Wonderful little hole in the wall! Small place with six or seven tables. The service is great and the food is absolutely amazing! Get the edamame! I'm so coming back here. read more

Sapporo Ramen - Shishito peppers in garlic sauce, crispy onions - Ramen Near Me - Capitola, California

Oh my, the wait for the food is taking forever. It doesn't take long to boil some Ramen, so why is it 45 minutes and our noodle not yet arrived read more

Love this place! My girl and I are always coming here, we were upset when he closed it down for remodeling but now that it's open again we're going regularly :) highly recommend the KO Ramen! read more

Losing stars here. $10 for sweet potato appetizer when it's literally just a par boiled sweet potato with sweet and sour sauce. $16 for the ko ramen that has zero vegetables, over cooked "soft boiled" egg (it was hard boiled) and broth that significantly lacked flavor. Gyoza was at least crunchy and tasty. Used to be good, but not sure if the consistency is there anymore. Overall underwhelming experience for 2 ramen and 2 appetizers for $60 read more

I do not recommend this restaurant. The ramen took forever to come out, the server was inexperienced, and the chef /owner was rude. We ordered something that was not cooked well, a rice cake that turned out to be rubbery little discs. When we told him they were not cooked well, he told us that we had to pay anyways, even though he took the dish from the table and never brought it back. I hate to leave a bad review for such a small restaurant because I don't want to put a negative review out for such a small restaurant but for $12, the owner could have made a read more

Japanese scallop skewers SOOO GOOD. So tender and flavorful. I think best thing on their menu are these Japanese skewers. Come for the skewers , and curry and maybe ramen Ko. (Also got the Coconut ramen which was .... not so good. ) Got to talk to the owner for a bit, nice guy and dedicated to his business. read more

Sapporo Ramen - Japanese Scallop skewers - Ramen Near Me - Capitola, California

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Second time I've eaten here, both times in the evening. I wasn't confident either time: shoddy cleaning, cheap decorations, unclean bathroom, trash bins left in hallway, no soap in the bathroom (only a mostly used dish detergent bottle). The edamame, although over cooked had a yummy, garlicky sauce. The ramen both times was not flavorful, the hard boiled egg was gross, and every piece of chicken tasted like rubber. I just picked them all out. When I let the waitress know she said "oh," but I noticed that she did notify the manager. The service was good, but the food is a big no. I did ask for the manager before we left. I told him our family would not be coming back. We cannot support a local restaurant that doesn't at least make an attempt at quality food or basic cleanliness. If a customer has a complaint, and you can't be bothered to make it right?! You're business is dying, and it probably should. read more

Perfect meal for a cold day. Due to COVID restrictions they are not allowing sit down services, all food must be taken to go. You call beforehand and pick up your order. We ordered our food at the restaurant and they were able to have it ready in 15 minutes. I ordered the gyoza appetizer and the KO ramen. They were very tasty. I loved that they seperrated the broth and the noodles and meat. It came with 3 pieces of pork that were very delicious, my favorite of the meal. read more

Awesome food, very nice staff. I got the Ko ramen. It was ready fairly quick and it was delicious. Will definitely be back again.

FLIES, wtf is up with this place. They should be called on by the health inspector. I literally went there and the ramen wasn't good, there were fruit flies everywhere and I threw up in my mouth because it was so nasty. If I can I would rate it negative 5. Terrible read more

Mmm was pretty disappointed. Service was not very good. Tried serving my ramen with a large metal serving spoon you would use to dish out a family style. My ramen had perfectly cooked noodles, but the "soft boiled egg" was actually hard boiled and cold. Feel like maybe it was a bad day for the chef or something. My friends rice was cold but his chicken curry was ok. Service wasn't fantastic but after searching in the kitchen he found a different spoon for me. Overall might go back for a second chance. read more

Called in our order for pickup today..so happy we did! It was delicious! We ordered the Ko Ramen and the Spicy Miso Ramen. (I asked to make it mild). Also ordered the chicken yakitori skewer. It was all very very good and we will definately order from them again soon. Two thumbs up!! read more

Best ramen in Santa Cruz! Me and my husband love ramen and are kind of snobs about it as we were spoiled when we lived in San Jose and when we traveled to Japan. When we moved to Santa Cruz we were sad that there wasn't any decent ramen anywhere, but now there is! Pros: -Excellent broth! The Ko broth is the creamiest, slow cooked, real deal Tonkotsu broth I've ever had that rivals the broth at the ramen shop in Mitsuwa. -The noodles are REALLY good! Perfectly chewy and definitely fresh, these noodles are the best! - The meat is quality and served in enormous portions! They aren't kidding about that pork belly in the Ko soup, it's to die for! The chicken leg quarter in the spicy miso is huge and delicious as well! - The chicken karaage I'd some of the best I've ever had! The only thing missing was some lemon to squeeze over it and some spicy mayonnaise to dip it in, but honestly on its own it's perfectly delicious. -Fasy service! Our food came very quickly and the server was a very sweet lady. They had to go orders going like crazy but she was attentive and very nice. - Take out is very well packaged. They have the broth separate from the noodles and the rest so that nothing gets soggy. This makes it so perfect to have in the coziness if your own home without compromising the food. Cons: - The restaurant is very small and lacks any ambiance what so ever. I highly recommend getting your food as take out. I think this just has a lot to do with the space they have. I'd love to see them get more successful so they could afford to decorate or move to a better space. - The egg in the ramen is just a plain hard boiled egg and not a soft boiled tea egg. It's a mistake some of the best places still make so I don't hold it against them, but if the chef is reading this review I would love to see a nice tea egg as an option. All in all fabulous ramen and I would highly recommend it! I feel like the bad reviews came from people that can't recognize good ramen and hold ambiance above the food. read more

Sapporo Ramen - Ko ramen! Just look at that beautiful broth! - Ramen Near Me - Capitola, California

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We came here as we saw the pictures of ramen posted by others. We were kinda of disappointed by its service and food. There was only one server, who was occupied by the take out and delivery food. It was painful to see the fact that we were somewhat being overlooked. They need more servers to avoid being shorthanded. The taste of the ramen was really thin and honestly we thought the chef might forget to add salt. read more

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As a avid ramen lover, I've been on the hunt for a good ramen shop and this HIT the spot. Safe to say I demolished my bowl of Ko Ramen read more

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Easy parking in a small shopping center, on the right of New Leaf Market. We wanted to support a Mom and Pop Shop. The chicken skewers were barely grilled with a teriyaki sauce, it had a weird chewy texture, the color was off white and barely had grill marks. It would have been better if the chicken skins were deep fried. The sweet potato fries were soggy and very oily. The kaarage chicken was fried well, but lacking in flavor. Hubby had the BBQ duck Ramen, very generous with the amount of duck, but the tonkatsu soup was not spicy. My kid had the spicy tonkatsu, came with a fried chicken quarter leg and thigh in the soup. It was weird seeing a huge chunk of meat and bone in the soup. I had thr Ko soup which had thick slices of pork belly, and added fried fish cake. The fish cake would have been better fried as a side dish and not in the soup. Overall, I would not return to this restaurant. Service was good, atmosphere was a clean basic hole in the wall place. read more

I've only been here once and had the creamy pork ramen, but it was super flavorful and extremely comforting. The noodles and toppings come separate from the broth so it's very easy to recreate that fresh ramen experience at home, even if the broth goes cold. The prices here are also very reasonable, especially considering it's premium ramen during COVID times (it appears they reduced them as there is a higher price that is slashed out). The set up they have inside for COVID was also reassuring for me. If the rest of their food is as good as the ramen I had, this place is a real gem, and one of the only spots to get good ramen in Santa Cruz. read more

My new favorite soup spot in Santa Cruz! The spicy miso is perfect crafted and the fried chicken leg is moist with a perfectly crispy skin. The wings are a perfect appetizer to split with a a friend and the jalapeños are perfectly flavored and melt in your mouth. The waitstaff are always friendly and make the meal a special treat. read more

The ramen didn't have any flavor and tasted watered down. Especially for the cost ($17 for the Ko ramen) I expected it to be amazing. The portions at very large but definitely not worth it. I would try Kaito down the road if you're looking for better ! read more

If you love ramen or if you've never had ramen before this will be 1. The worst ramen you'll ever have or 2. The worst first time you'll ever have. I ordered the Karage ramen and my boyfriend ordered the Ko ramen. My Karage ramen consisted of fried popcorn-like chicken that quickly turned soggy, tasteless broth, 2 pieces of broccoli and a plethora of day old ramen noodles. The Ko ramen featured broth from what I can only assume is powder, and dry pork belly the size of my hand (which was a tedious chore to eat). The prices were outrageous and you get a lot but it's a whole lot of nothing. I know Santa Cruz doesn't have a lot of options when it comes to ramen, but let me tell you, this is an option you want to avoid. read more

I start by saying the owner is nice hard working guy and very accommodating. He really talked up his Ko Ramen and from the description from the menu it was his interpretation of TonKOtsu Ramen of which he was very proud. We each ordered one based upon his recommendation. They had a variety of other ramen variants such as Spicy Miso, Garlic Shoyu, Chicken Kaarage and many other pan-Asian fusion flavors. Our food came very quickly. They weren't very busy and primarily do take out but they allowed us eat-in because they weren't busy. For appetizers, we ordered Chicken Kaarage and Gyoza. One order of Gyoza hand six, deep-fried dumplings with a little dipping sauce (shoyu and little vinegar) This Gyoza skins were thin (as they should be) and slightly crispy. They were OK. The Chicken Kaarage came out hot from the fryer without any dipping sauce. Some places serve Kaarage with a sauce of Japanese mayonnaise and mustard mixture. The chicken thigh nuggets were marinated and lightly coated with flour before frying. The portion size was generous but chicken appeared a little pale. We couldn't finish it all. I ate some more after it had cooled and I detected a little taste of raw flour. As for the ramen, it was just adequate, minimal and basic. I should qualify my review by saying I've slurped many bowls of ramen from famous and not so famous shops in Japan and some excellent ones in Northern and Southern California. It came in a nice stoneware bowl piping hot which is always a plus. I found it lacking in depth and complexity. The half egg was hard-boiled not the jammy texture, shimmery orange jewel-like soft boiled yolk of a marinated egg which is actually one of the more technically difficult things to pull off in bowl of ramen. The pork belly slices were plentiful, thick and meaty but did not have that melt in your mouth feel. I realize some people may not enjoy that but that's I've experienced as the standard. The included veggies were seaweed (wakame) and scallions. Corn, kimchi, okra, more soft boiled egg, panko egg and extra ramen were the only available add-ons. Overall, everything was OK. There's a better ramen option nearby. However, on the 4th of July not much else was open. read more

We were exploring California from Phoenix,AZ. Came across this ramen place and decided to try it. It's very delicious. Better than any ramen place we've tried. So good!! I got the KO and spicy miso ramens. I would drive from AZ to have this ramen again. Plus- friendly service. The guy who took our order was very appreciative of our business. Good work Sapporo!!! read more

Tasty ramen and quick service (we came in before dinner rush around 4:30 and were serviced right away). I read somewhere in the reviews about portions s being small - that's absolutely not the case. One portion is more than enough and can even be split between two people. read more

The veggie ramen tasted like they used old oil in it. The taste was unappealing and I won't be returning. I realize 12 dollars isn't very much but fresh oil is so important to not get sick and to stay healthy. The soup was not palatable at all. My stomach still hurts the following day. I'm trying all kinds of remedies at this point. Fresh oil makes a meal worth it to me and this place does not care about the health of their patrons. Don't go there unless you want a miserable experience for multiple days. read more

Yeah, screw these guys. We called and called and they never picked up the phone. We went I person and they said "did you call?". Wait was 90 minutes for two bowls of ramen. What the hell? We asked how to order ahead, they says "you can't, we don't pick up the phone anymore". Maybe they have good food, but clearly I'll never know. This is just one more example of the covid era attitude of so many restaurants: 'you're coming anyway, and besides, if you don't, someone else will, so f-you'. read more

highly highly recommend this ramen place! There is absolutely no where in Santa Cruz that has good ramen, EXCEPT HERE! Staff is super friendly as well! I always get the spicy miso and my boyfriend gets the Ko. Both are so flavorful. Oh and the karage, my mouth is watering typing this, TRY THIS PLACE! read more

Every time I'm craving ramen I go here. The garlic noodle is phenomenal and the owners are super sweet!

Ordered takeout on New Year's Eve. They were clearly very busy and had a lot of orders to take care of. There were two guys working the small restaurant, one in the kitchen and one at the front counter and they ran the operation like clockwork. In the spirit of the holiday we ordered a large variety of dishes. The KO and spicy miso ramen were fantastic. The broths were very savory and umami, full-bodied flavor. They did not skimp on the seafood in their curry, packed with lobster tail, mussels, and scallops. My top recommendation is an odd item hidden in the long list of appetizers.. brussel sprouts in curry sauce topped with crispy onions. It's so good you'll forget you're eating brussel sprouts. The service was warm, kind, and wholehearted, they checked and rechecked our order to make sure it was 100% accurate. Love to support honest, hardworking small business owners. read more

Ate here last night with my daughter we got the salmon curry and crispy chicken ramen. First off it's cash only at the moment, which sent me back to my car and down the street to an ATM for plenty of cash because this place ain't cheap! Very average bowl of ramen, and below average salmon curry. The ramen had good flavor but lacked any wow factor you'd expect for $18 and the salmon curry was not good. Little brick had chunks of salmon dropped into a curry stew that had no creativity. This falls into the average overpriced meal category. Oh and don't get any curry dishes. read more

Sapporo Ramen - Salmon curry crispy chicken ramen...colorless - Ramen Near Me - Capitola, California

What an awesome Ramen place! My new favorite spot in the Santa Cruz Area. The food tastes amazing and I would recommend to anyone. Lots of other food I'm dying to try! Also portion sizes are HUGE. Worth the cost! read more

Sapporo Ramen - Ko Ramen - Ramen Near Me - Capitola, California

where to start? soft boiled egg was hard boiled soft boiled egg was allowed to cool too long so when peeled the egg white was pitted. broth was at best warm broccoli was raw ramen was bleh. sorry for a four star so much more was expected read more

The Ramen here is great. I've lived in SF. Waited in line for it. Found hole in the wall spots that I still think about. This place is great. I get the Kobocha Ramen. It's amazing. One of the best veggie dishes in town. The pardon peppers are excellent. The sauce they drizzle on them is A+. The chef and wait staff are awesome too. read more

Quaint little place with some delicious authentic food! My mom had a pumpkin soup she still talks about it! Everything we had here was delicious and it is one of the rare "mom approved" restaurants in town. read more

Me and some friends were doing a drive up Hwy One for a night. We got hungry, wanted something warm, and called in an order for a late, near close pickup. Sapporo had it ready just in time, and the employee was very sociable and friendly. He assured us it was the best ramen broth we've ever had. After a small talk and paying our bill, we left the small ramen shop with two bags. The three of us all ordered the Ko ramen, with roasted pork belly. The ramen had two containers, a soup container for a bowl and another case full of the noodles, scallions, egg, and other yummy toppings. The both was piping hot despite so close to close. It was creamy, hearty, and blasting with flavor, notably garlic. It truly was one of the best ramen broths I've ever had! That's saying a lot, considering how many ramen shops I venture to. The noodles were perfectly cooked, and the pork belly was melt in your mouth. Delicious, definitely worth a stop. I will be returning if I ever find myself in town! read more

Pretty mediocre ramen. Even though the menu says "soft boiled egg" - in reality it's a hard boiled, half an egg. The broth is OK. Pretty much everything else is as you'd get from your local supermarket. read more

I feel that this newly opened restaurant has the best ramen in Santa Cruz area (although I'll miss the dimsum place that was here). The tonkatsu broth is quite good but could use slightly more depth. Still, it's delicious and I prefer it to Kaito down the street which is our normal go-to. The pork is also delicious. It would be better if the slices were thin, however the owner is proud that his char siu is always freshly made and says other places use frozen to get the thin slices. The chicken coconut broth is tasty. I find the shredded chicken itself too dry (typical of most ramen shops). The one thing I didn't like was the regular karaage broth which was too flat and just spicy. The egg is hard not soft boiled but the flavor is excellent. The menu has so many options and appetizers to try! So far I've had the gyoza and kimchee rice which were excellent. I typically put very little weight on ambiance and service when giving a star rating because for me it's all about the food. The environment is a hole in the wall with no decor but I don't care. Maybe if you were on a first date you'd prefer to go to Kaito. The service was decent. Our server seemed new but I'm confident that will improve with time. Give it a try! read more

We hit up this spot on a rainy cloudy day and sadly there was only one guy working the whole restaurant. he did the best he could, but our order was over 45mins late. It's not a big deal, everybody loved their dishes and he did the best he could. It wasn't the most authentic, but not bad for Santa Cruz. read more

The food was delicious. We got so much food it was nearly embarrassing. The Tom Kha had an excellent spice and acidity. The wings were amazing as was the shishito peppers. To top off such a great meal the service was phenomenal! I don't know that I've been to a restaurant that was this busy with a party of 9 who ordered enough for 15 have such kind fast service! I highly recommend everyone stop in here! read more

Got the karrage ramen. It was ok, and took over 20 minutes to get. It wasn't very rich, like it was hot water and soy sauce, the umami was missing. Maybe I'll try the miso or main one next time. Overall a good store package and noodles would be better but the additions were good, broccoli, garlic and fried chicken. read more

Sapporo Ramen - Also like everyone said this is what they consider soft boiled egg. A runny yolk would of helped make broth richer.#22 - Ramen Near Me - Capitola, California

Came to Santa cruise for a little vacation and found this restaurant. By far the best ramen noodles I've had!! I highly recommend you try the Ko Ramen!! 10/10! read more

Sapporo Ramen - Ko Ramen on the bottom. Spicy Miso Ramen on the top - Ramen Near Me - Capitola, California