The Best Ramen Shops in San Mateo
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The best ramen shops in San Mateo, according to the experts: Michelin Guide and San Francisco Chronicle have both weighed in, and their honors are what rank this list. Kajiken comes out on top.
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Rank 1. Kajiken
Japanese Noodle Shop
The bar seats face a glass-walled noodle room where someone is forever converting spools of dough into the springy, house-made strands in your bowl. Kajiken is a Japanese soba shop specializing in aburasoba, a brothless style where oils and sauces do the heavy lifting instead. The concentrated flavor catches you off guard the first time. A table caddy of vinegar, hot sauce, and powdered nori lets you keep adjusting until it's exactly right. Expect a line at peak hours.
The awards
- Michelin Guide Michelin Guide: Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle: Best ramen restaurants in the SF Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle: Best restaurants in Palo Alto, San Jose, the Peninsula and South Bay
- Michelin Guide Selected Restaurant
- San Francisco Chronicle Best ramen restaurants in the SF Bay Area
- San Francisco Chronicle Best restaurants in Palo Alto, San Jose, the Peninsula and South Bay
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Rank 2. Taishoken
Japanese Noodle Shop
Tsukemen is the format here: chilled house-made noodles served separately from a thick, concentrated broth so gelatinous it coats every strand on contact. The broth, built from chicken, pork, dried anchovies, and bonito, is intense enough that you can ask for dashi to thin it for sipping once the noodles are gone. This San Mateo shop is the first U.S. location of an old-school Tokyo institution credited with popularizing the style.
The awards
- San Francisco Chronicle San Francisco Chronicle: Best ramen restaurants in the SF Bay Area