Great I tried the shoyu with shiitake broth and extra chosu pork was perfect!!!
EI
Eric Ingersoll
Apr 25, 2026
Went with my partner. We got one spicy karaage plate and the tonkatsu ramen. The karaage had a nice low, building heat, which was perfect. The tonkatsu broth in the ramen was AMAZING, so much green onion which I'm a big fan of, and a perfectly cooked egg. The Kirin Ichibans went perfectly with dinner.
Got the midori mazemen and it was absolutely delicious and ready quite fast. Am excited to try their other offerings.
This is the only review I have ever written and I pray that it is the only review I ever will write.
I loved this place. Truly.
I was there -- at it's opening -- through covid, even -- every month, as often as I could. The food was THAT good. And even after today it still remains THAT good...but it has lost it's soul.
The OG spot on Hawthorne was a causal counter service pay-up-front and find-your-seat-after type of deal. Quick, convenient, what you would expect of a ramen spot. No frills, but humble and genuine with what it had to offer.
Now that a second location has opened, all the charm of the original Hawthorne spot has vanished. The space went from casual fast dining to white glove table-side service. Even the soup spoons changed to some posh porcelain tube thing-y, which was a weird and expensive choice?? For an OG customer it felt like the place I used to love was trying on a fancy suit that didn't fit. It was clout-chasing. It was cold and impersonal.
It hurts to love a space that no longer exists. To love memory that is gone. But, that's now Baka Umai as it currently stands.
I don't know if I'll be back, but I will dearly miss the place as it once was.
Delicious ramen. The Tonkotsu broth was rich and spicy on its own without need for the habeñero mash that just set my mouth on fire. You shouldn’t feel compelled to be extra spicy, but it’s there if you need it!