Ramen Kowa — Restaurant in Palo Alto

UPDATED REVIEW

Awfully inefficient service. I think I will only come here for lunch and avoid dinner.

We came for a weekend dinner during the holidays. Restaurant was half empty, so I was looking forward to a quick dinner.

The waitlist tablet was very confusing. It stopped us briefly before we figured we could just walk in. We noticed the tablet confused many other parties, some being bamboozled into logging their names and standing around outside waiting. And when one party approaching the door saw someone tap tapping away, they too followed suit. Human nature to follow without much thought, alas.

It was super silly for the drink menus to be on the table already, but not the food menu. We waited five minutes before we were given the food menu.

They had two staff working, but apparently some strange division of labor where the bus boy strictly did bus boy cleaning tasks, and all the seating/menu/ordering/food service/water requests/payment had to go through the main front of house person.

And because the division of labor was such, whether your food came to you in a timely manner was a toss in the dark. I saw my bowl of noodles on the service window, where it sat for fifteen minutes because my bowl unluckily came at a time where the front of house staff decided to focus completely on tending to the three parties who walked in recently to take their orders. I saw the bus boy look at my bowl, look at the ticket next to it, but do nothing about it. I was -this close- to walking over there and grabbing it myself.

When the bowl did arrive, the noodles were a sad soggy mess. Entire nori sheet was soaked and moist. If I wanted soggy noodles, I would’ve stayed home and made them myself, not drive out here and pay $17.00 plus tax and tip.

———————————————

Underrated lunch place on Cal Ave!

I enjoy coming here when I want something hearty and warm for lunch. I usually order a combo, ramen and whatever appetizer I feel that day....

I came on a Saturday evening and had the tonkotsu ramen, katsu curry, soy garlic karaage, garlic edamame, and gyoza. The ramen tasted bland as if it were from a package. The noodles and broth had an overly floury taste as if the noodles werent drained. The broth was weak with little flavor. Additionally, they could have improved presentation by ensuring that the veggies and such were slightly above the broth line in the bowl. I'm no chef, but they might be able to improve the taste by ensuring to chage the water in which they cook the noodles (if they dont already). The katsu curry- the katsu portion was incredibly dry. The outer crusting/texture had a burnt taste. Again, maybe they could have changed the oil if it wasnt fresh. The curry portion of the katsu tasted normal- nothing too special. The gyoza tasted like normal gyoza that youd get in a supermarket. The soy garlic karaage was pretty good, but super oily- after opening the piece of chicken, maybe 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil came out. I know its a characteristic of the breading and chicken, but raising the oil temperature prior to tossing in the chicken could help mitigate this issue. The soybeans had a nice garlic flavor, which I really enjoyed, but they were extremely overcooked. The soybeans were super mushy as they were cooked for waaay too long. If the soybeans werent overcooked and they were a dollar cheaper, i'd buy it again. I think that maybe i'd try some of their other ramen items before completely knocking this place off my list of places to go. Based on other reviews, it seems to be a fairly good restaurant, so i'll give the place a second chance in a few months to see if theyve fixed...

Ramen Kowa: Where the Broth Is Hot and the Wait Time Is Not

If you’re in the mood for some souper comfort without the commitment of a 45-minute line spiral à la Ramen Nagi, Ramen Kowa might just be your next noodle fix. It’s casual, cozy, and just quirky enough to feel like a hidden gem—without actually being hidden.

Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen This one’s got a little fire in its belly. Built on a classic pork base, it brings the heat with minced meat in a spicy broth that wakes you up without dragging you into capsaicin purgatory. Add in buttery chashu, jammy soft-boiled eggs, bamboo shoots, and you’ve got yourself a well-rounded bowl. Feeling groggy, hungover, or just emotionally dehydrated? Add some extras and heal through noodles.

Karaage and Takoyaki The karaage? Crispy outside, juicy inside—though a touch under-dredged, like it hit snooze one too many times. Still, a solid 3/5. The takoyaki leans into its toppings like a student on extra credit: plenty of Japanese mayo and bonito flakes, light on the octopus, but satisfyingly rich and fluffy nonetheless.

Ambiance & Extras You’ll be seated faster than you can say “extra egg,” and greeted with a relaxing LCD screen playing what can only be described as Food Network meets ASMR. It’s oddly soothing and a great distraction for those of us with the attention span of a gnat in a ramen shop.

Final Slurp Kowa might not be rewriting the ramen playbook, but it knows its lane—and it drives it well. If you want a quick, tasty meal with minimal hassle and just enough character to keep it interesting, this spot delivers. Bonus points for the lack of pretension and abundance of steamy, slurpable...