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January 2024 by Vivi Z.
This place never disappoints me regardless how far of a drive it is for me to get here on the weekends. Every time I come to the burbs to visit family, I will always stop by Mitsuwa for the ramen at Santouka followed by a Hokkaido milk tea from ReLeaf cafe. The restaurants at Mitsuwa are so legit, but my ultimate favorite will always be Santouka. I love how the shio ramen is so good that you can actually drink the broth without it being too rich as well as the salmon roe rice is like a perfect match when you get the set and I can't forget the egg either. The staffs are always really nice and service is quick as well.
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December 2023 by Hannah H.
Santouka is a Japanese ramen chain in which they're known for their 20-hour simmered pork bone broth.I usually get the Cha-Shu Gohan Combo, which comes with a small bowl or ramen of your choice and a small cha-shu gohan. For the ramen, I go for the Tonkotsu Kara Miso Ramen, which is a miso-based broth with a hint of spiciness - sometimes, the broth is super creamy and savory with the perfect amount of spice; other times, it can be a bit thin in consistency and not as flavorful. The Cha-Shu Gohan is another regular order - this rice bowl is topped with braised pork belly, and when it's prepared properly, the small pulled pieces of pork is tasty and saucy, which is enough to mix and coat the rest of the rice. Other times, the pork is less than generous in the amount and lacking the sauce.Located at the food courts located inside Mitsuwa.+located inside Mitsuwa at their food court+plenty of parking in private lot
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December 2023 by Cici C.
Used to be cash only, now it's no cash. This place continues to be a gem with lots of people everyday waiting to order. The menu is a bit confusing because it allows you to customize however you like, and you just give them the number. The regular size and the large differ just a little. The salt broth is really good. I like the original flavors. The braised meat over rice can get a bit greasy depending on the cuts of pork belly. The pork belly in the ramen is very tender. I would've given them a 5/5 if it wasn't the soup spoon they provide is always dirty. Make sure you rinse those or wipe them down.
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December 2023 by Amelia B.
Spicy miso ramen was FANTASTIC! Just what I needed. Worth the price, so perfect and warm.
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November 2023 by Melissa Q.
Not the best ramen I've had, too salty for my taste. But the pork was very tender and easy to eat. For the price point there was a lot of pork in there, but I would have liked some more vegetables or other things in the ramen. It's one of the restaurants in the food court so the ambiance is typical, noisy food court. The service was reasonably fast, but not super friendly. If I was here I'd eat it again, but I'd probably try another option in the food court first.
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October 2023 by Stephanie P.
Best ramen, ever! Hokkaido is located in the food court at Mituswa. It is definitely the most popular of the restaurant options, so anticipate having to wait in line to order!They do small, medium, & large options for all of their bowls. I can't believe how reasonably priced it is too- prices range from $10-$14.Broth is fresh, noodles are great. I'm so happy I live close to this place because I'm there more often than I'd like to admit!
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October 2023 by Lisa M.
I ordered a small salt pork ramen. I was not impressed at all. It was $11 and some odd change for mediocre Ramen. The pork was super fatty and soup broth was lacking flavor. The portion size that I ordered was a small but as you can tell by my to go pictures, a small is more like an extra small. This was not worth the money and super overpriced. Skip this place. Very disappointed.
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August 2023 by Nunya B.
This place has really gone down hill, i get using plastic spoons to reduce cost but they pick the cheapest spoons with plastic flaking off, i wonder what else they cut cost on. We used to think authentic japanese means high quality but now, its all about profit. I visited the Santouka at Harvard University and its a totally different experience, an actual restaurant with real service, clean and a much larger menu.
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June 2023 by Ailun H.
While I was in Mitsuwa this past Tuesday evening, I wanted to try as much food as I could. There is a Hokkaido Ramen Santouka near where I live, but I wanted to see if this one was better. Sadly, I was already eating food from the other vendors at the food court, so I didn't have enough room to stomach a whole ramen.SAKE & IKURA RICE BOWL - 6Essentially zero wait time for this since they just scooped up some rice, added some grilled salmon pieces and topped it with some ikura and green onions. This hit the spot. The bowl is small and light, and there was a good amount of grilled salmon (which was seasoned well) and the ikura added extra flavor and texture. If you're looking for something light or a small snack, this is a great option. Good pricing, too.
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May 2023 by Charles W.
I've been coming to Mitsuwa marketplace for nearly 3 decades and this to me will always be one of the first and best ramen spots in the chicagoland area. Many times I don't eat there after shopping at the market because they were cash only. But due to covid that changed and now it's credit card/tap only. I guess it's a positive to come out of it as I had to stop in and grab a bowl after seeing that sign lol. I ordered the shoyu ramen set and it was every bit as good as i remembered. The flavor hit consistently on every bite and the texture of the noodles were on point. This place gets super busy during the lunch rush and during weekends but it's always worth it to me. There's been many new ramen spots popping up last 5 years but this to me will always be one of the top 3 because of their distinct flavor. Highly recommended!!
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April 2023 by Celeste B.
I had initially stopped at the food court for some soft serve ice cream when out of the corner of my eye I see a sign that said "No Cash" over at Ramen Santouka. There's been so many missed meals over the years here all because I forgot to bring cash and this spot was always Cash Only. I was so excited to see that sign that I completely bypassed the ice cream and went for my go-to combo which is #54 - a small salt ramen with rice and egg. It tasted just like how I remembered it and it was glorious! I managed to eat a good portion of it considering I had a good sized breakfast (they say not to go food shopping on an empty stomach). I was too excited and had to celebrate with a combo even though I wasn't hungry. I'm am beyond elated!
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March 2023 by Sophie Y.
There wasn't a long line when we stopped by on a weekday evening. Ordered the large char siu salt $14.5 ramen and medium tonkotsu ramen $14.5. The male cashier with glasses acted strange when taking our order. My broth was creamy but not flavorful. Lots of pork and unsure why the toppings were separated. We both didn't finish our bowls as they weren't tasty. Maybe they had an off day?
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March 2023 by Clara S.
I had tried their ramen long ago and didn't realize how famous this place got. So this time around, I read up on some reviews and got one of the more popular items -spicy miso ramen. This was super heavy though and not my favorite ramen I've had. Spice was a good level for an Asian though. Medium portion was more than enough for one too. I'll have to try the other ones next time I guess!
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February 2023 by Adrian K.
The service here is always nice and quick the staff works super fast here, the Food is unbelievably good here for the price it's worth every penny, I loved the decorations and how simple the menu was to order from.
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January 2023 by Nate C.
Went there for the first time for Spicy Miso Ramen. Service there was rude and not welcoming. When I got home with the ramen, there was only one small piece of pork and small amount of broth that was included with the noodles. I do not plan on going back.