This is the best ramen in San Diego. Their meat is top notch and the Original Hakata Tonkotsu is my personal favorite! The flavors in their ramen are far superior to other planes (in my opinion). It's worth the wait and so yummy. NEGATIVE (all service based): They could improve on seating people, especially parties of 1- people don't mind sitting next to one another if they're there to eat alone. The hostesses here HATE THEIR LIVES to the point that you get scolded for asking about a wait time or open seating at the *completely empty counter*. Lets work on basic greeting and customer service skills since this is one of the most popular restaurants in San Diego- your regulars expect this.

Score: 2.5 Stars.... rounded to a 3 Food: 4/5 Service: 1/5 Alright, it's been a looooooong time since I have last written a review, but here I am. Back with another one. SO let me preface this review by saying that my boyfriend and I come here quite often... I just keep forgetting to check-in. This place has his favorite ramen (the Shabu-Shabu Ramen), and he craves it basically every other day of every week. It's just difficult to come as often as he would like, because this place uses an incredible amount of MSG. To the point where I get a massive headache and my eczema starts to break out. But, I can't dock this place points for my allergy and for the fact that I torture myself because I, too, genuinely enjoy their ramen. However, I am not the biggest fan of their service, which I will get to later. In order to get a seat, you have to check-in at the front and write down your name and how many are in your party on a little clipboard. For a short time, they had a tablet at the front where you could check-in using Yelp, but for some reason, they got rid of that wonderful convenient tool. The hosts have always been lovely and efficient at their job, and even help expedite the process by bussing the tables if it's exceptionally busy (which it normally is). Expect about a 20-45 minute wait even during lunch time. -SERVICE- Each time my boyfriend and I have come here, it has always been a lackluster experience when it came to this place's service. They almost always forget the add-ons that we asked for in the beginning such as the extra egg or the extra nori, or they just won't pay any attention to the table after they receive the order up until it's time to drop the check. The first few times, I figured that they might just have new servers that are learning... but after a few months of serving there, you'd think they would get better... y'know? The last time we went, I ordered the Ultimate Jumbo Crispy Gyoza Ramen. And the ramen came after only about 10 minutes of waiting which was great, but then... there was no gyoza. I checked throughout the entire soup, and nothing. I was kind of surprised that they forgot it, because the gyoza was the star of the show and it was completely forgotten. It took another 10 minutes or so to grab our waitress's attention because she was busy talking to the host on the side. I had also ordered extra seaweed, which they had graciously added in my ramen, but I had actually meant the dry seaweed (the nori). Which understandably is my fault for the miscommunication, but when I asked a different server for extra nori, he came back a few minutes later with a single piece of nori. A single piece. I got rather annoyed at this point as this happened every time we have gone the past five or so times. Either my boyfriend has to ask again for his extra egg or his extra red bomb, or I have to ask again for nori (that one time was definitely my fault for not indicating properly which one I wanted.) -FOOD- The food is the saving grace of this place. The ramen noodles, whether they be thick or original, are always cooked properly and have a nice chew to them and the flavorful broth clings on to them like a bodycon dress. Recently, I have been loving adding the spiced vinegar that they provide on each table to my broth because it adds a wonderful zing that cuts through the fatty richness. My boyfriend always sticks to his Shabu-Shabu Ramen like I said, which comes with raw, thinly-sliced beef and a light broth that reminds of a Filipino dish, Beef Nilaga. The meat cooks in the steaming hot broth, and afterwards becomes wonderfully tender. I vary on the ramen I order each time we go, whether it be the Setagaya 27 Curry Ramen (which is basically a soupy Japanese curry filled with corn, noodles, and cabbage) or the Original Hakata Tonkotsu Ramen (just as rich and thick as the curry but instead with porky deliciousness). However, like I said earlier, much of their food contains hella amounts of MSG, so ya girl is a mess immediately afterwards. Overall, this place gets 2.5 stars (and that's rounded up to a 3) because the food is a 4/5 and the service is 1/5. I truly am so upset with the service here because it's consistently meh. But that being said, my boyfriend loves the ramen here, so we'll still be coming back. Just not as often.

8 months ago: Came here with friends. Ordered their new ramen on the menu. They got it wrong and brought spice in the ramen. I had asked it on the side. The server bringing the ramen was super smart ass and rude, had that resting witch face. But the one who got my order worked very hard to correct the order, explained the ones in the kitchen they did wrong. Result: my friends finished eating, I still didn't get my new ramen. Months later edit: went here again, they got the orders correct this time, the sushi we ordered was like a pile of rice(taste wise). Ramen was just ok. We paid 81 dollars before tip. Wasn't worth the taste.

We were so ready to be fans of RakiRaki, but we are sad to say we left feeling more disappointed than we expected. The restaurant is located in a tight little plaza with compact stalls galore, so definitely be careful if you're driving a bigger car. The restaurant, unlike the parking lot, is spacious with plenty of tables and seats, plus a bar for parties of one. The menu seemed simple at first, displaying a lunch combination where you choose a main entree and then a side/appetizer. However, we opened the silver binder and realized that RakiRaki offers a PLETHORA of other options that are just too many to list. After much contemplation, we finally decided to get the black ramen with chicken combo and a side of karaage, as well as the tsukemen with aburi chashu. Service is undeniably friendly and we appreciated how often our waitress came by to check on us. The food came out at a reasonable pace and we liked that the karaage was actually served first as the appetizer. The karaage was easily the best item with a delightfully crispy exterior without it being overly tough or heavy. The chicken was also quite juicy. Unfortunately, both ramen bowls fell flat for us. The tsukemen looked great in terms of presentation, but the taste was off. Firstly, the soup wasn't nearly as concentrated as it should have been, the oily sheen was off putting, and I didn't understand why the chashu was cut into little bit size pieces. But the biggest issue was the noodles that were thick like pasta and had the strangest aftertaste, as if it came straight out of a cardboard box. The black edition ramen did not have a strong black garlic oil taste and the egg veered towards the hard boiled side than soft boiled. The yolk was not runny at all. At least the chicken was prepared well. Everything about RakiRaki made it seem like it would be the perfect ramen spot to blow our taste buds out of the water, but alas, it just wasn't meant to be.

I am vegetarian and so far this is my favorite Ramen place in San Diego! I can't vouch for the other ramen, but their veggie ramen with green noodles is one of the best I have ever had! The biggest con about this place is the wait line. No matter what time of the day I go, there is always a long line. So it won't help if you have a craving and trying to eat something fast. However if you have a lot of patience then worth trying. Esp if you are vegetarian. I have tried Tajima and compared to them, raki raki has better veggie ramen. Overall price is a little on the heavier side but that's most places in Conv

[This review is from the perspective of a vegan. If you're omni, I'm sure your experience will be much more positive.] Unfortunately, this is the second worst bowl of vegan ramen I've ever had. Uninspired, flavorless, and insipid are all good words to describe what is happening here. I do not believe they put a lot of thought into ensuring the vegan ramen is the best it could be. Let me start from the beginning. RakiRaki had a weird relationship with me in terms of vegan food. When I first came here a few years ago, they had a completely different vegetarian ramen where the server ensured me was vegan. I brought my sister here a few weeks later, and after waiting for an hour to get a table, the new server told me the ramen I was previously served was NOT vegan because all noodles have eggs. I asked if they had any vegan options and they said no. This was incredibly disappointing, as I had been given false information and ate it unknowingly. I sat at my table with no food hungrily watching my sister eat. After this experience, I wrote RakiRaki off as not having any options for me. Until now. A friend encouraged me to check if RakiRaki has changed since then, and to my delight and excitement, they now offer vegan ramen with egg-free noodles. Happy to give RakiRaki another chance I hurriedly invited my friend to come here. Spoiler: I left feeling robbed. I may have had a bowl of noodles in front of me this time, but I did not leave any less hungrier than before. The clear broth tasted like those grocery store cartons of vegetable broth, but somehow even more watered down. The kale noodles were chewy and the only good thing I can say about my experience. Previously, their vegetarian ramen was super rich and creamy - almost too rich - but their vegan ramen now is like anti-rich. It's negative rich. The you-would-give-this-to-your-sick-friend-recovering-from-fever kind of bland. Also if you're a strict vegan or worried about cross contamination I wouldn't eat here. I think I tasted meat fat inside my broth on a few occasions. It was super noticeable because, you guessed it, the whole ramen had like no flavor. Vegans, go to Tajima, Nishiki, Yakyudori (after 6pm to get their kale noodle, do NOT get their gluten-free noodle), or Menya Ultra. You're in Convoy. There is literally no reason to eat something so plain. Also the vegan ramen is so overpriced? My bland af ramen costed $14.95. That is $0.50 cents more expensive than my friend's Shoyu Ramen. Absolutely criminal. If they give their vegan ramen a total makeover, I am willing to give RakiRaki another chance. It makes me cry because I see the unrealized potential here. Until then, I'm pretending this place doesn't exist.

A solid option for ramen if you're willing to wait. They finally implemented the Yelp waitlist, so it's more bearable. Chicken karaage is delicious! Been to Raki Raki twice and both times I got their black edition ramen. Loved the thin noodles and broth was on point. The aburi chasiu, however, is dry and lacks flavor. I recommend paying extra for the prime underbelly. They have a large menu. It's a bit more expensive than other options in the area.

This is a popular joint! A bit of of a wait on a Friday night, but worth it. Seating consists of large tables that you share with others, a few smaller tables available. We ordered the Premium ramen with kale noodles, Oxtail ramen with kale noodles, and chicken karaage. Yes!! You can opt for kale noodles, no extra charge! A poster of their zagat rated chicken karaage adorn the walls. We received our order and were pleased. Crispy, juicy, pieces of fried chicken. Yum! Two dipping sauces included , but my favorite dipping sauce was the garlic infused vinegar table side. The premium ramen was delicious. Broth was flavorful and rich, with bits of garlic, seaweed, mushroom, and pork char siu. My tummy was happy The kale noodles were a nice healthier version. The oxtail ramen consisted of two bowls- one bowl with large pieces of oxtail in a light broth and another bowl of the rich broth with ramen. This is a good size portion- my friend was only able to eat half and she took the rest home. Overall happy, happy!!

Oh no..... I'm so sad to be giving this place less than stellar reviews. :( I was so excited to try this place made it a point to go here before leaving the city so I could leave with a full & happy belly, but it was below my expectations. The ramen wasn't great, but the chicken kaarage was AMAZING and came with huge chicken pieces in a huge portion. I got the red edition ramen with chasu and I'm used to ramen having a full bodied sometimes overly salty flavor, but this broth was bland. I added salt and it just wasn't enough to do anything. The chasu tasted like straight pork belly with no seasoning. This was also supposed to be the spicy ramen but there was no kick, even when I added a bunch of my own pepper. My boyfriend got the yokohama shoyu with the prime underbelly, and once again the underbelly had no flavor. Broth was also bland. I ended up leaving the restaurant with almost a full bowl leftover. Although seeing Junya come into the restaurant during my time there was pretty cool! His aura was definitely something and it was funny to see everyone in the kitchen scramble out of his way when he was there.

Update- service still sucks sometimes, BUT- we've become hooked. I now get the Curry Ramen- and that's awesome. Can't even try making it at home. It's good enough we've brought friends with us. They did take away the waitlist option, but I don't care. I'll wait. Cause when the craving for that curry Ramen hits nothing else can fix it. It might be less authentic than the other spot sign even longer lines, but I do not care. This is my favorite. ORIGINAL- (4 stars) The stars are all for the food- and the service nearly knocked this down to a three- which it really should have been- Front desk girl was rude, and when we finally did get seated, the waiter was helpful, took the order and then vanished. Like seriously- never saw him again... But the food was worth the wait, and for the first real ramen experience it was better than expected. The husband tried the Shabu Shabu ramen and I went with the one that had short ribs on top. And chicken Karrage to start. The chicken was freaking delicious. He liked his ramen better than I liked mine, but we will come back to try more. But seriously- the chicken was the best part. And we ate it before the photos-

Of the many ramen places to eat in San Diego, I'd say that this place is a solid option ! They have a wide variety of ramens to order from, which was perfect for my friend group of four. We ended up talking about what makes a good ramen - and in my opinion, it's hard to compare 'ramen' in general because there are so many different types ! You can't compare a tonkotsu to a tsukamen nor a shio to a tan tan... With that said, I think they have a great tonkotsu broth. I love broths that are rich and fatty, and if there are ever black garlic renditions of the broth im all in.. in addition the black garlic they also had a spicy option which is what I opted for. The broth was so delicious I probably drank more of it than noodles. I also enjoyed the variety of authentic toppings they add to their ramen such as bamboo shoots, wakame, soft boiled eggs, sesame seeds, and green onion. I haven't been back in awhile because the wait is always so long but when I do come back I'm definitely getting their tsukamen!

Raki Raki! Man, this place was pretty good. The staff were extremely friendly and checked up on the table on a consistent basis. We started off with an appetizer -- the Chicken Karaage which was fried really well and piping hot. It was served on top of a small salad with mayo and a sort of chipotle sauce. Very good! Then we ordered two bowls of ramen: the Original Tonkatsu and the Black Edition ramen! They both were very good. The broth was thick, warming, and very flavorful. Egg cooked to perfection. The noodles here are very thick and have a good bite to them, so if you're into a thinner ramen, I'd definitely ask if they have that as an alternative.

Been here in the past and was not super impressed. This time I came back and had a way better experience. This place is always super packed but thankfully they have 2 options: 1) wait for restaurant seating or 2) go order at the poke place next door and eat there (limited menu though). Definitely recommend the second option if you don't wanna deal with waiting. It came out super quick. I ordered the hakata ramen w/ takoyaki combo while my bf just ordered the curry ramen. Remember the combo makes the ramen a smaller size! Takoyaki came out first and was really good. Hakata ramen was pretty good too but nothing too special; egg was yummy, cha siu was thick-cut and not thin. Curry ramen was the winner for me, the broth was suuuuuper flavorful and delicious. I'd come back and get that one

Amazing food. Good service. A bit crowded and usually always a wait but I'd say it's worth it. Definitely recommend the ramen burger or any of the ramen bowls. Parking can be a bit bad too but there's a parking structure across the street to minimize time looking for a spot.

Really good ramen, so many options and it's hard to make decisions when it all sounds so good. Not pictured are the chicken appetizer.... so yum and some gyoza. They were demolished before we thought to take a pic, so.... yeah, delicious. We will be back, cause there are more ramen to try.

Get extra bamboo shoots! Amazing ramen open late. Appetizers are before 10:30 pm be warned! I will be coming back just for the apps, music is great! Service is amazing! Cool lil spot!

Good, but had better. Honestly, there is just a little too much going on with the menu. Too many options to choose from. The parking lot gets full real fast so street parking or paid parking is going to be your best bet. Service was friendly and quick. I had the black edition Ramen which I liked. What I really liked was the fried squad appetizer. Just wished the portion was a bit bigger.

This is my favorite go to ramen spot on Convoy. I always try something different each visit and this time I tried the Setagaya 27 Curry ramen and I must say it is by far my favorite. There is a variety of selections and they all can be made to preference. Food service is fast and comes out within 10 minutes after ordering and the staff is very friendly and well knowledgeable about their menu. It can get a little loud in the restaurant, but manageable enough to carry on conversation at a normal volume. I would definitely recommend this place! Tips from an eliter - 1. make reservations on yelp Bc the wait can get ridiculous. 2.check in to get a free soda 3.parking sucks, be prepared. 4.restaurant only serves ramen after 11:45pm

Really enjoy the ramen here. They're actually pretty quick with your orders and the quality of the food is unmatched in the Convoy area. I've tried a couple different sushi rolls and they were all great but my favorite dish is definitely the Wok-Sizzled Yebisu Kimchee Ramen. Great flavors, nice and spicy just the way I like it; topped with the crispy tofu and underbelly, this bowl of ramen is the reason I come to Convoy.

I had zero expectations and was pleasantly surprised by RakiRaki's ramen! I was additionally not expecting much since they're tucked in an unsuspecting strip plaza in Kearny Mesa. A couple reviews mentioned the wait but there was no wait on a Saturday late afternoon, altho the food did take forever to come out. I had the Shoyu Tonkotsu Ramen + chashu ($12.95). The broth was my favorite! It was super c r e a m y and rich! I like that it comes with the works and you don't need to pay extra for an egg or bamboo or whatever. The garlic chips though I could do with less. I felt like just one or two slivers of the chips is good enough - the handful sprinkled in my ramen got a bit overpowering. My friend tried their Tsukemen Hakata Tonkotsu Broth + chashu ($13.95) and upgraded to the "black edition" aka the fermented garlic oil (+$1.50). So with tsukemen, the noodles & broth are separated, and they boasted "triple thick" dipping noodles. It was my friend's first time trying tsukemen ever and he really enjoyed it! He definitely enjoyed the broth although he had a lil difficulty ratio-ing the soup to noodles just cause you dip it yourself so he ended up with excess soup. I personally feel the noodles were a bit too thick - they're the type that pair better with Chinese beef noodle soup, not really ramen? I mean he was ok with it - maybe I just prefer my ramen with actual ramen noodles. So my only complaint (and the reason it's 4 stars instead of 5) is that chashu freaking sucked! They gave us lean, skinny ass chashu instead of those satisfying, fatty slices of pork. It was super dry for the both of us and it was a little disappointing since RakiRaki boasts SO many reviews and is incredibly popular. It was kind of a bummer. That, and service was not ~the best~ servers were not super personable and kinda cold, water refills took longer than they should have when it was not that busy. Hailing from LA/OC I'm pretty spoiled with good ramen and RakiRaki's was pretty up there. Just gotta work on their mega-dry chashu!