Mensho

Mencho in Oakland is a fantastic ramen spot with incredibly friendly servers and high-quality food. I ordered their top option, which featured wagyu ramen, and the broth was exceptionally creamy and rich. The eggs were cooked perfectly, and the noodles had the ideal balance of firmness and chewiness. While it is on the pricier side, the experience and quality make it well worth it.One downside is the long wait times, especially on weekends. If you're planning to go, I'd recommend visiting later at night, around 9 or 10 PM, since arriving earlier like 6 PM can mean waiting too long to get in. The restaurant is super popular, and for good reason. The modern interior and well-thought-out layout add to the overall experience. Honestly, this is one of the best ramen bowls I've ever had!

Brace yourself for a long wait at dinner time. Three of us went around 6pm and waited an hour, then it took a while to get our food after orderingThe ramen is incredible though and worth the wait to try at least once. Lots of vegan options too! Price matches the quality. I'd recommend and go back.

Had a an excellent experience during my first visit to Mensho recently. We ended up starting out with the vegan karaage which was excellent. The mushrooms were fried perfectly and the batter tasted very similar to your standard chicken karaage. I ended up going with the duck matcha ramen for my main. Wow what a fun, creative flavor profile. There's definitely a matcha flavor, but I found that it was balanced out by the poultry flavors in the broth. The noodle consistency was great and all of the toppings added to the flavor profile. It was a great bowl of ramen, but I think what I appreciate most about Mensho is the level of creativity they show in their menu options. I definitely want to come back and try the different bowls.The service was excellent and our waiter was prompt and courteous. The vibe of Mensho is a traditional Japanese restaurant. I will say that you should be prepared for a lengthy wait, so make sure you have a friend show up early to put you on the wait list!

Wanted to try this place out of state but found out we had a few close to home! Came on a Sunday in which they opened at 3pm. There was already a line forming so you know it was good. Ordered the garlic knockout and the Toripaitan Ramen and woooo was it rich, creamy and full of flavor and goodness. Lots of different ingredients inside for different texture. Service was great, they kept coming around to refill our waters. Inside was clean and there were plenty of tables. Would recommend!

Still my favorite Mensho location! In my opinion, SF have better broth but this location has way more options especially appetizers. I usually stick with their signature smoked toripaitan. The meat always come out very soft and tender. I'm personally a fan of the smoked flavor but it may not appeal to everyone. The wait for this was very long. We waited about 1 hr 20 mins before we got to our seats. The staff are quick.. maybe too quick because we just sat down when they took our order. The staff keeps things moving but they don't rush anyone. Anyway, hard to beat Mensho on a somewhat rainy Saturday night.

Wow. What a fantastic spot. Expect a line - check in via tablet for a spot and wait to be called. Mensho is one of the best ramen restaurants I've been to. They have a "farm to bowl" concept and noodles are fresh and chewy. Broths are umami bombs in a good way. Noodles are slightly thicker cut. Enoki and corn ribs appetizers are great too! Ambiance is lively, a little loud and small. Better for an intimate dinner, not great for large groups. Classic - thick and creamy tonkotsu broth A5 wagyu shoyu - nice and smoky flavor with shoyu broth Signature smoky - smoke comes from the meat. Broth is creamy. Good combo of the above 2 if you're not sure which one to pick!

Although the food wad still amazing, we had a weird experience with our server JoJo L. It seemed she was irritated at the fact that 1. We wanted to use cash for part of our transaction and 2. Her POS was not reading the chip on my card(s) so she had to get another one in order to close us out. As we were leaving my sister caught her and another server gossiping about us which is very rude and nasty. As a former server if you want to talk about a guest do it BOH or wait until your guests leave. Hopefully JoJo will not be present if I decide to dine there again.

My boyfriend and I stopped by on a Friday night and ordered the nori calamari and signature smoked toripaitan. So much variety in the meat! The toripaitan came with pork chashu, A5 wagyu chashu AND smoked duck chashu. I loved the rich, creamy broth and even managed to eat some of the mushrooms (I hate mushrooms lol). The nori calamari was also tasty and the mayo sauce really stood out.The restaurant is located in a really cute part of Oakland with lots of small businesses. Although we waited around 45 min for a table, window shopping around the area helped the time pass by quickly.We had a great time! :)

One of the best bowls of ramen I've had of late. The Nori Calamari was so crispy and had a slightly oily but very light batter. The spicy mayo was very creamy and a little spicy and tangy. Also great portion size so I highly recommend. I was shocked by how good the Signature Smoked Toripaitan was. The broth had so much smoky flavor and was so creamy. The meat all had different flavors. One piece was so smoky, one was tangy, and one didn't have a ton of flavor but was so soft. Most ramen places like to do al dente noodles but I prefer softer, more cooked noodles and this was it. I argue it also soaks up the flavor better.

Arrived here early on a Friday before the rush! As soon as we were seated, we were greeted promptly by the friendly staff. In fact, we were greeted by at least 4 staff within our first few minutes of being seated, and were asked if we were ready to order before we had a chance to pick up the menu.Ambiance: fresh, lively, and fun; the walls are papered with info about their philosophy on ramen.Food: we both got the spicy garlic vegan ramen and spicy tuna and garlic hand roll, and shared the enoki chips. The food was phenomenal. I typically don't prefer vegan ramen because most places skimp on the both and veggies, but the broth had a lot of depth and layer of flavor. The spice level was excellent and wheat noodles were a perfect consistency. Service: this is where I had to dock a star. :( there is a difference between being friendly and checking in, and downright aggressively hospitable. There was someone checking in on us almost every minute (not exaggerating) between the moment we sat down and when we put in our order. Once we got all of our food, the aggressive checking in continued until we got up and left. That turned me off big time- felt like they wanted us to order, eat, and leave, without any time to consider another drink or side. I understand they have to turn tables, but this was excessive.I'll definitely return for the food, and while I appreciate the friendly and welcoming staff, hope to feel less rushed next visit.