Man, it was 41 degrees this morning in Bay Park! Yikes, my "San Diegan" bloodstream seemed frozen! Well, it was definitely ramen weather for me. My typical ramen choice to temper the cold climate would be one of the usual suspects. But, in the end, I wanted something different from the ubiquitous tonkotsu style ramen that seems to be everywhere. I hadn't been back to Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai since they first opened back in July of 2023 (I almost said "last year"…but it's now 2025!) so I thought it would be a good time to check them out again.
I arrived a bit after the 11am opening time and was surprised to note that only one table was occupied and the counter where I was seated was completely empty.
The two folks manning the dining area were very nice and I was handed a menu. I quickly noticed that there's a lunch special available.
Under the auspices of the lunch special, one could get a side of karaage for $2.80. So, I could get a small Kitikata Ramen for $13.95, the tamago was now $1.50….looking back, I noticed that it was $1.90 back in July of 2023. So, could there actually be something that is now more inexpensive?
I also noticed this sign….the place seems to enjoy having these little signs.
I had always found the noodles here a bit on the softer-mushy side, but now I could get it "katame" (firm), which seemed like a good option. I did find the broth to be on the saltier side of things, but decided to do only "one change at a time".
So, all of this for $18.25.
The bowl was delivered nice and hot. The tamago was now provided on the side. The yolk was adequately soft, the marinade a bit weak….but of course…my pet peeve, these were ice cold….sigh.
The chashu had the "fat cap" I recalled; though was cut thicker than I remember. It was not as nicely marinated and was also a bit chewier then before.
The broth seemed more full-bodies then on my previous visits and while still a bit on the saltier side, I found the added richness more enjoyable . It's still seems fairly straight forward in flavor, but I think that might be a good thing in this case.
The added firmness of the noodles really made a difference for me, as I found that the additional "pull" combined with the curliness which managed to really "pick up" the soup added to my enjoyment.
Well, at least to me, on this visit, it seemed like Kitakata had gotten better since I first visited.
Well, the ramen that is. As for the karaage.
Unevenly coated, not crisp or crunchy enough for my taste, on the blander side. The flesh was fairly juicy and tender though. Not a big fan of the sesame like dressing provided either.
Still, I thought the Kitakata Ramen was good, an nice contrast to all the tonkotsu in San Diego. Though, looking at yet another sign; I guess they are making tonkotsu here as well? Which I'm probably NOT going to try.
Unless one of you, my great "FOYs" tell me it's worth my attention?
Like I mentioned, the two young people working were quite nice….though I'm not sure about the customer base? One couple kept calling them "hey! hey!", a guy in another group kept using the "come here finger" gesture….when they got what was requested, no one said "thank you"? What's going on these days?
Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai
7951 Othello Ave.
San Diego, CA 92111
Current Hours:
Mon-Thurs 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 9pm
Friday 11am – 3pm, 5pm – 10pm
Saturday 11am – 10pm
Sunday 11am – 9pm
Hope everyone had a wonderful New Year!
I will say upfront that my favorite item were the fries, which had been dusted and were perfectly seasoned and still crisp after the 15 minutes drive home.
The rice was on the drier, harder end of the scale. I was asked if I wanted “spicy” sauce with my lunch and I said yes, but I think they forgot it. It’s ok, I’ll leave that to the “soft” opening.
The “pot stickers” were like a very bland, chewy, fried mandu. This was not terrible; very fast-casual in nature, though not my kind of thing.
Santouka has been fairly consistent over the years. Of course that consistency is a two way street. Santouka has probably the worse tamago. And yes, it's always been terribly overcooked. But hey, if you want consistency, that egg was just as bad at 
I prefer the savory, somewhat salty, barrel aged shoyu broth to the tonkotsu here. It has nice soy-savory complexity and the broth has a decent velvety tongue feel.
The chashu was porky, with a nice shoyu flavor. It was so soft and buttery; the best I've had here to date! I decided to get the noodles katame; firm, and the woman working nodded in approval. The noodles were indeed firm, slippery, but also did a great job "picking up" the broth.
Ok, the beef in the meat jun was nicely marinated, if a bit on the chewier side; sweet-salty-hint of garlic, very bulgogi-ish, the batter was a bit thicker and gritty than I prefer and it had been over-fried a bit. But, the Missus enjoyed the mild eggy-ness and the combination of flavors. She liked the meat jun dipping sauce which also had a hint of vinegar, some spice, balanced sweetness.
Think of this as Daikon no Nimono crowned with a sizeable piece of seared foie gras and caramelized onions. As 
The fragrance really got my stomach growling. In terms of portion size, this was way bigger than the takeout I'd had from 
It usually has Sriracha drizzled on the egg, but the gentleman nicely asked if I'd prefer to have it on the side. I really didn't even need it. The egg was slightly crisp and quite fluffy. Nice savory tones; the ground meat used, I'm thinking it may be ground chicken was moist and tender. Nice savory tones; quite "eggy" without any off flavors. Quite nice!
In the end, I settled with the Cayenne Pepper seasoning as it had a nice bit of heat, mild smokiness, a bit of a "bite" if you will, with a touch of sweetness. I actually tasted the seasoning by itself! 
Which was perfectly fine, except that the Sesame Dressing was quite salty. I came to find out that this is the "house" dressing that they actually sell. My favorite item in the salad were the kyuri-asazuke, the pickled cucumbers which held up well to the salty dressing.
I'm not going to go into excruciating detail here. I will say, that my favorite item was the scallop; the hotate was tender and sweet. 
Was it what I thought it was? Because you can't really interact with the Itamae, I asked the young lady working and she confirmed that it was 
I walked up to the counter, the place had just opened, but there seemed to be a couple of folks waiting for their orders already. The young man working was really nice, though he looked a bit overwhelmed. I took a look at the menu….even though the portions looked pretty large, I went and ordered the Mix Katsu Combo ($19.99), which included both pork and chicken katsu and curry. 
The katsu had not been fried evenly and there were some darkly colored spots, the texture of the panko was kind of mealy, at least the breading wasn't separating from the proteins, but it was easy to tell which was the pork and chicken. The pork was on the left; it was thicker, had a more spongy texture, but was fairly tender, if a bit on the dry side. The seasoning was one dimensional being quite salty. The chicken on the right side was thinner, dry, and chewy. It was also quite salty. I'd take the pork any day of the week.
I'm pretty sure the curry had been made with "cubes", it had a nice spice, but was barely lukewarm….and I was eating in the food court. It was quite gloppy and was also on the salty side. Dipping the katsu in this was just too much sodium for me.
