Ramen fans, take heed: there's a new spot in San Jose to get your fix. Located at 86 S. First St. downtown, the fresh arrival is a counter-service-only restaurant called Ozu Ramen Kitchen.
On the menu, you'll find classic shoyu ramen in chicken broth with chashu pork, a soft-boiled egg and veggie toppings, as well as the house specialty of tonkotsu ramen: pork bone broth topped with black garlic oil and garlic chips as well as chashu, egg and nori.
For those less interested in soup, the joint also offers rice bowls topped with chicken or pork katsu, chashu or unagi.
The new addition has gotten a generally positive response thus far, with a four-star rating out of 13 reviews on Yelp.
M. C., who was among the first Yelpers to review the new spot on November 4, wrote of the black tonkotsu ramen, "The broth was excellent: creamy, not too salty or overly rich, and slightly smoky with garlic flavor. The noodles are on the thicker side. The chashu was tasty as well."
However, Yelper Theo G. said, "The ramen lacks punch and is a bit salty — taste-wise, it tastes like the nicer pre-packaged ramen that has fresh noodles and the real base instead of a powder that's sold in the Japanese markets around here."
Interested? Stop by to welcome the new business to the neighborhood. Ozu Ramen Kitchen is open from 11:30 a.m.–3 p.m. and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on weekdays and 5 p.m.–9 p.m. on Saturday. (It's closed on Sunday.)
