Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai - Irvine

Enjoyed the green chili shio ramen with added bamboo shoots and seasoned egg. Just the right amount of spice. The noodles were chewy adding a nice consistency to the meal. We also tried the chicken nanban. It was tender and so tasty! Definitely will try this place again. Felt authentic and the atmosphere was nice.

Service was great, but this ramen restaurant makes really bad broth. They add wayyy too much sesame oil in both the broths that we got. Server recommended the Green Chili Shio Ramen and Shoyu Tsukemen. Both broth were way too light and no flavor, tasted like supermarket ramen with a lot of added sesame oil over it. I would not consider this a broth at all. The ramen also does not blend with the broth they taste like two separate things each with their own souls. Chicken kaarage was good but a ramen restaurant should have good ramen too. This was a dinner we did not enjoy and would not be returning to try other sesame broths. Don't understand why there's a long wait for this place at all!! Irvine really needs better and more ramen restaurants.

The pros: the textures of the food here is amazing. The cucumber salad has a lovely crunch, the noodles are springy, the chashu is soft, and the karage is soft and juicy. Whoever designed this menu was definitely a texture eater. In addition, the sauces that come with the sides like karage are pretty good. The cons: oh man, where do I start. - the cucumber salad is the worst cucumber salad I have ever had the displeasure of eating. It tastes as if someone sliced up a raw cucumber, sprinkled some chili powder on top of it, poured a bit of sauce over it, and served it up. No marinating, nothing. - the Tonkatsu Ramen broth is extremely, extremely salty. Not very rich, which is nice, but sooooo salty. It was impossible to drink the broth. - You aren't allowed to replace/trade items (e.g. corn, seaweed, egg, green onion, etc) in your Ramen, even if the item you want to replace it with is cheaper than the original item. They only allow you to remove items. If you want something else thats not in the original ramen, you have to add money. No exceptions for allergies or anything. - The karage was incredibly bland. The only way to get any sort of taste was to dipped it in the sauce. The sauce was good, but sometimes, you just want karage on its own, y'know? - While the texture of the ramen was amazing, the fact that the taste was lacking meant I ate a lot slower, which, in turn, meant the noodles got soggy and lost the nice texture. It was a vicious cycle. Overall, this place is great for people that care more about texture than taste, but you gotta eat fast, or you'll lose that too.

I've tried dozens of ramen places all over the west coast, but I keep coming back to Kitakata. The noodle texture and the consistency are the main reasons. The noodles are firm and just how I prefer. The broth is savory and full of flavor. The service is always on point. The seasonal mapo tofu ramen is delicious as it combines two of my well liked dishes. Not too salty. The large portion is perfect for my large appetite.

Enjoyed both the started and the main course! The treatment from the waiter was good 👍🏻 and the service once inside was fast. Only issue is that they were full and made us wait for 20 minutes outside under the warm California weather. Also… for that price I would expect more food!

Super nice place relaxing they dont rush you like the costa mesa location ask for Olivia she is super sweet! Delicious and my go to for Ramen. Only bad thing no cash accepted I really hope they reconsider accepting cash before that I was there monthly.

There has definitely been a change in the flavor of the soup since they opened. Despite that, we still enjoy the texture of their ramen because we love the noodles. The taste of their soup is okay, but I am obsessed with the kids menu that they offer! I was pleased with the portion of the kid's ramen and you get a side of karage (fried chicken), edamame, a side of ramen toppings, and rice with the seaweed as well. I recently went back couple of times to eat here. And the soup flavor got way better!! The soup and noodles are delious!