Came here around 12:30 pm after a seminar at a hotel across the street. I was eavesdropping on one of the people at the seminar and he mentioned that it was the best ramen spot in town so me and my group of 3 other people decided to check it out. There was no wait and we decided to sit outside because it was pretty nice but slightly chilly. I was impressed with the amount of options on the menu. I decided to get the black (kuro) tonkotsu ramen with traditional noodles, pork shoulder, and added an egg while my team got the original (shiro) tonkotsu, spicy (aka) tonkotsu, and the veggie ramen. It didn't take long for them to come out even though it was slightly busy. All of the ramens looked so good. The veggie ramen came with okra and eggplant. The tonkotsu ramens had sooooo much pork shoulder. The pork shoulder seemed more like a stewed version rather than a grilled chashu but was so flavorful and tender. It was such a large amount of meat, probably the most I've ever gotten in a bowl of ramen! The broth was extremely savory and creamy. The egg was boiled to perfection. The veggies were nice. The noodles were plenty and yummy. I had never had such a good bowl of ramen before! Not only did it taste delicious, but there was plenty of meat, noodles, AND soup! Hard to get all 3. Everyone was extremely satisfied and we all agreed we'd eat there again. The service was also friendly and quick. read more

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Delicious food, great aesthetic and lively atmosphere. A great spot for a going away lunch for one of our dear coworkers read more

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This place is great for easy parking and walk in service. There is seating inside and outside including space for a larger group at lunch. My friend and I both tried the tonkotsu ramen. I went for spicy and she went with black garlic. Plus, we did the yummy flavorful pork belly. I'd highly recommend these dishes and let's just say it was really filling and nothing was left over. Instead of the thick noodles, we did the tradition thin option which I was very happy with. We will be back for another lunch experience! read more

Nikka Ramen - Tonkotsu Spicy ramen - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

Nikka Ramen is known for great ramen but the poké bowl nothing to overlook! I stopped in for lunch today and decided to try the salmon poké bowl. It was awesome! From the fresh salmon to the sauce in the bowl complimented by the sushi rice and assortment of vegetables. Big compliments to the staff who was friendly, quick to take my order and prepared my order with little wait. The restaurant also is very clean and has great decor on the inside. Yes, Nikka Ramen has great ramen but the poké bowl is definitely worth a try! read more

Nikka Ramen - Poke Bowl - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

Takoyaki were great. The chashu chicken ramen was bland and underwhelming, but the tokantsu one was decent. read more

Nikka Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

First time to dropby this place and have no regrets! I just had some ramen cravings today and this place did not disappoint. I got traditional ramen (thin noodles) with chicken and my husband got the pork belly with gingery broth and thick noodles. Truly delicious and tasty! Warmed our tummy and hearts--- cravings satisfied! Pricing is reasonable and serving is big. We even got extra broth since their broth was really flavorful. Fortunately, service was quick eventhough the place was full for lunch. read more

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I came here with 4 coworkers for dinner around 5:30pm on a Wednesday. We were staying at the hotel across the street and walked over. (The parking lot in the plaza is awful. We were here the night before trying to shop at Trader Joe's.) We were immediately seated. We each ordered a bowl of ramen and the prices ranged from $16.50-$17.50 per bowl. They changed an additional $2.50 to add spicy deep fried egg. Our table also shared an order of Takoyaki $6.50. It would have been nice if we each got a little plate since we were sharing, but we just passed it around and used our napkin. I ordered the Tonkotsu Original "Shiro" Raman at $16.50 with traditional noodle (thin) and pork shoulder. It's served with green onions, green cabbage, bean sprouts, kikurage mushroom, and seaweed. The pork had a lot of flavor as did the buttery thick broth. Really good. The service was good, we had multiple people coming over to our table refilling our waters and giving us more napkins. Our total came out to $94.00 and with tax $7.27 and tip, the bill was well over $100. read more

Nikka Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

After I tried Nikka Seafood Market I had to try Nikka Ramen and see if it was anywhere near as good. It was. I had their Tonkotsu Shiro with thick noodles and pork belly. It was full of fresh ingredients and the pork was perfectly cooked. It was very tasty. with an incredibly rich broth. It was busy but service was super fast on this early Saturday morning. They offered "cheater's chopsticks," connected on one end so even someone as clumsy as me could slurp up my noodles with them. The prices aren't fast food prices, but for what you get they are reasonable. read more

Nikka Ramen - Pork belly ramen bowl - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

Came in for lunch and got seated right away. Immediately was greeted by super friendly staff. For appetizer, I got the crispy rice with spicy tuna. It was so delicious. Definitely get this. Perfect crispy crunch of the rice with plenty of spicy tuna. The spicy tuna was seasoned very well. For ramen, I got the vegetarian ramen. I asked if I could make it spicy, and my waiter offered me a side of their chili paste. I also added in an egg and fried fish cake. I tried the ramen broth right after it was delivered to the table so that I could try it as is first. It was surprisingly thick, rich, and creamy. So much so that it clung onto the noodles amazingly well. I added all of the chili paste given to me, and it was perfect. It was not too spicy that it overwhelmed the flavors, but it was enough to give me that satisfying kick. The egg was nice and gooey and the fish cake was seasoned and fried to perfection. The only thing I didn't care for was the okra and eggplant but that's only because I don't typically like those veggies. Overall, a great vegetarian ramen. A good vegetarian ramen broth is so hard to come by, so if you are vegetarian, give this place a try. read more

Nikka Ramen - Vegetarian ramen (added chili paste, egg, and fried fish cake) - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

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Awesome food. The ramen is excellent and a good sized portion. I almost always take some home for lunch the next day.

Went here for lunch on a rainy Tuesday afternoon. We were one of the first to enter the restaurant when they opened at 11:30 and were seated very quickly. The restaurant gets very busy for lunch and almost all the seats were full when we left about half an hour later. We ordered two different types of ramen, shoyu with pork shoulder and kuro with pork belly. The food came out very quickly. My ramen was delicious. I especially loved the flavor of the broth and the meat. I had asked to a soft boiled egg on top and it was perfect for the rainy day. My husband's order came out wrong because the waitress heard "curry" instead of "kuro." They fixed him a new bowl. Both ramens were delicious. The portions were huge and we were not able to finish. I wish they would halve the portions and the price. That would make the dishes perfect. read more

I've never been a big ramen fan, but after eating here I think they have converted me. They do not skimp on the chashu!! A lot of ramen places always give you the saddest toppings. I think this was on par with a lot of the ramens I've tried in Japan. The broth may have been a bit more thicker and saltier, but just make sure to order the thick handcraft noodles--I thought it paired well. They also have a great menu selection from yuzu shoyu ramen to tsukumen which is very underrated! read more

Nikka Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

Hands down best ramen in Goleta and likely all of Santa Barbara. It's hard for me to find a comparison in the area partly because I keep coming back here. Tonkatsu broth is amazing and all the protein options are great. I usually go with the pork belly. Thin or thick noodles, can't go wrong with either option. Feeling fancy, add an egg. read more

Nikka Ramen - Poke bowl and edamame - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

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Always satisfies the ramen craving! I got the spicy ramen with thick noodles- Pork belly and a soft boiled egg. Also I heard rave reviews about the gyoza and it was definitely worth it! The waiter suggested having them partially fried next time for added crunch which I have noted for next time! Yummy!!! read more

Nikka Ramen - Gyoza - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

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We love it. They have bao tacos that were out of this world. The pork shoulder craft spicy ramen is the best. read more

Food was amazing. Service was lackluster. I had to retrieve a pitcher of water to refill my cup and it took some time to get containers and our check (bordered on a hostage situation). The place was very busy and perhaps our server was overmatched, so only a minus 1 for service as the food was so good. Ambiance was fine, we were in a side room and everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves. read more

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I ordered the regular tonkotsu ramen. I really enjoyed the broth, it was creamier than most places but I really liked the taste. They gave good meat portions too. However the noodles were very soft, it must have been overcooked. I also asked to have my ramen without bean sprouts but it came with bean sprouts anyways. Food came out fast though. read more

Without a doubt great service, ample seating and a great environment. The food was good and at a good price.

Service was outstanding! Everyone working together ... from the seating to taking our order the food came out fast, nice and hot it was Amazingly delicious... read more

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I love this spot! I got the pork shoulder ramen and it was so flavorful and full of meat and toppings. The service is lightning fast. It can get very busy so get there when they open in the weekends. The owner came over to check on us and talked with us and the. Offered to have the chef come out next time since we drove from Camarillo/oxnard bc the food is good. Will be back! read more

Nikka Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

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Very good ramen, even better service! Despite ordering at the kiosk, the worker there checked in to see if we needed any help and brought out waters for us promptly with a lovely smile, and adjusted the bill after I showed the Yelp check in discount. The ramen was delicious and the portion quite generous! read more

This place is busy and we waited 15 mins for our table on Sat night which was not too bad. The setting is pretty casual and good selection on the menu and reasonably priced. We had the garlic oil ramen, pork belly charshu rice bowl (portion was huge even for the small), salmon poke rice bowl and chicken karage. Everything tastes good. Will be back if we visit Goleta again in future. read more

Food and service was great. Pork shoulder rice bowl is incredible and so is the spicy pork shoulder ramen. Definitely recommend.

Amazing. 10/10 would return. Every item from the dishes, to the appetizers to the meat quality, broth flavor, topping choices was phenomenal. * yuzu soyu ramen - $16 - delicious flavorful broth without it being too oily, heavy or creamy. The Char siu chicken wowed the entire table as the marinade for the chicken soaked deep into the meat and left a strong flavorful bbq-ed + soyu/teriyaki taste with each bite. The bamboo shoots were also an amazing and clever addition as each bamboo shoot soaked up the ramen broth and imparted deep notes of texture and flavor. The thick SB noodles were a fun add to the light and clean broth. * black shio tonkatsu - $16 - first off probably one of the biggest and most generous portions of pork belly with a beautiful fatty to meaty char on the outside. Broth offered strong notes of garlic. The broth was extremely tasty but towards the end it got a bit heavy so my personal preference would be the yuzu soyu ramen as it wowed in uniqueness and flavor. * spicy fried egg - $2.50 - more of a novelty item. I personally didn't enjoy it as there was no tempura crunch to the outside so you didn't get to enjoy the fried aspect and the inside of the egg was slightly over cooked for a ramen egg. Could hardly taste the spiciness of the egg as well. * appetizer - crispy tuna rice - $8 - Phenomenal. Perfect ratio of crispy crust to soft rice topped with fresh avocado and a generous portion of spicy ahi drizzled and balanced out with unagi eel sauce. Would 100% get again. Again Every single item in each dish (maybe except for the spicy fried egg) wowed us and added to the overall holistic enjoyment of the meal. Truly surprised that this ramen shop all the way out in Santa Barbara was significantly better than most LA ramen shops. Service was phenomenal too. We Immediatly got seated, dogs were welcomed, the chef personally greeted us and gave his recommendations, then the food came out promptly. Plenty of parking spots in front and along the side of the restaurant as well. read more

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Personally I would skip but not bad for the area. Negative: Service sucked but what can you expect from college kids. Never asked how the meal was or if we needed anything and trust me it was not busy. Servers were talking with each other and I had to go up and ask them for things twice. Noodles were wayyyy too overcooked and we even got the thick ones. Positive: Spicy broth was good but on the heavy side. Karaage chicken is as expected. Poke bowl was alright nothing special. read more

General Description: - A ramen restaurant located in a strip mall. - Expect a lot of college students. The good: - Great service. We ordered our food and before we could finish ordering our food came out. - Pork-belly and pork shoulder are very good in that there is no gamey taste to it. The bad: - Almost all Japanese style ramen has a heavy broth. I prefer lighter broths but most people love the fatty Japanese style broth. Overall: This place is definitely worth trying. read more

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Absolutely delicious and reasonably priced. Good portions. The ramen is their specialty but the other sushi items are great, especially the crispy rice spicy tuna. It's my new go to. read more

I will start this review off by saying I'm not the biggest fan of ramen. I never really crave it or am excited by it. However, this place was amazing. I am so bummed it's a 2 hour drive from me because I would come back again and again. Every other ramen place I've tried has been mid, and had me believing I just didn't like ramen. That was until I tried Nikka. The broth was creamy with a spicy kick to it that wasn't overbearing. They let you swap out the included vegetables for any other vegetable on the menu so you can easily customize your bowl to your liking. I ordered the spicy Aka ramen with the pork shoulder and it was 10/10. The serving size is massive, and they are not skimpy with their protein. I kept thinking I had eaten it all but when I would dig into the soup I'd find more. As for appetizers I tried the spam musubi and the Chashu buns. Both were great, the musubi 7/10 and the bun 9/10. I really hope this place expands in the future!! The only critique I would give them is that the servers were not super attentive to our table. We only got a water refill once after we had to stop someone and ask for it. Aside from that their service is super quick, we ordered and had our bowls in about 10 minutes. read more

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Amazing ramen time after time. Some of the riches flavored ramen I've had. We also constantly have great service and care.

Better than the packaged stuff Realistically the food was really good and service was good as well! read more

Nikka Ramen - A man who enjoyed his meal, very much. - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

We tried the new Omakase dinner and it was awesome! The flavors were amazing, the whole experience was excellent. This was way more than a basic sushi dinner, some of the dishes were outside of my comfort zone but I dove in with both chopsticks and was really happy with the flavors of everything. The umami of the broths really stood out as unique and memorable. I will go back for sure, highly recommended!! read more

Nikka Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

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Amazing food! Hamachi jalepeno and the crispy tuna appetizers were great! The crispy chicken was so good too. My 6 year old Loved it. Will be back! read more

AUTHENTIC, DELECTABLE RAMEN!!! Nikka is my go-to for layers of umami! Their broths are devine, as some of them start days before in their process of cooking. You can chose from a basic broth (traditional Japanese), but I slant towards the curry broth (still feels Japanese, but a bit more unusual). Portions are large and I truly enjoy the special brined soft boiled egg with Saffron tendrils that they carefully place on top of your bowl! Nikka is located right next to KFC, on Calle Realle. Parking can be a bit of a challenge, as locals and more know about this gem. The food is high-quality, fresh and filling. I love their flat noodles (texture and chewiness are on-point!) There is plenty of seating both inside and out on their patio, but just be warned that Nikka does fill up fast----a sign of a high quality restaurant! read more

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(This review is just for vegetarians. My husband enjoyed his pork curry ramen very much.) My daughter and I had the vegan ramen and both of us were pretty disappointed. The noodles were undercooked and starchy and what broth there was was extremely thick and oversalted. Besides the salt there wasn't much other flavor to the broth. The amount of veggies was also a bit sad. Definitely noodles that were slung very quickly. The okonomiyaki was nothing special. As a vegetarian I wouldn't come back again. Besides that the service was good and it's fun having Japanese convenience store type ice creams available for dessert. read more

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Honestly, I can't say I've ever had the "real deal" authentic Japanese ramen so this is probably the best in Santa Barbara. The portions are big, filling and appropriately priced but I found the ramen to be on the salty side and their vegetarian options left me wanting more. I felt it was too thick and creamy for vegetarian based broth and would have been happier with a clear broth. It seemed heavy and a bit too fatty for my taste. Also, I asked for spicy, but did not find my dish to be spicy. I will say- my pork loving friends all say this is the best spot in town for ramen. Hence the 3-star review. Service is decent, although my table was pretty dirty when I was seated. I just think that it could be better but perhaps I'd need to go to San Fransisco or LA for that! I'd love to see other recommendations for what to order for non-pork eaters or vegetarians. read more

Nikka Ramen - Veggie Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

I got the spicy tonkatsu ramen with pork belly and traditional thin noodles. Soup base tastes good and has a good level of spicy where your mouth isn't burning. It is a pretty good serving amount, and the pork belly is very soft and tasty. Only problem was that the ramen was overcooked in my opinion as it was too soft. Service was decently fast. Outside seating was decent but there isn't much of a view. Decently fair pricing at $17, but ideally should be a few dollars cheaper read more

Nikka Ramen - Spicy Tonkatsu with pork belly - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

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Yummy yummy yummy. I love Ramen but decided to be adventurous and tried the Ramen burrito. It did not disappoint. Plus the sticky rice tuna was amazing. Definitely will stop here on our trips to Santa Barbara read more

Nikka Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Goleta, California

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Hola yelpers: Otra vez ramen lo sé Jajaja, pero lo siento yo me encanta. Esta vez visitamos esta lugar atención, buena comida buena , bebidas me quedo a deber pero estuvo delicioso , mi visita quedó encantado con el lugar, comida y excelente atención . Aquí les comparto unas fotos Sin mas foto el momento gracias por leerme Saludos read more

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This is my go-to spot for solid Asian cuisine in the SB/Goleta area (where the choices are pretty limited). I usually get the ramen salad with chicken, and the portion sizes for the meat and noodles are always very generous. If I want something warm, I often get the curry ramen, though it does tend to be on the saltier side. This place feels a little bit pricey in my opinion but I've never been disappointed with my food so I'd still recommend and I'd come back if I were visiting the area again. The parking lot can be annoying because it's pretty narrow and it's in the same plaza as a Trader Joe's and Albertson's but you can usually find a spot, just might have to walk a bit through the lot. read more

Food: great Service: the best Ambiance: fun atmosphere, family, collage kids, old people who think young (like my wife & myself) read more