Kai Ramen Santa Monica — Restaurant in Santa Monica

My partner and I recently moved to the area and wanted to find a local ramen spot to become regulars at.

We go to many great ramen places all over North America, we should have known to walk out when we didn't hear "Irasshaimase".

We believed the reviews so still gave it a shot. I'm honestly shocked at how many good reviews for the lack of good ramen.

Besides us, there was 1 other couple sitting inside to eat. The server was pretty overwhelmed between the 4 people total and answering the phone.

When the server took our order she didn't seem to know the ordering system very well. She didn't know how to change the noodle type, so I ended up just sticking to the noodle that came with the dish. I ordered the Vegan Ramen, I added an egg, and chilli paste. My partner got the tonkotsu and added popcorn chicken. Both dish's were very below average. We were both very disappointed. My dish was missing tomato's, some items were cold, and the broccoli you could tell came right out of the freezer.

We ordered 2 glasses of water, and a diet coke that never arrived.

Another server started a half hour after we arrived. I noticed a lot more tables arriving, and many more upset customers with the lack of menu knowledge, system knowledge, long wait times to have an order taken.

The table beside us asked if one dish had vegan broth, because his guest didn't want dairy and she gave them wrong information. I only knew this because I googled the same question before ordering.

When we wanted to pay, and were standing by the kitchen area, I noticed a god awful fowl smell that made my stomach turn. I worked in restaurant's for over 15 years, and that smell, is a kitchen that isn't being taken care of. My boyfriend and I couldn't have walked out faster.

Atmosphere is way too bright, broken/chipped bowls were being served, and the place needed some updates and a deep clean.

We will not...

It’s a nice little shop ordering through the tablet at your table, but my medium-spicy, classic tonkotsu ramen was plated to-go instead of dining inside unfortunately. It wouldn’t have been too bad of a deal if the ramen had tasted like its price. My server gave me the option to wait for another fresh bowl, but I told her it was ok. She was nice and it wasn’t her fault.

Not worth the $20 for a ramen bowl.

Tonkotsu broth was light in flavor and thickness. It also had a slight sourness to it (not sure if that’s the norm or an old broth). There were some white specs floating which looked like fat/oil when it’s not hot.

The noodles didn’t taste fresh or “bouncy” like most places.

There were not enough toppings for the price (2 pieces of pork, scallions, half an egg, and kikurage), and you don’t even get their house chashu but two pieces of pork from the back side that isn’t well cut either.

Toppings were $3-$6 which is quite absurd in my opinion. $3 for extra scallions? I’ll pass

I finished my bowl and didn’t feel completely full like you normally would at a decent ramen shop. Didn’t finish the broth either unfortunately. The price is definitely just an abuse of its location in my opinion. Nothing about 3 day broth or house-made noodles either. I’d say it’s more of a $14-$15 bowl. Won’t be coming back due to the...

Lunch with my friend

I ordered dry ramen, but it was too salty. I asked the waitress if she could give me some soup to reduce the saltiness instead of replacing it with a new one. She took my ramen away and spoke with her co-worker, but I wasn’t sure what they did with it.

When she returned my ramen, she told me that I had ordered dry ramen without soup. She then used a spoon to taste my ramen base and said I was being overly sensitive about the saltiness. She also advised me that if I couldn’t accept that level of salt, I should let them know in advance. She even used my chopsticks to stir my ramen, which I did not expect or authorize.

I asked my friend to try my ramen, and my friend also said it was too salty. Neither of us finished our ramens.

I have visited this restaurant three times—twice dining in and once for takeout—but today I felt lectured by the waitress and very uncomfortable. I still paid for my lunch and left a tip, but I will not be coming back.

I enjoy eating ramen and have visited many Japanese restaurants, but this one does not meet Japanese standards. I hope more authentic Japanese restaurants open in this area instead of...