Kodaiko Ramen & Bar — Restaurant in Sacramento

Asians stay away.. Came here on recommendation from an old regular of 3+ years ago. Unfortunately, I would recommend all Asians and/or people who crave and appreciate Japanese ramen to steer clear of this spot. Most of the effort on cultural affinity to Japan is spent on decoration instead of the food, hiring practices, quality of ingredients, music/ambience, quality of service. The staff is all white. From the front to the back. I can only assume the new owner is white and wanted to capitalize on a successful business and rich cultural cuisine.

Service review: The first issue as of walking in was being ignored by the server, whom I thought was a guest hanging out at the bar at the basement entrance, for 5 minutes before acknowledgement. It is not a busy time, Sunday at 2pm. Many tables are empty and there was no sense of attention/urgency. They still needed to clean the table as well when there were plenty of tables open.

Second small issue, the server automatically serves iced water which my friend did not like as she wanted water without ice. She would have appreciated if the waitress had asked.

Third issue, after ordering, it takes about 23 minutes for the food to come out. Ramen is supposed to be a fast food. It is not meant to be a luxurious food where we're having long conversations while waiting for a prix fixe.

Food review: I had the tonkotsu and my friend had the shoyu ramen. The spoon is almost flat. You can barely hold noodles in the spoon nonetheless the broth. Upon tasting the tonkotsu broth, it was clear that the spoon was on purpose. The broth was not meant to be enjoyed. It was overly salty and did not invite me to slurp the soup after finishing the noodles. Broth: 1/5. The ajitama was under marinated but the yolk had a good color and texture. The ajitama itself gets a 3/5. There was only one piece of chashu and was overly thick. The texture was surprisingly good but the taste was somehow dried out of the pork. Chashu: 3/5. The noodles do not look at all handmade. It is also yellow. Don't know what brand it is, but clearly not fresh ramen noodles. Flat taste. Noodle: 1/5. Winter vegetable add-on: 1/5 (essentially overcooked veggies plopped on the side).

I had a taste of the shoyu. The broth was bad. So salty and slightly spicy? My friend couldn't finish it as the taste is kind of repelling. Same yellow noodles.

There is an over accentuation on Japanese ingredients without being properly trained on how to use Japanese ingredients... I was disappointed to see that Kodaiko was the highest rated ramen spot in the area as the chefs did not do justice to the cuisine, for the price.

I was able to finish the dish by rebranding it as a noodle dish instead of calling it ramen. At the end of the day, I'm not going to waste $22 for my meal. But will definitely not be coming here again. I'm sure it's fun at night when the emphasis is on the bar, alcohol, and...

The TL;DR: If you are a ramen fan, and you are in Sacramento, DO NOT MISS THIS RESTAURANT!!

Now the details: I've had decent ramen. It's the standby; it's what I usually find at the usual mid-to-upscale ramen-ya or Japanese restaurant. I've occasionally had the fortune to encounter pretty good ramen. The ramen at Kodaiko does not fit either of these categories; it transcends both and elevates ramen to a high art. I tried a chicken karaage and two different ramen bowls. The first was a mushroom paiso with cashew cream and it was outstanding. It was delicious and full of mushrooms and creamy umami flavors, quite like an excellent risotto. The second was tonkatsu ramen in a three-day pork paiso: rich, complex, and deeply satisfying in a way that I can only describe as the ramen equivalent of the Millennium Falcon making the jump to Hyperspace. The chashu portions were generous, each bowl boasting a piece the size and thickness of a pack of Dentyne gum. The noodles were fresh and the egg had a perfect, jammy yolk. The server was great: a hip urbanite who was earnest, friendly, and informed without a hint of obsequiousness. They checked on us at just the right intervals without leaving me feeling either over- or under-attended. The place is in a basement, and while the owner has clearly done what they could with it, their focus is on their food - right where it should be. What the place lacks in decor it more than makes up for in the food quality. While the venue itself is Japanese minimalist design almost to the point of being utilitarian, the dishes were all high-quality hand-crafted decorative stoneware, like you might find at an art gallery rather than a restaurant...which refocuses the diner on what's filling that stoneware. This subtle redirection to the food and its quality is a masterful bit of dining psychology, and given the richness, depth, and complexity of the broth, can have only been intentional. If you are a ramen fan, and you are in Sacramento, DO NOT MISS THIS...

If you are a classic ramen-head, this place may not be for you. The broth flavors stray from the norm, which isn't bad, but for the portion and price, I would say it's adventurous to a fault. I was appalled that a basic bowl, just broth and noodles, was $11 and up. All meats, egg, and toppings are served on the side for a considerable amount. I've never been to a ramen spot where I had to order meat as a separate item. My partner (who is a ramen chef) and I sat at the bar. I ordered the Spicy Mushroom Paitan. Received my bowl and was immediately struck by the small portion and HUGE ball of chili paste on top. I didn't think much, figured it would play into the other flavors well. Boy was I WRONG. It was so spicy, the soup was impossible to enjoy. There was no flavor, just spice. I thought maybe it was just me and my taste buds (although I've never been shy about spice before) so I offered some to my partner. He agreed that it was offensively spicy. We mentioned this to the bartender and she sort of laughed it off saying that "some people can't handle the spice." I'm not sure if my bowl was a fluke, but I find it hard to believe that would be the average amount of spice in any given bowl. If that is the average amount of spice...there should probably be a warning next to it. My partner and I are young, spicy food lovers, and we couldn't take it. The bartender was no help in solving the problem, she didn't offer any solutions or good customer service. I was feeling guilty about the prospect of sending it back so I ordered a separate order of plain broth, which barely solved the spice issue. I ate what I could, and left unsatisfied. My partner ordered the Tonkatsu, which was out of the box in flavor profile, and pretty good. He agreed that for the price point, it ultimately was...