Hokkaido Ramen Santouka — Restaurant in Edgewater

My family and I have become more picky with our ramen after dining here for years. A little ramen snob-y if you will. It’s that good! I’ve eaten at countless ramen restaurants now and I’ve yet to find a place that serves ramen as consistently fantastic as this specific location. I’ve even been to Santouka chains in other states but there’s just something about this one! I don’t think I could get better ramen unless I actually went to Japan.

I will be honest with you however, you will be waiting for a while on most days. The line can and will be out the door if you’re here at lunch or dinner time. Mitsuwa also doesn’t have nearly enough seating for their food court but they can’t exactly make more room! Depending on how lucky you are you will be hunting down an empty table like a stalker for anywhere between 5-20 minutes. I recommend placing your order and then starting your search while you wait for your number.

But once you’ve secured your spot and pick up your ramen (be sure to stay in the food court as they call your order number over the speakers and it can get loud) you’re in for something delicious. We usually get the Shio Ramen but if you’re willing to spend extra you can get ramen with premium pork (toroniku). I think it’s very much worth it. It’s just a cut above and melts right in your mouth. The pork in the normal ramen has changed recently but the toroniku is the same as far as I can tell. I also recommended getting an extra egg! They used to be hard boiled but recently they have made the switch to seasoned soft-boiled eggs and they are to die for. I usually let mine sit for 5-7 minutes before eating it to let the yolk firm up a little.

If you think I’m writing too much about ramen, I get it. But my family and I both agree that this is our favorite spot and has been for 5+ years. My parents have been going here longer than me and it’s become a little family favorite! I can happily say it’s ruined other ramen...

Just about 10 mins ago, I've ordered a ramen to-go at the Santouka counter (Mitsuwa- Edgewater, NJ) and had experienced the worst customer service ever from them. I placed my order and the cashier(who has the chinese characters "独立的" tattooed on the left side of her neck) asked if this is for to-stay or to-go, I ANSWERED TO-GO, then she was just busy with something else after circling my order on the order paper as I count my money for her. It was quite slow there today and my order was literally the only one to be made at the time. I was waiting by the side and they called my order number, saying it's ready. I looked and didn't see my to-go order but a tray of to-stay ramen instead. I then told the girl who prepared the tray that its for to-go. Then she took out the order receipt and said "to-go" is not indicated on the paper. So, I said to her I've told the cashier it's for to-go. She then returned the tray to the kitchen and began to wrap it up for me. As I was waiting for the order, all of a sudden, the cashier was pissed and said it out loud very rudely- "I DIDN'T HEAR ITS FOR TO-GO." Well, not sure why she's being so pissed and impolite, or maybe I've just expected too much from Mitsuwa, as I've never experienced such inappropriate attitude from any Japanese stores(both in the US and Japan), instead, Japanese was always VERY POLITE AND RESPECTFUL TO THEIR CUSTOMERS AT ALL TIME as I can recall. Anyway, I think she's better off having her attitude checked than her ears at this point, as resolving her hearing problems will not improve her customer service. And guess I won't buy from...

My wife and I went here today for the first time. The food was fantastic and easily give it 5 stars. However, the girl who rung us up at the register was incredibly disrespectful and abusive. My wife's second language is English (Japanese Native), but can speak very clearly and well. When it was our turn to order she told the cashier she'd like Salt Ramen and even pointed it out on the menu specifically which items. After we gave her the order the cashier became irate, throwing her arms up saying she can't understand my wife yelling "all I hear is miso!" English is my first language (Japanese is my second) so I told the cashier we both wanted Salt Ramen very clearly. Before we could then tell her what we wanted as drinks, she finalized the order and told us to pay. My wife said she'd like a drink too and the cashier became so angry yelling at my wife "that's why I asked if you were done!!!" I hope she'll never forget the look I gave her talking to my wife who's 9 months pregnant like that.

I know her issue wasn't with anything we said or did because we were nothing but courteous. Perhaps she's having a bad day, I don't know. But I do know that someone like this should not be working at a store that has thousands of visitors everyday speaking in different languages and trying their best to speak English. 次回、我慢して下さい。

Update: I now see the bad reviews at this place all have to do with...