Himawari Tei - San Mateo

This is truly a special ramen parlor. The staff can be court, and the whole place smells a little funny, but I still keep going back and it is the first place I bring visiting family for ramen. Of all the ramen in the area I have tried so far it is just the best. The noodles are the perfect amount of saltyness and falvorful and at the right texture. The broth and meat cut is always the perfect amount of lean. And that's just the baseline before adding whatever extra topping you want.

Hot weather update: They have two cold noodle dishes that are pretty good I love this place for the ramen and the jazz. Great ambiance! There can be a bit of a wait, not too bad but it depends on the timing. The scallops appetizer is pretty good.

The extra spicy Tan Tan Men Deluxe ample, rich, and flavorful; boasting pig cooked in three ways and the Chicken Karage crispiest fried chicken ever are two of my go to dishes at Himawari. This place has been my favorite ramen place for nearly a decade.

Decent vegetarian Ramen. The broth is very good. I tried the Vegetarian Tan Tan Men. I love that there was a lot of Noodles in the Ramen. We sat outside in the nice weather. The food came out quickly. The host was helpful and knew if the broth is really vegetarian or not. The default spice level was pretty good and I didn't need to add anything more.

This restaurant enjoys a consistent stream of customers, yet they manage to seat you promptly. We waited no more than two minutes for a table on a Saturday afternoon. The waiter was polite and quickly brought us menus and water. The food was pretty good overall, with the noodles standing out as particularly fresh and delicious. The shoyu broth was nice, but I wouldn't say it was the best I've ever had. It's a nice spot to enjoy some tasty ramen with a friend or a loved one, with both indoor and outdoor seating available.