Shin-Sen-Gumi 2GO - Anaheim — Restaurant in Anaheim

Man, where do I even start? This is going to be a long and detailed review — and it’s BAD! I always tell people: don’t always trust Yelp ratings (good or bad) because a lot of them are biased and based purely on personal experiences. I usually trust them about 70%, and the other 30% I prefer to find out for myself.

Rating: ⭐️⭐️ (2/5) Category: Japanese Ramen / Quick Service Location: W Center Street Promenade, near S Lemon St, Anaheim

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📍 Location & Parking

This restaurant is located on W Center Street Promenade near S Lemon St, right next to the parking garage and House of Chimney Cakes. Okayama Kobo Bakery is just a few shops away (2–3 doors down). Parking is not an issue here — you’ll find plenty of options, including the parking garage, nearby street parking (green-zone 90-minute limit), and several parking stalls around the area.

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🍜 First Impressions

I came here thinking, “It’s a big, trustworthy brand — how bad could it be?” The Yelp rating was around 3.6 stars, and I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately, the reviews turned out to be accurate — if not generous.

This is an express version of Shin-Sen-Gumi, so I understand that service might be streamlined. But still — at least put some effort into staff presence, customer service, and food quality.

When I walked in, there wasn’t a single staff member at the front. No greeting, no assistance — nothing. There’s a kiosk for ordering, so I placed my order there: ramen, miso soup, and spam musubi, plus a bottle of black milk tea from the fridge beside the kiosk.

After a few minutes, I finally saw a staff member through the kitchen window. When I asked if I could just grab my drink, he looked at me strangely — not exactly the friendliest interaction.

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🍲 Food Quality

After waiting about 10 minutes, my order was ready. Since there were no indoor tables, I sat outside at one of the public tables (still not sure if they belong to the restaurant). • Miso Soup: Served in a paper hot cup — not a big deal, but odd presentation. The taste? Extremely watery. I’d say 5% miso flavor at best. • Ramen: The soup wasn’t hot, and neither were the noodles. Once poured together, the entire bowl was just lukewarm. The extra chashu I ordered separately wasn’t even warm — a real letdown. • Spam Musubi: Ironically, this was the best item I had. Flavorful and nicely done — the only reason I gave this place 2 stars...

honestly the worst possible experience ive ever had at a restaurant, ive never eaten anywhere where i couldnt even tolerate eating more than one bite but i guess i finally found a place that did that to me. if you want the saltiest most sodium filled food then come here because you are just going to get a mouth full of salt and seasoning. kobe beef is such good quality meat but they decided it needs to be covered head to toe with salt to the point where it was crunchy. i asked for karage with just rice and nothing else and they gave me karage soaked with the saltiest dressing ive ever had PLUS tons of mayo and TONS of green onions and TONSSS of cabbage. my friend got cheese balls but they were still undercooked on the inside and a chicken plate with yakitori and the chicken was undercooked as well. i was just so disappointed and sad and it was such a waste of money. i cant believe theres so many good reviews for this place when we had such an...

Honestly I was extremely disappointed in the food. I have had shin sen gumi in Irvine and the food is amazing! I know that other locations are equally as good so I thought this place would be perfect since it’s 1) local to me and 2) a to go location for convenience.

Unfortunately the broth lacked flavor and the body of it was just not what I have always experienced at the other locations. The Sam’s club tonkatsu ramens seem to have more flavor than what I ate here. I don’t usually send bad reviews but this was honestly so underwhelming that I hope to help anyone else who has also went into the restaurant with a great experience and wanting to try this to-go location.

Service was okay and the location is great for outside dining. Just overall not a great experience to...