Kodaiko Ramen & Bar

This is not an easy to find place if you don't know what you are looking for. We were in the neighborhood and almost didn't see it. It has a tiny sign above the door and a flip board on the ground by the door.After reading many reviews I knew what to expect. A long wait and slow service. Our experience was just like many others. We arrived on Sunday around 1pm. We were greeted at the end of the stairs and were asked if we were on the wait list. We said no and were asked if we would like to be put on the wait list. We agreed and were told it will be around a 30 minute wait. It was a 30 minute wait. You can watch your name move up on the list through there app. That helped pass the time. My husband went to the bar and got a beer to pass his time. He scrolled on his phone while he waited.After we came to the top of the list we were seated. We then waited around 15-20 minutes before we were given water and met our wait staff. We had plenty of time to review the menu as we waited. I asked what was recommended and our waitress went over some of the top dishes.We ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and the Kodaiko Chicken Salad. The Ramen had a creamy broth. The pork belly was delicious. The egg was soft boiled and cut in half. I took the yolk out and mixed it in the broth. The Ramen came hot, but not mouth burning hot. It was perfect eating tempeture . I wish it came out a little hotter for my husband. He likes his soup hot.We also got the Kodaiko Chicken Salad. It was huge, it was more then enough to share with another person. It's too much cabbage for one person to eat. It was very tasty and filing. The mandarins oranges was a nice touch.It wasn't till we were about to leave that tables were open. It was packed the entire time we were there. The wait staff was really hustling to turn over the tables fast. There is only around 13 tables, so it's really small. There are 2 bars you can sit at too. I was told that in the summer it's not at busy. I would return, just not when I'm hungry. I learned that you can go on their website and put your name on the waitlist. So if you know you want to eat here I suggest you put your name in ahead of time and just show up when you're at the top of the list.

This might not be the best Japanese food in Sac, but this is now my favorite restaurant in Sac. The ambience is second to none. They really nailed the Tokyo aesthetic with the entrance. Very special and eye-catching. The food is on the slightly pricey side for me, but it was tasty. The cocktails were awesome. Best chicken katsu sandwich I've ever had in my life and I've been to Japan multiple times. The staff are excellent. This is a wonderful place for a small group, a birthday, and definitely dates. If you don't take your date here, you are a horrible person.

It's under, freaking, ground! There, got that out of the way. We got there 19 minutes before their 1130 opening and there were already 6 parties ahead of us. By the time they opened and ushered us in, we were 11 parties strong. As you descend into their art-laden basement, you'll find PLENTY of seating. The customer service was good and our orders were taken right away. It seemed stuffy in there, like the ventilation wasn't great. The food took quite long to get to us. 33 minutes later, we were able to eat. I loved the chicken karaage. On its own, the lemon salt was amazing. With their dip, it was a different amazing. My other 3 family members felt the lemon was too strong.My littlest ordered off of the kids CHISAI CHICKEN DONBURI. It was marinated chicken, sweet soy glaze, onion, cabbage, sesame. We loved it. There were mushrooms that were not stated on the menu, but that's fine, because they tossed it into my ramen. Speaking of ramen, I ordered their #1 dish, the Tonkotsu. My son put this ramen up with his other favorite place in Japantown (which is closed now, so Kodaiko wins by default.) Everybody was digging in. Lots of yum to go around. I do feel it's important to share my after action report: This place hurt our collective stomachs. Sure we had a fun time exploring after leaving here, but it all hit us like a cement truck. We were not okay. Food poisoning? Bad oils? Who knows, but this was the one thing we all had together.So a great time and great food hampered by a painful follow up experience for the whole family. 3.95.

Kodaiko has been on my list of places to eat for a long time now!! Finally got to try it for dine downtown if you don't know what that is it's a set menu for $45. 3 courses! The entrance to kodaiko is beautiful it feels like you are in another country! The 3 course meal was a rice starter app, some veggies and then the star of the show was the miso ramen! The ramen was really good! The sauce and the pieces of meat in it were my favorite! My gf and I both got diet cokes. They come in the can! The service was nothing special and honestly the server was nice but she definitely acted like she did not want to be there! She seemed very irritated! Overall- I think this is a really cute spot! Was it the best ramen I've ever had?! No!!! But I love how it's close to the arena and how they support the kings! It's also like eating in a well decorated basement! I would for sure come back! Maybe next time I'll have better service!

Second time here and did not disappoint! Must join waitlist via website as this place is always hopping! The entrance is cool which makes you feel like you're now in Japan! We tried more dishes since our last visit and All were amaZING! Especially loved the Nori fries, best fries I ever had! Hiyakko tofu dish prepared with palette perking citrus flavors.. omg I could eat this daily! And that Corn Chowder Mazamen was a blend of a chowder with pork belly and shrimp in a chowder over Japanese noodles.. wow the description does not do it justice! Chix Katsu with egg salad sando was such a perfect blend of textures and flavors.. YUM!!! Great service at the Bar who provided personal faves and helpful opinions on all of these selections! Bar was well equipped to suit your cocktail mood!! Definitely a fave spot when in Sac!!

The vibe in this restaurant is super cool! Upon entrance, you will have to walk down a flight of stairs to reach a well-lit underground setting. I'm not sure if they have a lift or elevator to reach the restaurant interior.As we came during dine downtown, I just decided to go with the three course meal to try what the restaurant had to offer. The meshi was really refreshing, the yakimono was a bit gamey (due to it being lamb) but it was well seasoned and paired with a good sauce. The butter slice in the miso ramen made the broth much richer; I was super full after this meal.I like the food, but I think each dish was just a bit short off of other Japanese foods I've had of the same variety (at the same price point). Also, we ended up waiting 40 minutes for our orders to arrive. I understand that the kitchen was probably busy due to the dine downtown event, but we had seen other parties enter and leave before us due to how long it took. Nevertheless, our servers were nice and checked in on us occasionally.

I've been searching for a good ramen bowl and Kodaiko has easily the best ramen in Sacramento. The Tonkotsu had a rich, creamy broth packed with deep umami flavor, perfectly chewy noodles, and melt-in-your-mouth chashu pork. I've had many delicious ramen bowls in LA and Japan and this place was on par. I will definitely be back! Thank you, Kodaiko!

Cute spot! We enjoyed their ramen and huge katsu sandwich. Great service and food is generously portioned.

Overall 3.5/5 Our party of 7 came in on a Saturday afternoon after ice skating for a late lunch and we didn't have to wait too long before our table was ready. This was my third time here and my experience has been hit or miss each time. This time was generally positive!We ordered the Karage bucket (5/5) to share, which was my favorite for the meal. The chicken was hot juicy and crunchy - the yuzu tajin mayo it comes with complements perfectly! For my main I ordered the Corn Chowder Mazemen (3.5/5) which was such an interesting dish! I've never tasted anything like it - it was super smoky and savory from the roasted corn and pork belly - I would say the flavor is something to get used to and I would only recommend it if you are more adventurous to new flavor combos. I also tried the Mushroom Peitan Ramen (4/5) which was light savory and creamy. I think this would be easier to finish than the mazemen. I can see why it is popular! The only draw back to this experience was the wait time - I understand our party was large but we waited almost 45 min before we received our entrees and it seemed like the dining room was more empty at that point.

Came here on a friday night, and I understand they're busy but it took us an extra 45 min of waiting after they had told us our table would be ready in 20 minutes after we joined the waitlist when we were 50 minutes away. (about 2 hrs of waiting in total) On top of this, there were many tables that were already empty when we arrived. Additionally, after we got seated we had to wait around another 10 minutes before water was brought to our tables and our order was taken. The host and restaurant staff were not very friendly and seemed to have an attitude everytime we asked something. In regards to the ramen, was also just average and my whole group found the broth pretty salty. We all go the tonkotsu ramen, and agreed it was not worth the amount of time we waited. Would not come back.