Kitakata Ramen Ban Nai - Rowland Heights: Authentic Japanese Ramen with Exceptional Service

5/5 Stars: The Real Deal—Unforgettable Ramen and Top-Tier Service This isn't just a meal; it's a genuine Japanese ramen experience. Every detail is meticulously executed. The entire team deserves praise for their incredibly hard-working and attentive service. And the food? It's straight out of Japan. The broth is deep and savory, and the noodles are perfectly cooked—nice and elastic with a satisfying bite. But the chashu is the star: it's impossibly tender and rich, dissolving on your tongue the moment you taste it. If you're looking for authenticity and a flawless dining experience, stop looking. Come in and enjoy!

I’ve been frequenting Kitakata for years. Starting at the Costa Mesa location, and bouncing around the Irvine and Buena Park ones until now Rowland Heights being my closest location. I’ve been twice since opening and it’s been just as good as the other locations. Most recently came to try the mapo tofu special after having 13 bowls in Japan and it was still fantastic. Also tried the chicken nanban which was also great.

I'm glad to see a closer Kitakata location to me than the Irvine or Costa Mesa. The place was busy with most of the tables filled. I got their spicy miso ramen which comes with 5 tender chashu pieces, sliced carrots, shredded green onions, spinach, bean sprouts, and chopped cabbage with spicy garlic oil. I liked that you can adjust the firmness of the noodles since it's a different style. The noodles are a thicker, wavy, and flat type than other restaurants I've tried. The broth was creamy and rich and not too salty. The spicy miso has a good heat to it. They have a daily lunch special for a choice of a small bowl, 2 gyoza pieces, or 2 fried chicken as an added side. They have seasonal dishes as well. I got their melon soda topped with vanilla ice cream that they ended in October. I got a small bowl of rice with chopped pork which tasted nice. The place faces BCD Tofu. Parking can get packed. The staff is nice and attentive.

A newly opened chain Ramon place in Rowland Heights. We wanted to go visit their Irvine place a couple years ago, but got "scared away" by the long line All drinks here are 50% off. The staff is very friendly. The food we ordered are all delicious. We will come back

This location opened a mere month ago (Sept. 30th, I think) and i can already see it becoming a favorite. The food was, as always, amazing. I lived a block away from the Costa Mesa location for around 3 years. The Tsukemen (dipping noodles) with shouyu broth was excellent. The service was top-tier. I forgot to get the server's name but she was an Indonesian/South East Asian lady with a pleasant attitude and glad to be helping us. The ambiance is also incredible. It being a corner store gives the whole place great lighting and visibility. 10/10 location.

Wait time for the ramen was about 3 minutes after the appetizers came out. You’re able to customize the richness of your broth and now firm you want your noodles to be. (I think that’s pretty nice) The Karage was very juicy, enjoyed it a bunch. Overall a good experience!! Atmosphere was calm as well

My wife and I were craving ramen, so we visited on a Friday for lunch. Everything was very clean and the atmosphere was simple but comfortable. We were able to sit immediately and food arrived quickly. As advertised, the broth did not feel nearly as heavy or oily as other types of ramen, but still had good flavor. Their karaage was very good, and the lunch combo felt like a good value. Also had a melon ramune float for dessert, which was fun. Would come back again.

Their noodle is a thick flat noodle so personally not a fan. Especially i like firm the thicker noodle makes it too firm. I got my son the shoyo broth and that was fine not amazing. However, the tonkotsu that I got was too salty even for tonkotsu base that are usually a bit more savory. While the waiters were nice, the lacked experience. My water and other tables water was out for a very long time before they refilled, and they had plenty of waiters. Normal corner space with available outside seating (not open when I went) clean, restroom clean too, a little bit of japanese style restaurant decoration. 1 bonus point i give is that they have very reasonably priced and packaged kids meal. Without the kids meal, i probably give it a 3 star. (One of the pic with small biw is the kids meal) To be fair, let's see if there are any changes in the near future, since they seem to be pretty new.