Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai - San Diego (Kearny Mesa)

A very nice ramen restaurant that has an authentic Japanese taste. Their signature ramen bowl is the Kitakata Ramen which has a light soy sauce and salt broth with slices of chashu (pork) and topped with scallions. This has a light, refreshing taste, that is wonderful for a second meal. They have other ramen broths, so if you prefer something heavier, you have that option. Also, their Karaage (fried chicken) is quite excellent, so try that as well! Overall, I'd come back when in the mood for ramen.

Bar seating Booth seating Table seating Lunch deals Extra noodles for 1.5$ (if you're very hungry) Clean place and nice service. It took a few minutes to get the order. Fast service. The order is without toppings. You add toppings for $ Nice servers.

Color me impressed. Dare I say the soup is refreshing? It doesn't feel like I'm drinking a gallon of oil like with any other place (which, don't get me wrong, is usually fine). The portion is quite good for the price too, despite a lack of bowl showmanship. They just use a regular looking bowl but fill it the heck up. I'm a sucker for firm noodles, and was able to customize it to be firm and added additional salt, which was perfect for my taste. The miso ramen is very miso flavored, which might not comform to everyone's preferences. My wife liked it though. Would come again. Tummy very happy.

Ever since my friend and I came into Kitakata our first time, it’s been a tradition each time I visit San Diego to go back here together. We’ve been 3 or 4 times now - it’s our favorite! I eat a lot of ramen, and Kitakata is one of a kind. The ramen is super flavorful without being heavy, the recipes are creative, and the noodles are curly and chewy. My favorite flavors have been the mapo tofu, hot and sour soup, and green chili shio ramen. We typically come in for lunch around 12:00/12:30 on weekends, and parking isn’t too bad since the lot is large and shared with Target. Service is always fast, attentive, and friendly. Serving size for a regular bowl is generous, and for 2 people for just ramen/no sides, the total came out to around 40$. I wish I had a Kitakata in my neighborhood - I would be there every day!

Probably the worst ramen spot I’ve had here in San Diego. This is not your typical ramen spot. It tastes so fake and just not authentic. I understand the Kitakata ramen style, but this is not it. The noodles and karaage chicken were good, but that’s about it. The broth was very disappointing…. It was lacking flavor. Service was also slow, and it wasn’t even busy when we came in. We will not be returning, and if you’re looking for traditional ramen, go somewhere else. It was expensive as hell like $16.99 and it doesn’t even come with at least with an egg.

We go the cucumber salad, Yamitsuki Egg, shishito peppers, Kitakata Ramen Umkata tan tan Ramn. They use ameican cucmber for the cucumber salad so we weren't fans of it. The Yamitsuki Egg is a must. It was delicious. Shishito peppers very good! Both ramen bowls were fantastic. The noodles are fresh and taste great! Kitakata Ramen broth was very light and clean, loved it. The umkata Tan tan (pictured) had a lot more going on but was also very good! Thicker more rich broth. Totally coming back!

This restaurant was very crowded during lunch. The noodles are kind of special. They are not round and look irregular. I had the tonkotsu Raman and the broth is too salty. Their fired chicken seems to be very popular. I ordered a large bowl and couldn’t finish it.