Ramen 101 — Restaurant in Pleasanton

Went here for lunch on Friday. The restaurant is on the main street of Pleasanton so there are ample parking lot around. I ordered my food at the cashier and chose my own seating. The place was pretty empty (only 2 tables were occupied) when I got there.

I ordered black garlic ramen (non spicy) and chicken karaage appetizer. The food came out pretty fast (5 minutes). First the chicken karaage: generous portion for its price but the chicken pieces were way too crunchy and the meat was a bit tough. These were more like taiwanese popcorn chicken than Japanese chicken karaage that has bigger pieces. It taste pretty good (it was seasoned well - not too salty) and came with spicy mayo.

Next was the black garlic ramen. I was super disappointed with the flavor. This was not authentic Japanese ramen. The broth tasted watered down and was lack of umami flavor. The pork belly pieces were tough and super fatty. They put black garlic cloves which was good but the broth itself lacked the aroma of black garlic.

My problem was that I got stomachache from eating the ramen. My kid had the karaage with the noodle (no broth) and he was fine. I gave two stars for the taste of chicken karaage & the friendly service. However, I won't be...

Ramen 101 was absolutely amazing!! Great authentic food for the Japanese cuisine lover as well as some more familiar snacks like edamame and lumpia for my more cautious parents were available. The service was so incredibly fast that the food came out within two minutes of us being seated despite all the orders being hot meals. I knew when I didn't see salt or pepper on the table that the chefs were very confident in their meals. The flavors did not disappoint! Everything we ate had incredible flavor. Nothing to complain about unless you don't like music in the background, in which case choose a seat further from the TV. Parking is difficult in this area but it is easy to see from outside. The servers were so friendly and despite the cafe feel we were checked on several times to see how we were doing. We went home with full and happy stomachs and two take us containers. This is a great place for casual lunch, a date, or congratulations dinner with...

We walked past this restaurant earlier saying we will eat here later. So here we are. We went back outside to view the pictures of the dishes. You order 1st at the counter, pay then grab a spot to eat. We shared the Pork Belly Miso Ramen, mild with a small container of the chili oil. ($15) We also shared the whole Grilled Squid. ($10). Both were excellent. The Miso broth was not salty. 👍 It came with maybe 4 slices of Pork Belly, 2 Shrimp, greens, a split soft boiled and of course Ramen. I added my heat separately. Now the unbelievable Grilled Squid. It had a drizzle of Teriyaki Sauce. The body portion was tender and perfectly cooked. Now the head and legs were crunchy. 👍👍. The place was clean with a lot of take out orders. Dining area holds at least 60. We highly recommend...