KAITO — Restaurant in Capitola

Came here because my in-laws swore by the amazing ramen you can find here. They are locals, and my husband and I love to visit and try all their favorite restaurants when we’re in town.

Kaito means ‘meeting’ in Japanese. We had a delightful experience sitting out on their patio, during the perfect time before sunset. It was warm and not too breezy. Surrounded by succulents and passion fruit vines, it was such a nice setting.

They serve traditional style tonkotsu ramen, which hails from the Southern prefecture of Fukuoka in Japan. Their broth contains a mix of chicken and pork, but they do have a vegan broth available upon request. Add all kinds of toppings like a soft boiled egg (highly recommended) and sea veggies.

They have a full sushi bar so you can enjoy sashimi and fresh hand rolls of your choice. Our waiter was very nice. I ordered hot green tea and the refills were welcomed and soothing.

Price-wise, it is not cheap. For 3 bowls of ramen and tip, it came out to...

After a day on the beach, my two young boys (4 & 7yo) and I met my sister here. Anyone who has been around young children knows how hungry they get after a day on the beach. The adult orders were brought out but the kids food was still MIA after 10 min and so was the waiter. I stopped another waiter twice and all he could say was, "I let your waiter know already". I told him twice to have the waiter come to our table and nothing! 20 min after the adult food was brought out, no kids food, no waiter, I was leaving with the kids to go get them pizza across the street. As we were walking out, our waiter finally showed up. All he had to say was, "The kitchen has been making a lot of mistakes tonight.". I left and my sister stayed to pay the bill. No discount was offered and only another employee making similar excuses was offered. Too bad because the food is good but what they did and the unprofessional excuses was frankly just a mean thing to do to a customer and his...

Phenomenal. Let's just start there. Koji Goto is a mastermind of piecing together an authentic Japanese plate despite a major change of location a number of years ago, covid, and the cumbersome nature of operating out of a mall food court. Don't let any of that keep you away- his food is the reason to order and then keep ordering. The ramen is perfectly balanced, the katsu curry is beyond words (as somebody who just spent a month in Japan with a partner who lived there for two years, trust us), and the takoyaki os delightful even for our littlest (not to mention the kara-age). Don't miss this spot- it will never have the ambience of a ocean front spot BUT if you want authentic superb Japanese food as you explore the Santa Cruz and take a break from the routine pub faire, come here. Plus you can always take it to-go for a local park or ocean front table or bench...