In celebration of National Ramen Day April 4, Yelp is out with its Top 100 Ramen Spots in California list, a crowd-sourced ranking of customer favorites.
“It’s no secret that Californians are obsessed with ramen,” Yelp said in its announcement. “In fact, according to Yelp data, California has had the second-highest number of searches for ramen in the country since 2019! And across the entire US, Los Angeles (#1) and San Francisco (#2) are the top 2 cities with the most Yelp users who have earned a Recognition badge for their reviews in the ramen category.”
But it’s a Santa Clara restaurant that ranked highest in the Bay Area and Northern California, snagging the No. 3 spot.
Ramen Hajime, located on Stevens Creek Boulevard near Lawrence Expressway, was founded by a ramen master, Hajime Kitayama, who became co-owner of a ramen shop in San Diego more than a decade ago, according to Yelp. That restaurant reportedly became so popular that is was selling up to 948 bowls a day.
“Be sure to try one of their signature Kiwami ramen bowls (with your choice of tonkotsu, shoyu, spicy miso, or vegan broths), or “build” your own custom bowl. Yelpers highly recommend trying one of their creative limited specials, featuring wild flavor combinations you won’t find anywhere else,” the Yelp report said.
Diners highlight the attention to detail and use of top ingredients. “With a process that includes ultra-purifying the water to best extract flavor from bones and seafood, making homemade noodles with imported flour designed just for ramen, and sourcing the highest-quality Kurobuta pork for their chashu, Ramen Hajime is clearly dedicated to ‘perfecting’ the craft,” Yelp said.
Two other NorCal restaurants cracked the top 10. Taishoken San Francisco came in at No. 7, and Umami Ramen in Folsom is No. 9.
All told, more than 30 NorCal spots from Gold Country to Wine Country made the list. The other ranked restaurants are:
12. Noodle in a Haystack, San Francisco
17. Pipo Ramen & Rice, Sacramento
21. Ramen Nagi, Palo Alto
22. Yoshoku, Sonora
23. Marufuku Ramen, Oakland
26. Masa Ramen Bistro, Berkeley
34. Fukumi Ramen, Roseville
38. Mensho, Oakland
41. Hinodeya Ramen Bar, Campbell
42. Kajiken, San Mateo
45. Kensho Social, San Jose
51. Ramen House Tenjin, Sacramento
53. Ramen House Ryujin, Sacramento
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57. Tanuki Izakaya & Ramen, Elk Grove
58. Totto Ramen and Sushi Bar, Fairfield
60. Ushi Taro Ramen, San Francisco
63. The Taste of Tea, Healdsburg
70. Chome, San Francisco
71. Kiseki, Livermore
72. RamenTeaCa, Pittsburg
74. Aoi Teriyaki & Ramen, San Leandro
86. Torraku Ramen, San Francisco
87. Kiraku Sushi & Ramen, Santa Rosa
89. Totoro Ramen, San Mateo
90. Toribashi, Monterey
92. Koshi Ramen Bar, Sacramento
93. Shinmai, Oakland
95. Kyoto Ramen Hawaiian BBQ, Martinez
99. Nojo Ramen Tavern, San Francisco
What’s the methodology? The report says: “This is a list of the best ramen spots in California, according to Yelp users. We identified businesses in the Ramen category with a large concentration of reviews mentioning relevant keywords, and then ranked those spots using a number of factors, including the total volume and ratings of reviews mentioning those keywords.”
Details: Ramen Hajime is located at 5229 Stevens Creek Blvd., Santa Clara. Find the full list at www.yelp.com/article/top-100-ramen-spots-in-california-2024.