Katana-Ya Ramen

After snagging a deeply discounted ticket for the show at the orpheum, I walked through some choice areas of SF for a coveted bowl of ramen at Katana-Ya. I had consulted yelp and it had gotten good reviews.
It's a teeny little place with a tiny sushi bar with 4 seats and a handful of small tables. It's definitely not made for big parties. And you will wait during lunch. They have ramen and udon and soba and tons of sushi, as well as other japanese treats. The menu was actually surprisingly large. I figured it would be ramen, ramen, and more ramen.
I went with the buttered corn ramen. Why? Because I was clueless, and the chick next to me ordered it. So I figured I'd give it a go. And plus, I love corn in just about anything. I got the soy broth, and you can order the broth is a certain strength. I did not indicate, so by default, I think they give you light. This is a big bowl with a good sized helping of noodles. And the noodles were awesome. The broth however, was a bit on a bland side for me. It definitely tasted pork-y, but there wasn't much actual flavor. It was underwhelming. But the noodles definitely rocked it. And the corn was great. Like I said, you could put corn on just about anything and it would make me happy. I haven't had enough authentic japanese ramen in my life to know whether this was good or not, but I was definitely a fan of the noodles and the value. Perhaps I would need to try the miso or the salt broths to know more. But it was definitely a good and hearty bowl that filled my belly plenty. But I certainly have a feeling there are much better bowls of ramen out there.

Katana-Ya
430 Geary St.
San Francisco, CA
415.771.1280