Daikokuya Sawtelle

Solid spot for many reasons! Only flag is that the space is pretty small. If you have a large party, you'll probably have to wait for a while. Next, for all them positives.

First, parking around Sawtelle usually sucks, but this spot is right next to a few lots (some that provide free parking). Keep an eye out and maybe you can get lucky :)

Next, great bang for your buck. I went with a party of five, and some of us got some combination orders assuming we could prep some family style setting. There was a LOT more food than we expected. Food was not overly seasoned which was great because you can always add more if you'd like. We probably all overate a bit. Thankfully, Sawtelle is a very walkable neighborhood, so we stretched our legs after.

Considering how much we ordered and ate, it was a pleasant surprise to see the bill at $30 or under per person with tax and tip.

Food is delicious. Ramen is flavorful, not too salty and not too oily. Fried chicken is yummy, juicy and seasoned just right. Takoyaki is tasty and well made. Fried rice is good.
Service is great. They are very accommodating and friendly.
The space is a bit small, hence the minus one star. Otherwise, I would give five stars.

Hole in the wall kind of spot. When you enter, the inside feels like you're on the streets of Japan.

The food was DELICIOUS. My absolute favorite dish was the gyoza followed closely by the takoyaki.

I also tried the California roll and the tuna roll.

Tonkatsu ramen 5/5 - this is still one of my favorite ramen places. The tonkatsu is so good here. It's very flavorful and portion size is huge! I never finish my bowl and always take it to go. Meat isn't that soft though.

Spicy miso ramen 4/5 - I don't like the miso flavor in this one very much but my bf really likes it.

We came on a Saturday afternoon and didn't have to wait to be seated.

This Daikokuya location is just a great ramen house.

Some ramen places I go to are either not authentic, not enough flavor, or just too salty. Daikokuya just does it right. I came here on a Saturday with one other person for lunch around 12pm and there was no wait. They asked if seating at the bar was fine and we agreed. The inside is very small but it definitely reminds me of Japan.

Once seated, we started with the gyozas and takoyaki. The gyozas are handmade here and pan fried perfectly. I loved that they topped it off with a bunch of green onion. And the dipping sauce went perfectly with them. The takoyakis were also such a great starter. It had tons of flavor.

As for lunch, I went with their popular spicy miso ramen. It was absolutely delicious and comforting. The broth was so good and made perfect. The person I came with got their Daikoku ramen which is a top seller. I tried the broth and also enjoyed it but I prefer the spicy miso ramen broth inseated. Both ramen bowls included sprouts, green onions, seasame seeds, chashu pork and a perfectly cooked egg. We also added extra nori. The noodles in each bowl were really good and we enjoyed everything.

Besides their ramen, they also had cold ramen and rice bowls. They even had vegan options too. If you prefer they have combo options. I cannot wait to come back.

Food: 9/10
Service: 9/10
Ambiance: 10/10

Date night, friends night out, or a family outing, this is the place for great ramen! This is one of my favorite places in Sawtelle, and the spicy miso ramen is my go to!

Pro tip: join the yelp waitlist.

Easy parking in the parking structure that shared with Marshalls and Michael's. There's a QR code you're supposed to scan to pay but I've never done so.

Try to add the Yelp waitlist before going so you don't have to wait as long. Lots of things to do when you're waiting to stall time.

I had the Daikoku ramen with the pork cutlet rice bowl, which was the wrong order from the beginning, was a big fan of the pork too bowl, since it was extremely soggy and cold

Vegan spicy sesame Ramen was good

Small tight, ambience seating spaces extremely limited here. I'm glad they least have some bar seating also

Great ramen! Combination is a deal, with a ramen and a half bowl of rice for around $30. You can choose to substitute other ramens and bowls than the ones listed as well.

Parking in the garage next to Marshalls. Limited seating but there is online waitlist so recommend using that ahead of time!

I came here with a friend. The spot was very packed in and cramped. Super busy.

The sushi was okay. The gyoza was delicious. The ramen was decent. Your standard ramen. Nothing that will blow you out of the water. The char siu tasted fresh which is a plus. Broth wasn't too porky and felt comforting.

This place was poppin on a random Wednesday night! There was about a 30 min wait til for two of us. The food came out pretty fast, the ramen broth was actually pretty good. It wasn't too fatty, nor was it too thick. It was the right consistency and flavor!
It is pretty small inside the actual restaurant, it's literally a small hole in the wall. We sat in front of the bar and we got to watch them make the food, it was pretty cool.
Pretty good late night chill restaurant if it's something you're looking for, just be prepared to wait. They do close a little on the later side which is nice, especially for those of us that have to work late.