Shin-Sen-Gumi LA Reviews

This is my second time at this joint....and the ramen was as good as the first time. I stay away from the hard core ramen places since the broth it's made of pork,, but once in a while it's good, especially on a cold night.

It is my first visit to a Japanese restaurant and I really enjoyed the experience. I ordered a soup and the small portion of rice with sea food , it was OK . But I could never tell what kind of seafood was it . My wife ordered rice with pork and I tell you it is far more better . My son who loves the place ordered Ramen , He says it is always great, fast and affordable . Tip : If you don't like ginger ( I don't) tell them in advance not to top your plate with it .

The ramen at SSG is so good! Ordering can at first be daunting but once you figure out the right combination for your palate, the ramen is delicious! We were served very hot broth and couldn't dig in right away! We ordered normal for noodle firmness, soup oil and soup base. Then, we added our toppings. Our pick is the flavored egg and garlic chips (omg, the garlic chips are so good!) There are many other options but this what we usually order. It typically comes with ginger, green onion and sesame but you can order without any of them. We like this broth because it is not overpowering but has very good pork flavor. If you like more, then I suggest the strong soup base. It can get busy but we go for lunch on Saturdays and arrive at opening or within half hour of opening and was seated right away. There many other sides as well but haven't had an opportunity to order more than the ramen which is enough! Only tried the gyozas (the smallest ones we've ever seen but very tasty), tuna carpaccio and tuna yukke (beware, raw quail egg) - both are good but pricey. AND you can get extra ramen noodles for about $1! On the plus side, they share a parking lot with the Office Deport and you can get validation for free parking up to 3 hours. Just writing this review, makes me crave ramen!

Came here for a quick bite at 5p. Little did i know that the restaruant was full and there was already a line and waiting list. Be sure to put your name down and enter the number in your party. We were seated in about 30mins. While we were waiting for our name to be called, the waitress yells something in Japanese to the workers, who then yell something back. They do this everytime a guest comes or goes from the restaurant. Nice touch! Thinking that the wait staff only speaks broken english, I was prepared to listen very intently. I was surprised by the perfect english that was spoken! Seating was cramp. It's better suited for couples vs large groups. But you'll wait. The food was excellent! I ordered the Yaki Ramen while my wife ordered a half Ramen bowl. We shared of course and both were very tasty and at a reasonable price! I will come back!

I have been to other Shin-Sen-Gumi's in and around LA. The best is the Torrance Location. The second best is the San Gabriel Location. I am a big Ramen fan, the only criticism i have of the food was, the soup was not hot enough. I like my soup broth to be warmer. That is my personal preference.

I went to the Rosemead branch not too long before this visit here in J-Town. The ramen was equally good if not better. Solid place IMO, I got here just as lunch started. I didn't bother with Daikokuya because that place is even smaller and I'm not sure if they take cards yet (probably do, but SSG never disappoints). Great spot to try Japanese ramen, and never hurts to get their shoyu.

At the recommendation of a friend we decided to have lunch at Shin-Sen-Gumi and we were not disappointed. The BEST ramen I have ever had. The staff were more than friendly, the service 2nd to none and the food OUTSTANDING. If you are ever on Little Tokyo in LA take some time to have a meal here.

Went here for lunch with my college son who had previously been there. AMAZING RAMEN! About a 10 min drive from USC campus. (or Uber). As you enter and leave, the staff all yell out something in Japanese...I think they say Welcome and Thank You, but who knows. Nice vibe inside..staff great... ramen fantastic! Tons of add on's to add to your basic bowl with thin sliced pork. CHEAP AND YUMMY! Will def go back.

So today I was in LT for work, and of course, the question of what to eat for lunch is the hard question have to answer. SSG or DK? Since I know DK is always packed and still doesn't accept credit cards, SSG was the answer. Got extra noodles and the fried rice. There are plenty of places to have ramen around here, but SSG is never a disappointment.

Living in Seattle, I've yet to find a restaurant that comes close to authentic Japanese food. If you want authentic Japanese, food you go to Los Angeles. When you're you Los Angeles, go to Shin Sen Gumi. This place is very loud, and may not be the most appropriate for kids, although I've seen them there. Our daughter came with us, and she really enjoyed the food. The staff are very happy and helpful. The menu is Ala Carte, so, don't expect a meal out of one order. I don't think there's anything on the menu i didn't like. Everything is very good, and the prices are reasonable. I would love to have them come up to Seattle.

Your Restaurant Review: Where we should visit in the U.S is Shin-Sen-Gumi LA. This restaurant is Japanese and Asia restaurant. It located in Los Angeles. The address is 90012-3913 California, Los Angeles 132 S Central Ave. This restaurant opens Monday to Sunday from 11:00 am to 12:00 am. There is no regular holiday. Shin-Sen-Gumi called the best Japanese restaurant and also this restaurant is very popular among American people. One of the reasons why this restaurant is popular is that it reproduces the Japanese food that can be eaten in Japan as much as possible. The customers say that this restaurant’s Japanese food is really delicious ever! There are a lot of menus such as Ramen, Yakitori, Shaun-Shabu, Sushi, Chanko-Nabe, Udon etc. These are also very popular in Japan. It is very lucky to eat them in America. Another reason is this restaurant has all-you-can-eat menu and many interesting events. If you go this restaurant, you can experience all-you- can-eat. It will held on Thanksgiving day. I think it's very rare in America,so it's popular for them. Adults price is $ 25 and children price is $12. Whether you are picking up a meal on the go, having a family dinner, or enjoying a drink with your friends, this is the right place to come enjoy a refreshing and pleasant dining experience. They would like to continue to offer traditional Japanese cuisine. I think Shin-Sen-Gumi is grate restaurant, so we should go there when we visit Los Angeles.

When in LA, you can't go wrong with Shinsengumi. Their tonkotsu ramen noodles and broth are fully customizable with texture and flavor so there's always something for everyone, even if you've never tried this type of ramen. I'm from the Kyushu-region in Japan where tonkotsu is standard and I can safely say this is a legit spot for a quick slurpin! Note that in Japan, tonkotsu can be served with either thin or thick curly noodles, and this place services thin noodles that go very well with their savory broth. I like getting sides of corn, and onsen-tamago to put in my broth. My boyfriend always gets the spicy miso and extra noodles to add in the broth after the first serving, this is always worth it for the price you pay! Often times there's a wait, but it's worth it especially on a cold night. I love the way the staff always yells out your orders, it actually makes me feel right at home like I'm having ramen in Japan!

Eating in Los Angeles can really take a bit out of your wallet, so it was our college-aged son who let us know about this inexpensive place that is quite popular with many of his friends. Upon entering, the staff yell in Japanese(I hope it was something nice) and we were promptly seated. The ramen here is very good and an extra serving of noodles only cost $1.00 more. We tried fried pig's ears(crunchy and no taste) out of curiousity. Add-ins naturally cost extra. Parking is free with validation.

Super delicious. It seems to be busy at pretty much all times but their wait list mechanism -20 to 30 mins - makes it very easy to go for a stroll around little Tokyo. Prices are more than fine and the cuisine is marvelous.

Yes, yes, yes! Delicious! I really have nothing bad to say about this place. There is definitely consistency from location to location. Broth and noddles always turn out perfect. Service is good. Be sure to put yourself on the waitlist ahead of time on Yelp.

I came here with a friend and I have always passed by this area but never tried this place until recently. It has a unique feature of choosing how you want your ramen made and if you want any sides added to it. Customer service was kind and the food and sides were good. The bacon stood out to me as it was crispy but somehow still very juicy. Unfortunately, the ramen wasn't as amazing. I give it about 6/10 and that's even with all the added items. I felt like we needed to have sides of either soy sauce or some form of salt, but the taste of it was somehow bland. My friend's dish on the other hand seemed a lot more tasty, he couldn't stop talking about it. He ordered a rice dish with fried chicken and a special mayo that came with it and he said it was amazing. Perhaps next time I won't come for Ramen but instead for the rice bowl.

Granted, all my life I've eaten nothing but instant ramen noodles, this was my first time trying legit ramen..and it was amazing! Instant definitely does not compare lol. You get to choose all of these side dishes to add and customize your own ramen. Ahh-mazing. I recommend adding cheese to it. I know...cheese? Trust me, it's soo good!

Was a recommendation by a friend - and a great one at that!!! Wait was about 30 min and was worth it!! Ramen was delicious with many add on as you want. Definitely must add the garlic butter!!! We also ordered assorted tapas - all were VERY delicious! Was disappointed that they ran out of the soft shelled crab and spam musubi. Service was great although our garlic butter was forgotten but soon remedied. Curry chicken and the prawns were a hit as was the creamed croquet. Street parking was relatively easy on a Friday night. A definite stop if in the neighborhood

Great noodle and the broth wasn't so thick (which I'd prefer). The staff are enthusiastic and helpful. The price is very reasonable, too. I would definitely come back, despite the long wait :)

We to Little Tokyo for a fun afternoon. The are a lot of food choices, but wanted something other than just sushi. The place is busy. There are many shared tables and a counter bar to seat at. There were some separate tables. If you a first timer like us, ask for help. In addition to Ramen, the had raw fish, curry, fried rice and other choices. If you don't like to try new foods, this place is not for you. If you like to experiment, share and like fast paced activity in kitchen and at table, this is your place. It was popular and crowded. They do take credit cards and did not rush us.

Ever since this popped up a couple of years ago, there was another go to Ramen spot- but now this is it. The broth is flavorful and there are options to suit your taste. Expect to wait. There are other menu items but it's all about the ramen.

Came on an early Tuesday night, waitlist at the door, they won't let you in unless your party is complete and they will seat the party that will fit the space they have available- bar seating and a few tables. There are two sizes for the Ramen that comes with a standard topping that makes the ramen already delicious and flavorful, but you can customize the strength of your broth, firm or soft ramen noodles, and choose to add more toppings (<$2 each) and there's a variety to choose from. We also had their deep fried oyster, squid, octopus, shrimp and tofu. We had 2 servings of the (agedashi) tofu, it was that delicious. The other deep fried dishes we ordered were a bit over cooked so it was too crunchy and dry for our taste. We also loved their fried rice that came with chicken broth on the side. We had cold sake that our waiter recommended, and when he said smooth, he meant it. There were 4-5 waiters that circled the diner so having our tea cups and water glasses filled up or making additional orders was no problem. They validate parking if you park on the side.

I had Hakata Ramen ($11.50), and it’s as good as ramen in Japan. We went there around 8:30pm on Sunday night, so there’re plenty of available seats there.

Located in Little Tokyo LA, this charming Japanese ramen place, very good service, good ramen, recommended

I love the ramen here! It gets pretty busy around dinner time, so it's best to get there early. Eating ramen at the bar is my favorite part of the experience, you get dinner and a show. You can watch them deftly pour broth and noodles into rows of bowls and watch how each bowl gets customized with additional toppings. You can customize the ramen to your liking, soft/normal/hard noodles, heavy/normal oil...The restaurant gets pretty loud, so it's not exactly great for an intimate quiet evening. Parking is scarce but they validate parking in the Office Depot lot.

*Price:$$, $9 for a big bowl noodle, $5 for 1/2 size, $1 for additional topping, $6 for capachio, not too shabby for LA. 4 star. * Ambiance: casual, cool vive, clean. California graded A. 4 star. * Location: closed to th Giffen museum of MOCA, Japanese American museum. Validated for 2 hour parking at the Office depot parking lot. 4 star. * Meals: savory, authentic, best noodles we have in little Tokyo so far! 5 star. * Service : excellent, fast and friendly. Love their energy and chanting! 5 star. No wonder why this place always have a long line regardless what day of a week. The line moves pretty good though... and the noodle is worthy! Don't be intimidated by the order...First you cab chose Hakata noodle or wonton or other type. We usually get Hakata noodle, normal for everything (soup base, noodle type, oily, etc.) Next you can add extra toppings like spinach, corns, spicy miso paste, mushroom, been sprouts, eggs, etc. The soup is so tasty and flavorful and it is even better at the end! Tuna capacio and albacore capacio is also very fresh and tasty! The staff is very helpful and friendly! The atmosphere is very energetic here! The staff is chanting in Japanese during the service when customers coming and leaving... We have been to Dakokuya and Orochon ramen noodles in Little Tokyo. By far, this place is our favorite... we come here at least once a week after work just to have a tasty bowl of noodle!

This little place is packed with great food! From the gyoza to the Fukuoka Hakata Ramen, everything hit the spot! You can cater your food to your personal preferences (I highly recommend adding the crispy onions to your ramen for an extra kick!) and it will be ready within minutes! To top it off, a great atmosphere and super friendly, enthusiastic staff. Don’t hesitate! Go here!

Waited for an hour and was told another 45 mins wait. It's not for regular diners. It's really just for students who come in for 3 dollar ramen. I give this place a zero star if I could.

This place has a long wait.. I guess that’s a good sign if locals like it. But the place is really really slow. Took like an hour after we placed order. Good place to get Ramen noodles.. you can add your own toppings and decide how strong or light you want your soup base. Having said that I like my Ramen base to be not just one kind, it’s nice if they offered other choices .. rather than standard ramen base. However it’s good soup to try but if I was a local, I won’t be going there again given limited soup base, that you basically modify by adding condiments and toppings. There is literally NO vegetarian options. So one of our family members had to eat elsewhere given that, and they didn’t offer to modify anything or mix match like rice or tofu..

After treating our son who lives in LA to a couple fancy meals, he insisted taking us to his favorite ramen joint and we werent disappointed. We all got 1/2 orders ramen w/ several things to add in- pork, sesame, seaweed,a couple more plus some pot stickers. Delicious meal. Great atmosphere. Very glad we went. We were there early on a Friday (500ish) so only had a short wait. Longer line when we left.

Came here with family on a rainy day. They have umbrellas propped up outside of the restaurant, so it wasn't too bad but the queue was extremely long. We were given an e-ticket with an estimated time of return, which was helpful, but we waited for almost 3/4 of an hour before we were given a table (we arrived at 3 pm). The food came in small portions and for a hefty fee, but you can definitely taste the amount of effort put into each dish. I'd recommend getting the Hakata Ramen (with the default toppings/soup), but I would avoid eating the fried dumplings. They tasted very well, but were extremely small and didn't justify the charged price. They do have outdoor seating and do accommodate large groups of people, which was great for us, as we were able to bring a pet with us. In regard to COVID policy, they do require proof of vaccination and masks regardless of vaccine status.

The ordering experience is too complicated but fortunately the staff helped us out. The flavor of the soup was good and the texture of the noodles was what I wanted but there was only half the amount of soup that should have been served. Service was very good.Restaurant itself and the immediate area is pretty shabby.

This place was an experience My first time I'm a place like this. Busy busy. We had a bit of a wait, but once seated the food came quick. Large bowls of ramen style noodles but the real authentic kind. Fun to try and eat them with chopsticks. We had some potsticker type of dumplings too. I'm no crazy for this food but it was very good. The menu is large and complicated but there was an old hand in our group which made choosing easy by following his lead. My only complaints were how crowded the place was and all the noise and yelling by the large staff. Part of the show all friendly and in good fun.

Came here a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised how good it was! went with a couple of people so we orders a medley of dishes, including the ramen. Has a very nice outdoor sitting area, and the staff are very attentative. Their ordering system is easy and fun to use. It gave you many options which allows you to pick from numerous choices to cater your order to your taste such as texture, spiciness, and toppings. Must order takoyaki. It was absolutely delicious, probably my personal favorite.

Most of the time this place has a long line. We were so lucky on a Monday afternoon that we didn't wait for so long. Staffs were nice and helpful. Ramen was the best! Will definitely come back in here.

I had never tried Ramen before, so my first experience led me to believe that I must not order to many sides to add to that pot of noodle!! Honestly, I would have loved the noodles san the soup! Sorry guys. But the plave seemed popular and buzzing with loas of young people. It was clean and the service was very friendly!

Do yourself a favor. Eat here. Authentic ramen that arrives from Japan daily with lots of toppings to choose from. By far the best noodles I've ever had. The atmosphere is energetic and lively with a pretty frequent injection of Japanese commands being exchanged from the main floor leader and the service staff. Really great evening. Arrived about 6 on a Sunday night and waited 1/2 hour to be seated. Plenty of great people watching to keep you busy while you wait!

Son took us to this Ramen restaurant. Guided us through the pick list of choices, making suggestions. Parking for dinner is allowed in the adjacent parking lot - for a dollar with a validated ticket. Starts with putting your name on a clipboard to get on the wait list; the most we waited was 20 minutes. Upon seating, you are given a list to choose from to create the noodle bowl to your personal preference. Service was great as was the food. Wish we had a restaurant like this at home!!!

Delicious, cheap, fast, loud and perfect. The best choose-your-own-adventure ramen. You choose the consistency of the noodle, the ingredients and the base. Absolutely my favorite ramen in DTLA.

By far the best ramen in California and Texas. Their Hakata ramen is amazing. Atmosphere can't be beat. Didn't understand a thing they yelled in Japanese, but really cool and different. Can't wait for our next visit.

This was an excellent restaurant. They had a variety to choose from and the food was delicious. The ramen was excellent!! Great atmosphere as well.

The noodle is ok but overall it's not a specifical store to eat. The restaurant is a little distance from downtown.

I am Japanese and on a visit to LA, stopped by here for a quick bite while visiting Japantown. The broth here tasted a bit stale and gamy. Noodles were overcooked. The chinese style bamboo came chopped up and on the side instead of in the soup. The eggs was not freshly cooked. In other words, this is a tourist trap masquerading as something authentic. Not that cheap either. Service is slow and careless, bordering on rude. We were starved after 3 hours hiking around in downtown LA and even then, the food didn't taste good. Surely LA must have better ramen options.

How do you distinguish your ramen place from the others? At Shin-Sen-Gumi, you offer a few basic combinations to which customers can add ingredients and you put on a show. We enjoyed the occasional shout-outs by staff that greeted visitors at the door, which enlivened the place. The greeter would shout something and the staff would shout back in unison. Now and then, the cashier would initiate the back and forth. Since this all took place in Japanese, we had no idea what it was about. The noodles were good but know that they are thin noodles, which I do not usually associate with ramen. And the portions could be bigger.

We visited Shin-Sen-Gumi's Hakata Ramen restaurant on Sawtelle Blvd. in West LA. Like everyone else trying to get into this popular dining spot, we had to wait outside on the sidewalk. At least we were given check-off sheets to consider our orders even before we got into the restaurant. This was helpful, considering the number of choices. We really liked this place. It had a great variety of dishes, all of which could be ordered in half or full portions, with full, medium or light flavorings in the broths used to soften the noodles, and any preferred toppings from a list of about 20 available. This meant that each dish essentially was customized. What a novel idea! The noodles were simply delicious, very fresh, steaming hot and flavorful: the real deal, and why we came here in the first place. We also ordered quite a few small side dishes for the table, everything from octopus to meatballs, with a lot of vegetarian offerings too, and all of these were very savory, not to mention interesting to sample in little bites that made all of us more daring in what we were willing to try. May I be frank? We don't have restaurants like this back home in Vermont. It was a pleasure to be here, enjoying both the food and the atmosphere. We'd come again in a heartbeat, given the opportunity. Check it out for yourself when in West Los Angeles, and enjoy.

This was a great place to find that was open late. The employees were energetic and quick. The place was busy and the food was great. I can't stop thinking about the delicious ramen I had there.

This restaurant is a semi traditional ramen shop. It only serves on kind of soup base with only 1 topping of chashu pork. Other toppings cost extra, but I think it is worth the extra money. The wait time is ridiculous, but once you get in you'll forget about it. I know I did because I came back the next day.

Delicious ramen noodles and soup, variety of toppings (e.g., wonton, seaweed etc) and tapas (e.g., eggplant). Large lovely tufo salad, pan fried noodles with pork- and cold beer- Very popular place!

We wanted ramen on a cold Sunday evening somewhere on the west side of LA. We found the West LA location of Shin-Sen-Gumi and we were happy with our choice. This is a small location on Sawtelle, noisy, festive and savory. Service was good. We each built our own ramen from a base choice of size, strength, and flavor adding selected ingredients. The results were fulfilling, filling and flavorful. We will be back.

I come here at least twice a week since parking is free with validation and it's an inexpensive meal. I usually order the Hakata Ramen with extra pork, sesame seeds, and green onion! I like to add a bunch of chili powder and soy sauce to add more flavor. I've tried putting the spicy miso but it didn't taste as great. Soboro Don is really good too. It's a chicken bowl with rice and egg. It starts getting pretty busy after 7pm so I would recommend going on a week day if you want to avoid waiting. Also, if you put your name on the list make sure you wait there..if you leave and they called your name and you weren't there they will find it "disrespectful" and you'll have to wait a little longer until you're seated. You will love the ramen!

Ramen was pretty good, though for me, the top ramen restaurants (like Daikokuya) all taste the same to me. While I have yet to try the smaller mom/pop ramen places, Shinsengumi is a solid choice that if you can't wait for that other place on 1st street, this place is also worth the weight. Be sure to get the extra noodles and make sure to order something else such as the gyoza or fried rice to complete your meal. While some will find the constant calling in Japanese obnoxious, that's the culture.

Excellent hakata ramen and wide range of toppings and sides. Tuna yukke and Gyoza were also excellent. Rivals best ramen I have had in Tokyo - this one is Fukuoka style. Get there early as lines are long...

Been a while since eat here but nothing changed- simple, inexpensive food served fairly quickly. 4 of us all got ramen w/ some bean sprouts, egg and breaded pork + gyoza and curry rice. For LA, great value. Worth noting we arrived 1130pm and didnt get seated till 1150 (they closed at 1200 on a wed) but still didnt feel rushed.

I really enjoy this place, the ramen has consistently been delicious and I really like all the additional side stuff that you can add to your ramen. The staff is very nice, quick and the inside is big enough to fit a lot of customers in. I definitely recommend coming here if you like ramen.

The highlight for me were all the topping choices. My favorite was the miso flavored butter. Ordering is really easy, you are handed an order sheet as you are seated, and just mark how many of whatever toppings you want (all the toppings are served on the side). The restaurant is small, and it was easy to see they are busy. Location is easy to find - you can park in the Office Depot parking lot and it costs $1 for 2 hours if you get the restaurant to stamp your parking stub.

I love their extensive choice of add-ons. The chili butter bomb is my favorite, along with the pork belly, shredded pork and poached egg. They also have other great menu items. I recommend the tuna carpaccio. The service is great and the staff was very nice.

Love their ramen...the broth is so tasty and it's pretty cheap for LA resto. All extra are on the side which is good cos you can share it with friends. Service is friendly. Expect a long line :)

Ate here in November 2017 on a business trip to downtown LA. I love ramen and I try new spots whenever i travel for business...i read some reviews and ended up here. Lots of energy in this place -- the staff are all really friendly and kind. The ramen is out of this world. Lots of depth of flavor in the broth. Slightly hard to navigate the menu...in most ramen places i've been to, you have a handful of choices; here, you have just a couple of choices, and then choose which ramen and then add each extra item individually (miso, nori, fried shallots, extra spice, etc etc etc). I ordered the traditional pork ramen with nori, spicy miso, pig ears, a poached egg and fried onion. It was really great soup. My two qualms...the sides are all refrigerated, and I wasn't expecting that. So they served the poached egg on the side, I put it in my soup and then took a bite but it was cold! same thing for the extra pork I ordered. That's fine, but I wasn't expecting it. It would have been nice to have had freshly cooked pork for the ramen though.

I've tried several different ramen places in LA, but I still always crave Shin Sen Gumi. It is, in my humble opinion, the best ramen shop in LA. The wait is long sometimes, but it's always worth it. The kitchen is open air, so you can watch them making your ramen while you wait. Also, when you order ramen here, it is very customizable - you can add over 20+ toppings to your bowl. Don't forget to ask for extra noodles and then puy it all in a to-go bowl for lunch the next day. :)

Came here recently for dinner Tuesday night—restaurant is small with lots of people, but luckily they had two open spots at the bar area. Got the Hakata Ramen—was so good! Paid extra to add a bunch of toppings (soft flavored egg, corn, shrimp wonton & pork belly chashu). Also got the Pork Cutlet on the side. The noodles and toppings soaked up a good amount of the broth so I had to order more broth for $4.50. The basic Hakata Ramen is $12.50 but once you start adding more toppings, it can get pretty pricey—mine came out to be over $30! Geez. For dessert, the Green Tea Ice Cream was good.

I don’t know what happened with the first review and I have to use this app more, but picking up again the theme that brings us to the table this Ramen is one of the best I have eaten, almost two months ago I was in 8 destinations in Japan and 1 in Korea (good Korea) so I have my blue belt at least take Ramen. The ramen of this place is delicious and balanced neither very nor so and give you the tools to raise it to your level. Of the best I have eaten in the USA, I recommend it to 100% simple but rich flavor.

This place typically gets really full of people that don't want to wait for the other Ramen places in Little Tokyo. Personally I've eaten here a few times just because of that reason alone and the convenience. The ramen itself is okay.

A coworker of mine told me about this place so we decided to go. We went on a Wednesday night and i honestly didn't think there'd be a wait but there were wad a list and some people outside. We probably waited 45 mins to be seated, but it was totally worth the wait. I had their draft beer and I'm not a beer person, but it was super smooth. We also tried their fried squid which was delicious, try it. And then of course the Ramen, this was my second time having Ramen so my order wasn't to crazy. But to order you fill out a piece of paper with every thing you want in your Ramen and how you want your noodles. If you don't want to wait for a table make reservations, because since they're so popular they always have a wait, but I didn't mind the wait and niether did the other people waiting.

I don't think I've had better Ramen. I have tried a variety of spots around LA and Shin-Sen-Gumi takes the cake. From the fun greetings to the curated, fully customizable ramen selection, you are in for a treat!

Delicious Japanese style Ramen with a great ambience. Friendly waiter and delicious main dishes of Ramen with pork, beef or chicken.

A place to customize your Hakata noodles. Choose as many or as little side dishes as you desire. I have finally found my perfect combination - hard noodles, light oil, light broth, no green onions, side of crunchy pig's ears, and when I'm in the mood, an egg. Sometimes I'll share either the pork belly chashu or short rib, when I have company. Never had the other items on the menu because I just zoom in on the lovely noodles. Ambiance is quite lively and sometimes boisterous. This is not the place if you are looking for a quiet dinner for two. I enjoy the friendly staff and fun atmosphere. A bonus is the free parking in the Office Depot lot; a luxury in DTLA and Little Tokyo.

The one outstanding feature of this ramen place versus everywhere else is its highly customizable menu: you get a choice of more than 20 different side dishes to add to your ramen, including takana--pickled mustard green--which I have not been able to find anywhere else.

If you like noodles, you'll love Shin-Sen-Gumi. The ramen is exceptional and this restaurant offers more add-ins than I've ever seen. The wait for a table can be lengthy during peak hours and they don't take reservations. I would have given this gem a 5 rating but the tables are crowded in. If you're a big guy, you might have trouble getting into your seat without bumping the table next to you.

Just finished eating here, on a Thursday. Went early, around 4:30pm, which was fortuitous because there is a happy hour Monday thru Thursday from 3:30-5pm with $1 beers ("2 Kirins please, then 2 more please before happy hour is over!"). We both had the Hakata ramen with "normal" broth and "normal" noodles with pork, ginger and green onion. I added the crunchy supplement, which consisted of fried onions, fried pork ears and a poached egg. We both loved, absolutely loved the Hakata ramen, very clean tasting broth, very savory and tasty pork and very fresh ginger and green onion. The noodles were very fresh, so lovely. Also loved the added crunchy chopped up pork ears and onions to sprinkle over the top. In sum, all good, very good. Definitely recommend that you go here for your ramen fix. But go early: When we left around 5:30pm, there was a long wait outside. Worth the wait.

I'm from Phoenix and I am starting to think that there must be some law against opening a yakitori here. Maybe it's the heat, since anyone could probably grill skewers over their car hood for 6 months out of the year? Maybe the food scene here is lagging behind (duh)? Whatever the reason, I have been waiting to try one for about 4 years. On a weekend in LA recently, I sought it out and dragged my daughter and her friend along for my first Yakitori experience. Man did I pick well! The place was loud and fun with super friendly staff that helped us navigate the experience, as we were yakitori virgins. We ordered a bunch of grilled items and some awesome things off the menu. Such unique offerings!! I loved the mini ikura don, a bowl of rice with raw salmon and salmon roe. We had awesome dumplings, soup and a number of other small plates. Don't forget dessert and if they have the purple yam and ice cream GET IT! I only wish I had 2 stomachs since it's a 6 hour drive from here and there was SO MUCH MORE I wanted to try!! I get to LA a few times a year and I WILL be back.

This is one of my most favorite ramen spots. There is usually a wait but so worth it! There's outdoor seating that isn't so great and inside there are communal style tables and bar seating where you can watch the open kitchen. The atmosphere is LOUD and the staff are harmoniously screaming/greeting in Japanese a lot. Not sure what anything means but they seem beyond hospitable. Now about the food: You can modify your ramen to your liking starting with the hardness of the noodle, oil base in the soup to the toppings you want included. I usually get medium noodle with medium oil base. For toppings, the bamboo shoots are always fresh, the bean sprouts give it good texture and the fresh garlic with the garlic crusher is my usual. The egg is cold and not my favorite marinade but I still get since egg makes everything better. Oh and its a hard boiled egg unlike at some other places where its runny inside. They serve alcohol here and its cheap so getting a pitcher makes the loudness go away. Last thing.. there is a great selection of appetizers that go great with the beer: chicken kaarage, salad, octopus balls, tofu, salad, fried rice, etc. This is one location out of a handful within the county. They are all busy but worth trying once or twice to see if the soup is worth the loud experience and long wait.