Ken Ken Ramen

I would give 0 stars if I could. I came for Ramen and was told that ramen isn’t served for lunch. This seems very ironic since I’m at a place ramen in its name. Instead, I was offered their full menu featuring something with curry, something without curry, and another plate which is a combination of the two plates, called «half & half.»

No Ramen here for lunch, at Ken Ken Ramen. Like what the heck? Why even put Ramen in your name when you don’t serve it? And, seriously, how hard is it to make the Ramen that everybody seems to want when they come to your restaurant expecting ramen? Just make it! I can’t be the only one running into this same problem here, and won’t be the last.

Really was not impressed. My boyfriend and I were told the wait was ~20 minutes, but we ended up waiting over an hour. The music is turned up SO LOUD — if you want to have any sort of conversation, it’s pretty much impossible. I almost lost my voice after having dinner here.
The ramen was also disappointing. The meat was dry, the broth was flavorless, and the egg was really salty.
The only thing we enjoyed was the karaage chicken we ordered at the bar while waiting for our table. And the bathroom. If you are going to come here at all, PLEASE GO INTO THE BATHROOM.
Everything is clearly just for the aesthetic. The vibe, the bathroom, the music — it’s all cool, but if you want to actually enjoy your meal and have a conversation with someone, this is not the place to go.

I came here with two of my friends on ¹⁄₂₉. We were able to sat down right away even though we need to share our table with other people. The music was loud, we had to yell at each other. Their root salad was pretty good but they don’t have lots of selection on food.

Heads up, no ramen at lunch here. Only mediocre curry.
«Wait, what?», you ask. «But the place is called ‘Ken Ken *Ramen*’.»
Yeah. Well. Come back for dinner, maybe you’ll get lucky. Maybe you’ll get some ramen.

This place definitely has its pros and cons depending on the day and the time of day you choose to go…
BRUNCH:
The brunch is really good. A traditional format to Japanese breakfast, so there’s no ramen served any time before dinner. So be aware if you’ve got a midday ramen craving, KenKen isn’t going to be able to accommodate you.
The brunch options that they do serve, however, are quite delicious. Simple, but delicious. And the ambient noise during brunch time is very comfortable for pleasant conversation. Which leads me to dinner…
DINNER:
Loud. Very, very loud. Sharply loud. Like, OMG loud. I asked the hostess if it would be possible to just lower the music volume a little bit, but I couldn’t hear what she said but she did shake her head ‘no’. That was a little off-​putting to the dinner experience. I asked our server if she could lower the volume and I can’t tell if she herself couldn’t hear me or she just dismissed me, but her response was a shrug. I couldn’t hear my two friends that were sitting with me if we weren’t shouting at each other. The acoustics for the small dining space are horrible, sharply amplifying the loud music that they play. It doesn’t help that everyone else seated in the dining area has to shout and scream to talk to their dinner companions… so all of it compounds in a small space not properly padded for sound absorption.
The ramen itself is pretty good, though. If you’re willing to endure the sharp ambient noise drilling into your cerebellum, I’d suggest adding a second salted soft-​boiled egg. It’s flavored quite deliciously which pairs well with the savory, creamy broth. Depending on the ramen you choose, though, it could either be quite tasty, or overly salty (to be fair, the Shio Ramen does indicate that it’s salt based, but still!).

Dear Ken Ken,
What a massive disappointment you were. After high hopes of delicious ramen, I left being so angry I couldn’t even fathom referring this place to anyone. The guy bartending was nice but shit went downhill the second we were seated. I couldn’t get passed how insanely, obnoxiously, rudely loud it was in there.
I told the waitress as soon as she came to our table (who by the way had to get inches from my face to take the order) and she basically just shrugged it off. After the two strangers next to us made a comment about how hoarse their voice was from scream talking we asked the guy waiter to turn it down. His response? «I’ll have to ask the owner». I’m sorry, can the owner F*cking sit in my chair to hear that it sounds like we’re in the middle of a wannabe ironic club trying to listen to early 2000’s music? What a shit response from someone who works in ‘customer service’.
You know what happened? Absolutely nothing. Nothing happened after two complaints. So we went to the hostess 15 minute later. Her response? «It’s kind of our aesthetic». ARE YOU KIDDING ME?! How does the owner of this ramen night club even call this place a restaurant. You’re trying SO hard to be cool but all you’re doing is running people away. I don’t know if I’ve had a dinner experience that miserable.Ever.
And if you’re going for that ‘aesthetic’ tell your hostess to stop wearing dated artsy vests and a flipped up flat bill cap. She looks like my little brother in the 90’s when he got in to hip hop and skateboarding

I would not eat here again. We got the fried chicken, yuzu shio ramen, and shoyu ramen. The chicken was okay, but nothing special. The ramen dishes were just mediocre noodle dishes that were way too salty. I didn’t like either of the broths and the noodles tasted kind of weird.
The pork was also pretty bad, which was disappointing because I usually love the pork in ramen.
The music was unnecessarily loud, to the point where it was difficult to hear someone across the table. I also couldn’t read the menu because the lighting was so dim, so I had to use the flashlight on my phone… The Service was also very sub-​par.
After the excess salt and loud music, I walked out with a headache. The bathroom was kind of cool though.

The ramen isn’t bad, if you can catch them when they’re open. Twice now, I’ve trekked over for lunch at a day/​time when they’re supposed to open, but they had randomly decided to be closed. Rather irritating. Always call first, I suppose.

I like it! Other than having to wait on a busy night, I have had none of the problems that some of the other reviewers have mentioned. Not too loud, not too cramped, reasonably efficient service from generally friendly people, good to very good food overall…
I swear, reading restaurant reviews is like reading movie reviews; did these people see the same movie I did? Or go to the same restaurant? Having been there 3 or 4 times over the past 4 months, I give it a solid 4.5 stars.

**NOTE** THIS RESTAURANT DOES NOT SERVE RAMEN FOR LUNCH.
One of the loudest restaurants I’ve been to, with some of the least personal space. If you’re not a fan of cramped, dark, loud restaurants, I’d avoid coming here for dinner. Lunch, on the other hand, is much nicer, if you’re craving curry instead of ramen.
I arrived with my friend around 7:30pm on a random Tuesday and we didn’t get seated until 8:30. Even the bar was full, so we didn’t get a seat there for about 20 minutes! When we finally got seated, it was at the same table as two couples… It took a number of «WHAT?“s to hold a conversation! The ramen was salty but tasty, and the soft-​boiled egg definitely hit the spot. However, I wouldn’t come back for dinner unless I was pretty desperate. I live about a 15 minute walk from Coco Ramen, which has a much calmer, more authentic vibe (and better ramen).
ON THE FLIP SIDE… I came for lunch on a weekday once when working from home, and the atmosphere is a lot more peaceful during the daytime. Unfortunately, they didn’t serve ramen for lunch, so we had to eat the curry — which actually turned out to be thick, flavorful, and delicious! The portions weren’t very big, though, for the price.
In the end, I’ll probably be back just because of the convenient location, but the package deal of poor atmosphere and slightly-​above-​average food for this restaurant is not worth the high price tag.

Great space! It’s worth it to go just for the space! So magical and SF quirky. Really nice service and fast service. Be prepared to wait around 40 minutes to eat. The bathroom looks like it’s a jungle!
The ramen was okay. A little plain. I had high hopes for Ken Ken, but I don’t know if they ran out of normal ramen noodles cause my friend said the noodles were different from the last time she was there, but they were super skinny noodles, not traditional ramen noodles. The pork slices were very good and perfectly cooked. But nothing popped. The broth was plain and not thick or spiced, and the egg consistency was good, but it just fell short. I didn’t feel like I normally do about ramen which is, ‘this is feeding my soul.‘
The fried tofu is pretty phenomenal though. I’ve never had anything like it. It’s sweet and sour and crispy and soft and hot all at once!
I think for the quality, their ramen is way over priced.

I like the appetizers, the ramen is OK. The music is HOLY SH*T TOO LOUD. The wait sucks, especially since half the place is a bar that is not a destination but a holding pen for people who want a seat. The mission is not short on ramen shops, after 3 visits to ken ken in the last year its time to try other spots.
If you are near by and you want appetizers at a loud ass bar, drop in. If you want a good bowl of ramen and the ability to enjoy the poeple you are with, don’t come here.

One of the greatest aesthetic in a restaurant atmosphere! Their food was a good 3.5 based on what my friend and I ordered.
My friend has been raving about their egg covered in fried bacon so I decided we should go try it. We came in and honestly, I would’ve complained because it was hella dark, but it supplemented the decorations.
We ordered the fried egg and fried chicken. Of course, we wanted to get home as soon as possible because it was a new episode of How To Get Away With Murder. We literally waited about 20 minutes which was ridiculous. Finally got our order and went home. The first thing I ate was the fried chicken. I thought it was gonna have bones in it but it didn’t, thank God! It definitely tasted better when I squeezed a lemon in it and dipped it in the sauce it came with. Fried chicken was delicious! The fried egg that my friend was crazy about was okay… It wasn’t what I was expecting. I was thinking an egg deep fried.
Honestly, I’d love to come back here and try their well-​reviewed ramen. I was told it was mediocre but I’d like to be the judge of that.

As the weather starts to get colder here in The City, my friends and I were craving a hot and delicious bowl of ramen to comfort us. We dropped into Ken Ken on a Friday night. Luckily we didn’t have to wait very long for a party of 4. We passed time at the bar and ordered a round of sake. The Japanese lanterns hanging above the bar were really cool and adds to the ambience this restaurant has. Once seated, service was friendly and prompt. I ordered up the special of the evening which was a spicy ground pork ramen in a tonkatsu broth. It was definitely spicy, but the broth was lacking body and that umami flavor. My friends got the miso ramen and said it wasn’t very good. I tried the miso broth and it pretty much tasted like water. It was disappointing. I was also sad to see that gyoza wasn’t on the menu. To me, ramen and gyoza together are like rice with soy sauce, my pork to my dumpling, well, you get it by now. Anyway, great atmosphere and décor (especially in the bathroom; it’s a jungle in there) with friendly service. I will definitely give this place another shot.

Cute ramen shop tucked in the side streets of San Francisco. You can easily miss it if while passing by.
Staff was very friendly, and the service was fast. The smell was absolutely delicious, so we were expected some good ramen.
But it wasn’t the case. The ramen here was average. I had the miso my hubby had Shoyu, both were average tasting. There was wayyy to much topings, not the good ones, I mean bean sprouts or greens. I had almost more bean sprouts than noodles! The ramen portion is on the smaller size compared to others.
The both wasn’t too flavorful, the pork was cold and there was no hint of bbq in it. The egg though was outstanding. Runny and delicious. Other than that just another hot bowl of ramen.

Delicious Ramen place with a great bar and a cute seating area.
Came here after HH on a Friday, and was seated relatively quickly (20 minutes)… perfect amount of time to grab some Sake and beer at the bar.
I ordered the special of the day. which was a tan tan ramen, and was blown away.
The porky, deliciousness of the broth was perfection. Also plus stars for Ken Ken for serving 100% vegetarian ramen (for those of us that are not carnivores).

I was hoping Ken Ken had improved since my first visit a few years ago, but alas no. Neither of us really enjoyed our ramen (and we ordered our server’s highest recommendations), and my cocktail was pretty bad. Please see my photos for extra info/​details.
THE WAIT: About 20 minutes for dinner for two, around 6pm on a Sunday night.
THE SERVICE: Our server was very friendly and enthusiastic. I didn’t like my drink and pushed it to the side; it was pretty obvious I’d barely had any of it. She never asked about the drink — at some restaurants I feel like they’ll ask if they can replace it or if something’s wrong.
THE COST: About $ 50 total for two ramen bowls and two drinks. Not worth it.
* Ginger beer cocktail — 1 star
I don’t remember the name of this drink, but it was the second from the bottom and had ginger beer. I took one sip and couldn’t drink any more — it tasted like a glass full of licorice. My boyfriend, who can usually down any drink I don’t want, couldn’t stomach it either. I pushed it to the side, and our server never acknowledged or asked about it.
* Tan Tan ramen (w/​spicy pork. $ 10) — 2 stars
Too spicy! We both like spicy, but this wasn’t done in a good way. Our server recommended this as the best ramen dish. There also was very very little pork, just a little bit of ground pork.
* Veggie ramen ($ 10) — 2.5 stars
Our server also recommended this as being «piled with veggies» which sounded really good to me. When it came out, I was disappointed — it wasn’t so much a «pile» as it was a few pieces. There was a japanese squash that was really tasty, and there were two huge pieces of that. This wasn’t bad, but it was just sold the wrong way and I had my expectations set differently.

Ken Ken, the Japanese ramen bungalow. Came in on a Friday night with two ramen fiends like myself with high hopes for a steaming hot bowl of delicious.
We passed on appetizers but went for a bottle of cold sake from the bar, pre meal.
Now to the supposed stars of the show, the ramen. One friend and I ordered he special, spicy tantan ramen, and the last ordered a miso ramen. The special was not special nor spicy. The broth was salty and unidimensional. The noodles are not amazing, but not terrible. The most enjoyable part of the bowl was the egg. My friend, who is a ramen egg aficionado, said that it was not well marinated.
In the bathroom, I expected some mini waterfall or a tropical bird to pop up. Neither did, but there is a disco ball mounted on the verdantly carpeted ceiling. The acoustics are great, but it’s incredibly dark. God forbid someone miss his mark.
Seating is communal. Service is good and friendly. Food would do in a pinch, but I would not go out of my way to return to Ken Ken.

Highlights
— Hipster/​Japanese fusion themed décor. Love the lantern and Christmas light spread hanging above the ceiling near the bar area, artsy photo op right there! Oh and I have to mention the bathroom décor, jungle disco anyone?!
— Pork curry lunch combo with root vegetable salad. Flavor was great, I liked the carrots with potatoes pork pieces were tender and small within the sauce. I couldn’t get over the fact that the rice was soggy, which made a big difference and the salad was doused with dressing.
— Miso Ramen with Extra Veggies: The BEST egg I’ve ever tasted. Broth and ramen were okay. My extra veggies was non-​existent as it looked the same like a regular bowl.
Improvements
— Limited hours. Curry is only served during lunch or ramen during dinner.
— Limited seating during lunch time with only the bar stools and a few tables for service and a one person shop manning everything.
Tips
— Pay for a meter if you are lucky enough to snag one nearby, take public transit, or call for a car/​taxi.
— Check out their hours and plan accordingly depending on what you want to try here.
— Come early to avoid the crowd and ensure that you get to try what you came here for.