Himawari Tei - San Mateo

This restaurant enjoys a consistent stream of customers, yet they manage to seat you promptly. We waited no more than two minutes for a table on a Saturday afternoon. The waiter was polite and quickly brought us menus and water. The food was pretty good overall, with the noodles standing out as particularly fresh and delicious. The shoyu broth was nice, but I wouldn't say it was the best I've ever had. It's a nice spot to enjoy some tasty ramen with a friend or a loved one, with both indoor and outdoor seating available.

The decor is fantastic, the atmosphere is enjoyable, and the ramen is delicious. The staff members are attentive and work efficiently. The tonkotsu ramen has a rich, creamy pork flavor and features perfectly chewy noodles. The standout feature is the generous portions of chunky chashu meat – the photos don’t do their size justice. The gyoza is also quite tasty!

The ramen here is quite good, though not the absolute best. I would place it in the top 10 in San Francisco. They do offer a wide variety of ramen options, which is a plus.

This is truly a special ramen parlor. The staff can be court, and the whole place smells a little funny, but I still keep going back and it is the first place I bring visiting family for ramen. Of all the ramen in the area I have tried so far it is just the best. The noodles are the perfect amount of saltyness and falvorful and at the right texture. The broth and meat cut is always the perfect amount of lean. And that's just the baseline before adding whatever extra topping you want.

Hot weather update: They have two cold noodle dishes that are pretty good I love this place for the ramen and the jazz. Great ambiance! There can be a bit of a wait, not too bad but it depends on the timing. The scallops appetizer is pretty good.