Best vegetarian Ramen in Bay Area. Ambience and service is good. There is always a long wait time, best time to go is as soon as it opens. Ice Tea was served in can , could improve on that.

This place made me like tsukemen!! I was never that into it bc most places reduce their ramen broth which ends up making the dish really salty but taishoken's version was deliciously complex in the best way. The strong dashi and umami flavor paired with bamboo and grated yuzu peel was sooo good. The meat was tender and flavorful. Service was fast and attentive. Would recommend joining waitlist online before you go! Love this place, can't wait to go back!!

Join the yelp waitlist and it actually moves pretty fast probably due to people not showing up! We were seated quickly on a weekend night. I recommend getting the takoyaki as appetizer, it was actually very crispy on the outside which I was surprised for, and very soft on the inside loaded with octopus. They put this egg mayonnaise(?) kinda sauce on it aside from the regular takoyaki sauce and that made it very tasty! Got the tsukemen which they are known for, the noodles were thick and the broth was pretty flavorful but not very memorable. My boyfriend got the niku spicy ramen which is not very spicy apparently. I liked the thin noodles texture in that ramen. Broth was very oily though, has a very strong taste.

Delicious food yummy The service was excellent the restaurant itself was beautiful and the food was very nice. Flavors were rich but not too overpowering, the noodles were great for dipping and finishing off with lychee sherbet was a treat!

Food: 4.75 out of 5 Calamari was fantastic, lightly breaded and cooked perfectly. I wish the mayo sauce had a bit of citrus to cut the richness. Umami forward flavors in the ramen! They take the time to make it right with thick cuts of pork belly and the marinated hard boil egg! Service: 4 out 5 Friendly server. Just refill the table water promptly please. Environment: 5 out of 5 Great ambiance. Casual dining and great for small groups.

Amazing flavors of food, beautiful ambience inside, and an overall enjoyable experience. The highlight of Taishoken will be the flavors and appearances of the food. The potato salad had an odd appearance, but the flavors were extremely balanced and gave a unique smokey flavor along with a tasty egg on top. The sandstorm Calamari was the best item we ate, and the garlic and cream sauce are mandatory on the pieces. Want to come back for those alone. The tsukemein Taishoken is their staple, and the dipping sauce and the chewy buckwheat noodles are top notch. Definitely ask for the broth near the end to cleanse your palette (as per the menu recommendations, step 4). We also had the spicy ramen, which carried a strong kick while not overpowering your palette. Great ambience inside that makes the venue date and large group worthy (there was a table of 15 when we came in), and the wait staff were continually present and were willing to answer any questions. Downtown SM staple, only rivaled by Kajiken.

WOW. I have no words. My first time eating dipping ramen and I think I'll be disappointed eating elsewhere for the rest of my life. Tony the best takoyaki nor chicken karage, but the dipping noodles blew my mind. The sauce had incredible depth of umami and richness to it. When paired with the thick, chewy noodles, enough sauce cling to the noodles to create an explosion of flavors in your mouth. I do have to admit that the sauce was salty for my preference, but you can always just dip less. I do know that this place gets pretty busy. However, I went at opening time and there was no wait. If you don't like waiting, I'd recommend going close to opening times. The restaurant itself is quite open with few tables, so I'd imagine it doesn't get busy. The great thing about places like these is that it's typically a quick meal. I wouldn't say I'd sit here to "enjoy the vibes". It's more of an order-eat-checkout-leave place.

Buddy of mines asked me to show him what's good in San Mateo. After careful consideration, I settled upon taking him up to ye old faithful Taishoken. Pro tip - there is usually a wait to get in. However, you can join the Yelp waitlist ahead of time (and I don't think there's any distance limitation) so you can get some hot fresh noodles in the tum faster. I've been here plenty of times but it never gets old. Normally, I get their chicken karaage (which is one of the freshest/tastiest ones I had) but I decided to venture and get the potato salad. The potato salad has a strong smoky charred salt they add which gives it a very umami flavor. It's quite unique and I'd definitely recommend trying this once. 4.5/5. Niku Spicy Ramen - Phenomenal. The Beyoncé of Destiny's Child. Look no further if you are craving some top tier ramen my friend. The noodles are al dente, the chashu pork is thick but still juicy, the spice is on the medium spice (fair warning I do like my spice tho) but best of all the broth is so damn rich and flavorful. The broth is pretty unique in my opinion as its combination of smoky spicy and umami flavor makes this a standout dish. 5/5.

All i can say is wow! We only ordered 2 items but they were fantastic. Tokusei tsukemen was great: thick & chewy, dipping broth was not salty at all but still tasty. The sand storm calamari was excellent: lightly battered, chewy but still had enough crunch, seaonings were yummy, esp the thick soy garlic sauce. Yuzu beer & matcha beer were good but the IPA bitterness was def present. Service was fast & friendly, only concern is the price. How did i pay $100 for 2 in a ramen restaurant..

Thin ramen noodles are the best imo and that is what they serve here. They are popular for tsukemen but I prefer ramen in broth and they do that well too. I had the niku spicy ramen $19 which comes with an extra piece of chashu compared to the ajitama, both comes with the jidori egg. The flavors are strong and can get a bit heavy - I loved it the first time I came here but the second time, it got heavy and salty and the egg was oversalted. The chashu was dry and lean on the bottom half. Might need to wait a longer period of time before revisiting.