Kazan Beverly Hills — Restaurant in Beverly Hills

Some notes to be aware of.

I just noticed now that the tab actually has a 4.5% kitchen gratuity tucked in. I never checked before and never noticed. This 4.5% is computed against the listed price of the items pre-discount. So this alone can be almost equivalent to the tip you would have left for the actual food after discount.

I also noted when there was a $9 ramen promo going on, I went a few times. I don’t look at my bill and blindly put a tip. It occurred to me that the tip was computed off the original price. My mental math made me realize that after thinking how a $9 ramen turned into a $20, after I gave a generous 30% tip.

Just FYI.. —

No.1 - The “signature ramen” - this is their rendition of the shoyu ramen. I tried it again today and was quite impressed with it now. If you ask for it to be less salty, it will actually be not as salty. You will be decently captivated by the strong truffle aroma from the get go.

No. 9 - they call it the Chasu men. I did find the “9” was more pleasant to the taste. The No 9 is chicken broth based. It has a slight sweetness to it. One personal choice , I am not as fond of the pork chasu here. I’ll go with the chicken chasu instead.

Lei Ramen- this is Kazan’s rendition of the Dandan ramen. It has a slight spiciness to it. There will a texture to the soup. It is an excellent ramen.

Kaiten Ramen - The “tonkotsu” ones I tried were decent, although I do think it is a bit overpriced for a lunch that is close to $50. Finally got to try it again with the on going 40% discount promo. I noticed the slight sweetness more on the broth flavor profile. It is a lighter tonkotsu. A lot more delicate in flavor that other tonkotsu I had. I wouldn’t call it special enough to be anything more than $18.

No. 3 - is the creamy chicken broth ramen. That was incredibly good. The key thing is for you to ask to have the saltiness decreased , yes you can ask for that. They will do it. The broth has a thick truffle flavor. I chose the chicken toppings as I was not a fan of the pork cuts I had before. The wonton was excellent!

No. 2 Salt ramen - this is the lighter version of the Signature ramen. In Japan they’ll call this Shio ramen. Kazan’s rendition added a strong hint of truffle oil to the flavor. Do not you MUST ask for ‘less salty’ to enjoy it.

Overall it is a decent place.

There is now a special take out menu:

Yaosobi Jidori Shoyu - a deep umami flavor on the chicken broth. There are bits of ground meat toppings and fresh onion bits to balance out the oil. The noodle is kind of strange looking with different thickness. There might be a reason it was cut as such as it looks intentional. This item is only for take out.

Yaosobi Jidori Shio - wow that was really good. The broth has this depth of taste that is quite remarkable. Probably my fave among these summer special.

Yaosobi Miso Mazesoba - Initially I don’t know what to make of this. It is Mazesoba that has a spicyness to it. It also has a bit of sweetness to it. It does that taste like your traditional Mazesoba. There is hardly any bonito flavor you’d expect in a Mazesoba. Certainly worth a try. It occurred to me that this is more of a Kazan adaptation of Chinese Xian style Biang Biang mien. It has that style of spice , although has a hint of fermented soy beans in flavor kind of like what you’ll taste in a bottle of Wang Gan Ma. The sweetness is also what jumps out as well that pulled it away from a traditional Biang Biang mien. It is actually quite good.

they have a promo going on that gives a free Miso one if you order a Shio or Shoyu to-go.

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Tried the Galaxy ramen, a vegetarian ramen with a blue tint broth. The broth was served cold and a refreshing one for summer. The sweet corn on it was super sweet. I personally never a fan of vegetarian ramen. I did enjoy this quirky variety. Still worth a try with the promotion for $15...

I've passed by this place multiple times, and wondered what it was, eventually finding out it was going to be a ramen spot. Original Tatsu founder, Ryu, is behind Kazan.

Got the spicy lamb chop ramen that’s served with handmade shin soba noodles of varying thickness in a claypot that’s like a Sichuan-esque hotpot. Server recommended it, took 10-15 minutes since she said it’s pretty much done from scratch. The spiciness is pretty up there initially, with some ma la numbing. I've read on a forum that their other bowls like the truffle shio were salt bombs. Mine was fine, teetering on the border of being too salty, but just right. After a while though, once the spiciness abated, it’s more apparent that it might actually be a little bit too salty, even for a savory fanatic like me. Noodles were nice, with a supple bite to them. Not exactly sure why the widths range from thin to thick. If I had to pick one, I’d go with the thickest variety looking like fettuccine since it might be a better fit in a Sichuan hot pot riff. Lamb chops were seared and cooked to medium. It wasn’t that strong of a sear as I would usually want, maybe this was the chef’s intention. There wasn’t that much flavor if simply eaten by itself, but because of the on-point doneness, it’ s easy to dip the chops in the spicy broth and bite the meat off and is kind of fun to do. Reminded me of the lamb chop “popsicles” I had at Vij’s in Vancouver where you could similarly have the curry as a dip. Would I prefer maybe slices of [seared] lamb belly instead? Possibly, it could work better, I’m not 100% sure.

Lotus chips were pretty good, thinly sliced and fried tossed in a bit of salt.

The space itself is pretty cool and modern, with the noodle machines by the window like some pasta shops or Italian restaurants. Service was very friendly and attentive. Ryu came by to ask for feedback too. Saw someone else instructing a staff member how the kitchen works, looks like they’re still working out kinks.

I'm not sure what to make of Kazan. Currently it tastes like a 4/5, but I rated it 3/5 mainly because of the pricing, the biggest dealbreaker is the price tag, the lamb chop ramen being the most expensive bowl at $35, others in the high $20s. It’s very interesting for sure and there’s quite a bit to like I think even though the execution doesn’t land perfectly. La Cienega in BH is restaurant row, but even then, $25-$35 for ramen is hard to justify unless it’s world class. Granted, Kazan has only been open for a month, and I think Ryu does care in trying something different. And especially on a historical, established street with powerhouse restaurants like Matsuhisa and Lawry's nearby, it might be the kind of restaurant to break the mold and inspire change. Reminded me of MTN when I had the dungeness crab ramen, which also had a really good, unique broth, noodles were ok, and that was already expensive at 26 bucks. I guess if one considers the Asian noodles vs Italian pasta argument certain chefs like David Chang debate regarding cost and pricing, maybe I could see a day where such a price could be justified. Lamb isn’t the cheapest meat in the world and I’ve definitely had worse tasting [seafood] pasta that cost the same or more, served in smaller portion sizes, like at Madeo. Then again, there's Iki Ramen in Ktown doing a great job with a number of different ramens and small dishes while being much cheaper. But I do hope that Kazan succeeds in some shape or form in trying to be an artisan spot serving uniquely tasting bowls of ramen. Let’s just say I left on a somewhat optimistic note, interested to try the parmesan yuzu chicken leg ramen I had my eye...

I came here on a whim whilst my significant other and I were looking for places to eat for a date. I had been recommended Kazan Beverly Hills before and chose to eat here. Below is my total experience from parking to leaving (a TL:DR is available below).

There is parking at the front paid through a meter. There is also parking on the right side of the establishment, although this lot is valet only, costing $9.00 as of 11/14/2022. Parking was not an issue for us since it was a Monday evening, however, I could see how parking could potentially be an issue for busier days. I would definitely plan looking at available parking locations through Google Maps if parking could be an issue. The valet employees were mostly kind, accept for this one employee who seemed to be annoyed by me asking if he could open my vehicles trunk for me. The location of the restaurant is also very nice. The area was clean and the ambiance was relaxing on a Monday evening.

Arriving to the restaurant, we were seated after a couple of minutes waiting. Menus are given through QR codes that will be scanned through your phone. Menu items are priced accurately in-house. We thought their appetizers were a bit pricey, so me and my significant other decided to skip them all-together and instead ordered 2 waters, 1 green-tea, 1 Purely Vegan Soba, and 1 Lei Ramen. This was all priced at a total of ~$70, not included our tips.

Whilst it is quiet expensive to eat at this location, the ramen was worth it. Beginning with the Purely Vegan Soba, the broth and the noodles were amazingly flavorful. Each bite was packed with a variety of tasteful seasonings and treats. The toppings all blended together, and the ginger placed on the side tasted fantastic. More on the noodles: they were soft and cooked perfectly. You could tell the noodles were freshly made. The same is said for the Lei Ramen. The spices were amazing and the beef was so soft, it melts into your mouth. I was, at first, questioning the raw onions in my broth, but after tasting it with the broth, it was a great addition. The noodles in the Lei Ramen are different from those in the Purely Vegan Soba. The noodles were thin, but plentiful, and were also packed with flavor. Overall, both dishes were amazing. Their portion sizes were also perfect. As for the green-tea, it was delicious as well. These are indeed the best noodles I have ever had in Los Angeles, surpassing the popular Tatsu Ramen and other up-scaled noodle shops.

Our servers were also very friendly and were quick with services and requests. I had forgotten their names unfortunately, but they were working on 11/14/2022 in the evening. Props to them for providing an amazing experience, the same goes out to the cooks as well.

Upon leaving the restaurant, we got back to our car and left with wanting more. It was an amazing experience and the noodles, in addition to the customer service, were some of the best we have ever had. The only issue is the price. $70 for two people with the items we ordered is expensive. Me and my significant other chose split the bill. Is it worth it for $70? In my opinion, I would say yes for those special occasions where amazing noodles must be served, like a birthday or a graduation.

I wished I took pictures whilst in the restaurant so I could provide a visual representation of the ambience and the noodles we ordered.

[TL:DR] A pricey, but amazing experience. Without starters, expect to spend $30-$50. Noodles are fantastic—we had ordered the Purely Vegan Soba and the Lei Ramen. I recommend planning parking on holidays and...