IPPUDO Berkeley — Restaurant in Berkeley

I'll break down this review into two parts: Food and Service.

Food: If you ever walk down Shattuck, you usually see a line (more during dinner) for this joint and let me tell you, its not worth it. The Ramen itself is good, but does not match up to the hype. And definitely doesn't justify the cost. Living in the Bay Area for a while, I can list many other Ramen spots that are much better. Off the top of my head, Marufuku and Shinmai are much better options in the East Bay. And if you are looking for something near Berkeley, Noodle Theory and the Ramen Shop are better options. (And all of these cost the same, if not more. Also have better overall experience). I used to frequent this place often, but the menu never changes, and there are hardly any new specials as compared to other places where it changes every couple of weeks. I would have given the place 3 - 3.5 stars if I were to judge it only on food, but that brings me to the next part, which is the service.

Service: Like I said before, I would frequent this spot quite often. For months at a stretch, it was Saturday brunch spot for me and my fiance every week. But on my last visit (and it has been last and will be), I had the following experience. My fiance and I were joined by a friend, and after waiting for a bit, we managed to get a table for 4. It was already 3 pm and most of the tables were empty. The minute we sat down, another of my friend who was 5 minutes away, said he would like to join us. Naturally, since we hadn't even opened our menus and had a spot empty on our table, I asked him to come over. When the server came around to take our orders, I ordered 4 ramen, to which the server said that if it is for another person, she won't take the order till they arrive. I explained that the person will be joining us in 5 mins, even before the food arrives, but this time, the hostess who was passing by, stopped and quite rudely refused because it wasn't "restaurant policy". Since I couldn't do much, I agreed. 5 minutes later, my friend arrived and the hostess started showing him a table, but when he said he was with us, all of a sudden she became very irritated and rudely started refusing him a place. After a couple of minutes she agreed to let him sit. Mind you, the food hasn't arrived yet. My friend goes ahead and orders food now, since they didn't take the order before. The waitress did take the order but made plenty of faces. When finally all the food arrives, the hostess came around while we were eating and started rudely lecturing us about how we were inconsiderate and holding up the table for longer and that she wouldn't allow this the next time. We just didn't reply back to be polite. But most of the tables were empty. And all of this could have been avoided if they had allowed us to order for 4 in the first place. We would not have held up anyone more than it needed to be. Me and my fiance have been regulars here and we always tip generously. And after that if the business fails to respect its regular customers, I would rather go some place else where they treat...

TL;DR Great as a nice lunch spot, or a place to catch up with your friends, but not for impressing a date.

Environment: Classy and yet casual. You wouldn't feel out of place here with a pair of jeans or khakis. Atmosphere is busy and chatty, with a classic ramen house background of chittering customers and chefs calling out orders and greetings.

Ramen: I had the Bonito Tonkotsu, with a side of chicken karaage and hot green tea. I'm surprised that the Tonkotsu did not come with shoyu-marinated eggs (as is traditional), but they did mention that in their menu. Chasu was tasty, but cooked at too high a temperature for too little a time. This resulted in a pork belly that did not melt in your mouth, and did not have a prominent enough shoyu taste. Unusual as well was that the pork belly was not rolled into a traditional round shape, resulting in an uneven balance of belly fat and meat when you bite into it. Broth had a good silky mouth feel and cloudiness, with a nice mellow sweetness from the pork. I feel that the Bonito was infused with the shoyu sauce that is mixed with the broth later rather than with the broth itself, as the soup had an initial burst of smoky bonito, followed by the mellow broth. Small nitpicking, but the bamboo shoots in my ramen were not sliced thinly, and were instead cut into 1/2 inch width sticks. This made it very difficult to bite into, though it did make them very crunchy.

Sides: The chicken karaage, as mentioned by other reviewers, was crispy and juicy, but either did not have enough seasonings or was not marinated for long enough to impart the classic karaage flavors. In addition, the karaage got a little soft if you left it sitting too long :( The hot green tea was little more than a single tea bag in a pot of hot water. For $4, I had expected at least more tea bags than given, and ideally loose leaf tea. The choice of having a cast iron tea pot and cups is cool (see picture), but terrible for good tea as the metal disapates heat too quickly for brewing tea, resulting in a weak lukewarm concoction.

Overall 7/10. Pretty good spot if you're craving ramen, but for the same price point, travel a little further for proper...

I had a very disappointing experience at Ippudo Berkeley CA on 08/31/25 around 7:12pm-7:30pm. When the food isn't good I usually don't say anything or post reviews I simply never return but the staff at this restaurant insulted my intelligence which is why I'm posting this review.

I had ordered the Bun Medley (1 Shrimp, 2 Chicken) because the menu photo showed the buns covered in a red sauce—similar to the saucy nuggets at Wendy’s which is exactly the reason why I ordered it.

When the dish arrived, the meat in the bun had a plain batter, with no sauce at all. I politely asked the server about this, and instead of acknowledging the issue, he told me the photo was “oversaturated”—which felt like an insult to my intelligence, since the picture clearly showed a red sauce. When I pressed further, he went to ask the chef and came back saying the photo was outdated, handing me a black sauce instead saying this was the sauce in the photo. I poured it on, expecting it to appear red, but it remained black. Again, this felt dismissive and dishonest implying I didn't know what I was looking at and was too stupid to notice.

If the menu photos are outdated, they should have been updated—otherwise it’s false advertising. I ordered based on the promise of a red sauce, not a bun with a plain battered meat & an overly salty and slightly sweet black sauce on the side.

On top of that, the chicken was overcooked with a chewy, burnt-tasting batter. Also, where I was seated smelled unpleasantly like a used bathroom.

I chose Ippudo because of its high ratings, but my experience was the opposite. Between the misleading menu photo, the poor food quality, the dismissive service, and the unpleasant environment, it was a very...