Masa Ramen Bistro

I've been here several times now. Went to japan during the summer and this place has the closest flavor to the ramen I had in Japan. I love the simple decor that they have. They also play Hawaiian music which I think is great. Service here has always been great. Sometimes it gets kind of busy and being in the industry I give them a lot of credit for the hard work they do. Food comes out pretty quick considering how busy it can get. My two favorite things to eat is the Diamond Head with a spice level 2. Noodles are nice and chewey. Char siu is on point. Or the Chicken Katsu. It's so delicious, moist, crunch crispy breading unlike other places I've been to. They even make their own katsu sauce which tasted even better than the Chicken Katsu plate lunches I had when I went to Hawaii. I also like their Broke the Mouth Ramen with the cheese! So delicious, but I reserve that for special days as it's so filling that I want to sleep afterwards. Go check this place out if you're in the area. Great ramen and Hawaiian style foods.

We came with a friend for dinner on a Friday evening since she was in the mood for Japanese/Hawaiian food. Located on University, parking was a little challenging and we found parking about a block and a half away.Though it has Ramen Bistro in its name, the menu has more of an emphasis on Hawaiian dishes than Japanese. The menu consisted of six ramen options (1 was sold out) and seven Hawaiina options (2 were sold out) and nine Pupus of Japanese and Hawaiian options. We decided to order several pupus and two entrees.Da Kine Chicken - 10 good-sized pieces of moist chicken thigh pieces. Served with a calamansi ponzu dipping sauce.Manini Fries with curry furikake - had a light curry flavor. Nothing special.Shrimp Pops - panko crusted shrimp patties on a stick served with a sweet Thai chili sauce. This was tastyDiamond Head Ramen - good pork broth with two slices of pork belly char siu. A good tasty satisfying bowl of ramen, but I've had better.Lolo Loco Moco with potato salad - ordered with over easy egg. It was a good loco moco with a tasty brown gravy. Service was friendly in a nice bright restaurant with tables and a bar counter in the middle and by the window. Good ramen and Hawaiian options for the area.

Ramen - 4.5 stars. Chicken Katsu - 0 stars. Undercooked. Disgusting. Thigh meat. Fatty. Mac salad - 3 stars. Bland. Too mayonnaisy. Ambience - A for effort but 1 star - ceiling was leaking water and cold air was blowing in and the place smelled like asbestos and was freezing. Also bike, ladder visible - lame. Also I don't want to watch cooking shows while I'm eating - why??I gave them a 3 because it is a ramen place and they did a good job with authentic ramen.I'd get the ramen to go and skip the rest.

This is a cool little hip restaurant on University Avenue. I originally thought it was Japanese, which it is, but it's more like Hawaiian really.We had a few things. Edamame, Manini fries, Katsu chicken curry, Korean short ribs, and Loco moco. All orders came with either Mac salad or potato salad.The Manini fries were pretty awesome! Perfectly crispy nice with and a nice flavor. The loco Moko was definitely overcooked. Well done inside and nearly burnt on theedge. If not for that, it might've been pretty good. The chicken Katsu curry was decent. The best dish was the Korean short ribs however... It also costs $30, almost double of all the other dishes. If I were to go back, I think I would try the Ramen. And by the way, the service was pretty bad. It took a long time, we had to keep waving down the waitress, and she had a bad, grouchy attitude the whole time. She did do all the things she needed to serve our table mechanically speaking, but could improve the pleasantness.

===TL;DR===- Diamond head ramen, spicy level 4- Kuni ramen, spicy level 3===TMI===Just when I thought Tsuruya made it to my top 5 ramen list recently, now Masa also made it (under Tsuruya tho hehe)! Laid back with a bit of an industrial interior vibe... almost like a touch of Hawaii feel. They had a great food selection for a one page menu but I'm here for the ramen! Really enjoyed my bowl of Kuni ramen, the black garlic oil alway just hugs you so well along with the hearty base of the tonkotsu broth. I'm content at a level 3 spiciness and level 4 was still manageable. Their pork belly char siu was cooked to perfection. Team thin ramen noodles all the wayyyyy. If I didn't remember wrong, the server said Kilauea was just the spicy version of the Diamond ramen FYI. So instead of ordering Diamond head and add a spiciness level, you can just order the Kilauea.

Bottom line: TRY THIS PLACE!My family and I were in the mood for some ramen, and this place seemed like it had great reviews on Yelp. I recently moved to the area and had an excellent ramen place in my last neighborhood, so my standards were high! Masa Ramen Bistro exceeded my expectations. The interior is extremely casual and comfortable.We ordered 2 "Broke Da Mouth" bowls and 2 Kuni bowls. Everything was great, but the Broke Da Mouth was insanely good. The menu said it was the most popular item on the menu, and it did not disappoint! The cheese was such a great touch, and the garlic butter really shone through. The Kuni is also a great option, if you're looking for something a little lighter than the Broke Da Mouth.I'm genuinely so happy to have found this place and expect that it will become a staple in my routine. There is street parking available, and it is close to the BART.You cannot miss this spot the next time you're in Berkeley!

I was looking for a good ramen place in the area and came about this place. I came here with 2 friends and was seated immediately. Parking is a bit hard in this area your best bet is to come early, park further, or try the Berkeley extension lot around the corner. Service was good and quick they greeted us immediately. I tried their spicy ramen and it was okay. Portions are large so it's definitely feeling but the texture of the noodles could have been better (personal preference and thought). The ramen seemed pretty oily to me which felt a little too much after finishing the whole thing. They also offer some Hawaiian/fusion items like Loco Moco. I wouldn't recommend this to someone who really wanted some delicious ramen (I'd say San Mateo haha). But if you just want some regular ramen and was in the area- go for it!

I had the broke da mouth ramen and I give it a solid 8.5/10 it was super garlicky- which I LOVED and the broth was so flavorful- it was great as leftovers too! my friend had the beef curry which was a huge platter and she gave it to men 8/10! overall great vibes and great tasting food- def the best ramen spot in the area!

Stopped in just after opening time, so I was the first table. Very slow service for being the only customer. Ordered the vegan ramen with no noodles and added kikurage and corn. The dish was served quickly; however, it was not piping hot. Disappointed by that, but the broth is a lovely deep sesame flavor. Bold and hearty. I slurped it down in record speed. I would definitely order the vegan ramen again! I feel like the prices of the vegan ramen are slightly higher compared to other places.

I went to Masa for the second time this weekend. Both times, service was quick and friendly. You can tell that there's a high value on quality, both in their food and overall vibe of the restaurant. I got the Diamond Head ramen bowl, it was the exact meal I needed on a cold day :) If you're looking for a place to eat that feels like home, Masa is the place for you!