Tamashii Ramen House

If you live or work in this area and want to walk in, it’s not that bad. Parking in the back or on the street is horrible. Being one of two Ramen houses in Pasadena, it’s not that bad. But, it’s expensive for a bowl of soup, $ 10 – 12. That said, it’s not that bad.

FOOD: It’s not the best ramen in the world, but it hits the spot when I need ramen w/​in walking distance from work. I’ve been here a few times and haven’t been disappointed. I always order the Spicy Tonkotsu. I took a cousin who was trying ramen for the VERY FIRST TIME. She became a fan.
AMBIANCE: This place has modern Japanese style. It’s a small and cozy place.
CUSTOMER SERVICE: The service was pretty quick. Servers are always really nice.

i got a miso ramen and a pork chasu bowl
miso ramen:
broth was flavorful and the toppings were fine (crispy pork!) but the SOGGY noodles just ruined it. you could tell by looking at it as well as tasting it that it had soaked in water for so long it could not retain the broth flavor well (there’s a word for this in Japanese «nobiteta» which literally means it was «stretched», well beyond its limit).
pork bowl:
for a japanese joint it’s a hearty portion! tasty but the meat may have been a little too «pickled» in flavor for me.
*also no bathroom so not so kid friendly.
with modan and now tatsunoya in town, tamashii you’ve got to step up your game, you’re in LA!

Location– Hidden and a bit hard to find. It’s a ways off the main part of old town Pasadena with all the shops.
Parking– Shares a parking plaza and it’s semi limited. Street parking available
Wait– zero wait time
Facility– Cozy but fairly standard, nothing fancy. No restrooms though!
Service– great service, attentive and welcoming
Food– I ordered the spicy ramen and my wife ordered the shoyu flavor. It was about $ 11 each. Broth was delicious, not too salty but not bland. Noodles were perfect in texture, chewy but not soggy. Meat and egg tasted as it should.
Repeat– Yes especially with no wait time

Ramen was overcooked, everything tasted like it was made from early in the morning (I had dinner there) or the day before. Service was okay, the server was not able to answer simple questions on the menu. Not to mention I had to frequent the bathroom that evening after going there. Definitely would not go back again and would not recommend it to anyone!

I like their Ramen! The Black Tonkotsu Ramen is quite tasty! Very flavorful and hits the spot. Especially now during the cold and rainy days of winter. Nothing like grabbing a friend and hitting Tamashii Ramen House! The Wonton Chicken Ramen is another good selection.

. I waited twenty minutes for the food. The noodles appear to be from a package, the meat was big and overcooked. The waitress did not refill our drinks, I ordered the salted pork, the pork did not have any fat. Personally, I would have gone to Shin Sen Gumi or Daikaiya

The chicken ramen was terrible. I had to confirm with the waitress that it was chicken since it was so salty it tasted like beef. I will never return here. I miss Indochine.

Let’s talk about their business practice first. Look at the menu — tonkotsu ramen $ 10.50, black tonkotsu $ 11.95, side order of black garlic oil $ 1… When I realized it my husband was still saying that perhaps there’s extra stuff in the black tonkotsu. But no, the regular tonkotsu has bamboo shoot but the black tonkotsu has none. So I paid extra $ 0.4 for not having bamboo shoot in my ramen versus ordering a side order of garlic oil with a regular tonkotsu.
Let’s talk about food — broth is extra bland, noodle not better than any pre packaged ramen. The egg was actually not bad, but they only give you half versus most ramen places has 1 whole egg. 2 pieces of chasu, very pricey for what it was.
Let’s talk about service — our waitress doesn’t seem to speak at all… She nods and goes away

So good! Wasn’t expecting to find such a cute and good ramen place in Pasadena. Great service, delicious teas, and fantastic ramen. Comparable to Daikokuya and a much more pleasant experience without the huge crowds. Definitely coming back!

Really good Ramen!
I am a Ramen fanatic. I travel quite a bit, and I try the best rated ramen restaurant at every major city which I go to, and I can easily say that the Tamashii «Fire» Ramen and black ramen are in my top 5 list.
I no longer make the long trip to my previous local favorite in San Gabriel (the one with the long lines… if you are a ramen fan, you know of what I speak), since Tamashiii is (in my opinion) just as good, and is closer, and more acquiescent to spontaneous visits (since you don’t need to block out 2 hours of your life to go here).
Highly recommended!

Holy moly! First time here at this ramen joint. I got the spicy tonkatsu and the wifey got the spicy miso. The soup base was so thick. It was hard to drink. The noodles taste like dried noodles. We were charged $ 2 per bowl of extra soup. Hmmmmmmmmmm. 20 percent of the price of the noodles to add extra water. Not worth it. We wanted to clear our palate so we got some cold tofu. It was pre made with stale fish flakes. The tofu was probably purchases at 99 Ranch Market for 50 cents. Doubtful I will ever come back. On the search for good ramen joint if anyone has any good recommendations. Something close to Pasadena.

Tamashii Ramen in Pasadena was a quick and easy lunch spot! I came here today on my first day of work, and was recommended the Spicy Tonkotsu Ramen. I tried it with a medium level of spiciness and without the black mushrooms. The broth was tasty and a good amount of spice, and the noodles were a nice chewy texture. When you first see the bowl it looks rather small for a $ 10 bowl of Ramen, but don’t let looks deceive you! There’s actually a lot more than you think in the funnel shaped bowls.
Personally, the Tonkotsu had too much fat for me. I had two pieces in my bowl, one of which was almost entirely fat and I was unable to eat it. Maybe that’s how they intended it to be, but it was too much for my preference.
The restaurant itself was rather empty during a lunch hour, which I was somewhat shocked to see, but it also allowed us to get our orders in and food out very quickly. Tamashii has good ramen, and I will most likely return since it is so close to my work. I’m interested in trying their curry dishes and mocha ice cream!

Service is now consideringly slow. Food does not taste the same either. It used to be better. We waited about 10 minutes to even get water and more for our order to be taken. I understand that there was only one server but the place is really small. My first experience was so great that it set my expectations for this place real high. Unfortunately, the next few visits were not as great.

I heard a lot of great things about Tamashii Ramen and when I heard they opened up a new location in Pasadena, I had to go check it out. Sadly, I did not try their ramen. This review is based on my experience with their Dine50.
During Dine50 month (4÷1−4÷30), Tamashii Ramen offers three bowls:
1) Chicken Chashu Bowl…$ 4.25
*Has more meat than the Chashu Bowl
2) Chashu Bowl…$ 4.25
*Only has two small pieces
3) Tokyo Curry Bowl…$ 4.25
*Not sure if waitress was being nice, but she told me I could get another bowl just for today in one seating. Turned out I was full with the bowl I started out with and ended up not getting another one.
Parking: Their is a parking structure in the back of the restaurant. I believe its $ 2 flat rate with validated ticket for one hour. You can also park on the street, but please be alert with parking restrictions.
Restroom: Very important detail. Their restroom is in the kitchen… walk out of the restaurant. Walk couple of steps to your right. Enter to the door to the right and you’ll be able to see the restroom sign.
Ambiance/​Décor: Pretty chill and their décor is made out of wood… so it follows the Japanese theme. Place can feel a bit deserted but that means you can give yourself some «me» time or you can spend some quality time with your significant other/​friends after long day of partying or working.
Service: Loved the service. Diana was very friendly, informative of their dine50 offerings, attentive, and my water cup was never empty. Food came out fast.
Food: I had the Tokyo Curry Bowl…$ 4.25! I was surprized how big the portion was. The curry had a lot of flavor and the ingredients (green onions & sesame seeds) meshed well together. I really wanted to lick the bowl clean! The two sweet potato tempura was the «Icing on the cake» for me. It was lightly battered and balanced the flavored curry well.
Hopefully I’ll come back to give them another visit.
.

I was very skeptical of trying Tamashii after reading previous Unilocal reviews, but since it was within walking distance, the hubby and I decided to give them a try.
We both love spicy ramen so we ordered the Fire Tonkatsu (level 5) and the Spicy Miso.
The Fire Tonaktsu was seriously spicy and apparently it can get even spicier (spice level goes all the way up to 10)! There was a nice smokiness to the spice which made it very fragrant. The noodles were cooked perfectly and the Chasu was very nice and of course it came with a perfectly cooked egg (jelly center). The only downside was that the soup was a little on the salty side. The Spicy Miso was very well balanced in terms of spice and salt. Of the two I would recommend the Spicy Miso because it wasn’t over the top spicy.
We also ordered Iced Green Teas, which came in giant beer mugs! Definitely a must if you are ordering the Fire Tonkatsu.
The service was excellent, our waiter was really friendly and was kind enough to give us a refill on our teas in a to go cup.

I loved the ramen here! We landed here one afternoon after taking in the wonderful play, The Missing Pages of Lewis Carroll, for which my talented brother painted the sets at the Boston across the street. It was a cold and rainy day, and ramen was just the perfect thing to enjoy on this gloomy afternoon.
This café is teeny; there’s only one harried waitress but she was helpful and kind. The hubster and I both had the tonkatsu ramen; I had the spicy and he had the special Black one with garlic oil and mushrooms. Both were delish. The gyoza we ordered on the side was not; it was fried within an inch of its life. They didn’t do the fry then steam combo you’re supposed to do with gyoza. My bro and his partner chose the combo for two that came with gyoza and wonton, which looked good and plenty for a couple.
The 8 of us altogether had our entrees and dessert and it cost a little over $ 100 with drinks like Calpico, and coconut water, and everything. Not a bad deal on a stormy day at all. Always good times with the fam bam and noodles!

Although I wasn’t impressed when I tried Tamashii in North Hollywood, I decided to give this new Pasadena location a shot. Nice looking place with all of the wood and ramune decorating the back of the benches. The waitstaff were polite, but quiet. All fine.
The main issue I have with this place is the food. The tonkotsu ramen broth was just bland. The heavy handed serving of green onion took over and chance of flavor from the soup. Noodles could have been a little chewier too.
Overall it was exciting to see a ramen place close by, but I won’t go again.

The food is ok, I got the higher end black tonkatsu ramen and you could CLEARLY tell the water down the broth way to much. I only imagine this is to save $ in some way. They also for $ 11 only give you half a soft boiled egg, 3 pieces of chasu pork and a smaller than normal amount of noodles. This leaves you hungry upon leaving.
The owner took a space that is not designed for a restaurant, has NO BATHROOM or Access to a bathroom anywhere in the center. (I believe this is illegal).
The staff seemed overworked and tired. I actually felt bad for them due to the rush and small size of the place. There were bodies everywhere.
Come early during lunch or be prepared to wait 39 min for something not worth waiting 30 min for.

What a great addition to this side of Pasadena.
Located on the second floor, came here on a Sunday evening during the Christmas holiday.
Ordered:
Prawn Gyoza — More like a deep fried treat as the wrapper is crispier than your usual gyoza. The prawn filling is heavenly. Firm, tasty, and they don’t skimp on the prawns either.
Spicy Tonkotsu — Smaller portion than what you get at other places, but am a light eater so no big whoop. Good broth, though I did put in extra chili oil (my preference). Al dente noodles and the egg well season and cooked fine.
Ginger Tea — One of the best ginger tea I’ve had. I’ve had others where the Ginger would just slap you with it’s taste with every sip. Not this, just gentle caresses throughout.
I didn’t see any alcohol menu, so don’t know if they served any or will do so in the future.
Our server was great and I do love the décor. I am a big fan of black chalkboard trend. So… yeah, the wood décor and black chalkboard were pretty much an eye candy to me.
I’ll definitely be back here.