1sr time here. I'd say it was good. I've never found a place that matche flavor of ramen shops of Hokkaido. I've heard it has changed there too. Pleasant staff, flavorful base, and noodle texture was pleasing.
7/9/22: OWNERSHIP CHANGE! STAY AWAY!We have been coming here for years since they opened. The original owners were a nice, friendly Japanese couple. Food was authentic and delicious. Service was excellent and you always left with a smile.Then I dunno if they left or not because I would never see them when we stopped by. So this may have changed hands a while back too but the food however was continuously good each and every time.We wanted to come here a month or two back. I would call the restaurant and never got a live person. Thinking they had gone out of business, I called the bakery next door and they said they were remodeling and reopening soon.So, fast forward a few weeks to today. I called them and miraculously someone answered and said they were open. We were stoked and excited at getting a good bowl of their ramen.When we got there, there was no big remodel or anything. There was an addition of some bridge display up by the cash register. It was very tacky and took up a lot of room. Certainly did not make it more inviting at all. Menu changed with some new items. Also never seen the 3 employees before. The new owners are Thai btw. How do I know? My wife can speak it.I decided to try a new item -- Spicy Wagyu Beef Ramen. It was priced a bit high at $18.95 but hey we haven't been here in a while so I decided to splurge.Let me tell you the food does not taste like it once did. It is serviceable but not good or great. This was beyond disappointing. The Spicy Wagyu Beef Ramen was very mediocre and underwhelming.The staple Spicy Miso Ramen we would get all the time did not taste like it once did. Very bland.The Takoyaki came next and I noticed there were only 5 pieces not the 6 pieces which is stated on the wall or on the menus. The owner came over and she blamed it on inflation costs, etc. I can understand that but you've got to change the menus otherwise you are going to disappoint customers. Anyways, she kept going over and over on inflation not hearing what we were saying. Such bad service.The Takoyaki came and it sucked... the inside was not cooked long enough so it was a bit doughy and raw. Maybe it was better we only got 5 pieces instead of 6?They had also forgotten our two cups of Thai Iced Tea Boba. I had to get out of my seat at about the midway point of our meal to inquire. You can tell where this is going. While the Thai Iced Tea was serviceable... (how can you mess that up anyways since they are Thai), the pearls had no chew at all. The pearls in the Costco instant boba packs tasted 20x better.We are not coming back. One of the most disappointing meals we have had in a long time. With tips it came to over $70. I also ponder if it is really Waygu beef I was getting. Looking at the bad service and meal we just had I really can't say if it was or not. Hindsight is 20/20.Do yourself a favor and pick a different restaurant. Finding a good ramen shop has become even tougher now in Marin. The "old" Chonmage was great not this new one. I guess I will have to trek to SF or farther north to for Raku Ramen.Bottom line: This ain't the old Chonmage where the food and service were excellent. Food and service takes a big hit and nosedive here with the new owners. If Management doesn't take care of these issues, it will not stay around very long.
Fantastic rich flavor in all the dishes. I have been coming here a fair amount since I have discovered it and I have always found the ramen to be excellent, and the meat perfectly cooked. They also have a lot of nice places to enjoy the food.The first time I went it took a while for me to get my food, but I have realized that this was simply because they had only just opened the restaurant when I went and were still working out the initial kinks of working a restaurant. They have since revised the ordering process and I have had no issues since.I am addicted to the Onigiri, it is amazing.Definitely try this place out if you like ramen.Update: 2022. Sadly the Onigiri recipe has changed and they are no longer as flavorful and salty. Also smaller. Still great soup and ambience though, so I stand by the 5 stars
The best ramen in the downtown
I had the Tonkontsu ramen it was cold and really didn’t have much flavor. Also the customer service was like nothing to rave about either. I’d say overall there’s way better ramen places on 4th street. Absolutely not worth the price $15. I couldn’t had better ramen at home lol
So delicious and thank you for the gluten free noodles :)
Great Original food. ??I love it.
My boyfriend and I adore this place! Whenever we come home from college we come here! Lovely people! Amazing food! Couldn’t of asked for a better place
Got the Katsu curry and it was very solid. It was a little bit confusing to figure out how to order but it worked out eventually.
I can only speak in terms of the ramen at Chonmage. We order a tonkotsu, a miso and a garlic. Except all three were served with the exact same broth. The garlic had a bit of garlic flakes in it. The miso maybe had a scoop of miso paste. And the tonkotsu broth tasted nothing like a proper tonkotsu ramen. Maybe this would have been fine five years ago when ramen just just hitting its stride here in the Bay Area. But with ippudo and other amazing ramen restaurants in the Bay Area, including Menya Shono just down the street, Chonmage will really need to think about the quality of its ramen.