Kajiken — Restaurant in Elk Grove

I went to Kajiken on a Sunday afternoon a little before their mid-day close at 1PM and it was a packed house. It was initially unclear whether you're supposed to go up and order first or if you're supposed to wait to be seated, but I walked up to the cashier to ask and she kindly placed us at a seat in front of the window.

Once my boyfriend and I decided on our order, it was again unclear if she's going to come back or if we need to walk up and order considering we waited for some time to place our order. So I walk up to the register and ask if I should place my order with her up there which we end up doing.

I order the Oroshi Ponzu Karaage & Nikumori Aburasoba (with a poached egg, which was recommended by the cashier).

The Oroshi Ponzu Karaage was good, but not exciting. The chicken was good, but the dish definitely could have used more flavor or crunch (to be fair though, the menu does say this karaage is not crunchy so I was prepared at least).

The Nikumori Aburasoba (aka Top 2) was good, but not super exciting either. The pork slices were tough, I probably would have enjoyed the dish if it was tender. By this point, I (respectfully) concluded that this is as a Japanese chow mein.

I personally feel like the ingredients could have been fresher, it was as if the meal lacked texture.

With all that said, the experience & ambiance felt like a fast food restaurant by the way it operates - to the point where it feels like a chain restaurant. I'd say it's a good place to go to if you're looking to fix that noodle craving.

I acknowledge that I came here right after trying a couple pastries from the local Japanese bakery so maybe that may have impacted my appetite.

I'm not sure I'd return to try more but if you're looking to try this place out, I would say these bowls can be split as I shared this meal with my boyfriend and we are still leaving with left overs.

If I could give one feedback to the restaurant around operations, it would be to put a yelp waitlist tablet outside or a sign up sheet as it can get confusing - especially when people are waiting out front to be seated outside which can be...

The food was okay but service was bad.

We came for dinner and tried the homura aburasoba and the roast beef aburasoba. Both were on the salty side, especially the homura aburasoba. We preferred the flavor profile of the roast beef aburasoba because it was more balanced and slightly less salty. The noodles were cooked very al dente.

Unfortunately, the service was disappointing to the point that we probably should have just got up and left. We had pre-ordered while waiting for a table. We took the first available table that happened to be outside. When we were seated, we told the waitress we had pre-ordered. And then we were completely ignored. Large groups who were seated after us got their food within minutes. They also paid and left before we could even get someone’s attention. None of the wait staff checked or wondered why we didn’t have our food after 20 minutes. What was the point of pre-ordering? I had to wave down the hostess to ask what was going on because we couldn’t get the attention of either waiter or waitress. They avoided eye contact and kept their back turned. When we finally did get our food, the waitress only came around to check on how the food was when we were nearly done and to collect payment. Completely oblivious.

The bill was $40 for two people. The service left a bad taste. Dining here was not...

We waited for the hype to die down and came here on Wednesday night, thinking that we wouldn't have to wait. We were so wrong! The line wasn't too bad. It was about a 15-20 minute wait, but still on a Wed night after 6:30 pm - that's not common. Don't be discouraged by the line - it moves quicker than it looks. They will not seat you until all parties are present, which helps with the turning around the tables quickly.

We had the Ika Geso Karaage. Lightly battered, crispy, and savory seasoning. I really like this dish and would order it again the next time. I can't tolerate too spicy, so I order Soboro Aburasoba, soy marinated ground chicken, green onions, sesame seeds, substitute for ajitma egg (instead of raw egg yolk). The noodles are bouncy with great texture. The ground chicken was so flavorful. I was very thirsty after, so I suspect they have a good amount of MSG. It doesn't bother me, but I consumed two glasses of water afterward. My only complaint is that I got half of an egg. For a $16 bowl of noodles, you can add the other half of an egg in my bowl.

My husband had the Homura Aburasoba (Top No.1). I had a bite, and it was too spicy. My lips were tinkling from the spice. It was the same bouncy noodles.

Super cute inside decor. I felt like I was transformed to Japan for 30 minutes. I'm happy to see Kajiken...