Orenchi Ramen - Santa Clara

Okonomiyaki fries

One of a few things that I sort of craved after we came back from our two weeks trip was ramen. So this past weekend we finally were able to get our hands on the famous Orenchi ramen in Santa Clara. I said famous because I couldn't wait for the long line on my first visit.

This time we got there like around 11:20 and there were quite a lot of people already. Mind you, they were not open yet until 11:30 but they allowed patrons to come and put names on wait list. And there were at least 40 people in front of us on the wait list. But don't worry, once the restaurant was open, the line moved pretty fast. We were seated like around 12:15 and got our food around 12:30. So allow at least one hour for wait. Don't go there too hungry because you'll be miserable.

Okay, now about the food. Is it really worth the wait ? I personally don't think so. There's nothing in the texture of the noodle or taste of the broth that made it worth waiting an hour for. But then again, that's just me.

Orenchi ramen

We ordered Orenchi ramen and shoyu ramen with okonomiyaki fries as appetizer. The Orenchi ramen came with bigger, thicker noodle and really rich porky broth with a seasoned hard boiled egg and nori sheet. Shoyu ramen was served with thinner but still chewy noodle and spinach.

shoyu ramen

The okonomiyaki fries was okay only. I was thinking that it may come with cheese. I don't know why I think it should come with cheese. But it was just plain fries with some okonomiyaki sauce (?) and sprinkle of bonito flakes and swirl of mayonaise.

Orenchi Ramen
3540 Homestead Rd, Santa Clara, CA 95051
(408) 246-2955