Ramen Ryoma, the ramen-and-tapas chain with locations in Pacific Beach and Hillcrest, had its Pacific Beach outpost ordered closed by San Diego County health inspectors on June 24, 2026 — the same day the county's annual restaurant inspection calendar was already attracting plenty of attention. The closure, listed at 4475 Mission Blvd in the county's inspection records, came after inspectors flagged two major violations: vermin evidence and improper food holding temperatures. It wasn't the restaurant's first run-in with inspectors over temperature problems, and this time the combination of issues was enough to pull the plug on the spot.
What the Inspection Found
According to the county's inspection history on SDFoodInfo.org, the June 24 routine inspection turned up five violations. The two majors — vermin evidence and improper holding temperatures — are the kind that trigger immediate closure under San Diego County's retail food code. Supporting violations included problems with handwashing facilities, hot and cold water availability, food contact surfaces, nonfood contact surfaces, and floors, walls, and ceilings. No score or grade was assigned, as is standard when a facility is ordered closed before the inspection is completed.
The holding temperature problem in particular is a recurring concern for this location. A major violation for improper holding temperatures appeared on the June 26, 2025 routine inspection as well — the one that scored 93 and kept an A grade. That time, additional violations included nonfood contact surfaces, warewashing facilities, and floors/walls/ceilings. A follow-up reinspection on July 3, 2025 cleared most issues but still logged a minor holding temperature flag. For a restaurant where the product is a temperature-sensitive ramen broth, repeated citations for holding temperatures are not a great look.
The Restaurant and Its Chain
Ramen Ryoma is a Japanese ramen and tapas bar chain operated under Y and T Brothers LLC, according to San Diego business records. As SanDiegoVille reported in 2018, the chain was founded by chef and owner Yoshinari Ichise, who was born in Kyoto, Japan and built the original flagship in Beaverton, Oregon in July 2016. The restaurant's hallmark is its Sapporo-style miso ramen, adapted from the recipe of its Japanese sister restaurant, Sora, in Sapporo — built around hand-massaged "temomi" noodles, a 12-hour pork bone broth, and chashu pork belly braised for five hours in a house tare sauce. The chain expanded aggressively in the late 2010s, opening Hillcrest, Kearny Mesa, and Pacific Beach locations in San Diego, as well as a second Portland location, and eventually a franchise in Santiago, Chile. The Kearny Mesa location on Clairemont Mesa Blvd is now listed as closed on Yelp.
The Pacific Beach location, listed by the chain at 825 Garnet Ave on its official website, has built a solid local following — pulling a 4-plus rating on Google and being praised by regulars for affordable ramen and Japanese tapas in a beach-adjacent, easygoing setting. The county's inspection record lists the address as 4475 Mission Blvd, which is roughly the same Pacific Beach corridor, and the phone number matches the restaurant's listed Pacific Beach line. The discrepancy in street address is worth noting but doesn't change the inspection history.
Context: Vermin Closures Are Surging Across San Diego
Ramen Ryoma's closure lands in the middle of what has become an alarming citywide trend. As SanDiegoVille documented in an extensive investigation, over 300 San Diego County restaurants were shuttered for vermin-related violations between mid-2024 and mid-2025 alone — a dramatic spike attributable in part to California's Poison-Free Wildlife Act (AB 2552), which took effect January 1, 2025. That law bans nearly all anticoagulant rodenticides, including the second-generation poisons that pest control companies once considered their most reliable tools. Restaurants are now limited to slower, less effective alternatives like live trapping and steel exclusion barriers, and the costs of those approaches fall entirely on operators. As CBS 8 reported, vermin closures hit 547 facilities countywide in fiscal year 23/24, dropped slightly to 373 in 22/23, then surged again as the new rodenticide law took effect.
Pacific Beach specifically has seen multiple closures along Mission Blvd and nearby corridors in recent months. In late May 2026, The Beverly Beach Garden at 4190 Mission Blvd — just a few blocks from Ramen Ryoma — was ordered closed for vermin, among other violations, as tracked by SanDiegoVille. Also in the neighborhood, Ichiban Pacific Beach on Garnet Ave faced a vermin closure in April that required a second closure upon reinspection before finally passing. The dense, older commercial buildings along the PB beach strip present the same structural pest challenges as other older urban corridors — shared walls, aging plumbing infrastructure, and neighboring vacant retail spaces that can become rodent staging areas.
What Happens Now
To reopen, Ramen Ryoma must correct all cited violations, obtain a pest control service report from a licensed provider, and pass a reinspection with the San Diego County Department of Environmental Health and Quality. Under the county's system, as explained by CBS 8, restaurants with vermin violations can theoretically reopen within 24 hours if they demonstrate the issue is resolved and pass a follow-up visit. But given that this location has carried holding temperature issues across multiple inspection cycles — and given the combination of violations on June 24 — the path back will likely require more than a quick clean. The Hillcrest location at 815 University Ave continues to operate normally. Current inspection status can be checked directly at SDFoodInfo.org.
