Tampopo Restaurant — Restaurant in Gardena

This is LOONNGGG OVERDUE! In February, I decided to have my coworkers try the food from this restaurant and I ordered my usual: "vegetarian" broth chicken ramen. I made it SO CLEAR that I have a PORK ALLERGY. The restaurant reassured me that that's what would happen: they would make sure it had no pork broth etc due to my allergy. Well, 2.5 hours later I start getting super itchy and break out in hives, nausea, heartburn, lightheaded.... I knew that the worse allergy symptoms would start. I thankfully always carry my EPI- Pen and used it right away. I call the restaurant and when I tell the cashier over the phone I need to speak to a manager she LAUGHS! I told her about what just happened and asked for a refund because HELLO! You almost killed me and caused an allergic reaction to happen to me after I told you about my allergy...Not to mention the CROSS CONTAMINATION! long story short, she said someone would call me to ,"help". Well, it's been 5 months later and no one has called. I'm never going back here for ramen because the restaurant does not care about following food safety regulations!! And yes, I will be calling the city and anyone...

We ordered a couple ramen (tanpopo and miso rich with kaidama). It was super weak. Called for a replacement, got only one dish of noodles and two broths. Again super weak. Almost like they are out of Tare and trying to still serve to unsuspecting guests. Couple that with the chashu being super hard today and this was inedible. Sadly disappointed that I paid for this.

It gets worse. I called for a refund, the manager (woman, name unknown) was very rude. She insisted we bring the food back. I offered to take a picture of it in the trash instead. She insisted I had to bring it back. I told her I would be there in 5 minutes with the trash bag. She said it has to be untouched. How do you have untouched food and taste it to know it is horrible? She was very rude. I suggest not going here, which is sad because we have come many times before and loved it. If she would have made it right it would have been a different review.

We took them back the trash bag with the ramen in it. Still no refund and the manager refused to come...

Quickie: Inexpensive selections Large parking lot Tasty variety of menu items

Overview: What's not to love about Tampopo? This is my go-to place for a big ol' bowl of ramen. It's quaint and small... looks authentic-ish compared to a lot of other places I've been to. Every time I've gone in the evening, it's been manageable... it's never crawling with people to the point where I have to wait which I love. It's a great place for dinner or maybe a cold rainy afternoon for lunch.

Quickies to try: Chicken ramen Tampopo ramen (pork) Dragon sushi roll Fried baby lobster

Verdict: I've tried the other Japanese joints in Tozai square but this is still my favorite because of the generous portion sizes, low prices and menu selection. The place has ramen, bentos and sushi... what more can...