Hokkaido Ramen Santouka

Best ramen, ever! Hokkaido is located in the food court at Mituswa. It is definitely the most popular of the restaurant options, so anticipate having to wait in line to order!

They do small, medium, & large options for all of their bowls. I can't believe how reasonably priced it is too- prices range from $10-$14.

Broth is fresh, noodles are great. I'm so happy I live close to this place because I'm there more often than I'd like to admit!

Santouka is a Japanese ramen chain in which they're known for their 20-hour simmered pork bone broth.

I usually get the Cha-Shu Gohan Combo, which comes with a small bowl or ramen of your choice and a small cha-shu gohan. For the ramen, I go for the Tonkotsu Kara Miso Ramen, which is a miso-based broth with a hint of spiciness - sometimes, the broth is super creamy and savory with the perfect amount of spice; other times, it can be a bit thin in consistency and not as flavorful.

The Cha-Shu Gohan is another regular order - this rice bowl is topped with braised pork belly, and when it's prepared properly, the small pulled pieces of pork is tasty and saucy, which is enough to mix and coat the rest of the rice. Other times, the pork is less than generous in the amount and lacking the sauce.

Located at the food courts located inside Mitsuwa.

+located inside Mitsuwa at their food court
+plenty of parking in private lot

I wasn't impressed with the ramen here at all. I believe I ordered the shio ramen (mild salt flavor), which was recommended by the staff, but it seriously lacked flavor. The ramen here was on some lists for best ramen in Chicago, but it is at the bottom of the ramen I've had so far in the city, and I've had quite a few at this point. There are plenty of other tasty items in this food court I would recommend instead and if you're looking for ramen this might not satisfy you.

Amazing authentic ramen. Nothing else left to be said. Trust the locals here that keep coming back with really long wait lines, but it's worth it. Credit/debit card only

Used to be cash only, now it's no cash. This place continues to be a gem with lots of people everyday waiting to order. The menu is a bit confusing because it allows you to customize however you like, and you just give them the number. The regular size and the large differ just a little. The salt broth is really good. I like the original flavors. The braised meat over rice can get a bit greasy depending on the cuts of pork belly. The pork belly in the ramen is very tender. I would've given them a 5/5 if it wasn't the soup spoon they provide is always dirty. Make sure you rinse those or wipe them down.

This place never disappoints me regardless how far of a drive it is for me to get here on the weekends. Every time I come to the burbs to visit family, I will always stop by Mitsuwa for the ramen at Santouka followed by a Hokkaido milk tea from ReLeaf cafe. The restaurants at Mitsuwa are so legit, but my ultimate favorite will always be Santouka. I love how the shio ramen is so good that you can actually drink the broth without it being too rich as well as the salmon roe rice is like a perfect match when you get the set and I can't forget the egg either. The staffs are always really nice and service is quick as well.

While I was in Mitsuwa this past Tuesday evening, I wanted to try as much food as I could. There is a Hokkaido Ramen Santouka near where I live, but I wanted to see if this one was better. Sadly, I was already eating food from the other vendors at the food court, so I didn't have enough room to stomach a whole ramen.

SAKE & IKURA RICE BOWL - 6
Essentially zero wait time for this since they just scooped up some rice, added some grilled salmon pieces and topped it with some ikura and green onions. This hit the spot. The bowl is small and light, and there was a good amount of grilled salmon (which was seasoned well) and the ikura added extra flavor and texture. If you're looking for something light or a small snack, this is a great option. Good pricing, too.

Not the best ramen I've had, too salty for my taste. But the pork was very tender and easy to eat. For the price point there was a lot of pork in there, but I would have liked some more vegetables or other things in the ramen. It's one of the restaurants in the food court so the ambiance is typical, noisy food court. The service was reasonably fast, but not super friendly. If I was here I'd eat it again, but I'd probably try another option in the food court first.

I ordered a small salt pork ramen. I was not impressed at all. It was $11 and some odd change for mediocre Ramen. The pork was super fatty and soup broth was lacking flavor. The portion size that I ordered was a small but as you can tell by my to go pictures, a small is more like an extra small. This was not worth the money and super overpriced. Skip this place. Very disappointed.

There wasn't a long line when we stopped by on a weekday evening. Ordered the large char siu salt $14.5 ramen and medium tonkotsu ramen $14.5. The male cashier with glasses acted strange when taking our order.
My broth was creamy but not flavorful. Lots of pork and unsure why the toppings were separated. We both didn't finish our bowls as they weren't tasty. Maybe they had an off day?