Ramen Hajime — Restaurant in Santa Clara

My wife and I ate here a few nights ago. On the whole, we were very impressed, and plan to return.

As we often do, we decided to share everything. We had a beer, the Kawaba Sunrise Ale, listed on the menu as Kawaba Snow Ale. I don't know what the difference is, but we both really liked the Sunrise Ale. It has a gentle bitterness that didn't turn my wife off. Very pleasant. (I'm still trying to get used to the idea of paying $8 for a bottle of beer.)

For starters, we had Fried Hiroshima Oyster, Hotate w/ Garlic Butter, and Uni Crostini. For our main, we had the Takeoka Style Ramen. And for dessert, we had the Matcha Tiramisu.

I'm not a big fan of oysters in any form, so we ordered them mainly for my wife. But I decided to try one anyway. It was, by far, the best fried oyster I ever had. Very crispy / crunchy exterior. Oyster was hot and moist and not overcooked. Tender. I never thought I'd say it, but that oyster was yummy. I had a second. :-)

The Hotate (Scallops), I'm not a big fan. I found them to be somewhat overcooked and chewy. Not super overcooked; just somewhat. My wife liked them, though.

The Uni Crostini. Hmm. This appetizer was $23, and based on the ingredients, that's not really an unfair price. The uni was delightful, fresh, and delicate -- really a high point. But they were not actually sitting on toast; more like warm bread. So the bread was on the chewy side rather than on the crunchy side, which would have been a nice textural contrast with the delicate uni. And then we have the sprinkling of Parmesan cheese. I understand that their thing is to be a fusion restaurant, but Parmesan really makes a statement, and we felt that it actually subtracted from the uni. Again, the uni itself was terrific. But for us, the concept and execution didn't do the uni justice.

The Takeoka Ramen was really good. The broth had a wonderful deep flavor. The meat was super tender and flavorful. The noodles were delicious and with great texture. I'd certainly have this again. The only thing I'd do differently next time is to ask for half as much yellow onion. When I got towards the end of the bowl, I still had a lot of yellow onion pieces in each spoonful of broth, and they tended to overpower.

The Tiramisu was a really interesting end to the meal. We hadn't planned to order it, but it was brought over complimentary. I'm not normally a fan of tiramisu, because I don't particularly like the strong coffee flavor in my dessert. Using matcha instead of coffee was, for me, a good improvement on the classic dish. I'm more of a fan or European dessert than Asian dessert, but if in a group having dessert, I'd order it and enjoy it.

The service was very friendly and efficient. Ice water (we requested) was provided in a small glass pitcher, and that was replaced as it neared empty. The ramen arrived before we were even halfway through our appetizers. I'm frequently surprised by the pacing at many asian restaurants. This appears to be one where you might hold off on ordering the ramen until nearly done with the appetizers.

I think that doing fusion cuisine is really challenging. I feel that The Place has made a really good start at it. My only real critique of that aspect is the pairing of delicate flavored ingredients (uni and scallop) with strong ingredients (Parmesan and garlic, respectively) which tended to overpower the former. But they are doing enough very well here that it's worth going, and...

Ramen Hajime (2nd visit on July 11, 2024)

I revisited Ramen Hajime recently, but unfortunately, it didn't live up to the expectation the second time around. It was in my too 3 ramen places in the Bay area, but not anymore after my last visit.

The service was really slow. We had to flag down the staff to get a water refill or to pay our bill. I will say, though, that the lady who served our ramen was the sweetest. She was so bubbly and such a bundle of joy. The broth wasn't as creamy as last time, and the pork butt chashu was very dry and lacked flavor. The spicy garlic edamame had a good kick to it. The Japanese chicken karaage was juicy and crispy.

This time around, we didn't have to wait in line to get seated. Surprisingly, there wasn't a long wait, so we got seated within 10 minutes. It could be because of the weekday.

As always, they ran out of their cheesecake. Their cheesecake was completely sold out by lunchtime (from what we were told by the staff).

It's a bummer that within a short span of time (my 2 visits weren't that far apart), the quality of ramen has gone down.

1st visit

Ramen Hajime in Santa Clara is a hidden gem serving up some of the best ramen I've ever had. The flavors were incredible, the portions generous, and the service friendly. However, there's a big caveat: be prepared to wait. My party of two WAITED FOR AN HOUR, and you can see how long others have been waiting too. They only hold your table for 5 minutes after it's ready, so be prompt!

Here's the breakdown:

The Wait: Brutal. We waited an hour on a Friday night, and it wasn't uncommon to see others waiting just as long.

The Food: WORTH IT!!! The Chicken Karaage was a delightful appetizer - juicy, crispy chicken with a tangy-creamy sauce. The star of the show, of course, was the ramen. I had the Kiwami Tonkotsu, a creamy pork broth with perfectly cooked noodles, melt-in-your-mouth chashu pork, and a touch of lime for a refreshing twist. My partner enjoyed the Kiwami Spicy Miso, a spicy miso broth with thicker noodles and a good kick. Both broths were incredibly flavorful, and the portions were enough to satisfy even the hungriest ramen enthusiast.

The Menu: Their menu consists of signature ramen selection that is priced a bit higher (~$3) than their basic ramen selection. They also have vegan options and build your own option. The menu also includes a bunch of appetizers, desserts, and beverages (alcoholic and non alcoholic)

The Service: Despite the long line, the service was fast and friendly. Our server was attentive and refilled our waters without us needing to ask. However, be aware that they place your bill halfway through your meal, which might feel a bit rushed.

The Ambiance: Cozy and intimate. The space is small, so be prepared for close quarters.

The Price: A steal! The ramen is very reasonably priced, especially for the Bay Area.

The Parking: Ample. The restaurant is located in a strip mall with plenty of parking but not much to do while you wait.

The Takeaway: Absolutely delicious ramen, but the wait time can be killer. Go right when they open to avoid the crowds. If you can handle the wait, Ramen Hajime is definitely worth a try. If you're short on time, you might want to consider...

My bf and I came here on a Saturday night around 6pm. Wait was about 5-10min after putting our name on the waitlist inside the restaurant. We were looking at the menu and there are a few options. you can build your own ramen with their diff meat and soup base, and then add your preferred toppings. Or you can order 3-4 of their premade options. One of them is a "meat lover" dish that's only meat lol

Anyways, we ordered the chicken karaage, their Kiwami shoyu ramen, and the build your own tonkotsu ramen. I ordered the tonkotsu Ramen for myself because I really wanted to try their duck chasu. My boyfriend wanted to order the cheesecake and because he heard it was really good but they were sold out! We asked our server and he said that sell out the day that they make it -- Wednesday and Friday, so probably need to pre order.

The chicken karaage came in big pieces and lightly fried. They don't give a little lemon slice but don't need to!! I thoroughly enjoyed the sauce they had for it. It was your typical Japanese Mayo but had a slightly savory kick to it I liked the tonkotsu but wish I had been able to customize my noodles. I really liked their thinly sliced pork belly. It made it more tender and easier to eat. I asked for an egg and they give you a whole egg! The duck chasu is definitely worth it. They only give you 4 slices but they're pretty fat and had a slight torched smokey flavor. I also tried my boyfriends shoyu ramen. I enjoyed this was more LOL it was not as fatty and lighter in flavor. I drank a good amount of the broth in this one. It comes with 3-4 pork wontons. Also liked the sliced pork butt. This one comes with thicker egg noodles, which i prefer. We also got the hot garlic paste that we added into the tonkotsu.

Overall, enjoyable experience! Parking was plentiful and the servers were attentive and nice. Price was about $55 including...