Daiichi Ramen is a local chain of restaurants serving local style ramen and katsu platters. We dined in for dinner on a weekday and was served fairly fast. This isn't a place that serves Japanese style ramen, but more on the Hawaii style closer to sailing where the broth isn't as strong. I would say their tonkotsu ramen is a 3/5 because of their soup base feels watery and lacks substance. However, their beef curry seems to be made with Japanese roux cubes so it tasted authentic (4/5). If you're looking for fast, good portions, and local style ramen or katsu, Daiichi definitely can satisfy your craving. read more

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Food 4/5 - Ordered chicken katsu plate and a side of pork fried rice. Chicken katsu was fried nicely and the breading was fine. It was definitely a bigger portion than I expected. The pork fried rice had very good "wok-hei" great flavor. Miso soup was watery and was lacking flavor, although it was served nice and hot. Price $$ - Price is good with the portions that were served. Service 3/5 - Service is average, we needed to flag down a server to refill our drinks. Ambiance 3/5 - Interior is fine but not much of a Japanese theme, the lanterns remind me of a Chinese restaurant. Overall - Had a pleasant experience and would visit again. read more

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Great food at a great price with great service. Quick service. Your food comes out quick. Black garlic ramen is so savory and full of flavor. The chicken katsu is done perfectly. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Black garlic Black Garlic (Ramen or Udon) - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

I enjoy their ramen especially when it's cold weather.I also like their katsu and katsu curry. Food comes pretty quick! read more

Food is amazing, service was excellent, kind and quick. We were famished after a day at volcano, this place was perfect!

Always great good. People are nice and helpful. Accommodates needs. Service is very fast. Food is very very good

Daiichi Ramen have the best customer service and the food comes out very fast. I would rate this restaurant a 10!!!' They have delicious food here!!!! read more

Daiichi Ramen - Miso Udo - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Great food to eat in this timely manner of ambiance restaurant Very quiet and quick service Definitely will be back again to satisfy my cravings. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Calamari Salad, kim chee and Thai tea! - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

This ramen place is soo delicious!! It is the best food I've had yet! The restaurant is clean and cozy and has a nice ambiance. It's a busy local spot. My first time here and I'll be back for sure very soon! The selection they have is a lot of good choices! I had the ramen with curry and katsu chicken! Soo tasty and I had leftovers. The shrimp is delicious too! The service is superb and nice! You need to try this restaurant read more

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I returned here since a friend held an event/party here and they have improved a lot. We all enjoyed our food and drink - I really liked the mochiko chicken curry dish and I would definitely come back for that! The Thai iced tea was great too. The workers were nice and everything seemed to go very well for my friends event so I wanted to update my review. read more

Always good service with water refilled frequently. Everything is great! Love the ramen. Lots of parking. Comfortable seating and lots of tables. We will return . read more

Daiichi Ramen - Menu - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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Mediocrity at best. Flavorless, bland and skimpy on quality ingredients. My elderly mother had the tempura ramen. Mostly just broth with seaweed and 2 small tempura shrimp. I had the udon combo with chicken katsu. Had to look to see if there was any chicken inside or was it just fried batter. Server brought me an empty dish presumably to dip my katsu in just shoyu? Had to ask for some katsu sauce. First time to impress us, won't be back. Sorry. read more

Service was great! The food was incredible! And they even packed out leftovers for us. No notes

Our last take out order, the ramen broth tasted like dishwater. Nothing like throwing out $60 in take out. Once was good. Has gone down hill. Won't be back. read more

The place to go to for a quick comforting and savory bite. Service is quick, sometimes making you question if the servers are being short with you. If you want top notch service, don't expect it here. I think they just want to turn their tables as quickly as possible. No frills. Food is consistent every time we go. Our go to favorites: The noodle special (Ramen or Udon) with two side choices (Gyzoa, Fried Rice, etc) or Chicken Katsu Curry. So good! read more

Daiichi Ramen - Zaru Soba with daikon dipping sauce, Calamari Salad, and Chicken Katsu Curry - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

The service is excellent. We were greeted when we walked in the door, the order was promptly taken, the food was delivered promptly and very hot, and we were thanked when we left. The dining area is simple but clean and well organized and maintained. There are no empty boxes stacked in the corner or along the walls. It looks professional. So far everything is 5 stars. Now for the food: This is where I was disappointed. I ordered the mapo tofu ramen. I love the traditional Sichuan mapo tofu. This isn't it. Not even close. The version at Daiichi Ramen is best described as silken tofu in a simple, spicy garlic and onion sauce served over ramen noodles. It doesn't have any of the other ingredients necessary for traditional mapo tofu, including pork. When I asked about the lack of pork, I was told that some people don't eat pork so they don't include it. This is something that needs to be addressed on the menu and by the chef. Many of their other ramen choices have pork. They could easily label their current version as "vegetarian ramen", that would be acceptable, but it is most definitely not mapo tofu ramen. As such, I would rate this dish as a 1. But the noodles themselves were good and not overcooked or mushy. They were just right. So I rate this dish a 2 because the main point of the dish is the sauce, which was disappointing. So averaging the 2 with the two fives gives an overall score of 4. I may try again another time with a different menu selection. read more

10/27/2021 Daiichi Ramen 111 E Puainako St Hilo, HI 96720 My sister and I visited for dinner. We ordered the Calamari appetizer, Chicken Katsu and Spicy Beef Ramen (for me). The deep fried dishes were excellent, crunchy panko crust tender Calamari and juicy chicken. My ramen was okay. I'll stick with the rice plates which are excellent, I especially like the curries which are delicious, from a prior visit. Repeated and will again. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Spicy Beef Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Delicious ramen and wontons. Dining room clean and open. Service was quick and friendly

We went to Daiichi ramen for a birthday celebration. All in all, a decent, Chinese run place. There were some language issues when ordering and they seem to be against any type of adjustment or substitution of orders. It was kind of mediocre food, but they gave a lot, so they had that going for them. I would say service was just ok, food gave a lot, but overall quite lacking in quality. Honestly it was just an average place maybe worth 3 stars, but I have experienced better in a place like this. The kim chee was no good - like horribly sour and didn't taste right. Despite us pointing it out, they refused to do anything about it, so we just paid for nothing. The plus is that parking is good and there are lots of tables. read more

All I can say is that it's good for Hilo. Sadly, I went here after returning from Hokkaido. Not fair to compare the best ramen in the world to them. Sorry, no comparison. Edible though. Regards Beau Toichi read more

Me and my husband got food poisoning after eating there food, food taste too salty and not fresh we could not even finish it.

So, so good! Highly recommend. We were on vacation and came back a second time! Very generous portions and everything was perfect. Just what I had been missing from living in Hawaii. Great wait staff and service time and value for money. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Fish Katsu Curry - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

It's like getting Japanese ramen shop food at its finest in Hilo. My favorite go to is the miso ramen set with gyoza and fried rice. It's just right and it brings back fond memories of eating in Japan. read more

Terrible food! The ramen was bland and vegetables uncooked. The fried rice had been cooked in an oil that made the rice bad tasting. We will never go back. read more

Amazing selection of yummy food to complete your ramen cravings. Get the combo meal! It comes with side goodies that are a feast for your taste buds. Delicious food at Daiichi Ramen served by kind talented people read more

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Overall: not the best, not the worst. Good service, but not a place I'd crave or go out of my way to go- more of a right place right time kind of thing. Came in and placed seemed pretty busy -- it was dinner time on a Monday, typical. Got seated at these counter top seats, not a booth, however it was an area with four chairs that comfortably fits 2... a little squished. When I looked around all the tables looked very close together, so maybe that's how it is. It was just so close it bothered me a little makes it awkward to walk next to someone as they're eating and you're exiting or entering -- I was very worried my purse would hit someone as I walked by. We ordered the ramen with two sides for $11 and some change -- great deal. Our ramen bowls and curry came out within 5 mins, waited about another 15 for the side order of gyoza. Our waitress verified with us multiple times that the curry wouldn't come with meat and that we'd be okay with that, but when I looked in my curry there was meat. No harm no foul, but seemed a bit weird that the waitress said multiple times about how there would be no meat. I was very happy about the serving sizes considering it was combo and served as mini. The taste of all the food was alright, nothing special, but not bad. The service was good and fast -- just rushed, as it should be, they're new and it was busy. I would say try it out - hilo doesn't get much of anything new, but don't expect the best. You won't be disappointed (great deal and service) but not sure you'll be recommending people to go right away. read more

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Visiting a neighboring business, asked the sales person of any experiences at the ramen shop next door and it was mentioned that the food was very good. After reading some of the reviews about the employees not being friendly, the sales person said the customs and language may be a factor in some customers rating them low. So had to see for myself. Plus I was hungry for some curry katsu. I was immediately directed to a table for a dine in meal by a younger waiter and was provided with a cup of iced water. Within 3 minutes, he returned and I ordered the curry katsu and a small order of gyoza. There were only a couple other customers dining in but also noticed several packed take out orders. My food came within 10 minutes and was a generous serving of chicken katsu over a bed of white rice and covered with some great smelling curry. The flavor was great and the katsu was nice and crunchy. The gyoza followed a few minutes later and although it was a heavy garlic flavor, they were quite good with the sauce. Enjoyed the food, the service was excellent, the servings were just right; and the price was inexpensive. As for the waiter, gave him a thumbs up and a nice tip for the excellent service and food. He thanked me as I left and that was appreciated. Found the employees were constantly moving to keep busy and were attentive to my needs as well as the other customers. Highly recommended and I would gladly return. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Chicken katsu curry over white rice was outstanding. - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

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After a long, cold and rainy day at the Volcano National Park, nothing feels better than a hot, spicy bowl of ramen. The Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen from Daiichi Ramen fits that bill perfectly. The broth is light yet flavorful and had the right amount of spiciness to bring us back to life. The pork belly was soft and made for a delicious bite with the noodles and vegetables also cooked in the broth. The service was also quick as we had come near closing hours and practically had the restaurant to ourselves. This ramen was delicious and much needed after the day we'd had. It's been a month since I had this ramen and I still think about it and crave it! I will definitely be stopping by again next time I am in Hawaii. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Spicy Tonkatsu Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Great place when I crave ramen. Especially on rainy days which is more often than not. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Newer ramen, side fried rice and gyoza. I come here whenever I crave ramen and they always do well on serving decent portions and taste. - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Food is always ready when I pick up Packed super well for take out. Servings are plentiful , tasty and satisfying

One of our faves! Good selection, a little bit of everything. My favorite is the curry.

I don't care what anyone says I love this place. The best prices for serving the best food combo. Chicken katsu and ramen, can't go wrong. Service is nice and fast, only thing is the place can get a bit crowded. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Ordered on door dash. Received 1/2 a bowl of wonton soup, burnt goyza and greasy beef udon. It was not the worst but it wasn't really all that good either.. read more

Want the best Best bang for your buck? Check out the combo option on the back of the manu. Ordered the tan tan (spicy) ramen, curry, and chicken katsu for like $11! Barely finished it all. Everyone else on my table ordered the combo as well. Servers were very attentive. Food came out fast, which was a super plus as were came in starving! read more

Daiichi Ramen - Combo- Tantan ramen, curry, and chicken Katsu - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

Another winner meal! Just tried the black garlic ramen...I think it's my new favorite.

The shrimp soft noodles is my new favorite item on the menu. The portion of shrimp is very generous with a light very flavorful gravy. The vegetables are cooked well so it is soft and easy to eat but the broccoli is left sturdy, just how I like it. The noodles are soft and holds up well the next day when reheating the leftovers. The service is fast and meant to be as service is like in Japan, an eat and leave quickly so they can get the next customers in and served as well. But local style is eat and take your time, talk story hold up the table, so the wait time for a table sometimes is long. Service is great, one of the servers knows my husband's order. When he said he's going to order something different, she jokingly said "he's going to look at the menu but order the same thing." Sure enough, he ordered the combination but added won ton to the ramen so it was essentially a smaller size of his same order but he also got a mini curry and rice. Condiments are left on every table. A little oil goes a long way, so don't add too much oil. Do try the crunchy garlic but add a little at a time to your liking. They also have a chili powder which adds a little heat without changing the flavor of your dish. If you don't know what to order, the servers will answer any questions you may have. read more

Daiichi Ramen - Shrimp soft noodles - Ramen Near Me - Hilo, Hawaii

The food is delicious but the customer service needs improvement. You know like, Hello welcome to Daiichis please have a seat at this table. SMILE. Say your welcome when a customer says thank you. And have a nice day when we are leaving. Felt like I was being served with no energy. read more

Their Tonkatsu Ramen & Chicken Katsu is my fave. Big portions, for a good price. 10/10 Reccommend.

Came in at 4:30 pm and they were not busy at all and yet the ramen noodles came out over cooked. Gyoza tasted like it was cooked in rancid oil. read more

They should visit the Pearl City one on Oahu. The food here was kinda gross. Everyone's noodles were overcooked and getting mushy by the time they brought it out ... I would have to say this was the fault of the servers as all they did was stand at the counter and chit chat and wasn't paying attention to the kitchen. When the ramen came out it wasn't even steaming hot anymore ... the noodles had over cooked while sitting, waiting to be served ... service at the PC location is on point. Moreover, the oil they used to cook the gyoza was rancid!!! You could totally taste it ... small kine gross the flavor was ‍‍‍ read more