Bobby D.
Yelp
After spending the entire day with my family volunteering with Empathy Is The Remedy honoring and paying respect to America's Armed Forces Veterans at the Riverside National Cemetery and vibing at Disneyland, we were famished and were looking for some sustenance. It was a cool day especially walking around the Happiest Place On Earth, so we were in the mood for grub that would warm us up. We were blessed to find HiroNori Craft Ramen in Irvine through my trustworthy Yelp app and we found a Japanese ramen restaurant that rivals our favorite ramen spot in San Diego, Menya Ultra. Their ramen, chicken karaage, and crispy rice with spicy tuna were stellar!
HiroNori appears to be a chain restaurant as there are other locations in the Irvine area as well as a location in San Diego. Not only will we have our fave in North County San Diego, but now we have our new fave in South San Diego. The HiroNori Irvine location is a popular destination located within close proximity to the John Wayne Airport. It can be found within a strip mall that also contains Book Off, Domino's Pizza, and it's next to Chewie & Mellow Desserts, and a Subway. There's another part of the strip mall that looks like an indoor food court. Make sure to place your name on the wait list on their website or on their check in portal at the restaurant because it's a popular dining locale. It's not a big restaurant, but they turn tables quick. Big parties might need to wait if you come during peak hours. The decor is minimalist, bright lighting, light brown walls, hanging gray drapes and Japanese banners, music playing in the background, and a steady hum of noise. Our server provided quality customer service and checked on us consistently despite how packed the restaurant was.
You know you're dining at a restaurant that serves quality and much clamored for food when the restaurant is packed on a Saturday at 8pm and there are people waiting outside for their seats. My family knew before we even sat down that we were all ordering ramen. With a high Yelp rating and 1000s of reviews, I couldn't wait to compare HiroNori's ramen to my favorite ramen. They are also known for their chicken karaage, so that was definitely going to be on our order. I ordered their Tonkotsu Ramen, the Crispy Chicken aka Chicken Karaage, and the Crispy Rice W/ Spicy Tuna. The tonkotsu ramen comes with pork chasu, spinach, green onions, seaweed, bean sprouts, half egg, and make sure you get the free garlic and house spicy sauce. The first thing I did was taste the broth of the ramen and it was divine, rich, and flavorful. The pork chasu was tender and tasty; the half egg melted in my mouth, and all of the other accoutrements made for a memorable entree. I added the garlic and spicy sauce to the ramen and it made it tastier. HiroNori's tonkotsu ramen rivaled my fave. Definitely order the Crispy Chicken! The fried chicken thigh was a delicious appetizer made with garlic and soy marinated. It was fried perfectly, crispy, and tender at the same time. The accompanying dipping sauce made it yummy. My kiddo wanted their crispy rice with spicy tuna, which came with spicy tuna, avocado, jalapeño, and eel sauce. It was another notable appetizer that I wish we had more to chow down on. We also ordered the edamame and it was okay.
HiroNori Craft Ramen Irvine most definitely warranted their popularity evident on their Yelp profile. Their tonkotsu ramen, crispy chicken, and crispy rice with spicy tuna eradicated our hunger and was just a satisfying and warming meal for the cool Orange County weather.