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3.5/5
Based on 94 votes
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Phone number

(425) 243-7527

Cuisines

Kukai Ramen & Izakaya, Bellevue

Cost 

Average
$30 for two people (approx.)
Cash and Cards accepted
Opening hours
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Opening hours

Today  11 AM to 2:30 PM, 5 PM to 9:30 PM
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Address

14845 Main Street,Bellevue, WA 98007
Kukai Ramen & Izakaya address, Kukai Ramen & Izakaya location
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Highlights

Takeout Available
Wine and Beer
Kid Friendly
Vegetarian Friendly
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Jee Pang
Expert in Bellevue
150 Reviews , 23 Followers
Rated
  We usually try and arrive before the crowd, around 6pm on a weekday for dinner. The service is usually prompt and friendly. Being a regular helps.
Rated
  I had been to the Northgate branch, but was in mood for it, so stopped in to the Bellevue one. Got there a little after it opened. Packed, but managed to get seated right away. If you are there at noon, you'd be too late. Got the yuzu shio ramen, and it was good. Didn’t see the options for extra add-ons on the menu, but you can always get extra junk. The flavor sticks in your mouth a half hour after you've eaten, which can be a good or bad thing. A pleasant experience, be prepared to talk to strangers, as you are shoulder to shoulder with your neighbor. Ramen people are cool, so as soon as your bowl arrives, then you can go to town and ignore them reacting to every time the staff yells "Irasshaimase!"
Amanda Pang
Expert in Bellevue
205 Reviews , 154 Followers
Rated
  This place can get quite busy; for the amount you pay, the portions are great. The ramen is also quite authentic; there are a few chains in Japan itself.
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5 star ramen! The place is always packed for a reason! I'm in love w/ the spicy ramen. Don't wimp out - go hot. It's got a nice burn but no tears (maybe a runny nose). Forget the negative reviews from ramen posers - this is the real deal. I thought Samauri Noodle couldn't be beat - I WAS WRONG...soooo wrong. Worth our drive from Puyallup.
Pamela
10 Reviews , 1 Follower
  
I've had ramen in Japan and I can say the ramen here is just as delicious. You can order the "traditional" broth, which I think is the saltier broth, or you can have the low sodium broth. I always choose the traditional and love it. My two favorite ramen dishes are the tonkotsu ramen and the spicy ramen. I go once a week since I found this place :)
NEGATIVE
  
Needs improvement. The menu, is confusing, what broth goes with what noodles, etc.

If it were in tabular format, it would be easier to understand. The server, was less than helpful, and kept on up-selling the egg, which dining companions declined, were given (and charged for) anyway.

Service, not so great. Food tasted OK, and not TOO expensive, just needs some work.
Dieter
25 Reviews , 3 Followers
NEGATIVE
  
Sad to say Seattle or Bellevue has no good ramen place. I was hoping this place would change that. But it was very disappointing . The broth is too salty to make up for the lack of natural flavor. Authentic pork that goes with ramen is supposed to be mouth watering pork cheeks . The pork you get here is just garbage. Out of the all of the ramen places that I tried in Vancouver BC , every one is significantly better than this place.
  
My kids love this place, second time back.
Amarae
46 Reviews , 68 Followers
Rated
  Improvements needed. Was over at Kukai a couple weeks ago for dinner. Was really excited to finally have a ramen place on the eastside. :) I ordered the Tonkatsu shio ramen which the broth was a little too salty. The soup could have been perfect with little bit more richness (the oommphh!) and less salty. The noodles were tender but not overcooked so its good. Will be going back to try again and hopefully this time there will still be soft boiled eggs left to try!

Went there for the second time. Tried the Tonkatsu shio ramen again and this time, even though it was still salty, it is not as bad as the first time. The noodles were consistent in texture and the soft boiled eggs is definitely done well.
  
Great ramen!. Kukai delivers on the basic promise of great authentic ramen. The food is great and worth the drive out to east Bellevue.

They do have some significant kinks to work out though. The service is fairly poor. As one example, we ordered potstickers to start but they completely forgot that part of our order. Mistakes happen but when we pointed it out they just kind of said oh well. That's not how you handle that kind of mistake.

Another issue: they ran out of the egg that is a part of most ramen bowls. They need to work out their sourcing. If they've got enough noodles, then they ought to have enough of the other Ingredients that go into the bowls.

But the great ramen far outweighs the kinks. If you like ramen, kukai is worth the trip

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