What’s up, Nomsters! Ushi Taro has been around since 2018, but somehow we hadn’t been in to try their take on ramen – which is a dish that only seems to get more popular and more competitive every year in the restaurant biz. Even making it a year in a high restaurant turnover city like San Francisco is an achievement, so we were excited to head over and see what they were about.

According to them, they made it a goal to bring something unique and different to the ramen scene in the Bay Area, and they definitely do that with their signature beef bone broth made with black truffle and olives. A popular style of ramen is tonkotsu, which is a pork bone broth, so this takes things in a different direction.

Let’s jump into the food!

What we tried at Ushi Taro:

Garlic Edamame

We’ve had garlic edamame before and it’s always something we look forward to, and Ushi Taro’s dish definitely doesn’t disappoint. At other places they’ve actually sometimes been too garlic-y (which we know to some people is impossible), but these were well balanced with garlic as well as olive oil and lemon juice. They come out nice and steamy so you know they’re prepared freshly. We’d definitely recommend getting and order of these to complement your meal!

Gyoza

We were initially impressed with Ushi Taro’s gyoza since the presentation was super unique and it just looked really cool. They’re made with beef and are pan fried and served with spicy soy and sesame oil to dip. They tasted good, but just sort of how you’d expect gyoza to taste. That’s definitely not a bad thing – if you’re a fan of gyoza, you’ll love these – but the unique presentation and the fact that they take ramen in a new direction got us thinking these might be something different, as well. Using beef instead of the more traditional pork filling is, for sure, less common, but it still didn’t really stand out for us. It’s still a great option as a side and we’d totally recommend them.

Ushi Taro’s Traditional Paitan Ramen

Now, THIS is what we were truly excited to try at Ushi Taro, and it was just as awesome as we thought it would be. Their Traditional Paitan is made with beef bone broth, kelp, shaved bonito, garlic and mushrooms, and it comes with a beef filet, oyster mushrooms, an onsen egg, and a huge beef bone full of delicious marrow.

The issue I usually have with ramen places is that their bone marrow broth is too thin, but that definitely isn’t the case here. It had a great texture, plus you can carve the marrow out of the bone and mix it in for even more flavor, richness, and texture. We mixed some in, but also ate some straight up because it’s that good. The beef filet was also seriously melt-in-your-mouth amazing, so they absolutely cook that to perfection. One thing to note, though, is that the beef was cooked medium to medium rare, so if you’re more of a well-done person, be sure to let them know.

All in all, this is a very solid bowl of ramen and definitely one you should try if you’re looking for something new or even if you think nothing could be better than old school tonkotsu, shio, and shoyu ramen.

Ushi Taro was a fantastic experience, all around, and we definitely recommend everyone give them a try! It’s a small space and was pretty packed the whole time we were there, so be sure to plan ahead and maybe get there a bit early to get a seat. You’re going to have garlic breath when you leave, but at least all your friends will, too, so no one can complain. Let us know what you think when you go! Till next time, Nomsters!