Ramen Hajime

I arrived right when they opened on a Friday afternoon, and there was already a line outside. However, we didn't wait too long for a table, around 15 minutes. The ambiance was simple yet cozy, service was quick, and the staff were friendly. The food, however, was amazing! I ordered the Kiwami Shoyu, which came with two types of meat, some veggies, bamboo, an egg, and a few wontons. The broth was light yet flavorful, and the noodles were perfectly cooked. It wasn't overly heavy, which I really appreciated. Overall, the food was a solid 10/10, and I think I've found my new favorite ramen spot in the Bay! I'll definitely be back again soon.

Definitely worth the 30 min wait...sign in and watch the queue on your phone if it makes u feel better.Restaurant is small but not cramped, service is fast, efficient. Ramen broth is rich with perfectly cooked noodles, but for me the corn rice pork bowl is what I'll be back for. Tender, flavorful pork over rice and corn. Simple and delish.Kill time at Harbor Freight, the comic store or the soon to open Micro center if u have a really long wait.

This place is the real deal ramen place. Saw this on one of Yelp's top 100 lists and had to try it out. The ramen and broth were amazing. Would def come again.

You might want to go early to join the Yelp waitlist so you don't wait forever! I've heard that their special ramen is amazing, however, they didn't have any special ramen the day we went, so we just ordered from the regular menu. Personally, I thought the rice bowl was the most delicious item that day - ramen was just kind of...normal ramen?Will try to visit again when they have special ramen!

Follow their IG and from time to time they will post special offerings that usually last 1-2 weeks only. I came just for their one week long oyster chowder special. The broth is thick with oyster blended in along with heavy cream. The broth definitely has oyster flavor and reaching the bottom you'll see oyster bits finely chopped. The broth is creamy and flavorful, the noodle is el dente, it's a good bowl. They open for lunch at 11am. In my experience, if you are not there lining up for the first seating, you'll have to wait 30-40 mins after the first group diners finish to be seated. They have a waitlist system that you can sign up once you get there and you get a text notice with a link to check on the queue's status. If it's your turn within 5 minutes, you'll get a text notification to see if you are still waiting for the seat and if you don't respond within 5 mins your space will be lost. We waited till 11:55 to be seated and from the queue, the first one waiting started at around 11:08, just to give you an idea. They used to have Japanese cheesecake but now I don't see it on the menu anymore.

I decided to visit Ramen Hajime after hearing a friend's recommendation and seeing it ranked #5 on Yelp's top 100 ramen in California ranking. After trying it, I can definitely see why it is so high up.One thing that really stood out to me was the price point. You could get a basic ramen for $13 in the Bay Area which is a incomparable in the area and for the quality I experienced. The ramen was everything you could expect and more from the noodles and pork chashu and toppings. The star of the show however was the broth. It was super rich and creamy, without being overly salty or oily like at other places. Normally when I eat ramen elsewhere, I leave feeling thirsty and dehydrated from the broth, but I was pleasantly surprise not experiencing that in this case. I think that really shows how pure and well-balanced their broth is.This place is pretty popular, so I recommend arriving before 6 if you want to get seated right away. There was a small waitlist when we arrived on a Wednesday evening at ~630. If not, they have a waitlist system where you can leave your number, and they will text you when your table is ready. Once seated, staff are super pleasant and attentive at taking your order, checking in, and refilling waters. The restaurant is not too loud, and is great to sit down and have conversation.Overall, Ramen Hajime delivers amazing ramen and such pure broth at an incredible price point. I'll definitely be coming back to try more.

A great ramen spot with slightly more unique broth options! We got the spicy miso and spicy shoyu. The miso had a deeper flavor that was comforting without being too heavy. Spicy shoyu was light and loved the slight kick from the spice. Both are great options and I'd come back to try other options on their menu. Prices are fair and they have a waitlist inside if tables are full. Service was attentive and there's ample parking! It's a great casual spot to catch up with friends and also date or family friendly.

The food here was great! One of the nicest tonkatsu broths I've had. I would definitely come back to try more and get some of that spice in.The ramen came with egg and a good portion of meat at a really great price. Personally, wasn't a fan of the thin noodles (personal preference), while my friends really enjoyed it.Service was amazing too! We came an hour before closing and stayed after, they were really nice about it. They brought out food along with the utensils.Definitely a solid cozy ramen spot, it's quite a nice darker aesthetic to it.

Had dinner with FIL last night at this spot. I have had it bookmarked for a while and was excited to try it when he suggested it. We joined the waitlist and waited about half an hour to be seated. We ordered:Tonkotsu: 5/5 I tried a sip of the spicy version and it was delicious!Shoyu: 5/5 this was even better than the tonkotsu. Although it did leave me extra thirsty afterwards. I liked the thick wavy ramen but was a bit too soft.Karaage: tasty and not oilyEdemame: yum!Yay another yummy ramen spot!Ps please hide all your belonging and lock your car. My fil's car got broken into in that parking lot. :(

The best vegan ramen restaurant out of all the ramen restaurants tried so far. The Spicy Vegan noodles became one of our favorites. The price of the food is very nominal. The quantity and the quality of the food is outstanding all the time we have visited the restaurant. The service was really good. The restaurant is bit small but the staff organize the seating and the tables the best they can. One down side is the waiting. Because of the restaurant size and number of people visiting the restaurant. The wait time is usually high during the weekends and sometimes they close check in earlier because of the long waitlist.