Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

My family and I usually go to Kizuki ramen to get our Ramen fix when we need it but today because we were already in the area we decided to try Hokkaido ramen close to Bellevue Square in downtown Bellevue. Walking up I noticed the plastic food displays and was eager to try some of the food here, especially a pork sandwich-​esqe thing they had. We were sat down almost right away which was good but I had to ask for the menus after about 7 minutes of waiting for it. First time for everything I guess… So that was off to a bad start. We ordered a lot of food actually, 2 regular bowls of ramen that came with sides, extra 4 sides and of course the pork sandwich. The food came out in a timely fashion and it didn’t taste too bad, it DEFINITELY WASNT FRESH, but it didn’t taste too bad, about a step up from instant ramen especially compared to Kizuki. My biggest gripe would have to be with the sandwich. The plastic sandwich was huge and the picture in the menu had a large price of meat also. When they brought out the sandwich it had a tiny slice of meat in there that my 1 year old son could eat by himself as a snack. Not exaggerating at all. My overall reaction to this place is that it is COMPLETELY PERFECT as a THREE star restaurant and unless it steps up its game should never see 4 and especially not 5 stars.

I had santouka in Tokyo and in Taiwan, the Santouka in Bellevue tastes exactly the same!!! Good ramen, I will definitely come here when I miss the taste from Asia.

Came with a party of 5, we tried every combo on the menu. Was awesome! Loved how they have some rice bowls. Even the vegetarian Ramen was amazing. Was so full didn’t get to try some of their desserts. :(next time :)

Good gyoza
Good takoyaki
OK service (a bit unorganized)
Flavorless (salty) ramen
I’d opt for Kukai, hands down.

I went here with a friend. It was delicious, I had the salmon combo meal. The Goma broth was good, and the braised pork belly was delicious. The salmon and rice plus the roe was ok, but not the best I’ve had, but was good. There was not a long wait line, but it took a while to take our order. The place was small and a little noisy, so not a great place to talk to friends.
I would totally come here again.

My coworkers elected to have a lighter and faster dinner, so Japanese ramen sounded like a good idea. The problem with these conferences is that the hotels keep feeding you with snacks throughout the day, plus all that alcohol during social hour.
Anyways, Santouka offers Hokkaido-​style ramen sets — nice ability to mix and match broth, appetizers, and soft-​boiled egg or salad.
Appetizers: Chicken Karaage was nice and crispy, and just had a lemon wedge and no mayo. Still pretty good (4 stars). Their Takoyaki was excellent — fresh out of the fryer and real hot. (4 stars).
Ramen: I got the Goma Miso ramen, a variant with sesame flavor in the miso broth. Noodles were thin and chewy as expected, and pork was soft and tender. Broth was rich and savory during the meal, but after drinking a few spoonfuls I got thirsty on the way back to the hotel. Not bad, but compared to a few LA places and Bay Area I think its a solid 3 stars. The Salmon-​Ikura on rice appetizer was pretty good — nice contrast in textures and the Ikura really shined like boba bursting with salty goodness.
Overall 3.5 stars, but I’ll round up for friendly and prompt service.

I was craving noodles besides phở. The ramen noodles were excellent as well as the different broths available. The miso flavor was spicy, flavorful, and served at the perfect eating temperature. Santouka prides itself on the way they prepare the braised pork belly which was absolutely delicate, moist, a light flavor-​just perfectly prepared.
Long wait time on a Saturday night but fast food service. Well worth the food n experience!

Am I dreaming??? How could I have not known there was a Santouka in Seattle??? Oh wait, cause the poor reviews. Well y’all must be off your rockers because this is the best ramen ever.
Not only was it my favorite ramen in OC (where there are TONS of great ramen joints), it is easily the best ramen in Seattle (where there are not… sorry Kukai…).
FOOD: Best broth. Perfectly cooked eggs (even better than their OC locations). The cherry on top? There is an AMAZING vegetarian option, which they didn’t have at the other locations I’ve been to. It was leaps and bounds beyond any other vegetarian ramen I’ve tried. The broth is creamy, savory, a bit sweet. Actually flavorful. 10 000% recommend if you are vegetarian, even though there is only one option. Aloha Ramen and their 10 000 veggie options ain’t got nothin on this.
SERVICE: Impressive. The waiter was attentive but kept on the sidelines, sneakily refilling my hot tea whenever it got low. Food arrived quickly and exactly as ordered. They also offered the veggies I didn’t want to my boyfriend on the side. Most places would just leave them out. Very nice touch.

Ever since Kukai Ramen changed their name to Kizuki Ramen because the company learned that Kukai meant «shit» in Hawaiian when they opened a shop in Hawaii, I figured they risked living up to their cursed former name «Shit Ramen» after realizing its dark past. I feel embarrassed for giving that place 5 stars outta 5 and now I feel obligated to give it 5 shits outta 5.
Needless to say, I needed moral redemption so I turned to Hokkaido Ramen Santouka, a name that won’t risk being made fun of by 5^th graders.
I ordered the Tonkotsu Shouyu Ramen like any reasonable man would. Shit’s good, but it was damn expensive (came to about $ 15 – 16 with tip). Smaller portions and higher prices than «Kizuki» ramen, but the noodles were firmer (better) and had more body to it. Broth was rich with the pork pieces absorbing the flavor with gusto. However, the flavors just lacked the BAM factor that Kizuki had. You can +$ 1 for bigger portion or -$ 1 for smaller portion, but it looks like the bigger portion would be the normal portion for any other ramen restaurant. I see what you’re doing, bugger. But if you’re a lightbody, the customizability is welcome in case you get bloated from ramen.
This place gets fancy with their ramen with toppings and dishes that go above $ 15. Come on. It’s ramen. Keep it simple, stupid.
(I still love you Kukai)
Strong 3 to a Light 4

First visit to this ramen house. I had TORONIKU GOMA MISO RAMEN, gyoza and finished with sesame ice cream with honey roasted sweet potatoes. Yummy! Place had steady business and since I was solo, I got seated with in minutes of arrival. Service was very attentive and was waited on by three different staff. Broth is amazing. Can’t wait to come back!

Very cute setting inside, poor parking because of construction.
Ordered miso raman and pork cutlet. Very good. Be aware that the miso ramen can eventually get saltier and salitier.

This review is just for the tsukemen.
Very sad. Noodles had no chewiness to them. The broth was weak. Watered down, did not cling onto the noodles as I dipped them. Almost seemed to be very similar to the broth my gf had in her ramen. Very tasteless and severely disappointed.

I’ve had ample opportunity to enjoy amazing varieties of Ramen in NYC, Maui, Boston and Los Angeles, and I’d have to say that the selections at Hokkaido rank right up there with some of my favorites. The flavors are rich, full bodied and clearly have had hours of time invested to develop the different broths you can choose from.
My only criticism would be that a few members of service staff can be very unobservant and negligent. It gets pretty busy, so I can understand missing something here and there. I don’t know that adding additional staff is an option given how small this place is, so I would say management just needs to either hire more seasoned servers or just get everyone to step their game up.
That being said, still a very solid place to eat and you can expect consistently delicious food.

Probably one of the best ramen spots in Washington.
Unfortunately, I don’t have other places I can compare it too other then the ones I’ve been to in California. When I found out santouka had a shop in Bellevue, I had to go there right away.
We had the takoyaki, karaage, and ramen (tonkotsu salt flavor)
The takoyaki was on special for $ 3! It was fairly decent too. Sometimes it’s done wrong but this one was sourly crispy and fluffy on the inside. The pieces of octopus were pretty big too! I always get more sauce but that’s personal preference.
If you want crispy, tender, juicy chicken, get the karaage. The prices are a generous size and the flavor is great. My only grip was the prices were fairly big. I’m just used to the bite sized pieces. I would get it again though.
Now let’s get to the nitty gritty, the ramen. Definitely not a bad bowl of ramen. Because it’s a chain you have to think if they can hold their standard to the other ones. Almost parallels the others perfectly. The noodles seemed a little more firm but I personally like that. Also, I’ve yet to try another flavor at this chain. If someone has, let me know how it is.
Happy eats!

A cold, wet, dreary day in Bellevue called for hot, warming soup. This was just the place.
I got here just in time at 12:55 before a big crowd came in — this place is popular! I was seated quickly at the last table to accommodate a single diner.
Service was prompt, friendly and efficient. My server took my drink order and gave me time to peruse the menu.
I ordered the miso ramen combo, that came with gyoza and your choice of an egg or side salad. All was delicious. The broth was full of real pork flavor — you can taste the fact that it is cooked for 20+ hours. Yum! The gyoza, stuffed with pork and chicken, was a explosion of flavor and served piping HOT! The egg, as many others have mentioned and experienced, was perfectly cooked.
Excellent value for the quality of food — I will be back!
1-​star off as it was really cold inside and someone was smoking outside the door and the smoke was drifting in.

This place is consistent. I only order one thing, the salmon rice bowl.
Last weekends trip was meh. Thanks to the server that took my to go order even though it was super busy and he was new. I appreciated it and he even checked my order too. Someone I disliked was the guy seating people because he was kind of rude and eyes were like really O_​O. I know it was super busy and it was stressful but he glared at me and never even achknowledged me when I asked him to check on my order. I’m sorry I didn’t sit I just didn’t want to wait, that gives you no excuse to treat me like I was invisible. That experience has def made a bad impression
I think I will make this a to go joint for myself from now on

I’ve tried it twice now and can’t say that I’m impressed. Price is high considering the portion size and what comes in your bowl. For that price, I would have liked a lot more veggies in my vegetable ramen. If you forgo the extras (which is even more money), you basically end up with a pile of noodles and broth (some mushroom and green onions included). And the extras are not cheap either. Adding a couple of those quickly raises the price of a bowl.
The pork broth here is what you should come for. They are famous for that and it is indeed good. However, if you are vegetarian this is not the best veggie ramen ever. What they try to do here is reproduce a vegetarian version of the tonkatsu broth rather than provide a completely separate veggie experience. From that perspective, they don’t do a bad job. The veggie broth is creamy and rich and they even provide a vegetarian version of chashu on top. However, the broth is really no substitute. It is far too sweet and reminded me of corn chowder (not bad but not really what I wanted). The «chashu» on top is also sweet and has a strange texture and flavor. I thought it was ok but my husband was thoroughly turned off. In fact, he ate less than half his soup. Considering the smallish portion size, he came away from lunch quite hungry and disappointed with his meal.
We’ve had far better vegetarian ramen. Better prices, more items in the bowl, better taste. I would only come here if I was a meat eater and loved that creamy porky tonkatsu broth.
I also recommend you come here right at open. We did and we were still like the fourth group seated. It is popular and gets full quickly.

After a long hiatus, I finally returned to Santouka, and I’m very glad I did. I remember when I first started coming here there were a lot of issues, such as being sold out of certain items and their electronic ordering system not working. They finally sorted out all the kinks and my dining experience went very well.
While some people prefer one ramen shop over another, I appreciate each place for their unique style of ramen. Santouka is from Hokkaido, which is famous for Miso Ramen. Their Kara Miso Ramen is very comparable to miso ramen that I had when I went to Hokkaido. It’s definitely worth a try.

So this ramen is SOO good! I lived in Chicago and went to the Santouka located in a large Japanese market called Mitsuwa. was excited to try this place for the first time! I tried the spicy ramen for the first time. I almost always get the generic one but I went with friends who advised me to try the spicy one (TONKOTSU KARA MISO RAMEN). Not VERY spicy, just a little kick. I usually can’t finish the broth, because ramen broth is so rich, but I downed ALL of it. So delicious. I wasn’t SUPER full… but I was satisfied. My friend ordered the cheek meat — that is SO yummy. Super delicious. The waitstaff don’t check on you on the time, but I was totally fine with that. Great flavor and really amazing ramen. Perfect for a cold. and maybe rainy day!
Only thing is the parking spots in the attached parking area are very small especially if you have a larger car.

Santouka’s Shio ramen is probably my favorite food on the planet. I’m super happy to find that I only have to drive 3 hours to get a bowl now, vs flying to the Bay Area.
This location is a full sit-​down restaurant and their menu is a bit larger than the other Santouka locations. We got lucky both times we were there and only had a very short wait for a table AND we found parking easily. Service was prompt and really friendly. The space is really quite modern and good looking.
Food is exactly what I expected — they use the same recipes that the other locations use, thankfully. This location has a brothless ramen called Ramen Maze-​men — I tried a bite of my husbands and thought it was great — packed with umami. But I’m still a huge fan of the Shio broth here. It’s what I [unfairly] compare all other ramen with.