I’ve been coming to this Ramen shop since I was in high school and it’s still one of the favorites in town. Don’t be afraid of the long line it won’t last too long and it will definitely be worth the wait. I always get all of the extras like the egg and the salmon rice with salmon eggs. It would be advantageous for your party to have somebody wait in line while somebody looks for a table during busy days.

best ramen we’ve had! Their broth are not too thick and the flavors are well balanced. Try to get the set, only a couple bucks more. I suggest you get medium or large, unless if you have a small appetite then go for small, because you might want more. I honestly think you get what you pay for. This is a set that came with rice bowl that has a salmon roe and salmon fish edges on top and a ramen egg(tastes great btw). Mine came with a chashu(sliced marinated pork on top) white can affect the price

A lot of people waiting but the food doesn’t worth any wait. Tried the salt ramen and miso ramen. Bamboo and the soup are both super salty. The ramen texture tastes cheap. The chashu is the worst I have ever had in ramen stores.

So this was my first experience eating let's say "Real" Ramen. I went in with pretty high expectations honestly. This is something I have wanted for a long time now and I waited for the right restaurant to try it. I gotta say I was more than happy with my experience. The line was long, but more than worth the wait. After eating my Ramen I would wait in a line twice as long. I got the Miso Ramen, it was delicious. 9/10 forsure. Only cuz i wasn't a fan of the fish cake. Other than mouth watering. I will return no doubt.

I ordered a regular-sized, miso broth, charsiu ramen. This place has locations all over the world, including Japan - - originating in Hokkaido--, and of course this popular spot in Chicagoland. I probably should have ordered the shio ramen since that's their specialty, which I'd get next time since it's worth another try. This time, however, the ramen didn't meet my expectations. I had heard only good things about Santouka, and since it's located inside Mitsuwa Marketplace, it has discerning customers galore, so the high rating should have been well-deserved. They promise "a substantial bowl of ramen piled high with a precious amount of pork roasted to the point of falling apart," and there was definitely A LOT of char siu in the bowl. However, having lived in Japan for over a decade myself, I had never had such undercooked and overly-fatty char siu before. It was generous, but not of the quality that made me want that amount. The noodles are firm, which I usually like, but these were a little too firm and actually seemed underdone. The other ingredients were good, however, and the broth - - which is key of course - - was excellent. I finished the bowl no problem, since the regular size is actually not that big, soup and all and felt satisfied. Next time I'll get the 'oomori' shio ramen without all the extra char siu, and expect that will be a better experience.

Pretty good ramen. One of two places I go to but the line gets really long probably due to them being short staffed

FINALLY MADE IT HERE! Love love love the ramen here - very authentic and reminds me a lot of Japan. Great chew and the shoyu ramen is slightly sweet and has a fantastic umami taste. I actually liked it more than the spicy miso Pork neck had a fantastic smoky flavor. We came here around 3pm on a weekend. While the front chaser says the wait might be 20 minutes, don't be fooled! We got ours in 7mins I ordered the set to come with salmon + salmon roe rice (comparing with previous pics it seems like they decreased the amount of roe a lot due to inflation ) More on Instagram: @midwestmunching

Darn should have read the reviews before trying this spot. ramen wasn’t tasty at all and the meat was flavorless mostly fatty parts. Also came with big egg. Avoid this spot there’s the current place next door or the udon place which are better in my opinion. Will not be coming back to this restaurant inside mitsuwa.

This is saltiest ramen noodles I have ever had. The noodles were plasticky and a little undercooked. I would highly recommend the udon next to door!

Extremely delicious ramen. Key is in the tasty miso pork broth and also the perfectly dente noodles. The pork is well done. That broth though... so savory, spicy, and deep. The depth of flavor of that broth coupled with a bite of pork, bamboo, egg, and noodles is a masterpiece that perfectly came together inside my mouth. Highly recommend despite the 30 minute long wait.

My favorite ramen in the whole entire Chicagoland area. The line to this place is always long. Food took long to get ~ 30-35 min but that’s expected for a popular place. They close 20-30 min early because the line is so long and it takes them that long to make the ramen. It’s kinda funny that they have a worker stand in the back of the line with a sign that says they are close 🤭 I got the spicy miso ramen which is what I usually get at this place. When I had my first bite of the noodles I thought it was to myself something was a little off like it wasn’t good anymore but then I had some of the broth and pork belly that came with it and then I realized why this place had the best ramen. The broth and pork belly is so good even my girl who hates the fat from pork belly was able to eat it. She got the miso ramen and that was amazing tooo!!! I got a set box that came with plain rice and soy sauce egg with the ramen (I was hungry). There’s also three different sizes for the ramen. We both got medium. Service was ok they only gave us one soup spoon for two bowls of ramen but I went up and asked for spoon and the worker happily gave us one. It looked like he was new because people kept coming up telling him they didn’t get their soy sauce egg or didn’t get the water. Can’t blame him though he was doing so much things and fast too. There was an awkward moment because before I ordered I had to stand there for 10 min because they had too much orders in place and needed to serve the customers first before taking new orders. I think he did a great job but other people might get mad thinking why isn’t he taking my order I’ve been standing here for 10 min blah blah blah. Before he took my order he had to ask someone if it’s ok to start taking orders again so you know there’s a reason why he was not taking orders. After eating their ramen I always leave the food court in a good mood because the food here is so delicious.

One of the BEST ramen 🙌🏻 Broth was very rich and flavorful! Noodles was thin and soft. The only thing we don’t like was when we went here twice and they are closed. You should call them first before coming because their hours on google says they are OPEN but in person, they are closed. I wish they will have a bigger place, like their own restaurant spot to accommodate all their customers.

Got the salt broth char siu ramen. Great noodle texture. Not mushy. Really rich broth that isn’t overly dark. Soy broth is super toasty and sesame-ey. Slaps.

It’s in the restaurant area of Matsuwa Japanese grocery. The egg was a bit overcooked and dry, but overall the ramen was excellent.

The food is amazing if they even have it. Last 6 times I’ve been here they have run out of product. Unless you show up really early you can expect them to not have what you want. If this continues I may have to find another place to enjoy ramen from.

You can't find a more serious ramen in Chicagoland. This is the best bowl of ramen you'll find, probably in the country. Their award-winning Shio Ramen is pictured.

Same high quality ramen as other Santouka locations! Friendly service. Very popular stand, so budget time when you go there.

There's always a long line here. Great ramen, big portion. The broth is savory. Cheek meat melt in your mouth.

The ramen is some of the best I've had! I had the spicy miso ramen and salmon and rice bowl. the broth was tasty and pretty full. The rice and salmon was nice and light. Although I would've liked a bit more meat in the ramen, it was good and I would go back