Ramen so good it's a knockout! (Kids fell asleep :) Vinegar eggs an interesting twist read more

Kimama Ramen - Ramen so good it's a knockout! - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

Kimama was situated on the second floor, right above Porky's. The interior was pretty cute with a Japanese beer house feel to it. You can watch the chefs working on dishes thru the open counter kitchen. Our server was friendly and took our orders right away. However, our food was served in two waves as the ramen was served early, but the rice dishes arrived much later. Our server came to our table to address the wait for the rice dishes so at least they were aware of the problem. The ramen was gourmet and the portions were generous. I ordered a Chashu bowl and it came in a small rice bowl, which was a perfect amount for me as I wasn't very hungry. It was small and mighty with a jam egg, 2 slices of Chashu and a bed of rice. I just wish the meat was tender and rice was less dry. My fiancé ordered the Katsudon and liked it. The servers kept dropping by to check on us so we did feel taken care of. Overall it's a good place for some ramen if you are in the mood. read more

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Great little spot, we had the karage as an appetizer, shoyu ramen and okonomiyaki. Service staff was fantastic! read more

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Really nice place with awesome service and televisions to watch the games. It's definitely not your traditional ramen but it's still tasty. I got the shoyu ramen that was good and it had all the fixings. My wife got the miso ramen and it was definitely different, they even put a slice of butter on top. It wasn't super flavorful but it was solid. We also got the deep fried gyoza that was good too. The ramen is 3.5 but the service bumps it to 4. We had a female waitress that was so attentive and nice, I wish we would've got her name. read more

Kimama Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

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New place second floor of Koala Village shopping center, itself new. We arrived well before their 530pm opening time, and were the first ones in to an empty spacious new restaurant. Takes 10 minutes for our orders to arrive. Wife's $18 vegetable ramen is bean sprouts, onions, carrots and bell peppers in a Tonkatsu broth. Slightly on the spicy side, wife liked it well enough to finish all the vegetables, leaving a small amount of the broth -too salty by itself. My $20 Chashu ramen also comes with 4 pieces of slices of chashu in a tonkatsu broth, but not as spicy as the vegetable ramen. Both dishes have a good amount of thin but tasty yellow ramen noodles., combined with bits of green onions. Loved the broth but wished the chashu were thicker -they were cut into slices no more than 1/8th of an inch thick, so the actual amount of pork was on the small side. Other than skimping on the amount of pork, the dish could have had some bean sprouts in it. Next time will order the $2 egg and the $3 option for more noodles. Price competitive with Hapa Kauai which has ramen noodle dishes at $27-$33, including the hard boiled egg. We came on a clear day, but it rains a lot in Kauai. Would not like to climb up and down the 20 outdoor stairs without a landing. read more

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Horrible. The nasty man behind the counter would say. Open seating. Open seating. Not hello. Not welcome. Just scream open seating. Nasty. Way overpriced. Bad service. Fried chicken was soggy. Dumplings were all mashed together. Fried rice was whatever. No reasons to go. read more

Cheap and delicious Japanese meal. The location is in the back of the shopping center that it's located in, up the stairs, and on the 2nd floor. The fried rice was tasty and pork chashu meat was fatty and well seasoned. There was a large TV showing fish swimming in the water. Very appropriate for my young children. Highly recommended! read more

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More seating than i expected. We were greeted as soon as we walked in. While there are no kid menu items, they offered options for my picky 5 yr old. My husband and I ordered the Shoyu Ramen, and it was delicious. The broth was flavorful, ramen noodles were cooked perfectly, the boiled egg had a perfect slight runny to the yolk which I loved, and then the pork was Sooooooo good. I would go back to have this again. read more

Kimama Ramen - Shoyu Ramen- it was just delicious - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

Good size bowl and average ramen. Recommend the shoyu over the charchu. The charchu had real char flavor. The service was quick. They had indoor and outdoor seating. read more

Kimama Ramen - Shoyu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

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Nice space on the second floor overlooking the Koloa mall. We all got the shoyu ramen and it was pretty darned good by any standard. Compared well to ramen in Tokyo. Service was fast. We got the ramen about 5 minutes after we ordered. Serving size is also generous for $18. read more

Kimama Ramen - Shoyu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

service was the only thing that i can really rate high 5/5.... but food was bot really true japanese taste.. The miso ramen was the weirdest taste.... it was just salty. I do not taste the miso. chasu ramen was ok but you dont get the thickness of the tonkotsu broth. The broth also is dark which it should be light colored. If you are looking for real ramen taste not the place read more

Hands down the worst meal we had in Kauai. My ramen was okay--I've certainly had better. It was kind of - peppery? My fiancé ordered the chicken curry udon, which was advertised as "Japanese curry meets udon with chicken and vegetables." What she got was a bowl full to the rim with a thick curry goop. There were zero vegetables, a couple of bites of chicken, and the udon was a soggy, disintegrating mess. It was disgusting and inedible and we quickly - and politely- told the server it wasn't as advertised and asked for the menu so we could order a replacement. The server didn't seem to get that we were sending the dish back, as he left it on the table and kept trying to get us to take it in a to-go container. My partner's replacement meal was yakiudon, served with no sauce or seasoning. She suspects they didn't use any seasoning as payback for not liking her initial order. It also took longer than our original order to come out. The friendly customer service thing to do would have been to say, "We're sorry the entree wasn't as expected" and comped it or given us free dessert or something. Instead, the bill came and we saw that we were charged for the inedible dish. If they had removed the charge, I would have given them three stars for effort, or not even bothered with this review. I get that we're tourists and you're never going to see us again, but know that you ruined our Valentine's Day and we had a terrible experience. read more

This place is still my jam. Idk what it is about their chicken karaage tho! The service is quick and easy. The restaurant is nice and cozy. This time I sat outdoors which eating ramen in the hot can be meh. But the inside is pretty nice and breezy. I always get the shoyu ramen. read more

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The service is good but the food quality and price is ridiculously bad The chashu ramen is way too salty Beef fried rice is wet with no flavor and apparently beef is not cooked together with the rice We also ordered a okonomiyaki. They put way too much sauces and the dish is barely edible . Btw they charged 4 bucks for an egg and there are only 4 shrimps in the entire okonomiyaki with a price of 27 dollars :( read more

Gyoza undercooked. Ramen noodles undercooked. ramen broth did not taste like miso. It had a weird taste. I've lived in Japan and never tasted ramen this bad. But the worst part was the rude cook who rudely told us to sit wherever and just glared at us. read more

Service was okay. My daughter's Miso Ramen included spicy bean sprouts that made it inedible for her which i did not recall seeing in the menu. The chashu was paper thin and over crisped and really not tasty. $4 for the soy egg which was crossed out from the original menu for all ramen offerings is a bit ridiculous. Kaarage ramen i assumed the chicken would be on the side, served right into the broth making it soggy. The Katsudon Donburri i also assumed the fried chicken would be served on the side. The soggy texture was not good and the broth was salty, way $$$ for $25. The main critique in service was after i informed the waitress the spiciness level was inedible for my daughter, nothing was done aside from acknowledgment. read more

I had the most uncomfortable and unnerving experience at this restaurant. I'd like to preface this and say that this is because of the ramen cook (American) on duty yesterday at lunch August 31st, not the waitress or the other cook (Japanese) who were actually really nice. I'm stating the race of both cooks to avoid confusion. I went by for lunch yesterday because I was craving some ramen. I was traveling solo, so I sat at the bar and placed an order for the chashu ramen. The ramen cook started making my bowl and when it was done, he slammed it on the counter to the point that some of the broth spilled. When I saw the chashu slices, they were all crispy like bacon! I debated whether or not to ask if it was supposed to be crispy--even though I already knew the answer because 1) I looked at the photos on Yelp that other customers have posted and 2) I actually have been to Japan and eaten authentic chashu ramen and none of the Japanese places I've eaten at while there EVER had their chashu crispy. But I mustered the courage to ask and when I did, the ramen cook looked at me like I'm stupid and asked, "What did you say?" So I repeated my question and asked, "Is the chashu supposed to be crispy?" To which he replied very condescendingly and said, "Yes, they're supposed to be crispy; have you not eaten that before?" I replied, calmly, and said, "Yes, I have and this is the first time I've seen them crispy." The ramen cook's eyes narrowed into slits and he said, "Is that so? Give it here." And when I hesitated, he added, "Give it here so I can replace it if you don't want it crispy." So I very nervously handed back my bowl, then he picked out the crispy chashu with his own fingers from the bowl and threw them out! Afterward, he grabbed some slices of what looked like chashu and put them on my bowl, saying loudly, "You don't want them crispy? Here you go!" He then again slammed the bowl on the counter, spilling more broth than the first time. At this point, I was on the verge of tears because I couldn't understand why the ramen cook was being nasty. The waitress, who was tending to other customers, stopped by to check on me and I told her what happened. She apologized and said the cook was probably just stressed out (but they just opened and I was the 5th customer, so I doubt the reason for his stress was the influx of orders). The waitress could probably tell I'm about to cry, so she said I don't have to eat it if I feel uncomfortable and that I could just get it boxed up and take it home. I told her I don't even know if I could eat it, and she said she understood and that I don't have to pay for it and I could just leave. So that's what I did. I don't usually post such detailed lengthy negative reviews, but I'm still so rattled by this experience because it's the first time I've ever encountered anyone from the restaurant industry who was just downright mean and aggressive. I don't know what's going on with that cook, but I hope his management talks to him that he can't treat people the way he treated me yesterday. It's just not right. read more

Not very good ramen. The noodles are okay but not much better than microwaveable noodles. The vegetable ramen broth was flavorless. The tonkatsu ramen was all right and it didn't come with an egg. read more

The food was average to average minus. It came out quickly and the karaage was okay, not too impressed. Then the ramen, it was INCREDIBLY salty and almost inedible from all the overwhelming salt. Other than the food, this place is really cozy and a nice little restaurant. So unless you love eating salt, I wouldn't recommend. read more

Kimama Ramen - Tonkotsu Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

Such a great little spot for Japanese food in Kauai! Shoyu ramen was yummy! The miso ramen had a great little spicy kick with lemon peel pieces in the broth. The noodles were really good. Our kids loved the okonomiyaki and the beef was super tender! They even gave us a taste of their gyoza which was so flavorful and cooked perfectly! Very attentive and friendly staff. read more

Kimama Ramen - Shoyu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

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Great atmosphere little to no wait food is good come here soon and love coming here super delicious read more

Kimama Ramen - Chicken kaarage w/ fried rice - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

Food is definitely on the salty side. Chashu Ramen had a good enough broth and noodles but it was very salty. The chashu itself was cooked like bacon and it gave the ramen a heavy, greasy, oxidized fat taste. My stomach is still trying to recover. I heard that the Udon was not as good and also too salty. The restaurant is located upstairs in the tiny town of Koloa. There's seating indoors and on a balcony. With confused tourists and angry brodozer rednecks sharing a badly worn down street, parking and walking around can be tricky. read more

The ramen and food options are decent, but the food was really really salty. The service was good though.

Ordered a Karaage chicken and it never came, we weren't charged but waitress even corrected me in how I said it so assumed it would come even though we got our Shoyu ramen first. The noodles were very good but the Tonkatsu broth was very thin and the char on the pork was a bit weird and different from traditional chasu pork we've had. If you're craving ramen it will still be tasty enough. read more

New place just opened a couple of weeks ago. Limited hours now.. first I will start by saying I am vegetarian so that being said, I had the vegetarian Ramen and the veggie rice bowl.. I really enjoyed the Ramen to be honest, This was the best Ramen on the island for me it was flavorful, big serving, and not too salty... The veggie bowl with rice was very different, but delicious. It was a special kind of cabbage that is served cold, and I really enjoyed. .. all their items are super affordable, which I feel is what's expected from most Ramen places. it's definitely worth a try. There's a variety of Ramen to pick from and I'm sure that there is something for everybody... as far as the Service I had a great time it was good service good ambience this place just opened so I can tell there was just a tiny bit of delay or miscommunication on some items like getting a hot sauce or getting a spoon, but it was nothing major and I feel like once this place is open for a little longer. Everything will run a lot smoother , the owner is hands-on and is constantly walking around to make sure everybody has what they need... I am very happy that we have a local, good affordable Ramen place on the southside give them a try you will not be disappointed .. please make sure you review the hours of operation before coming over read more

Kimama Ramen - vegetable Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

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So happy this place opened up! Finally, a place to get some good Japanese food on the south shore. Service was great and the restaurant has a relaxed ambiance, perfect for a casual dining experience for families. read more

Kimama Ramen - Katsu-don - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

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Tempura udon was disappointing. The tempura was soggy (place on top of the soup?!) and was just cut onions! Edamame was cold and didn't seem fresh. There also was a dead salamander on the floor and the kitchen didnt look clean. The only good thing was that the extra noodle portion was generous. read more

I have been searching Kaua'i for an udon spot, lots of ramen but not a lot of udon. Thankfully there are some ramen places that have udon. Kimama Ramen actually had the flavor that I have been craving. In Waikiki there are two places (Marugame and Yama Udon) that have a sweet beef udon that is amazing. That's what I have been searching for. The other day we decided to give Kimama a try. Not disappointed at all. Although they did not have the sweet beef, they did have the sweetness of the broth in the Tinuki Udon. The noodles were cooked perfectly and just so delicious. read more

The noodles were overdone so they were soggy. My nephew ordered the curry udon and it was too spicy for him so I tried it. I like Mexican food and Thai food and the one noodle I tried was spicy for me so I can only imagine how the spice would build to be way too spicy. The gyoza didn't have normal gyoza sauce, it came with a sweet chili saice, although, we ordered it deep fried. We did ask for gyoza sauce and the lady didn't know what we were asking for the broil go t us soy sauce with oil. Altogether not a good meal for the four of us. read more

The ramen was absolutely delicious and the service was quick. Would definitely eat here again.

Food: My wife and I ate here. Knowing it had 4stars review. I have ordered yakisoba beef and it did not taste anything like it the noodle was over cooked when I use a chopstick it just cuts right through it. It tasted like ginger and very bland at all. My wife got a shoyu ramen and it was very salty and noodles were under cooked. We also got a gyoza and it was only cooked on one side and the rest are not and the inside was still cold when we chewed on it. Service: The time my wife and I went here it was not very busy. But they had our food after 5 minutes of sitting. Very fast! But knowing it was not busy and they served very fast. They did not put any time on making the food that is probably why it was not very good at all. Well food was still edible, but not enjoyable. Knowing its in a nice place of Koloa Town. Ambience: The vibe of the restaurant itself was nice, coming in made me feel like im about to eat a very well satisfying japanese food. But service threw it off. They were just cooking fast, they just made us sit wherever we wanted, did not even bother to say hello or give us recommendations or gratuity. Waitress does not even look at us or ask us if we need anything else. I hope this restaurant makes it, hope that they put more time into their food rather than making it seem like its a fast foos chain. read more

A very pleasant surprise! Service was outstanding, food came quickly and the ramen broth was so yummy (we had the shoyu and the miso and both were great)! I would have liked a few more vegetables and a little more protein in the ramen, but I couldn't stop slurping down the broth! Pricing was also reasonable for Kauai and very similar to pricing back home here in AZ. read more

The first time I ate here, the food and service were good. Since then, each visit has gotten progressively worse. I usually order the shoyu ramen, but on my last visit, the broth was extremely salty. I also ordered a shrimp okonomiyaki, which the waitress forgot to enter and completely ignored when I brought it up. The owner sees us every time we come but never acknowledges us even when the restaurant is nearly empty. This level of service is unacceptable. I won't be returning. read more

The service and food was great. But the miso ramen was so mediocre, flavor lacking, and expensive! I know there's an egg shortage but it was an additional 4$ to get a hard boiled egg. For such a limited menu it could benefit from adding traditional ramen add ins. read more

Not too many redeeming qualities for this restaurant, besides service. Servers were friendly and efficient and that's the one star. Food....I mean if you live anywhere that has a decent ramen restaurant, this place is not for you. I think you should only come here if you live in a small town and have never experienced any time of ramen. We ordered tonkatsu ramen and I'm pretty sure it was made with miso paste since that was the predominant flavor. The edamame was served out of an ice cold fridge. They need to pop that in the microwave or something, because it is unappetizing at how cold of temperature they send that out. My husband doesn't ever complain about food and literally almost consumes anything without complaints. I looked over and he barely touched his oyakodon. I asked if something was wrong and he asked me to smell it. The bowl smelled so strongly of vinegar that it was really off putting. I'm not sure if they mixed up the vinegar with the mirin when making the dish but wowee that was a strong smell. Needless to say this was a definite miss in terms of meals in Kauai. read more

Ramen & udon was so good 10/10 authentic. We didn't need reservations just walked in to sit at the bar. We ordered tanuki udon, shoyu ramen, tempura udon, gyoza and fried rice. Nice and friendly staffs. Must try! read more

Kimama Ramen - Shoyu ramen - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

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Honestly this restaurant was one of the best places we ate at in Kauai. The service was fantastic, the Shoyu Ramen and Gyoza were great and tasted authentic. The owner was so nice and greeted us and made sure we had a great experience. I highly recommend stopping by this restaurant while visiting Kauai. We will be back! read more

Wonderful service, the staff was knowledgeable and friendly and didn't hover. Food came out fast and taste amazing. Will definitely come again. read more

Kimama Ramen - Miso Ramon - Ramen Near Me - Koloa, Hawaii

We ordered Shoyu Ramen and it was good. The broth was so flavorful. We were seated right away. The servers were very attentive. We were able to sit outside on a beautiful night. One of our favorite places while on vacation. read more

Ew. No, just no. The food was terrible. The ramen was completely without flavor or seasoning. The vegetables looked and tasted like garbage. The cook and one of the waitstaff were eating food by hand, in the open for anyone to see, and then cooking and serving food without washing. We each had a bite, asked for the check, paid, and left. Went to Koloa Pizza promptly afterward and enjoyed the rest of the night. read more