Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai - Torrance

I was pleasantly surprised a Ramen Ban Nai opened in Torrence. This is a popular chain in Japan serving light broth ramen intended as a breakfast food. The ramen is quite reasonable at $14. Wonton ramen- was a special. I tried that. $17.50 for regular. The style of wonton was more like the one with small amount of meat and large wrapper. It tasted good. The Ban Nai ramen I was was as I remembered it in Japan. Although it was slightly saltier than I recall. I will order the soup slightly less salty. The ramen itself was exactly as I remembered it. It was perfectly chewy, full to the bite and thick. That was so good!

ordered the tan tan ramen-broth was full of flavor. its medium spicy. chicken karage is crunchy and juicy. such good umami flavor even without the sauce. friend ordered the chicken katsu he states its good. service- very attentive and friendly. i enjoyed eating here.

I was excited to try this place since there aren’t many shoyu based ramen options in LA. The menu offers a good variety including miso, tonkotsu, tsukemen, and plenty of sides. The atmosphere was family friendly with many parents and kids dining together. I ordered the standard Kitakata Ramen with chashu, green onions, and bamboo shoots. The soy sauce broth was flavorful and the portion size was generous. However, the noodles were much too soft for my taste, which was a bit disappointing. The gyoza was decent, and the dipping sauce was tasty. Service was friendly, attentive, and even in fluent Japanese, which made the experience pleasant. Overall, a nice and comfortable spot, but the noodles being overly soft kept it from being great.

One of our favorite chains when we lived in Japan. We were stoked to see them in Chicago earlier this year while traveling to see relatives, and when we planned a SoCal visit we had to add this one to the list. There's not a ton of seating at this one so there may be a wait if you're a party of 3 or more. Staff coordination could be improved, as they had maybe three people rotating between bussing tables and manning the entrance, so it wasn't always clear if a table had been waited on or not. Not that it's a huge problem to have someone checking in every few minutes just to be sure. Food's great but can get pricey, especially with add-ons. The pork's rich flavor stands out and reminds me of Japan. The miso ramen has a lot of toppings, too, a mound of bean sprouts and corn for an extra po

Delicious ramen with a great and smooth service experience! If you let the server know, you can customize the firmness of noodles and richness of soup (stronger or lighter) which was nice.