. But there were also individual tables if that's your preference. Although the room was packed, it didn't feel crowded or too noisy. And because the service was so fast, it never felt like there was a need for more available tables.Incredible ramen spot and I highly recommend!

Not too pricy ramen spot by Harvard Square. Got the combo with shoyu ramen, ajitama (which is the egg), and karaage chicken. The shoyu broth was a little too salty for me and probably should've gotten the shio broth instead, which will be a little more on the mild side. The chicken was crunchy and juicy, super good with the lemon juice, but our portion got soggy on the bottom of the plate nearing the end of our meal. Still pretty good though.Would also like to add that their portions are just perfect. You can downgrade to a small which is an also good.Overall nice ramen place to stop by. 8.5/10

Brief Summary:- Waitlist can be done with a tablet near the entrance- There is a nook of claw games- Indoor seating onlyIt was a slightly drizzling and cold morning in Boston, so ramen felt like a great meal to eat. We were walking around the outdoor areas of Harvard University, and this ramen restaurant is close to it. When we arrived around noon, it was filled with seated guests, so we needed to be part of the waitlist. Adding the name and party number was easily done with a kiosk. (This was not operated by yelp). We did most of the waiting by walking down the streets along this restaurant, which helped spend time without constantly thinking about hunger.The wait time didn't feel long either; after what felt like less than ten minutes, we received a text message that a table is ready and we were to return to the restaurant in 10 minutes. The distance wasn't far, so we were able to return to claim our seats. The staff guided to our spots, but due to them being busy, they have forgotten to leave a menu. This took a minute or two for us to call a staff over to receive it. The menu has a dozen of combos and combinations, so we started off with the simple and default sizes.I ordered the shio ramen with the shiyake rice bowl combo set. A relative of mine tried the vegetarian ramen. We all chose a regular sized ramen bowl.In total, we ordered three dishes, and the dishes arrived around the same time. The regular sized bowl felt just about right for us; enough to be content but not too much that we are full for the rest of the day. I liked the broth for this shio (salt) ramen bowl. My relative, who got the vegetarian ramen mentioned how it felt heavier than other vegetarian ramen bowls they have tried in the past. I also liked the shiyake rice bowl. The salmon covered the rice evenly and it had little savory pops from the ikura roe. The seasoning of the salmon is just right and it didn't require me to ask for more rice or needing an additional savory item. Overall, a perfect vision of what a ramen tastes like.

For a chain ramen place, Hokkaido ramen is pretty good! They have deals on their app and student discounts that are pretty generous. I've gotten their shio ramen before and I thought it was decent, but last time I tried their cold citrus ramen and thought it was delicious. Everyone is nice and the place is spacious and clean.

Santouka had pretty good ramen, considering that I usually go for udon rather than ramen in Boston! We got a special kimchi ramen and a tonkotsu ramen. I personally liked the tonkotsu more, which was creamy. The kimchi ramen had a good flavor, but their standard ramen options here are still better. We also got salmon and rice as part of a combo, which was good as well after adding spicy mayo to it (highly recommend if you like spicy mayo)! It was quite good value for the amount of food

The service was very quick. I was on the wait list but got off after only a few minutes during a Saturday night. The ramen was good, but not the most amazing I've ever had. It's a little expensive for what you get, but that's also partially because it's near Harvard.

I went with a friend to this ramen place. We got a large shoyu ramen and a combo of the vegetarian ramen with a side of shiyake ikura.It was pretty crowded during lunch so we were happy that we had a reservation. It was rather quick to order and we got our food fast too. The staff wasn't that friendly though. My friend got the shoyu ramen and said it was good but the noodles were undercooked. It was only a $1 extra to get the large so if you're debating getting it, i would since it's cost effective.I enjoyed the vegetarian ramen and i think the combo was a great deal considering i got the shiyake ikura with it. I love that i got to put the egg in it and I took the shiyake ikura home because it was more food than I thought.There are little items that you can get if you buy tokens and there's a machine where you buy the tokens. The machine sucks. You can only buy 1, 5 and 10 tokens but the items themselves are worth odd values like 7 and 11 so you have to buy 5 tokens, 1 token, and another 1 token so you have to use the machine 3 times. You also have to wait for the amount to show up so you spend about 5-10 minutes getting one item...

What can I say... OH MY GAWDDD this place is so good!!!!! The noodles soft and chewy, but not overly cooked. Broth always flavorful and comforting with the perfect spice for anybody to enjoy! Pork belly was so tender and juicy. I loved everything about it and it was affordable too. The karaage was my personal favorite because it came out hot and juicy.... Tasted absolutely amazing with the lemon. It's a cute little ramen shop situated in Harvard Square. Super popular spot, which makes it convenient to grab some good food when shopping in the area. I love how cozy and comforting this place is because it's not trying to be something it isn't. It's a ramen shop and that's exactly what it was! Service was fast paced as it should be for a small shop. Servers were attentive, placed our orders quickly and got us our food in under 10 mins. We were in and out under 35! Great place to grab lunch if it isn't busy.

had the highest expectations when waiting in line, but once we got our Shio there was barely any pork (maybe an inch width and length) & the piece we both got was mostly fat, no egg, no extras, so all we really got was noodles and broth, maybe we ordered wrong but this was very overpriced and I was gravely disappointed.

This was a great place to grab some miso ramen for lunch. The soup was quite flavorful, and there was no skimping on the ramen. The pork was fairly tender but the add-on egg was overcooked. Service was quick and friendly. There are several tables in the moderately sized, casual restaurant, but I can imagine a wait during peak hours. I would return but not order the egg.