Tajima Ramen East Village

Damn good ramen! We found this place a few blocks away from Petco park. We started with edamame and dumplings. Really good starters. Dumplings were tender and really tasty. Edamame was soft and good garlic flavor. For the ramen my son had the cream chicken ramen. It was good in flavor and chicken was soft and overall really good. I tried the carnitas ramen. It had the ramen flavor and pork was really good! It also had a pozole flavor. Really really good! My wife got the spicy pork ramen. Really good. Not too spicy but had a little bit of heat. But if your use to spice then it’s for you. All three ramens were really really good. For dessert we got the matcha cheesecake. Never would have thought to mix the two but it was good!! It was pretty good size slice. Staff was friendly and helpful. We sat outside and it was a nice ambience. They had heaters to keep warm. Over all experience was A+++ definitely will be back.

It's pretty damn good. Authentic feel; rich tasty broth that isn't overpowered with too much salt or sugar like some other ramen places. I'd definitely come back for some more 👍

I dined here on the recommendation of a friend. The service was quick and courteous. The atmosphere is very authentic. I had a pork ramen dish that was the special for the month. The egg with the ramen was slightly sweet and the broth was great. Overall a good option for ramen/Asian food in San Diego.

I like the vibe of the location. Went there during the happy hour and enjoyed the good deals of Sapporo beer (They also have karaage and edamame). Brussel sprout tempura was good, but can be better. The dipping sauce was not for tempura. Ramen was delicious!! My friend and I almost cleaned out all the soup. The portion was decent. Only problem so far was the ramen was a bit slow, we waited around 20 minutes after appetizer. But it is very understandable because it was afternoon. We still enjoy the meal here.

This place was alright but it didn’t quite live up to the expectations we had had based on the other reviews. For starters, the service is extremely slow! We are just two people and we waited easily close to an hour for our two ramens, so don’t come hungry or you’ll end up getting hangry before your food arrives. I hate to think what the wait would be if we’d been more people! The kimchi appetizer was a teeeeeeny tiny portion and just ok, nothing special. $4.50 dollars for a small spoonful was not really worth it. As for the ramen, it was tasty, no complaints there. The waitresses were friendly, but the service was just super-slow! When we were ready to pay the bill, no one came to get our card to make the payment! So we went in to ask to pay so we could go. We spent nearly 2 hours here…the majority of that time was spent waiting. I would not recommend this restaurant because there are plenty of restaurants in the area with comparable quality food but with far better service.

Very delicious and filling meal. I ordered ramen and a side of takoyaki which was quite delicious. The employees were very friendly and explained a few dishes when I asked. The decor was pleasant as well.

Spicy ramen had hardly any spice it was actually bland along with the rice, definitely over hyped, oh yeah and to the waitress who gave me a second look because I didn't tip you guys didn't check on me once since serving me, yeah try another place this one is way overhyped

We went here for lunch on a weekday. The food is really good. Especially the takoyaki are amazing with the moving decoration 😊. Also the ramen are delicious and quite a big portion. Overall pretty good value for money.

jasmine and aldo have been nothing but amazing. the vibes are on point. 10/10 being in m the industry iha felt nothing but love and authentic hospitality

Food was great Service super even though they were about to close Nice ambience Quick service

First time trying Tajima, located just a short walk from the Gaslamp district. For a Saturday night, it wasn't busy, and had a nice ambiance and quick service. Ordered the traditional tonkotsu ramen with the chicken chasu rice. The rice itself was wonderful, it was well-seasoned with a good mix of peas, carrots, egg and corn and a sharable portion size. The chicken was a bit off, with the texture almost of microwaved or frozen meat. The ramen itself was delicious! It was not too salty with rich thick broth and generous portion size of noodles. However, the meat was inedible. It was a letdown for such a good bowl of ramen. It was served as a large, thick hunk that was chewy and full of fat. I could not eat it. I've never had meat prepared in this way for ramen and was disappointed. I'm unsure if all the meat was off since it was the end of the night but every other part of the meal was tasty!

best ramen in downtown -- yeah, i said it .. I always get to-go from here and i'm loyal to the "Tajima Red" .. the broth, the spice, the textures .. just such a developed flavor that is hard to forget. The "Garlic Edamame" and "Karaage" are a must to start too .. With so many options in the city for ramen -- you must try Tajima and see what the hype is all about. To-go orders are always packaged securely, the food is always consistent..

LOOOOOOVE this place it's so cozy and a great spot to hang with friends. Service is great, very friendly and quick. We got the tajima fries to share and their special curry. I recommend both, food is amazing

This is some of the best ramen we have ever had! What a find!! When we walked in, we looked around and thought, "we're going to like this place," with the mix of tradition and modern decor. We felt cool just sitting down. We snacked on the warm garlic edamame before they brought us the chicken Katsu bun, which was a softness surrounding the crispy and savory chicken. The star of the show was the ramen which was rich with flavor with unique options. I had the carnitas and my son the chicken. The spiciness was on point and we couldn't get enough of it. Clearly much went into the broth, meat, and noodles. It truly was irresistible. And we appreciate the planning that went into every aspect of Tajima Ramen. I loved that the service was a team effort with everyone helping out and taking excellent care of us. We cannot wait to visit again.

Ramen was amazing, although service was mid as the staff was not attentive at all nor did they provide any great customer service. The table also didn't look completely clean either. But the ramen itself was delicious, broth was very flavorful and had the perfect spice and kick to it. I do wish they offered the char siu slices instead of the braised whole pork belly but it was still so good I would come back for another bowl. It hit the spot and gave me the comfort I was looking for.

Perfect place for a casual dinner. Parking is terrible around this area- uber or walk or find a public lot and pay and walk. Black Ramen and Shoyu Ramen are full of toppings and delicious. Carnitas ramen is really interesting. Drinks are decent, but better options around. Crispy tuna rice was slightly burnt but tuna was good. Service is quick and nice!

Still my fav ramen place but not impressed with the chicken fried rice. Was very basic and overpriced

A casual, modern ramen spot with several locations around San Diego. We got there shortly after they opened, but for some reason, it took 45 minutes after we sat down to get our food. The servers were nice, no complaints there, but the wait was pretty long. Personally, I think the spots in Convoy and near the college are better.

Time for another slightly older (pre-COVID) review: I really am hoping to get these all finished by the end of the week). I first came here with my roommate, and our experience with them was a very positive one. Tajima has a cozy and warm feel to it. The tables were close together, but far enough apart to provide some privacy. When my roommate and I came for supper, the place was absolutely packed. However, we were seated quickly. I loved getting to see the chefs at work. They were hustling! We showed up right at the tail end of Happy Hour. At the time, Happy Hour was from 3-7 p.m. Not sure if this has changed. The special for the month was their Impossible Ramen. I contemplated that as my main meal, but I was really craving meat. All prices were listed on the menu, and I thought everything was reasonable, especially for the area. Ordered an appetizer to share and a bowl of ramen with an extra half ramen egg each. I'm obsessed with ramen eggs. I've actually started making them at home on occasion. The appetizer arrive less than 15 minutes after ordering, and our ramen bowls were on our table 3 minutes after the appetizer. Absolutely impressive how quickly everything showed up. My roommate ordered one of the pork ramens, and I ordered the creamy chicken. The food was fresh, tasted delicious, and was hot.

Ok...so the service is a tiny bit slow, I'll agree with others. But the red Tajima was sooooooo good. The spice level is just enough and the broth flavor was really yummy! The gyoza and karaage were standard but I'm sad imma go back to San Jose and can't be a regular for the red Tajimaaaaaa. The vibe is chill, kinda like a bar with ramen.

I went to Tajima during its happy hour on a Friday. It was about to end and it wasn't too busy. They have happy hour Monday to Friday 2-5 PM, which features two appetizers and two drink specials on the menu (pictured). We got the two drink HH specials, HH chicken karaage and two bowls of ramen. The small sake has about three rounds for two people. The chicken karaage with the side of spicy mayo was good with about 6 pieces. I had the seasonal ramen that had ribeye slices, truffle, tomato and onions. It was okay but I wouldn't get it again. My friend got his usual spicy ramen and he said it was delicious as always. The service was friendly but the timing of the food was rather slow, even though it wasn't busy. I have also ordered from here for pickup and it was always ready when it was supposed to be ready and haven't encountered any mistakes in the orders either. This was my first time dining in. By the time, we left the place filled up but they have plenty of outdoor and indoor seating.

Super friendly staff!!!! I wish I got our servers name but she was very polite, very friendly, and gave us amazing recommendations for what to try. We were in town for comic con and it was busy but not crazy busy. They took our order pretty quick. I ordered the new sesame spicy ramen My husband got the tajima ramen with the white broth We also got the gyoza and garlic edamame. Everything was so flavorful, the broth in the ramen was very rich and thick. More than your usual ramen broth. I love spicy food, wish the ramen was a bit spicier but doesn't take away the great taste. Would come back again!

Our party of 5 came in on a Thursday afternoon, about an hour and half before closing and we still had to wait ~30-45 minutes for a table, but it was well worth the wait. I opted for the pink lemonade and the tajima red. The pink lemonade seemed quite standard as far as non-alcoholic drinks go (was sweet but not overly so). The tajima red was delicious! The noodles were cooked well, the broth was flavorful and hearty, and the bok choy was not overly cooked. Service was spectacular; despite being busy, our server checked in on us multiple times to ask how the food was and/or if we needed something else.

The price point was fair for downtown and menu overall had a good mix of items. We tried the special Pokémon sake trio, but unless you prefer overly sweet, cool but not cold, overly sweet flavored sake, this may not be for you. For the good, the kids size chashu bowls were a great option for the little ones, and at $8 they were more than reasonable. Our ramen broth wasn't the most creamy or complex we've had, but they were pretty good and really hit the spot. The noodles had the perfect amount of chew, and good overall flavor. The restaurant itself had a cool vibe and nice aesthetic, but though the service was great at the beginning it had fallen off when we tried to track someone down several times for more drinks and couldn't flag anyone down for about 30 minutes. Despite that, we would like to come back again and try some of their other options.

Food was great and service was excellent. Cool vibes, nice corner spot on the street.

My husband and I went on a busy night before closing. They were short staffed but they handled it like champs! We both loved our ramen. Very flavorful and the noodles were perfect.

Ordered the Spicy Sesame Ramen and have zero complaints, the food was amazing! Highly recommend! Waiters checked on us frequently even considering that the restaurant was almost full. My gf ordered the Tajima Black and it was delicious as well if you like creamy ramen!

If you want amazing ramen in a nice atmosphere, look no further! I got the "white" Tajima ramen and was blown away at the tenderness of the pork and cook on the ramen noodles. Service was as expected. Try the special!

The weather was nice and I liked that the windows were left open. I was seated immediately for my party of two and waited until my friend came so we could order at the same time. Both bowls came out at the same time. My ramen was tasty. Definitely tasted like there was some gochujang in the broth. It was richer than I had expected and didn't have as nutty a flavor as expected but overall was very good and perfectly filling. Parking situation isn't ideal in East Village so I'm likely to try another location next time. Nonetheless, a nice spot to grab a bite with a friend.

This restaurant is so good, I had to come back the following day. Easily located on the corner of an intersection, walking to this location is no problem and the visibility makes it simple to find. I've always enjoyed more of the "hole in the wall" feel to a restaurant and this delivers; it's super cozy. While the menu looked very impressive, there are a few staples I MUST have at any new ramen house- their house ramen, gyoza, and karaage. My goodness, everything was so wonderful. The chicken was bursting with flavor and was so juicy. The gyoza was the perfect marriage of crispy yet soft. And the ramen? There is nothing better for the soup on an overcast day than a big, delicious bowl of ramen. The chashu was honestly one of my favorites. The broth was the highlight of the bowl, as it should be. What a beautiful depth or flavor.

WOW. What a solid Ramen joint in East Village. Perhaps some of the best ramen in all of San Diego in general. Very thankful I stopped by today for lunch. Stopped by on a Sunday at noon and they had plenty of seating of available so we were very happy to be served right away. The inside was very modern and loved the decor. Service was great and on point. Solid menu with a good variety of appetizers, ramen, rice, and drinks. We ordered the gyoza and the tempura brussel sprouts and they were both incredibly amazing. Cooked to perfect and bold sauces served on the sides the elevated each bite for both dishes. Would rate them both a 10 out of 10. I ordered the Spicy Seaseme ramen and added corn and it was hands down a great bowl of ramen. So rich in flavor and had the perfect spice level for someone like me who loves a good kick but not too overbearing. It was perfect. Would rate my dish a 10 out of 10 as well. My sister and my girlfriend both ordered the Vegetable ramen and they both were very impressed with their meal. They both loved the noodles especially that came with the ramen. They both rated this dish a 10 out 10 as well. Overall, do you your life a favor and come here if you love ramen. You will not regret it. Please be sure to try the following I reccoemnded if your into this dishes as it is. Can't wait to come back soon!

This is the best ramen for your money in downtown. A classic staple of San Diego with multiple locations. High-quality ramen, great prices, good service, and just all around tasty. Don't be fooled by Be-Shock, locals know that Tajima is where it's at. It is good every single time. I like the Tajima Fries, spicy pork ramen with egg and extra chasu. All the side dishes are good as well. Been going here for years, and will continue to support this gem.

Friendly staff, great ambiance, food was just okay. Very average ramen, chicken karaage was way overcooked, almost burned. Went on a Friday night and it was pretty empty which was great, but I would definitely prefer some of the other big name ramen spots in San Diego.

Had a great time introducing my family to ramen! Everyone loved the taste! We enjoyed looks of the restaurant at night with kind table delivery! Our order did not take long and was fresh! The price is reasonable. I would bring my family again if they wanted comfort tasting ramen.

Located in the East Village, the restaurant has a Blade Runner like ambience - Asian, industrial, a bit dark, with lots of bright colored lights. The service is a little slow. Be prepared to wait. My spicy tuna hand roll was literally chopped spicy tuna with rice rolled in a seaweed wrap. Somehow I expected more artistry in the presentation. Ramen was tasty but missing some ingredients listed in the menu (wood ears). It was very basic. The food was not that impressive. The ambience was interesting for the "cool" vibe.

It's definitely nice to have a ramen spot in East Village and the location is close enough to the Gaslamp, but distanced enough to give you some peace from the hectic crowds. I've eaten here many times over the years, and have not had any issues with finding street parking. It's unfortunate the adjacent streets are riddled with so many homeless people, but they stay on the other side of the street. The interior is charmingly decorated and cozy, much preferred to the other Tajima locations. Service here is overall good, but not as good as it used to be pre-pandemic. The ramen is pretty good, but the temperature of the soup is inconsistent. There have been times where it's nice and hot, but sometimes it's like warm. No ramen is enjoyable when the broth isn't hot. My usual go to is the original Tonkotsu ramen, which they've now named: Tajima Ramen '23. My partner ordered the Creamy Chicken Ramen, which is pretty good considering it's chicken broth based. The noodles have a good bounce and bite to them. I always order a Chili Bomb to accompany my ramen for that lovely kick of spiciness. Chicken Karage is usually a fave of mine, but the Karage here is just alright. Its seasoning is on the light side and the spicy mayo is bland. Overall a decent ramen restaurant that you can always get a quick ramen fix at.

We were visiting from Los Angeles and we are not new to Ramen. Tajima Ramen East Village portions were small. The taste was good but SALTY! We got the garlic edemame, vegan ramen, and vegetarian fried rice. All salty! The soy sauce-marinated tofu was super salty. The chili oil that came with the rice was salty, the additional chili on the table was also salty. If you like salty foods the food is good! I don't have any medical issues but if you have blood pressure issues, bring extra blood pressure medication doses with you:)

This restaurant has great food, but the restaurant is surrounded by so many homeless and drug addicts. Once you walk in the restaurant, it has a super strong urine smell, so gross. And those homeless drug addicts coming in n out restaurant asking for money. I feel very bad for this restaurant owner. What Gavin Newsom is doing?! What the US presidents doing?! It's so embarrassing as a developed country, America's most city downtowns are so gross and unsafe! You don't see this grossness in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and even not in South America!

Delicious food! My ramen was perfect in a rich and flavorful pork broth . edamame were okay, good flavor just a little smoosh for my taste but still good Service was promo as well

its ok Tonkitsu was nice ribeye with truffle boil was just OK Tajima with sesame oil was hust okay may be netter with traditional white soup base

Tajima Ramen's reputation is a long history of quality ramen; this East Village location is no different. Flavorful and creamy, you will not be disappointed. I especially liked more contemporary/fusion options. The fries were a hit and delicious. A quality location from a restaurant with a reputation of great food. You won't be disappointed.

Solid experience and good people working there. Spicy Sesame Ramen is quite good. I'd be interested to try the traditional Tonkotsu since there was a nice depth to the broth underneath the spice. The matcha cheesecake was also really good. One slice is more than enough for one person! Go there and have some good ramen!

Somehow this place is called the best ramen in San Diego, which I really disagree with. The ramen is good, not amazing. The selection is also lacking.

Tried for the first time. Outstanding! Fried rice with carnitas added was superb as was the Carnitas ramen! Service was great as well. Already looking forward to coming back and I haven't even left yet.

We ordered the Tajima fries as an appetizer and for our entree we ordered the Truffle Ribeye Ramen and Carnitas Ramen. Everything was so delicious and tasteful. The food was fresh and came out faster than we expected. The service was great. Everyone was friendly, welcoming, and informative. Highly recommend this location.

A solid 4/5 for me! Finally got to try Tajima which has a few locations around San Diego. The closest one to us is in East Village which has really cute interiors. Ordered the tajima ramen which is amazingly creamy, has flavorful broth, and perfect tamago. The chashu is not the best I've had but it's still good! I also love their al dente noodles. Definitely going to be one of my go-to ramen spots from now on! We also got the karaage chicken with a side of rice. The chicken was very juicy and tad crispy. It can use a bit more flavor though and I prefer my karaage with kewpie instead of spicy mayo. Overall bill came to just around $27 which is actually not as expensive as other ramen spots in town.

Had the carnitas ramen and gyoza app. The carnitas and noodles seemed fine however the broth seemed to be all oil and made the whole dish undesirable. The gyoza was on the smaller side but fine. About five hours after having dinner my stomach woke me up and has been dealing with it since for the past couple days. Their ordering when you walk in could use some help as there isn't much of a waiting/queuing area.

I was VERY skeptical when we arrived to this black painted picnic table interior... with SALT AND PEPPER on the tables. LOL. However, The ramen is some of the best ever as a Japanese girl who grew up in Hawaii. I loves the broth and I personally LOVEEE egg noodles. They were chewy and cooked perfectly. The egg was perfectly seasoned as well. The sushi rolls tho I would pass on them tho. Soggy. Blah lol. Also I got the chicken with the tonkotsu broth -- I would pass on that too. It was dry lol. But honestly broth and noodles were so good that this is still a solid 5 star place.

Great food and vibes but the service though.... I walk in with a group of 6. Normally, you order at the entrance and you seat yourself. we tell the girl we will all be paying separately and she tells us if its more than 4 different checks we need to order through their app....... this made no sense but we do it anyways so we sit. scan the qr code to order online. order online. and wait... and wait... we all get our waters and wait .. then the waiter comes and bluntly asks "are you guys just going to order water?" ....wow we tell him we ordered through the app bc that's what we were told and he realizes he hasn't been checking the order coming through the app. So now we wait some more and finally... we eat. Their food wasn't bad. We were all so hungry so we enjoyed our dish. Price was a little too over priced but it could just be because we came from Texas and we aren't used to ridiculous Cali prices.

I ordered food through Uber Eats and the driver needed to wait for additional orders. The food I ordered was not kept warm. All of the items arrived cold from a half a mile distance. It was completely unacceptable.

Pretty bad experience. Went in on a Sunday night, 12/1/24, to the delight of a fairly empty restaurant. Was fine but when we got out ramen, both the creamy chicken and regular ramens were very bland with poor prep work. The pork belly in my ramen was nearly all fat with that little meat existing cooked to an off gray color. I asked if I could have another portion, of which the next was nearly the same (all fat, absolutely no browning or color). In addition to this, my noodles were undercooked and the broth itself had hardly any flavor. For the creamy chicken, were used to the other restaurants (specifically Hillcrest RIP) where it came with veggies... this did not... so we after the fact asked for a side of the only veggie/starch I was told they had on-hand -corn. After 10 l mins sans corn, I asked someone else for a side and they promptly brought it. 5 mins later our, regular server finally came back with a side of corn, to the surprise we already had one at the table. What was he doing that entire time? There were 2 other tables with customers in the whole restaurant and 4 workers just standing at the bar. Tajima used to have my favorite Ramen in all of CA, but I'll never come back if I have another experience like this. Hope this absolutely trash food and service is specific to the crew that worked that night. My server repeatedly said "I got chu" but I in fact was not got.

Wouldn't recommend. I have been to many ramen spots across the US and was very much so not impressed by this one. First, the establishment smelled so bad like a horse stable. We almost walked out before eating because it was that unbearable. It took quite some time to get waters. There is no soy sauce or chili oil on the table. Quality of food was okay. Disappointed by the toppings too.

It saddens me to have to update my glowing review for this establishment. We recently came in and sat outside waiting to place our order. Sadly, despite being one of two parties in the restaurant, we couldn't grab the attention of staff members talking to each other while waiting to order. We got up and left. Terrible experience and we will never come back. Shame on the management or there of... never again

I've come here a few times for their happy hours because it's so good. The carnitas ramen is the best fusion ramen I've had. The mini churros have no filling which I love. The beer is cheap as well. You do have to order with at the front or you can use the QR codes on the table and order that way. Definitely one of my favorite ramen spots in San Diego.

Finally tried out Tajima in East Village. Seeing the hype on Google and Yelp, I was excited but.. fell flat. Service was great and food came out in timely manner. 2 Stars for that. Paid first and then got seated. Soda was not refillable. The inside was a bit hot and I'm not sure if they have A/C running or not. Garlic Edamame: Appetizer was fire. Best tasting thing of the night. Recommend for sure. Tajima Ramen: 2/5. Tonkotsu Base ramen. The soup was bland, noodles tasted like a finer version of maruchan but with bounce. Chashu was great though!! This batch today was not it... Spicy Sesame Ramen: 2/5. Spicy Tonkotsu Base ramen. This one had a bit more flavor in the soup. Noodles same issue again, texture and taste wasn't there. The ground pork was okay, but it overall lacked depth of flavor. Overall, the prices were okay, but the food was not it today. Maybe I'll try out the one in convoy instead. Won't recommend this one in East Village for a while. There's definitely much better ramen in SD.

Round of applause for Tajima Ramen so so yummy! We came in from the beach and we were feeling a bit chilly in the nighttime so opted for some ramen and I was looking between places around the city but so happy we ended here. I had the white ramen without corn and I finished my whole bowl! My husband had the black ramen he liked it but was a little more oily. I saw other reviews say the broth was oily but I think it depends which one you get because my white ramen wasn't. We eat ramen a lot and have pretty high standards and this place is definitely in our top ramen places we've tried! The noodles are delectable you can tell they are made really well and the soup base was mmm mmm YUMMM! Mouth watering could not get enough I was gulping the broth and making a mess it was TOO GOOD! The meat in the ramen was really thick too which I appreciated. And the baby bok choy was a nice addition in the soup. I told my husband I wanted the ramen again the night after, really wish they had Tajima in our area we definitely would be regulars. The service was good got sat right away and ordered about 10 mins after. My husband also appreciated the draft beer and late night happy hour. Didn't get a picture cause I was too hungry but take my word for it this is the best ramen place in the city!

You order upon entry and get seated afterwards. Gyoza was standard/good but on the small side. Ramen didn't come with much broth and the broth it did come in was extremely greasy (both the carnitas one and the spicy one) and not drinkable.