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Suzu Noodle House
Category: Restaurants Japanese Japanese [Edit]
1825 Post St(between Webster St & Fillmore St)
San Francisco, CA 94115
Neighborhoods: Japantown, Lower Pac Heights, Pacific Heights
(415) 346-5083
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 11:30 am - 9 pm
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Garage, Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- No
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Takes Reservations:
- No
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Lunch, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Average
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- No
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
Tina T. said: "I'm sitting at my computer in Los Angeles dreaming about getting on a plane to fly to San Francisco for dinner at Sushi Bistro. The last time I was there I got the ahi poke salad, the Dave's legacy and the fried green tea ice cream.…" read more »
750 reviews for Suzu Noodle House
Review Highlights
750 reviews in English
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Review from Tim P.
San Diego, CA
1/15/2012 1 Check-in Here
Had the BUTTER&CORN Ramen (Paula Deen would be proud) and it was AWWWWESOME! The square pat of butter melts into the broth and really makes a difference in the flavor of the ramen! The sweet niblets of corn sank to the bottom of the bowl but was a nice surprise with every chopstick full of ramen and pork. I also had a mini Chicken Katsu Don bowl on the side ($3.00 with the purchase of ramen, udon, or soba) and that was delicious too.
SUZU itself can hold about 25+ customers with some seating outside along the restaurant. My party of three waited 20 minutes for our seats but the wait wasn't bad. Will definitely be back when I need my BUTTER RAMEN FIX! -
Review from Christine H.
San Jose, CA
Miso Ramen-$9
+added spicy paste, 50cents
+added tofu, $1
Each ramen bowl came with half a boiled egg, 2 pork slices, bamboo shoots, seaweed, & green onions. I found my spicy miso broth to be just ok. It wasn't as flavorful as I hoped it to be; thats why I didn't care to finish the broth. The ramen was great though-- it had superb elasticity and chewiness to it. I will most likely come back to give their other ramen a try.
Next visit,
Karaage Ramen (ramen w/ fried chicken)
Spicy Negi Ramen (ramen with spicy green onions)
Tonkotsu (ramen w/ creamy pork marrow broth)
Note:
One bowl is super filling!!
complimentary hot tea
located on the first floor of Japanese shopping mall -
Review from Lawrence E.
San Francisco, CA
1/26/2012 1 Check-in Here
The portions are rather large and the waiting staff was fairly attentive to our needs.
I had the Suzu Ramen and I would say the karage and the dumplings didn't really add anything to do the dish in terms of flavor. The ramen noodles were decent (medium chewiness and nice texture). The broth was just average and doesn't really stand out compared to all the ramen places I have been. The cost is quite expensive as well for ramen and I would probably choose somewhere else to get the same food for cheaper. -
Review from Chris S.
Manhattan, NY
1/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
3.5 stars. Been here about four or five times, always Shoyu based broth.
Broth: tasty, but not outstanding. It's not so tasty that I will gulp down the whole bowl, but tasty enough that if I'm just sitting there talking to a friend, I'll finish the portion.
Noodles: moderate texture, not too hard.
Fixings: moderate, not super memorable. I like their fried chicken.
Combos: slightly expensive, but their sushi bowl combos are great. Mapo natsu (eggplant) feels like something that can be made at home (but with a lot less grease)
Decent place to grab a meal when you are in Japantown, although I would say Mifune generally offers better deals in terms of food.
Expect a slight wait. I've never not had to sign their check-in list before, but at the same time the wait has never been ridiculous for me (under 30 minutes). -
Review from jae f.
San Francisco, CA
2/8/2012 1 Check-in Here
So so.... had better had worse, probably would repeat offend...
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Review from Ying F.
1/21/2012 1 Check-in Here
Nice little restaurant in Japantown. Service was really quick but the food wasn't very memorable.
Dinner:
-Goyza - thick skin and not much filling. It was ok.
-Miso Ramen with Pork - It was ok. Soup was a little bland and the portion was a bit small.
Really can't say much about this place... -
Review from George T.
San Jose, CA
1/22/2012
Was in town with my wife, and after checking Yelp, we decided to give it a try.
And seriously, I doubt Yelpers' review on this one.
It taste so bad and bland, not even close to what we have in the South Bay (Orenchi).
We've ordered the Tonkotsu Ramen and the broth tasted like it was made from instant noodle pouches, and the Spicy Ramen, didn't taste good at all.
The thick pork also taste so bad, felt like was marinated in soy sauce, way too salty.
We both have tried many Ramen both in the States and in Asia.
And the karaage taste bland, no flavour at all.
Truly, if you're in town for Ramen, think twice heading to this one, cuz, I'm sure other venue might be way much better than this Noodle House... -
Review from Kathy L.
Only so-so, which is disappointing considering it's in Japantown, so you'd expect the best to be here. While the noodles were firm and chewy the way I like it, the shoyu broth was nothing special. I had the pork belly ramen, and there are 3-4 generous pieces, but a little too much fat on them. I ended up taking the fat off the last piece and just eating the meat. I love pork belly, but this was too much. We also got gyoza and agedashi tofu for appetizers; the gyoza were good, though they came out last, about 10 minutes after we'd gotten our ramen, and the tofu skin was too gelatinous. My dad raved about the tonkotsu broth, but my heart still belongs to Orenchi in Santa Clara.
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Review from Tina C.
Pleasanton, CA
1/15/2012
I love getting my Ramen on here! It's obvious that Suzu has the best Ramen in the city because there are always people lining up before it's even open. I usually have to wait 20 minutes to get a table, but considering the amount of tables and the amount of people, Suzu turn tables relatively fast.
Their noodles are always fresh and the broth taste so clean! I've switched from Pho soup noodles to Ramen for my Sunday morning ritual because of Suzu's. -
Review from Patrick L.
Austin, TX
12/27/2011
Good service, small place, okay food.
I'd recommend the suzu ramen since it has the same broth as the chiashu and karaage ramen, but comes with both meats in it. The noodles are great, they have a nice bouncy texture when you chew them.
The broth however isn't the best. It's not cloudy... and it lacks any sort of depth. I think they also use too much pickled bamboo shoots as well. The egg is hard boiled and not soft boiled, which is unfortunate. The chiashu is very lean and a little on the dry side.
As for appetizers, the potato croquette is nice due to it's nice crispy outside and creamy center, the vegetable tempura is a good choice as well since it has a variety of items, however the agedashi tofu wasn't too great.
Over all this place is convenient if you're going to the other shops in the konikuniya shopping mall or the movies, but probably not worth making a trip just to try it alone. -
Review from Ted m.
Fremont, CA
1/5/2012
Great fresh handmade noodles, cooked to perfection. Nice wait staff. Prices aren't bad considering their rent in Japantown.
The downside: often too crowded and the wait for a table is too much. -
Review from Wendy H.
Houston, TX
1/1/2012
Pretty good ramen place....but I give it a 3 compared to the real stuff in Japan.
Noodle portions are quite large and the meats (pork and tendons) were nice and tender. Broth was slightly salty and simple. -
Review from Barbara N.
San Francisco, CA
2/1/2012 1 Check-in Here
It's more like 3.5 stars. I had the miso ramen ($8.95) with additional chashu (3 pieces for $1) and the tempura don ($3). We also ordered kakuni for an appetizer, which was delicious but not that tender. It was surprisingly great ramen, and I finished the whole bowl, including all of the broth - perfect size. They forgot the additional chashu - right when the bowl arrived, I swirled my chopsticks in it to count the pieces of pork and alerted the waitress when there was only the default 2 pieces. She apologized and quickly brought me the 3 extra pieces on a plate. I wish the egg was medium boiled instead of hard boiled, but all of the ramen joints in the bay area that I've been to like to use a hard boiled egg. The tempura don wasn't that great...it came with the sticky sweet sauce poured on it. I'm used to being able to dip my tempura vegetables in sauce, so that I can control how much I use. Also, the rice didn't taste that great. If I go back, I'll still probably get the miso ramen by itself with kakuni for an appetizer. I'd also like to try the chicken karaage.
Listed in: Ramen Obsessed
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Review from Christina G.
Los Angeles, CA
12/20/2011 1 photo
4 stars for food, 4 stars for service. The restaurant itself isn't huge, so there are two tables for two outside, along the glass walls of the restaurant. We were seated at one of them.
We both ordered the "tokyo ramen" -- half an egg, juicy pork slices, green onions, egg noodles, seaweed, ... didn't taste like much. Just tasted like, "OMG WE'RE EATING RAMEN".
*****Side note: street parking is free after 6pm!!! Don't keep trying to put in quarters (they take nickels, dimes, AND pennies) when the time does not increase... because the meters are magically programmed to only record 30 minutes when it is at the 5:30pm mark. Additional note: the meters ALSO take Visa. Who would've known. -
Review from Mike N.
San Francisco, CA
THE BEST RAMEN IN JAPANTOWN. PER.I.OD.
the establishment is small. like "we only have 10 tables, and you have to wait every time you come here by putting your name on a clipboard because we're that popular" small.
other than waiting awkwardly outside in the hallway every time we come here, the food is ahhhhh-mazzzzz-inggggg. i usually get the combo deal, where you get to choose betweenramen, udon, or soba, and with their beautifully laid-out menu maps, you get to choose an additional "don" item. all under $15.
their ramen is amazing, and their udon broth is the best i've ever had here in san francisco. i've yet to try their soba noodles.
my suggestion for this business is to take their popularity and grow it by adding a second location or removating this one to a bigger space. the only other ramen joint that is worthwhile to go to in the city is katana-ya, but because suzu is right across the street from where we live, it's naturally my favorite ramen spot.
we'll be back! -
Review from Jessica T.
Berkeley, CA
Updated - 1/7/2012
Disappointment.
I guess every time I came here I've always had the spicy ramen which was delicious, but just because it's spicy, and full of MSG. YUM!
I ordered the cold noodles with tempura this time, and it was mediocre at best.The noodles were quite hard, like it wasn't cooked long enough. Unfortunately it was cold noodles so I couldn't have let sit for a bit in the soup or anything.
My friend had the miso noodle, nothing spectacular. I guess if I come back here again, I'll stick to the spicy ramen.
There always seem to be a wait, when we got there, they told us 20 minutes and to put down our names, we came back 15 minutes later and our names were apparently called and scratched off already, but when we ask them, they put for the next table, so points for service.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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10/10/2011
4 stars for the Spicy Ramen- YUMMY! The flavor is just right, not spicy to the point where you need… Read more »
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Review from Liwei Y.
1/9/2012
Ordered the ramen that was topped with crispy fried chicken. Asked them to leave out the bamboo shoots since i hate that stuff. They did leave out the bamboo shoots, but must have accidentally left out the 2 pieces of pork as well :'(. Still loooved the ramen here. I thought the noodles were sooo good!! I've tried lots of great ramen places and I think this place has the best noodles. Broth was also good, and loved the crispy fried chicken. Usually I don't see this as an option at places, but the crispiness adds different texture as you eat the ramen. Since the fried chicken is immerse in the broth, it does start to lose its crispiness, but since it's so good, I'm eating it all up fast anyway so it doesn't really have time to get soggy. LOVE!
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Review from Ashley N.
San Jose, CA
12/13/2011
I tried the sea salt ramen (?) here one day for lunch with a couple of friends. I thought it was really good, but the only ramen I've ever tried otherwise was instant, so maybe that's why, ahhaha.
-Really liked the thickness of the ramen, and the meat!!
-Broth was too salty for me to completely consume, but it was good!
Service was meh ... but we didn't really require that much attention after we got our food anyways. The place is also really tiny, so ... you can expect a wait during lunch hour. However, we were seated in no time when we went around 3PM...
Overall, a great place to have lunch if you're in the area. -
Review from Angela C.
San Francisco, CA
12/10/2011
How does this place not have 5 stars??? I mean I have no idea how authentic it is but it's the tastiest ramen I've ever had (no, I've never been to Japan).
I don't eat pork or beef so I always get the vegetarian ramen with "slices of healthy tofu." The broth is super delicious - I have no idea how they do it. I always love getting the mini chirashi bowl with salmon and the vegetarian ramen as a combo.
Other people I've taken here (who eat pork/beef) love the regular ramen offering. Everyone seems to love the Tokyo ramen.
Other places I've had ramen (many places in Japantown, inside and outside the mall area, and also Hotei in my neighborhood) pale in comparison to this place. It's a combination of the flavorful broth and the fresh noodles that do it for me. -
Review from maria g.
Davis, CA
12/6/2011
This is my favorite Miso Ramen that I've had in America. The broth has lots of flavor without being overly salty.
I think it is better than Katana-ya or anything else I've had in the Bay Area.
I will definitely be back. -
Review from Cherylynn N.
San Francisco, CA
11/3/2011 2 photos
*Sees a packed restaurant*
"Honey, there's a lot of people in there. It must be good."
*Walks in Suzu Noodle House*
*Sees a crowd outside Suzu"
"Yo, that place looks CRACKIN'!"
"Yah, bro we're only in SF once so let's check it out."
*Puts name on waitlist*
.....
.....
.....
One of my friends was craving ramen but he didn't want to drive down to San Mateo so we ended up at Suzu. There's always a crowd outside Suzu so I thought it had to be good. For me, a tale-tell sign of a good Asian restaurant is if you see native patrons. There was zero at Suzu.
Suzu specializes in ramen, udon and soba with house-made noodles. There are also various dons (rice bowls) and curries on the menu. Can't decide? They have combos were you can mix and match ramen, udon or soba with a don of your choice.
Ok, ok so I know ordering a don in a noodle house is like ordering fish at a steakhouse but let me explain. I'm allergic to MSG so I try to stay away from soupy/saucy Asian foods. Also, I was eyeing the other table's ramen and the portion of noodles seemed very large which immediately set off in my head that it's probably "quantity" over "quality". If I'm going to get a MSG attack, it better be worth it and this case it didn't look to be.
CHICKEN KATSU DON - $10.95
http://www.yelp.com/bi...
One breaded chicken cutlet was sliced and placed top of a Mount Everest mountain of rice and drizzled with tonkatsu sauce. The katsu was crisp and tender but very bland. The tonkatsu sauce tasted straight from a bottle as it had that syrupy consistency. It was nothing that I couldn't get at Nijiya Market down the block in the pre-packed food section for half the price.
My friend, the human vacuum (but never gains weight) ordered the ramen combo with a katsu don. He normally inhales his food and finishes our leftovers. This time he didn't even finish his own food. My other friend ordered the curry don which she didn't like. I tried a sip of the broth and it was awful. The broth was ALL salt with no depth of flavor or spice. It tasted like it was made from a powder packet. You can actually still taste the raw curry powder in the broth like it wasn't cooked long enough in the broth.
Service was equally as bad. The rude waitresses passed our table over 10 times without coming to take our order. It wasn't a big deal at first since we were busy chatting. We had to wave our hands in the air to get their attention. It took about 15 minutes to get our food.
2.5 STARS rounded up to 3 STARS for filling my tummy without an MSG attack.
Just because a restaurant has a crowd outside does NOT mean it's good. Thanks for the lesson, Suzu.
OTHER NOTES:
*Small restaurant with 30 seats
*It's always crowded even on non-peak hours
*Expect a 30-45 minute wait during peak hours on weekends
*CC's AcceptedListed in: REAL Ramen? What's that?!?!?
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Review from rik p.
Oakland, CA
12/7/2011
My girlfriend and I went to Suzu this weekend when we got the hankering for some ramen. We didn't have a very long wait, despite what I had read, and the service was prompt and efficient.
My girlfriend had the Tokyo ramen, which seemed like the basic. The noodles and ingredients were good, but she found the broth to be somewhat lacking in flavor and density. It did seem pretty light to me as well.
I had the spicy ramen, which was quite flavorful and hot.
The noodles seemed quite fresh and had a nice bite to them. The pork was meaty but not as tender as I would have liked. Overall the portions were generous and a good value. -
Review from C A.
San Francisco, CA
11/23/2011
I usually get the mabo tofu nusu don (eggplant, tofu, pork on rice). A tad salty but satisfying. I've had the ramen too but since I'm not a huge ramen person, I thought it was just alright.
TIny place that usually has a wait. They have a signup sheet as they don't take reservations.
What's great is that after you've had the salty, you can go upstairs and get sophie's crepes for the sweet. -
Review from V. P.
San Francisco, CA
1/17/2012
Pretty good considering the location. The portions are big and for the price $8.95-$9.95 average for their ramen dish, you can't beat it. The establishment is a little small, and the wait can be long if you come after 6:30pm. Well, worth the wait and the staff are very polite and good service.
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Review from Jeanne L.
10/27/2011 1 Check-in Here
This is a review of the one time I came here and ordered a combo special (in the $12-13ish range), which includes a noodle (ramen, udon, or soba) and some kind of donburi (rice dish).
Since I had just come back from NYC and had high expectations (especially after Ippudo), I didn't want to ruin this place and order ramen, so I ordered the soba noodles instead. I also got a salmon don.
Since I couldn't resist, I did end up trying my friend's bowl of ramen as well. The noodles in both the ramen and the soba were both firm and chewy in texture, which I love. I actually have no complaints about the soba whatsoever. The ramen was just ok. The broth was simple, but nothing special.
The salmon don was very lackluster. The fish didn't taste fresh. This could have been due to the fact that the rice that it sat on was a bit too warm. The rice was also lacking proper seasoning with rice vinegar and sugar.
This place always seems to have a wait, which I don't understand, but hype does drive more hype. I definitely won't be waiting half an hour to eat here again. Heck, I probably wouldn't even if there was no wait. There's plenty of other restaurants in Japantown to try. -
Review from linda c.
San Francisco, CA
12/31/2011
I think it was an off night, the noodles were ok, the service as usual rushed, but there were flies everywhere...please clean the kitchen, you should not have flies everywhere. Ack! just thinking about it!!! Must take out my "Simply Japanese: Modern Cooking for the Healthy Home " cookbook and make my own noodles, but I liked you Suzu!!!
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Review from Jaime R.
San Francisco, CA
11/10/2011
The GF was working late last Thursday evening, so I was on my own for dinner. It was drizzling out, so I thought it would be a good evening for noodle soup.
Most of the noodle houses in Japantown have left me, well ... 'whelmed.' None of them have really impressed me enough to return for a second visit. So, imagine my surprise when I dug into my hefty portions of Suzu Ramen and Ten Don. Making good ramen takes the right touch. I could taste the freshness of the house-made ramen. The broth was tasty, and not over-seasoned (e.g., too salty). Having enjoyed the ramen dish, I moved on to the Ten Don. Tempura requires incredible technique to get it right. Even the smallest mistake could lead to a soggy crust, or limp veggies. This was not the case at Suzu. The crust on every piece of tempura was perfectly crisp.
I really enjoyed my meal at Suzu. And, guess what? I will be returning for another visit very soon. It's going to rain tomorrow, right? -
Review from Sean L.
San Leandro, CA
12/27/2011
considering how many times i've been to Japantown (well... honestly, not that THAT much), I'm surprised I've overlooked this place so much.
To put it simply, this place has a good balance of all the good qualities of my choice ramen spots in SF: the noodles have a chewiness like Katana-ya, and the broth is just as tasty as Tanpopo's broth.
I highly recommend the Suzu Ramen as it has chashu, karaage, and dumplings. Beware of lines (but this can be curtailed by the location being inside the Japantown plaza). -
Review from b h.
San Francisco, CA
Updated - 11/14/2011
Twenty minutes prior to the listed closing time @ 9pm on a busy Friday night.
"We are closed."
"It says you are open until 9pm?"
"Well, then we are not taking any more people"
Random 2 patrons waiting from the list... "We changed our minds we are going to eat elsewhere"
"Oh looks like 2 free spots just opened up, can we take those?"
"No, we are closed, sorry."
"No, you are not... sorry, pshffffff!"
If their ramen wasn't so tasty I should dock them minus one star, but I see how it is, bitchy little waiter had to GTFO and get his Friday night on. whatever, this is how you slowly loose good regular patrons. Auh-huh well**gasps**.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/6/2011
Went on a freezing Tuesday evening in January. A perfect day for a nice big hot bowl of ramen,… Read more »
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Review from Matsuo U.
San Francisco, CA
10/13/2011
Having seen this joint many times, when a friend said lets go try it.... I was game (that would be willing).
SERVICE:
"AhhhhHmmmm, One dinner has arrived, one has not. It has been 10 minutes could you check on one of the dinners" reply : "it will be 1 minute or 2 more" .... AhhhhHmmmm...now 15 minutes after ordering "Is there something wrong with the dinner order" reply: yes it got lost / mutilated / eaten by the chef (cook). With no apology, the 2nd dinner arrives, just as 1st one at the table was almost consumed. So person #1 eats solo, the 2nd watches, the 2nd eats solo while #1 watches ... maybe this is part of the SUZU free entertainment package.
So the service is like a STAND UP AND WAVE YOUR HANDS to get the attention of the server. Kinda got worse after we ordered, but then picked up with very frequent visits (once the dinner for the 2nd person arrived) with questions like "how was everything" & then "would you like anything else"... yah well I get the not so subtle. HINT: The turn the table routine. ... HINT: it don't work when people have food in their bowl and in their mouth.
Servers don't seem very happy nor accommodating ... that is when you get their attention. They should hand you a small flag as you enter, so you can wave for a bit of attention.
FOOD:
Price/Portion = not good.
Taste: hmmm, well it was OK, kinda bad when you see someone frantically shaking the chili container into their "Spicy" ramen. Soup base is salty, lacking depth of flavor like it was made from a reconstituted powder.
Menu: See the movie "Noodle Cook Gone Wild" on HBO or "Fusion food can lead to Confusion" on A&E.
Clientele: "Hmmm, lets be hip and grab noodles at Suzu" or "they may not be the best, but hey if we score a table in this small & stuffy joint with bad service..... we must be very cool". Maybe cos I don't fit the profile of the target customer seat warmer, I don't relate. -
Review from Laura-Alexis H.
Sacramento, CA
10/19/2011 1 Check-in Here
This place was busy busy! We had a short wait after writing our names on the clipboard by the door. It was a longer wait to get our order in to the poor overwhelmed server.
The miso nabeyaki udon was very flavorful but there was a bit too much tempura floating in it. My husband ordered katsudon and was disappointed it didn't have the eggs and green onions like he was used to. Still, it was good. Mom ordered the pork ramen with soba noodles instead and said it was tasty but not earth-shattering.
All in all, tasty food but not the absolute best. I think I've been spoiled by my local ramen house! -
Review from Ami K.
Daly City, CA
10/10/2011
I was so disappointed by the ramen here! They were stingy on the toppings, the broth was salty and not impressive, but the noodles were the perfect texture. You're better off getting your ramen fix at tampopo across the street or in san Mateo Dojo Ramen....
T^T -
Review from Matt E.
San Francisco, CA
12/2/2011 1 photo
I was craving a good bowl of Ramen and happened upon Suzu Noodle House after reading some favorable reviews. It didn't disappoint. It's probably the best ramen spot I've found in the city thus far.
I ordered the Suzu Ramen which included bbq pork, japanese fried chicken, fried gyoza, hard boiled egg, wakame, bamboo shoots and scallions in an incredibly flavorable pork broth. The ramen is housemade and had a great texture and bite to it.
I would never think to put fried chicken in a ramen soup, but it definitely worked. Great flavor! The potsticker I think it could have done without. It was a bit superfluous. The broth had great depth of flavor and it was the perfect bowl of soup for a hangover or on a cold day. At $14 it isn't cheap, but for a good meal, I often don't care what the price is as long as I leave satisfied. I would definitely recommend this spot! -
Review from Esther A.
10/10/2011
Suzu is located within the mall and always seem to have a lengthy wait. So put your name down on the list, ask the host how long the wait will approximately be, go upstairs to the bookstore and peruse through some Japanese fashion magazines and go back down in time to be seated. At least this is what I do. :)
Service is quick and to the point. No dilly-dallying around. Just a quick "what can I get you", take order, refill water, "here's your check" and leave. Ramen noodles weren't bad and the flavors was there. It's perfect for our SF gloomy or foggy laden days. This isn't my favorite ramen spot but I would say it's one of the better ones in Pac Heights. -
Review from Steven B.
San Francisco, CA
11/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
Suzu Noodle House is a a somewhat small restaurant in Japan Town. It fits probably around 30 people inside. Usually there's a line around lunch and dinner time, but like other ramen restaurants, they have a wait list outside. This place has a set ramen type of menu, which is a bit different from ramen restaurants so things like choice of broth isn't selectable. They have a few different set ramens on their menu. It seems like most of these ramen are shoyu, but they have a miso broth one.
Usually spicy for Japanese food isn't really spicy when compared to other Asian cultures, but their "spicy ramen" was quite spicy. It's definitely worth getting the spicy ramen if you're a fan of spicy food. The ramen noodles are chewy and great, which was the best thing out of the whole ramen. Everything else tastes alright and mediocre. The soup tastes a bit bland without flavor. There were two small pieces of cha siu and it wasn't amazing or great. The boiled egg they put in is a hard boiled. Lastly, there's the common bamboo shoots and seaweed inside the soup. -
Review from Daniel B.
San Francisco, CA
11/12/2011 6 Check-ins Here
The plastic shrink wrap from the ramen package was cooked and partially melted in my soup. My main concern about this was the possibility - or not, I wouldn't know - of plastic compounds leaching into my food. Our server said that she'd never seen that happen. In my five or so times eating here, neither have I. We weren't charged, and she offered that I choose another dish.
Aside from that funky occurrence, my friends and I have had consistently positive experiences here. But you know, from now on I'm going to swish my chopsticks around a bit, covertly probing my food before digging in. -
Review from Hannah A.
10/3/2011
My friend made a very valid observation of the customers leaving Suzu Noodle house as we arrived. " Look at everyone wiping the sweat from their brow, this is gonna be so good". Primarily we chose to eat lunch here because of how many people were either packed into the little space or waiting patiently outside. The smell floating from the kitchen was enough to sell me and the accolades on the store front provided further mouth watering anticipation. I'm no ramen expert but I am indeed an enthusiast and the execution of my Tokyo Ramen was satisfying enough to make me plan my next visit.
To be fair -
I'm comparing it to my deep lust for Orochon , A bowl of ramen the two of us experienced last summer in LA that has not been easily forgotten or contended.
Noodle Density was perfect.
Broth could use a little spice but God knows my stomach wouldn't agree.The thinly sliced pork in my bowl was saltier than my partners bowl but still deliecious.
I didn't like that the kitchen was exposed and I saw a girl eating a granola bar. The staff seemed exhausted or like they could use a couple shots of sake. $13.00 buys you a bowl of ramen and don.Listed in: A WEEKEND WITH HANNAH
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Review from D C.
San Francisco, CA
1/7/2012
One of my favorites! Service was quick, and ramen was delicious. Great broth, great noodle, but it was hard to find as it is inside the mall. I actually prefer Suzu over Tanpopo, which is just down the street!
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Review from Eric Robert T.
Hilo, HI
10/7/2011
One of my favorite Japanese restaurants in all of SF- of course it's in Japantown. Clean, efficient and the food's oishii! I usually get a combo of ramen and katsu... and the broth's always nice and smooth. Food's always fresh, and yes, they use top-grade Japanese rice! Excellent hot green tea served w/ any meal (I always request a refill or two). Best to avoid "lunchtime" or expect to wait at least 30 mins to be seated.
Luckily it's located in the Japantown mall... just in case you need to wait. -
Review from Ellen C.
San Francisco, CA
1/5/2012
I've walked past this restaurant many times and noticed it's always pretty busy, so I finally decided to give it a try. It's small and busy, so I went before noon and was promptly seated. Service was excellent. I had the spicy ramen, which I thought was good. Definitely spicy, but not so much so that I couldn't taste the other flavors in the soup. The noodles were a very good texture and the meat was flavorful. I would definitely go back and try some of the other menu items.
