Best ramen ever. If you like more watery broth, this is not the place for you. Really not much else to say, tons of flavor and never misses!
Toshogu Takegawa
Solid ramen joint, so far the best I have had in central coast.Will change rating if I don't find better05/11/21
Bailey Nunes
Moved to slo recently and I have to say that this was one of my absolute favorite restaurants. They’re vegan curry ramen was the best. Drove by last night to see that they’re sadly closed down.
Carmen Q.
This is the best ramen spot in SLO. So sad they are closing.
Dennis Li
Really solid ramen.
Cindy W.
This is the real deal. Came here with the family. We all ordered different variations of the tonkatsu ramen. I had the black edition. We all loved the broth, so tasty and did not disappoint. Definitely authentic flavor tonkatsu ramen and would recommend without hesitation. Took a big bite and realized it was tasty and took a pic so the presentation was definitely better before I dug in!
Ian I.
The owner verbally assaulted my boyfriend and me for eating at his outdoor seating despite not having purchased anything from the restaurant. I understand how this is annoying and slightly rude, but we are regular customers at Menka and the owner was completely disrespectful and unprofessional. We offered to clean up and apologized for not buying food. The restaurant had very little customers and 4 tables, and we would have happily gotten up if there were more customers. Instead, he cussed us out, threw our food on the ground and nearly physically assaulted me, and then proceeded to kick our food that was on the ground (SloDoCo donuts and Taj Palace Indian food). As we left, he followed us into the parking lot continuously swearing and trying to initiate a physical fight, even though we were polite up until he got aggressive. We love to support small local businesses, as we supported one that was right across the street. However, we will no longer be supporting Menka Ramen, and will definitely be spreading the word of this unacceptable behavior.
Konnor Smith
Great food, fast service, and friendly staff!
Kristine N.
Got the red edition tonkatsu with an egg, spicy paitan with pork belly, and yuzu cheesecake. Ramen was super rich and flavorful, great portion and broth. The tonkatsu was really creamy, but not too much and the spicy paitan had a nice spiciness to it. The egg was cooked really well and marinated nicely. Pork belly was good, but I wish it was grilled and then put on top instead of boiled. The yuzu cheesecake was comically small. It was like 2 bites. They should make it double the size and charge $5-6 instead because it just felt really silly paying $3.50 for a bite. The cheesecake was also so-so, nice yuzu flavor but lacked the fluffiness and richness of a cheesecake. Aside from the cheesecake, ramen was great and we'll return for more.
Laura K.
We got delivery and everything was awesome. They have gluten free noodles which is difficult to come by! We had the chicken and spicy miso ramen, both were delicious. Easily some of the best ramen that I've had in California, highly worth checking out.
This ramen place is the absolute best. Best ramen I've ever had. Fresh ingredients, delicious noodles, in a rich flavorful broth.
Jonathan Chapman
Went to get some appetizers for me and a coworker right when they opened at 5. Got 3 orders of dumplings and one order of tempura shrimp. The shrimp was so hard I couldn't even eat it. The dumplings were all in one container stuck together like one big dumpling. This was my first and my last time for me and my coworker. I will spread the word also during times like right now they should be doing there best to keep customers coming back to these local places but they aredoing the opposite. See pictures.
Brenda Haftorson
First time here and wow! We were impressed! Tried a few other spots around town and we like this the best! We had spicy at a level 3 and we are looking forward to the level 5! The spicy miso was delicious, I highly recommend it!
Stephanie B.
I'm not sure if something has changed during covid-era but the ramen here seems like it has gotten a lot more salty. I do love the noodles themselves though - very springy and a good level of chewiness. My favorite is the Red Tonkotsu at spicy level #3. Overall, Menka is a very solid place to eat, reasonable prices, and usually very tasty food. The only complaint I have is that it seems like they may have upped the salty + oiliness recently, as every time we go here, we seem to feel a little unpleasant after we eat it.
Michael DeAmicis
Best ramen I have had in the states. The broth is so good! They simer the broth over night and it's what makes it the best. you have to try it to understand how good it is. Try it with added pork belly and enjoy heaven melting in your mouth. I live 4 hours away but luckily my work takes me there occasionally.
Best ramen ever. If you like more watery broth, this is not the place for you. Really not much else to say, tons of flavor and never misses!
Solid ramen joint, so far the best I have had in central coast.Will change rating if I don't find better05/11/21
Moved to slo recently and I have to say that this was one of my absolute favorite restaurants. They’re vegan curry ramen was the best. Drove by last night to see that they’re sadly closed down.
This is the best ramen spot in SLO. So sad they are closing.
Really solid ramen.
This is the real deal. Came here with the family. We all ordered different variations of the tonkatsu ramen. I had the black edition. We all loved the broth, so tasty and did not disappoint. Definitely authentic flavor tonkatsu ramen and would recommend without hesitation. Took a big bite and realized it was tasty and took a pic so the presentation was definitely better before I dug in!
The owner verbally assaulted my boyfriend and me for eating at his outdoor seating despite not having purchased anything from the restaurant. I understand how this is annoying and slightly rude, but we are regular customers at Menka and the owner was completely disrespectful and unprofessional. We offered to clean up and apologized for not buying food. The restaurant had very little customers and 4 tables, and we would have happily gotten up if there were more customers. Instead, he cussed us out, threw our food on the ground and nearly physically assaulted me, and then proceeded to kick our food that was on the ground (SloDoCo donuts and Taj Palace Indian food). As we left, he followed us into the parking lot continuously swearing and trying to initiate a physical fight, even though we were polite up until he got aggressive. We love to support small local businesses, as we supported one that was right across the street. However, we will no longer be supporting Menka Ramen, and will definitely be spreading the word of this unacceptable behavior.
Great food, fast service, and friendly staff!
Got the red edition tonkatsu with an egg, spicy paitan with pork belly, and yuzu cheesecake. Ramen was super rich and flavorful, great portion and broth. The tonkatsu was really creamy, but not too much and the spicy paitan had a nice spiciness to it. The egg was cooked really well and marinated nicely. Pork belly was good, but I wish it was grilled and then put on top instead of boiled. The yuzu cheesecake was comically small. It was like 2 bites. They should make it double the size and charge $5-6 instead because it just felt really silly paying $3.50 for a bite. The cheesecake was also so-so, nice yuzu flavor but lacked the fluffiness and richness of a cheesecake. Aside from the cheesecake, ramen was great and we'll return for more.
We got delivery and everything was awesome. They have gluten free noodles which is difficult to come by! We had the chicken and spicy miso ramen, both were delicious. Easily some of the best ramen that I've had in California, highly worth checking out.
Restaurantji Recommends
This ramen place is the absolute best. Best ramen I've ever had. Fresh ingredients, delicious noodles, in a rich flavorful broth.
Went to get some appetizers for me and a coworker right when they opened at 5. Got 3 orders of dumplings and one order of tempura shrimp. The shrimp was so hard I couldn't even eat it. The dumplings were all in one container stuck together like one big dumpling. This was my first and my last time for me and my coworker. I will spread the word also during times like right now they should be doing there best to keep customers coming back to these local places but they aredoing the opposite. See pictures.
First time here and wow! We were impressed! Tried a few other spots around town and we like this the best! We had spicy at a level 3 and we are looking forward to the level 5! The spicy miso was delicious, I highly recommend it!
I'm not sure if something has changed during covid-era but the ramen here seems like it has gotten a lot more salty. I do love the noodles themselves though - very springy and a good level of chewiness. My favorite is the Red Tonkotsu at spicy level #3. Overall, Menka is a very solid place to eat, reasonable prices, and usually very tasty food. The only complaint I have is that it seems like they may have upped the salty + oiliness recently, as every time we go here, we seem to feel a little unpleasant after we eat it.
Best ramen I have had in the states. The broth is so good! They simer the broth over night and it's what makes it the best. you have to try it to understand how good it is. Try it with added pork belly and enjoy heaven melting in your mouth. I live 4 hours away but luckily my work takes me there occasionally.