Bear ramen used to be my go to in Berkeley, but the kimchi fried noodle was not the same as I remembered. Maybe the noodles are not fresh made or the sauce was a bit too sweet, but it just tasted different. One of the better deals in Asian ghetto though. read more

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Everything was great especially the food ! Fast service, kind and easy to access I would definitely recommend. read more

Bears Ramen House - Tonkotsu ramen - A bowl of ramen with a slice of chicken, a large piece of seaweed, chopped green onions, and vegetables in a light-colored broth. The ramen is served in a red container, with a straw inserted into the bowl. The background includes a green beverage container and a textured wall surface. - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

Great service, bad food. Legit, the noodles I got were gross and I couldn't finish them. The location has awkward inside seating as well.

Kimchi fried noodles with spam- if you like spicy comfort food you'll love this. If you accidentally ordered it not knowing how spicy it would be- eat the egg now then stick it in the fridge and wait a day- it really mellows it out! Came by late night and waited less than 10 minutes read more

Food was alright, I am personally not the biggest fan of this flavor profile as it gets tiring quickly but to each their own!! I was able to finish the kimchi pork noodle in 1 sitting, for the lunch special price I think it was worth it. I would not return for a meal but I understand the appeal in these dishes.. for me it's more like a filling and indulgent late night snack-meal. Unfortunately I think you need to eat somewhat quickly because it got cold fast.. and much less enjoyable read more

Bears Ramen House - #40. Kimchi & Spicy Pork Noodle #57. Spicy Rice Cake with Ramen - The image shows two white plates of Korean cuisine on black trays, set on a wooden outdoor table. The top plate contains spicy ramen with instant noodles, rice cakes, and vegetables in a red broth. The bottom plate features stir-fried noodles with vegetables and sauce. Chopsticks and napkins are placed beside each plate, and part of a person's arm and clothing are visible on the right side. - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

comfort food tucked away in the corner next to Gypsy's! the kimchi fried noodles are tangy but hella spicy so beware. the kimchi fried rice was also really tasty; a little more mild in spice but the spam was the perfect protein choice. once mixed in with the fried egg, it was a game changer. the chicken wings were also yummy even after being in the fridge overnight. we got the chicken wings with soy garlic sauce and they were a tad spicy. read more

Quick Summary: - Cute interior, narrow but cozy - Bar tables with tall chairs, room to place bags underneath - Ordering can be done at the kiosk - Content portions, entered hungry, left full - No banchan It was around lunchtime, when we headed here to eat. It uses the SnackPass kiosk, so we ordered it from there. We picked one, that was labeled as 'popular,' and the rest we chose by interest. I love Korean styled rice cakes, so I picked the Gooksoo with it. This was the first time to eat Gookso; it looked as thick as an udon noodle (which is my favorite noodle). While the reviews say that the wait time is long, I didn't think it was. If one is expecting to get their food soon after they are notified, then maybe waiting for five minutes after they were called feels late? I can't be too sure because I didn't order by take out (I was dine-in). The food arrived in this order: kimchi fried noodle, curry Gooksoo, and the rice cake Gookso. The noodle is good! As a person, who likes udon, this was almost like it. I think it's more tender and easier to chew, so it's not as suitable as udon or ramen, to slurp. My favorite would be the kimchi fried noodle in this food experience. The noodle texture was great and the sauce that was on it - it had a creamy texture. It was something I never tried before! The curry Gooksoo tastes good too! Kind of reminds me of how we cook our homemade curry. The spiciness was just right for me (low spice tolerance). It contains a lot of vegetables, and they were cooked to the soft tenderness. This and the kimchi fried noodles are great for the summer day. I also liked the rice cake noodle, but comparing it with the other two this on didn't shine as much. It has a lighter tasting broth, so it was refreshing to eat, almost like a palette cleanser for the two impact tasting dishes. Maybe if this one had some kimchi on the side, the flavor could have been enhanced, but overall this was a good dish. Definitely would return here to eat the fried noodle and to have another bowl of Gooksoo read more

The service was great but only spoke Spanish and their ordering was so complicated. I got ramen and I thought it looked not great but I gave it the benefit of the doubt. Unfortunately it was not good it's very mushy, oily, thick not good at all. I think the other food looked decent but I didn't eat it so I wouldn't know. So don't order the ramen! read more

Quick food prep and delivery. Not my favorite beef ramen. Meat was lusterless. Broth was weak/watery. Noodles felt almost like instant ramen noodles. Egg addition was a waste of money. Not a soft boiled marinated ramen egg, but a lame egg dropped into broth or prefried and then dropped in (def overcooked.) I imagine that some of my frustration is that it wasn't Japanese ramen but the overall quality of this (maybe) korean style (?) ramen could be much better. read more

If you're Korean-American, you know the stuff that's easy to cook, but too much work to have on hand all the time, or your roommates hate the smell of fried kimchi? Come here. Egg and Spam Kimchi Fried Rice. And Ddukbokkgi (sp?) with spam. :) read more

This tiny restaurant is located in "Asian Alley", an outdoor food court. We came here for a dinner on a Friday night and sat outside although this restaurant has a few seats inside. Although my seafood pancake was pretty good, the length of time you took to serve me, my food was unacceptable. The rest of my party went to other locations in the food court, and finished their meals before I even got mine delivered. I noticed that there was only one person working during the dinner rush. Then I noticed a second person showed up to help. He had been having dinner in the restaurant while I was waiting for my food. read more

When in Berkeley, we can't resist a stop at one of our family favorites. Our order hasn't changed since my daughter was a toddler. We share the potstickers and kimchi fried rice with tofu. We were thrilled to find that we can now pay with card via the Snackpass machines out front. My daughter typed up our order. We walked around our old stomping grounds for a few minutes while we waited and then we grabbed our meal to go. The potstickers were wonderfully crispy with well-seasoned filling. Usually we'd have leftovers of rice but since my little is now 12, we finished the dish. There were folks double-parked everywhere but we found a free parking spot half a block away. read more

Despite its name, it actually sells Korean food with a very extensive menu too. I ordered the Kimchi Fried Rice with Beef ($9.17) which is a little pricy but delicious. They include an over-easy egg so you can mix the raw egg yolk with the rice. The kimchi flavor is extremely prevalent throughout the entire dish with just the right amount of spice and pickled flavor. It is located near the back of the "Asian ghetto" also it is cash only unless you pay the fee for credit card. read more

Bears Ramen House - Kimchi Fried Rice with Beef ($9.17) - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

I always come here after class since it's a close go-to spot (close to campus) for decently priced instant ramen/udon with adjustable toppings. Lots of choices, food is satsifying/good if your expectations aren't overreaching...decently to slightly overpriced costs for each of the menu items. Food: Champong gooksoo (udon) and shrimp ramen are both OK in terms of taste- not at restaurant level. Udon is hand-made but toppings are scarce. Located in Asian Ghetto and is a small shop with minimal indoor and available outdoor dining. read more

Bears Ramen House - #36. Champong Gooksoo - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

I came to this restaurant because I really really needed to use the restroom. Other restaurants refused to give me the key. However, the owner here was kind and very understanding. Super nice and has a great attitude. Gave me the key in exchange for ordering food and holding my credit card which of course is fine because keys are expensive to replace especially through the landlord. I decided to get the potstickers as it was my first time in Berkeley, the potstickers are amazing. Tasty, fresh, meaty and crispy. Parking was a challenge but I'm definitely going to be back to try their Ramen. I mean, Ramen is in the name. Should've tried it but I went Korean BBQ before I came here. Thank you again for the tasty food and for letting me use the outside bathroom! Kudos 감사합니다 read more

Was really hungry and decided to order the black bean rice cake. Taste I'd rate as 3.5 of 5 stars. portion was tiny. Maybe like 12 pieces of rice cake the rest sauce and a few pieces of meat. No side dish. 14 bucks and I'm still hungry. Next time I'll pass on this. read more

Bears Ramen House - A red bowl holds a dark, thick sauce with pieces of meat and vegetables, possibly onions and green onions, in a savory Asian dish. The dish appears to be a stir-fry or braised preparation, garnished with sesame seeds. Two chopsticks are inserted into the bowl, and the bowl is placed on a white napkin on a dark surface. - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

I have been going here for years! Quality food and great service. I love the kimchi fried rice with spam and egg! It's so flavorful and such generous serving. My favorites is the ramen... I love thy you can customize it your liking... I get extra veggies... affordable too! Don't miss it on the south side!! read more

The best food made by some of the best people I know! The food is always fresh and tasty and the service is outstanding. Love this place and the owners. read more

Tucked in a mini square on Durant by Telegraph is this restaurant. By it are other eateries like a place for boba, Thai, a place for pho, Chinese food, a donut shop, and more. My best friend and I chose Ramen and this place was thankfully not one of those shops that are closed Monday and Tuesday, and open only on the evenings. Anyways, Bear Ramen House has a fairly sizable menu. There's about ten different Ramen dishes, some rice plates, and more. We decided to go with the Bulgogi Ramen dish. The cost ended up being around $18. Cash only! Luckily my friend had cash or else I would had to run by the bank. Anyways, they got complimentary water and cute little cups to go with it. Since it was a nice day, we didn't seat in the restaurant itself. Only about ten seats anyways inside the small area so we went outside to sit on one of the tables. They use big bowls for the ramen, but the portion of it is half of the bowl. I finished my food fairly quickly and didn't feel full. I don't know if it's because the portion given was small or if noodles in general don't fill me up. The noodles were okay. They looked more like the noodles from the packages (which I don't mind). The broth was hot but had a certain sweetness to it. Not bad overall, but not the best Ramen dish I've had. I think there are better Ramen places, but this did it's work of giving me nourishment and sort of satisfying my ramen craving. 3/5 read more

Bears Ramen House - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

We came back here for lunch on Sunday afternoon. This time the chef was Algerian. We were a little worried about how the food would taste, but he is an excellent cook. He was fast efficient and friendly. Keep in mind that this restaurant only accepts cash, but it is well worth it. Street parking in the area is normally limited, but is free and readily available on a Sunday. read more

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Over the years, Bears Ramen House has increasingly gotten more expensive while serving the same instant ramen noodles. What causes me to give it 3 stars is because occasionally I will crave their rice cake ramen. The noodles are the ones you can get in instant packets but I enjoy the rice cake, spinach and frosh cake slices. The soup has a bit of a spicyness to it which helps when I'm feeling sick. I don't come here as often anymore because of the raised prices but whenever I feel sick, this is one of my go to noodle soup places. read more

Bears Ramen House - To Go Rice Cake Ramen (3/7/19) - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

Food is fine but the guy behind the grill is so slow. Truly moves as a glacial pace. Don't expect food to come out on time.

Some of the BEST ramen i had, seasoned just right. Other places dont season their ramen. Great customer service.

My first time eating in the "Asian ghetto" as they call it was decent. The food here was good but a little pricey and the place itself gets crammed easily since the seating overlaps with the area where you order, so you have to order over people sitting trying to eat at the bar in front of you. So I suggest sitting off to the side or just take your food and sit in the outside seating. I liked being able to watch the food being made in front of me but it took a little while for it to come out since there were only two people cooking and taking orders. The miso ramen was good and was a large portion, and the potstickers were my favorite. I expected the kimchi fried rice to have a little more flavor but it was still good. Overall this place was good, not over the top amazing but not bad at all. read more

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Small mom n pop eatery centrally located to all the cool shops in Berkeley. We were quite surprised how small this place was. It's a small place with no tables, just a counter and bar with seats. The lady does all the cooking and order taking and her hubby was doing the prep work. We ordered the kimchi fried noodles and Dukbokki. My daughter has been on a rice cake kick. The food came out quick! The noodles were udon style and absolutely delicious. The Dukbokki was tasty as well with perfect flavor and spices. This was a great find but we noticed upon walking here that this area has lots of little eateries with a variety of different foods to satisfy your inner foodie! Side note: they make their noodles fresh!! The lady working the counter was squeezing out fresh noodles, like a Rockstar! That's probably why the udon style noodles were quite Amazing!! read more

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A mom and pop teeny korean food place nested in Durant square (aka asian ghetto). Glad its survived, with all the change in the food scene in Berkeley for the last few years. Sunday, 6:30pm. 2 people there already eating and 2 others deciding on their order. There's only about 10ish seats there but it gets crowded pretty fast. It can feel a little chaotic coming in to place your order, but the lady there is super observant, quick to get your order in, and move things along (she on the cashier and cooking too). Got a Kimchi Fried Noodle with spam to-go. $11 for the meal. Definitely increased in price in the past few years, but was super stuffed after, and don't mind supporting this small business. One thing I never noticed before was that they make this type of noodle in house (I think its udon)- whaaat so awesome! One issue I did see was the guy working there, who had finished his dinner before getting back to work, picked his teeth with his fingers before helping sauté something. While he didn't directly touch food, that's gross. He should have washed his hands. Its my first time seeing him though so would let it slide. :| Back to the food- the kimchi fried noodle brings back good memories. A little chewier than I remember but still tasty and flavorful. I'm not a fan of cold pickled foods, but really like the sautéed kimchi- it's a little sweet, little sour. Combined with spam and udon really hits the spot. Also topped with a perfect sunny side up egg with sesame seeds and some green onion. Definitely recommend. Try it! :) read more

Bears Ramen House - Kimchi fried noodle with spam, to go - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

Cannot stop eating their kimchi fried rice... it's SO addicting. During COVID-19, they are accepting over the phone orders, Snackpass orders, and they also have a kiosk outside the door. They always make the food quickly (10 minutes or under) which is perfect for grabbing food in-between classes! I must say though, their ramen is very sub par. Unfortunately there aren't many quality ramen places in Berkeley in general, but I genuinely feel like people can replicate their ramen at home by just adding some bean sprouts and other veggies to your instant ramen (which i notice they do). -don't come here for the ramen- come for the kimchi fried rice! read more

This place is pretty cool Located in a small little "town square" next to Berkeley university, this place is the de-facto student food place. The place is small, with only bar seats, and cut menus with cute colors. The food prices are of course student prices, and the portions are student portions as well :) Ahhh, reminds me of the days when I had to save every penny on food while being a poor student. The food is FANTASTIC. Definitely get the kimichi fried rice or the kimchi fried noodle. With spam. Always get the spam. It's the korean way. You won't regret it. mmmmm kimchi fried rice read more

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I have good memories of this place from college--it's affordable, yummy and the owner is super sweet. I like their kimchi fried rice and kimchi fried noodles a LOT in college, but there are definitely better Korean restaurants in the Bay Area. This is the kind of place you go to for a quick, cheap, no-frills bite to eat. +1 star to this place for their kimchi fried rice, which is the dish that converted me to LOVE over-easy eggs. I used to get grossed out by the smell and flavor of eggs but fell in love with over-easy eggs because of Bear Ramen read more

I LOVE THIS PLACE! The owner is this cute lady that reminds me of MOM. Aww! It's amazing how many orders she can keep straight at ONE time. Everyone get's Kim Chi Fried Rice. I recommend Mushroom Fried Noodle. It's a hidden delight! I love it so much! *heart* read more

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This place is cheap and all the college students love it. The kimchi fried rice is by far the most interesting thing I've had from South Side Asian Ghetto. It comes with spam, a half cooked egg, and lots of kimchi flavored rice. When I'm not feeling the kimchi fried rice, I opt for the bear ramen special. The bowl it comes in is a little small, but it's packed with lots of veggies and chewy noodles, perfect for a student who doesn't eat their veggies. read more

This place is not worth it. I came for kimchi fried rice since that seems to be everyone's jam. The restaurant is cash only and for $8+, the kimchi fried rice was tiny and the egg was way too overcooked-- it's a fried egg, but the yolk began to solidify since it was cooked too long. It didn't taste bad, a little spicy with onions and green onions, and flavourful kimchi, but for the portions and the overly tough beef make me shake my head. For 8 bucks, I can go to Tacos Sinaloas and feel more full and satisfied with delicious tacos. Kimchi fried rice is mostly carbs, so it seems filling yet it isn't. I just wouldn't bother to go back for small portions that don't fill you up or at least give you two meals. Also, the cashier seems to treat some customers better than others. She never asked if I wanted to go or sit down, but she just assumed I wanted to go. However, she asked the guys after me if their seating preference, so the customer service is unpredictable. read more

Bears Ramen House - Kimchi fried rice - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

Oh goodness. Where do I begin? I suppose that nowadays, whenever I think of Ramen noodles, I think of fresh, boiled noodles done in the Japanese way. But then I get a glance of how the ramen here is made, and I see dry bricks of styrofoam "noodles". I instantly regret going into this shop. I had the curry "ramen". And I almost never say this, but I felt like I could have cooked this dish. And I'm a horrible cook. The ramen itself tasted like the dry stuff I make at home, and the curry tasted exactly like the out of the box stuff I have made. The people running the shop were very nice and professional, but it just isn't enough to get me to come back. If this bowl was around $5, I wouldn't have felt so disappointed. But at almost $9, I just want to forget I ever came to this place. read more

Bears Ramen House - I could have made this at home. - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

Go to place for comfort food, noodles when you're feeling under the weather, or a really good friend date - charming no nonsense hole in the wall with excellent ramen, soba noodles, etc. I highly recommend the kimchi fried noodles with spam. read more

Here for the first time with my girlfriend on a Friday night. The area was crowded per usual. It was a pretty chilly night so I decided to get #27 the beef gooksoo which is the udon soup and my girlfriend got #56 the spicy rice cake. Very small spaces so if you have a big group you gotta find seats outdoors. Only 8 people can eat inside this restaurant. The food came out pretty quickly and I really enjoyed it! I picked udon because I preferred it over ramen. My order was a perfect size but not a lot of beef. The beef wasn't that tender but still really good. The broth was really good as well. My girlfriends spicy rice cake was really good as well. She couldn't finish it because it was too spicy but she thought it was really good and would come here again. Overall good spot, the workers were really nice as well. Would definitely come again to try more things. GOOD: udon was really good and the rice cake. Portions were perfect and was very filling. BAD: You can only get water through the cooler they put out. UGLY: if you can't sit inside you gotta sit outside in the cold. AND CASH ONLY. read more

Bears Ramen House - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

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Sorry, but advertising this as ramen is kinda misleading. It was just noodles in a broth (pretty much cup noodle quality) with flavorless chicken and tons of pepper. It definitely isn't terrible food. I don't feel sick after eating it, but I also will never eat here again. Take that with a grain of salt I guess. read more

tl;dr It's a good place for cheap food and college student-budget friendly, but the quality of food isn't the best and DO NOT get food delivery from here under any circumstances. I have been here several times for some student budget-friendly ramen; I would usually only go when my friends went, as this isn't really a place I would go out of my way to frequent alone. One thing to keep in mind is that the noodles they give are virtually indistinguishable from top ramen noodles which makes me think that the food is overpriced (granted, still cheap overall) for what you're getting. The main reason why I am reviewing this place so poorly is due to a recent Uber Eats experience with this restaurant, and I cannot recommend that anyone gets food delivery from here. Not only was delivery very late because the business was 15-20 minutes behind with regards to preparing our order and made our Uber driver wait around until they finished, but the ramen spilled in the plastic bags they came in BEFORE our delivery driver even picked them up! Apparently whoever was working there that day deemed half-spilled, leaking ramen in the bag to be an acceptable presentation to hand off; the paper box the noodles came in, the napkins, and the chopsticks were completely drenched in ramen by the time our order came to us. The fact that not one, but all the orders they gave to the driver had already spilled and were leaking in their bags was completely appalling, and now I have to go back-and-forth with Uber Eats to deal with this headache. The lack of quality control that this place had with regards to delivery was incredible(-ly bad), quite frankly. The only reason why I ordered delivery from here was because it was what my friends wanted that night, but I will be sure to never make that mistake again. The fact that people had already complained about the containers and they still thought it was in good conscience to give their customers ramen that had already spilled speaks volumes. Never again. read more

Bears Ramen House - The cook apparently thought it was okay to give customers bags that were leaking with ramen. - A digital screenshot shows a text conversation between two individuals. One person describes a bag of ramen leaking fluid and mentions a cook giving it to them. The other person responds with reassurance. The conversation appears to be about a food delivery or restaurant experience. - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

Had an urge for some Ramen tonight and I finally checked this spot out with my girlfriend. We both had seen this spot so many times and since we wanted Ramen we finally checked it out and I'm glad we did! I ordered the beef ramen and my girlfriend got the chicken ramen. It's a very small spot, so sitting outside is kind of essential, but since it's the Asian Ghetto there's a lot of spots to sit at. The food was ready within about 8 minutes. The food was quite good! I added a bit of spice to it and I really enjoyed the broth. The noodles were good and the beef tasted good as well. Everything just blended together well and I know this is a spot I will check out again if I have a taste for some pretty good ramen. read more

Bears Ramen House - Beef Ramen....so tasty - Korean Near Me - Berkeley, California

if you like quality Ramen, I wouldn't go here. The quality was on par wit's packaged ramen. We asked to dine-in but received everything in to go containers and bags, and it was so much plastic it was disappointing. read more

Great Korean restaurant around UC Berkeley. This place is close to number of other restaurants within the facility such as Basil Thai, Shihlin Taiwanese Snack, an Italian place, and a Greek place. This Korean place is good value. Items include kimchee fried rice (can be with spam, tofu, beef, chicken, pork, shrimp, or squid), ramen (instant noodles soup), gook soo (fresh noodles soup), rice cake, black bean sauce noodles, and even Korean pancake. For rice and noodles, extra portion can be added for $3, good for big appetite. read more