Kuro-Obi by IPPUDO

Very very disappointing. In just the last week the food has completely changed. Different noodles, pork, broth, toppings - everything was changed and it's hugely disappointing now. Noodles are now a rye noodle, pork was thick, tough, and ice cold. Soup was covered with a heap of oily pork fat. Broth was slimy with oil. Every non-soup item was also removed from the menu. Other ramens were also affected. A week ago I was a fan, but I won't go back again with these changes. It's completely different food under the same name.

What happened?!!!! This place used to be so good, it was a staple for us with our 5 year old because it used to be the one of the only ramens he would eat consistently! Their menu now, the broth, the noodles, the toppings are all completely different! It's like a completely different restaurant, it shouldn't even have the same name! Bring back the old ingredients! I want my cha-obi!!! I heard they are operating with new owners, they shouldn't have changed anything! I won't be back unless the menu changes back!

Used to be the best place to get ramen but it has changed. AWFUL and a rip off. $20+ for a bowl of oily broth, tough cold, thick pork and an abundance of bean sprouts. We ended up binning it and buying from another food court vendor.

Ordered their number one Kuro obi ramen with pork char sui and a 3 piece shrimp, chicken & pork wrapped meal. Ramen was good but pork char sui was a little tough.

This place has had quite a few changes to the menu recently, in my previous review I said that the changes were terrible, so did a ton of others. They have made some more changes to the menu, returning the original ramen broth and noodles, while the original menu was better, which I would say is some good customer service as well because they reacted to the negative comments very quickly and made some very necessary changes.

I am in agreement with all the recent negative reviews. I have been coming here for years. Just here about three weeks ago. Suddenly everything changed for the worse. New owners, I think. I saw them standing around, trying to micromanage. They added automated kiosk for order. Trying to save money, but they are probably going to fail because the product is so horrible. Noodles not even Ramen. Thick and no taste. Soup was greasy with globs of fat. Pork was poor quality, tough, and ice cold! Worst part was that they put a heaping pile of cold bean sprouts on top. Totally unacceptable! I will not go back there again, and I will not be surprised if they do not survive long. Indicative of what’s wrong with America now! Charging more and getting far inferior product. Does greed have no boundaries?

This used to be a go to spot for ramen despite there being 100 other spots. This place is not the same anymore after their menu change. Why even change it?! Prices went up & quality went down. $19 for a bowl of ramen is wild! First they were $11, then $13, then $15, now $18 -$19. They changed the thin sliced pork to thick blubbery pieces — does NOT taste good. Very disappointed in the quality of food & change of menu. Just ordered the Kuro-obi, nothing but fat and oil. I’m disgusted. !🤢 waste of $40 on two bowls .. BRING BACK THE OLD MENU!!!

So disappointed. This used to be a good place for ramen at the mall. I can’t believe they continue to use the Ippudo name; the broth is oily and no rich flavor like before, the noodles are not ramen noodles, the toppings are like slop, the sliced pork was thick. Prices went up and the food is not good ramen at all. I don’t know who they have in the kitchen now but it doesn’t seem like they ever had ramen before, not to mention from Ippudo.

i order a Kuro-obi ramen and a special combo. They are so good with acceptable price. The line isn't too long for a lunch at weekend. I'm so hungry so forgetting taking photos. Definitely I will come back to try another flavor ramens

Let's just say that they need to take the name Ippudo off. And Ippudo needs to disassociate with this place. Ramen noodle with sticky. The broth was subpar. The cha siu is just disgusting. I can be harsh, but this place is definitely trashy.

There were several red flags but I decided to order because in the past they had pretty decent ramen. I don't know what happened; maybe the owner changed but the recipe changed for sure. First off the menu now just has photos with the name of the dish without any description. I had to ask the cashier which each dish was. It was also very expensive (same pricing as a sit down place) but this is supposed to be mall food. I expected if the price is high it's o-k if the food is at least good. We ordered the Aka and Midori. Both were pretty disgusting. The egg and meat were cold. The soup was very oily. We threw out the food after eating half. Please go back to the old recipes. The noodle quality was better previously too.

First time visiting this mall and decided to try Kuro-Obi. To be frank, the ramen here isn't really anything special. It just feels like anything else? It's good but nothing more, it feels like the usual generic stuff. I personally feel the price is too high considering the quality of the food, you could get something better knowing that steep price tag

Get ready for small portions at regular prices. This is like a kids' bowl. Salty broth, undercooked noodles, slow service, skimpy toppings. No wonder there's no line. They charge an arm and a leg for chicken karagge, like $13 for a couple pieces!?!? I saw a woman order it and complain about the portion size, so we skipped that. The takoyaki we got for $10 for 8 pieces was no better. Chewy weird tasting balls with like no octopus and, again, undercooked. The Shiro-Obi didn't have the rich broth like advertised and again look at how few noodles are in this bowl. I think vending machines give you bigger portions!

Owners might've changed cause the menu is different with no details on each bowl, and they don't use ramen noodles, it's like chow mein noodles in the soup. The soup is shallow and loaded with oil.

Ramen broth is really greasy and the meat comes cold. Approx $20 per ramen and maybe more insulting is $4 + tax for a bottle of water. Go elsewhere.

I believe the food is very good because the flavor is very enriching! The service is very well! I liked how I can add protein, including eggs and tofu chashu which I may consider for next time!

They changed their menu and their ramen is inedible and really bad. It used to be so good. Now they increased price and quantity but I am never going back after eating more than 100 times.

This used to be my go to place for raman. A go to place for a mall visit. We would even visit the mall so that we could stop by this place for raman. Not any more. Echoing the other recent reviews, since they changed the menu, their raman now taste like, without the lack of a better word, s.h.i.t. Seriously. The noodle are now thick tasteless chow mein. Soup oily and salty. The new pork slices are like really bad chinese bbq. Terrible.

Bad experience ever. This is not considered ramen. Not even half bowl, i trashed it. Not recommended.

They must have changed ownership. It was good before but now it is inedible. Greasy broth, noodle is not even ramen, more like thick buckwheat, pork is not char siu, it's big pork chunk, it has more veg (bean sprouts & cabbage) but are soggy, it has a lot of pork fat and minced pork on top (as garnish?) the corn on the side is of much smaller portion. Price increased. So disappointed. No more ramen in the mall.

This used to be a decent place to get some Ramen. I just went there a week ago, and now today all of a sudden they changed their menu. My boyfriend and I were not able to get past how greasy, oily and fatty the broth was. We did not finish the soup, but tried to eat the noodles and pork. Everything now is just mediocre. The cabbage and the bean sprouts they put on top are such a bad call. They have pictures of Ramen on the menu that do not represent what you actually get. They need to revert quickly to the old menu before this place shuts doors for good!

I used to love this place, the soup had a light creamy texture to it, the noodles were thinner cooked and had spinach in it. They recently changed their menu to noodles that were chewy, the broth has changed. They've added cabbage bean sprouts, making this not a soup at all, but something awful. They only have three items on the menu now. They really should go back to their old menu where the super delicious soup existed . We will never come here again. I had to throw my soup out because it was so awful.

Located inside the Hillsdale Mall food court, this unassuming ramen spot is one of my favorites. I typically get the kuro-Obi (sometime i add the special combo; 4.75/5). The broth is delicious (consistently!), noodles have a nice bite to them, and the toppings are delicious (spinach, bamboo (yum!), and chicken or pork chashu (Shockingly I might prefer their chicken as it's more tender). It's a simple but super tasty bowl of ramen. I've even come right around when they were closing and they still served me so they also get an A+ for service. As mentioned, this is in a food court so it's not exactly a date spot with great ambiance; however, if you chose to eat outside (upstairs or down) there are fire pits lit at night and nice fountains with beautiful greenery, so it's actually not bad as far as food courts go. Just try it!

Had the chance to try this place for a quick dinner before an escape room. Lots of choices in the Hillsdale mall like this Japanese food venue. Service was quick since there wasn't a line. After I ordered, a few people were interested in ordering. Nice set up that seems authentic and classy with the wooden furnishing counter. I ordered their chicken kara-age with rice. A medium portion of chicken about 4-5 medium sized pieces upon 2.5-3 scoops of rice with some salad. Great touch of a lemon wedge to add that zest and sour flavor. Once I shook up the bowl, I was ready to dig in. The chicken was crispy with juicy meat drenched in their house katsu sauce which added an umami flavor. The salad and rice were alright. I was happy with my order though because I didn't feel bloated after finishing the entire thing. Good dish and would try other dishes from here.

Stopped by here after going to the escape room close by. The guy at the counter was very friendly. I ended up getting two ippudo buns...one chicken and one veggie. We got the mayo based sauces on the side since I was sharing when someone who doesn't like mayo . The wait wasn't too bad, and I thought it was pretty tasty, but definitely needed the sauce. I do wish it was more grilled like the menu pic but oh well. I also wish I realized that it's 3 for $13. I will definitely come back and try more things.

Just adding in another review asking them to bring back the original menu! The new food is not good at all. This was my go to place every time I came to the mall but now I will have to find another place. It's not just that it's different - it doesn't taste good. It's sad looking and the taste matches. Please fix!!

This place used to be delicious and now it's disgusting. Noodles are garbage and the broth is nasty and greasy. Please go back to the old recipes.

10/10 food but uncomfortable customer service. The ambiance was not good but is expected by a sort of fast going restaurant. In all liked this place and recommend it.

It was my first time eating ramen. I was a little scared to try something new. I was shocked when I had the first taste of the broth. It was so amazing, the taste was so good! The make the food super fast and it's a cute spot. Overall I will return. I asked the guy who helped me what he recommended and he recommended the best one for sure! The service is great. Thank you

Kuro-obi ramen is just basic. Doesn't taste much better than instant ramen noodles. Broth is salty. Chicken cha su is like a thin piece of meat. The buns are almost a joke. Tiny. The pork one you at least get two pieces of pork. The fried chicken one is like a tiny nugget karage. The bao itself is fine. Overall, the food tastes like knock-off Asian. And that makes sense because all the service staff weren't Asian. They were friendly though, but the cashier was confusing and didn't seem like he knew what he was doing. Wouldn't come here again or recommend it.

Evidently under new ownership, and the new owner doesn't know what ramen is supposed to taste like. I had the Kuro-obi, which I've had many times before, and it was totally different and not good. You dig in and on top is big pile of cooked and soggy bean sprouts and cabbage, and underneath are Chinese style noodles. Nothing against good Chinese noodle soup (which this is not), but this is supposed to be ramen. But it's not ramen, and it's not Japanese (They also offer cilantro as topping. Are they trying to make pho?). The place was pretty good before, but I won't be coming back.

Food (5/5 stars): Bay Area stop #2: Best food court meal I've ever had. I highly recommend their Black Belt ramen! Experience (5/5 stars): * Price: pretty reasonable * Wait Time: there was quite a wait because we had a big party * Service: good and friendly * Parking: there's a parking lot * Ambiance: it's in the Hillsdale food court, which is nicer than you're average one

Located in the Hillsdale food court, our expectations were not high. Tried the karaage - a requirement at every establishment that offers it - it was hot and tasty but needed a little more salt? Tried 3 different broths of ramen - Shiro and Cha - all were pretty good for a food court, and the noodles were still firm and satisfying. The bowls didn't looks as cute as the menu online, but still tasty and as expected. We usually choose this place or the poke place if we eat at the mall, and we aren't disappointed, and the convenience when shopping cannot be beat.

Takoyaki balls were yummy. Soft and savory with the creamy sauces drizzled on top. We also got a taco trio to try which was less impressive. The amount of protein in the taco was quite small compared to the ratio of bread. And the bread was also a bit soggy and soft at the bottom.

decent ramen place considering its at a mall. I had the Kuro-obi dish and the broth was very flavorful. The noodles were just okay. The spice level wasn't too bad so I asked for a side of red hot sauce. The price was ~$16. All that said, I'd come back. picture honestly doesn't reflect the taste.

3.5 stars. Found myself hungry at the mall yesterday and decided to give Kuro-Obi a shot. On a Saturday, late afternoon, there was no line, so I was able to walk right up and place my order. Went with the Kuro-Obi (black belt) ramen: tori paitan (chicken broth) with fragrant garlic oil, umami miso paste, scallions, shredded cabbage, kikurage mushrooms, and chashu ($11.50). Had I noticed that you can add a bakudan ("spicy bomb to add a kick to your ramen") for $2 more, I would've. I also got an order of the chicken buns: pieces of karaage tossed in their "special BBQ sauce" with a drizzle of Japanese mayo, wrapped in soft buns (2 for $8.50). Since there was only one order ahead of mine, the food came within minutes. The ramen was a smaller bowl than at most ramen places, but it was still a satisfying meal in itself. The broth was really delicious and had great flavor, and the noodles were cooked perfectly, al dente with just the right amount of chew. The chashu was tasty, but the pieces are small and thin and there were only two in the bowl. That felt a bit stingy. I know the bowl is only $11.50, but at least one more piece of chashu would've sufficed given their overall size and cut. The chicken buns were good. I thought the BBQ sauce had a bit too much sweetness, but the pieces of karaage were super hot and cooked fresh and not on the small side like the chashu. The buns were soft but still had that perfect chew and denseness to hold up to the chicken. My biggest compliant is the nickel-and-diming on all the add-ons. Egg, corn, nori, bamboo shoots, and the "spicy bomb" are an extra $2 each, or you can do the combo add-on of chashu, an egg, and nori for $5. If you just want two extra pieces of chashu, it's $3. With the exception of extra meat, these add-ons aren't usually add-ons but are included in a typical bowl of ramen. Adding, say, an egg, nori, and bamboo shoots brings your reasonably-priced $11.50 bowl of ramen up to $17.50 -- on par with the average price of a bowl of ramen around the Bay Area, but smaller in size and without the experience of a sit-down, full-service restaurant. Overall, I liked Kuro-Obi. I thought the broth was really, really nice and the noodles were very delicious and well cooked. The guy behind the counter was also super nice and friendly. But the bowl being on the smaller side and the cost of the add-ons impacted my overall rating. I'd say give them a shot -- the novelty of being the only Kuro-Obi on the west coast and outside of New York City is kind of cool -- and see what you think. I'd try them again and especially so I can make the ramen spicy, but the cost would prevent me from eating here regularly even if I lived much closer.

I ordered the aka obi ramen and chicken karaage Aka obi ramen - chicken tasted bland, soup was very oily, and portion is small Karaage - paid $11.99 for 4 small pieces of chicken Overall, not worth it given the price, taste, and portion size. Paid too much for this meal and left very unsatisfied.

Plenty of other options for food at Hillsdale. I ordered the red belt ramen. The order took at least 20-30 minutes on a Saturday. There were only 2 people working, so they were definitely short staffed and it showed. They had to manage everything from cooking to cleaning to taking orders. I think a lot of people also placed orders online, which made it seem like no one was waiting for food at first. By the time I got mine, there was a big crowd of people waiting. When it comes to ramen, I look for the noodle and the soup. I will say that the soup here was pretty good, but it in no way made up for the noodles. They were super overcooked to the point that they were mushy. For the price/portion size/quality, I am definitely not returning because there are so many good ramen places around San Mateo.

I was shopping with mi madre one Monday at Hillsdale, the bane of my middle and high school experience. I remember when this was THE place to be. Years later (a lady never reveals her age!), and Hillsdale has gone upscale. The new food court is much larger, airier, brighter, and has better food (albeit pricier food.) I'd been to Uncle Tetsu's a few years ago when it was new and the bee's knees, but hadn't eaten a meal in that new food court before. My mom and I perused the offerings, and landed on Kuro-Obi. We love ramen and were fascinated by the TV showing a cool video of how their noodles were made. Such authenticity! My mom ordered the eponymous Kuro-Obi ramen ("black belt") with extra pork belly, and I tried the Aka-Obi ramen ("red belt") with extra pork belly. The red belt was spicier than the Kuro-Obi--we both agreed our broths were good, but the noodles were meh--they didn't stand out. Prices are cheaper than most ramen places in my good ol' hometown of San Mateo, which has in recent years emerged as something of a ramen haven or enclave; that being said, though portions are smaller, it is sort-of nice to not take leftover ramen home. Service was good and friendly and helpful--very busy at lunchtime. Will be back when I'm back at Hillsdale.

Was very excited to see Ippudo endorsed ramen place in the Peninsula and was so eager to try out. Visited this place during lunch today with my friend. Was disappointed with the portion sizes to be honest. Super small bowls and so pricy? And no where close to Ippudo noodles. I had the spicy ramen and it was ok. The small bowls made it so difficult to mix the noodles around. We ordered the combo buns coz they were the best parts of Ippudo. And they were alright too. Bit sweet. The buns are really soft just like I remember. Am not sure if I'd visit this again. It's located in the Hillsdale mall food court so it's either a hit or miss to find a spot.

they recently changed their menu, and honestly it sucks. they no longer make ramen, it's more like noodles in a bowl with some water. kuro-obi was never the best but at least they made decent ramen, now it's just overpriced mediocre noodles.

This is a pretty solid spot for food court ramen! I was impressed by the broth flavor -- it had a nice robust chicken flavor. The texture of the noodles were also springy and not soggy at all. Since this looks like an off shoot of Ippudo, the quality of noodles definitely makes sense now. The pork pieces were very tender. I only wish they gave a little bit more meat and noodles but it hit the spot. My bowl was ready pretty quickly. I also wanted a bun but they told me that would take ~20 minutes so I decided not to get it this time (I wasn't clear if that was standard or maybe it was just due to the weekend crowds). I will come back to grab a bite from here if I'm at the mall since there aren't other ramen places in this food court.

I didn't know that Ippudo had a food court version. Hillsdale mall is one of the places that my hubby and I frequent when we're tired of the Silicon Valley (yes it gets boring). We didn't realize how diverse the food court is in the mall and stumbled upon a ramen place. To my surprise it's by Ippudo! The lines get long here and their food is decent. Price also justifies it. The portions can be small, but it's reasonable. Staff is also very helpful and will guide you on what to order on the menu based on the favorites. They have appetizers like the buns, chicken karaage, shishito peppers and such. It's actually very similar to the actual Ippudo restaurants located in Cupertino and in Berkley.

I came here and got the vegetarian ramen because I was wanting a hot dish! The dish was prepared pretty quickly and when I finally got into the meal. The ramen lacked flavor. It honestly didn't have much of a taste so that was disappointing. The staff seemed pretty nice. I did have the veggie bun which I thought was the better dish between the two. It kind of seemed artificial but still tasted fine overall. It may have been an off day so I'm willing to give it one more fo.

Kuro-Obi is one of the reasons for making a trip to Hillsdale mall. Especially on a cold day. Their ramen soup is hands down delicious and the food court at Hillsdale is simply a beautiful indoor space. If you want great ramen, reasonable priced no fuss no lines in a socially distanced gorgeous hall, make a beeline for Kuro-Obi. And nice free covered parking as well. I usually get black garlic ramen, which is a crowd pleaser. Will warm you right up on a cold day!

I had a great experience at Kuro-Obi and absolutely love their red spicy ramen. It's got a subtle spiciness to it where you can still enjoy the tonkotsu broth. The broth isn't too oily and has great umami -- also not too creamy. The ramen noodles are thick and firm (not too chewy), which makes the whole noodle experience very enjoyable. The pork belly is tender and melts in your mouth. The ramen does not come with a soft boiled egg, however, I would recommend adding it to your ramen for an added cost of $2. They do a great job with the soft boiled egg too where the yolk is not watery, but still a nice gooey texture. Service is wonderful and it takes less than 5-10 min to get your order. Reasonable prices for an Ippudo ramen chain.

I had the chicken Kara-age bowl with rice and the shishito peppers, good flavor! The chicken was awesome with the garlic toppings and Mayo and unagi sauce and the peppers were nice and crunchy with the garlic salt... super good stuff!

Very bad. Ramen tasted like it had gone bad was too salty. I couldn't even finish it. Their quality has deteriorated and prices have increased. This used to be my favorite ramen place about a year back but will not be eating here again.

No buns? Stops serving at 6? Also the service guys crack me up. They didn't even care.

The noodles weren't cooked right because the staff was overly engrossed in their conversation. No careful timing on the cooking and sure enough they didn't come out right. All stuck together as shown in the picture. What makes Japanese food special is the attention to detail and it's just not here. Lots of other good ramen places in San Mateo to go to that will do it properly.

It is in mall foodcout. The ramen is good but portion is small. I like the red one. On weekend the line could be long. It is good place to grab quick lunch if you are craving for ippudo ramen.

Very mid ramen. Overpriced, especially that $2 ramen egg that was not good. There are a lot of better options for ramen in San Mateo. I won't go back.

The weather is chilly and ramen sounded very enticing! Ramen for $11, why not? Ordered the "black belt" and added the special combo. This was delicious and hit the spot. Also noticed the cup said Ippudo. If this is a fast food version, no wonder it's good! Eating at the actual Ippudo restaurant in NYC / SF starts at around $30 a bowl, after tax tip trimmings everything about $40. Here I also added their $5 combo which was 1 egg, 4 pork slices and 3 seaweed sheets. $18.91. Half price of Ippudo, all the taste, no wait, no crowds. Would give 4.5 stars if I could!

1.5 I'd say. Ended up here on a work lunch since we didn't have much time and this seemed like it had the biggest parking lot to work with. Getting water will be at the sink spouts either near the entrance over by here or across the eatery. I had gotten the karaage and the vegetarian ramen and added an egg. Personally, I would say avoid it overall. The karaage tasted bland, it was cold, the lemon added nothing; there was no inherent spice in the chicken itself. Personally because of the dish it came in I thought they had microwaved it since it had no texture either. The vegetarian ramen is a crime. The broth wasn't hot, didn't have flavor really. The seasoned tofu was just awful. Flavor profile is terribly wrong. Makes me feel like it was prepackaged or something. It's slightly sweet and the texture is unforgettable in the worst ways. The egg, cold and long cooked and refrigerated in a broth that doesn't have the gusto to warm it back up. I'd rather battle the bulge and risk being late than come here ever again. It wasn't inedible but that isn't a consolation really.

Ugh, too expensive for what you get. They also charge you almost $2 extra for an egg, which is just a hard boiled egg and nothing special. The flavor of the broth and quality of the chashu and noodles is good, but my main gripe is the portion. The bowl is tiny! For almost $15 I would expect at least something bigger than a paper soup bowl.

This is kind of confusing, it has the name Kuro Obi across the top but Ipudo in the bottom. So what is it ? Franchise of some sort ? Regardless, it really ruin the name Ipudo. In Japan Ipudo is a popular chain that only serves either a red or white ramen. It consistently delicious. Over here, the soup probably came from someone's industrial size package. It's a step up from grocery store chemical package, noodle was reasonable texture. The worst part, while I understand it's Covid but still worst was they served you in a wimpy paper bowl. The portion was small for the cost. Unless you are desperate, the experience was almost like bad street food in Asia.

I was actually pleasantly surprised with the portion for $10. I think it was a good fast food ramen option in a mall! The broth was flavorful and the noodles were good. Overall I would say it's a good light lunch option when you are on the go!