Noodle Bar Near Me in Gardena: Shin-Sen-Gumi's Original Hakata Ramen Counter

Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen does not take reservations, and its Gardena shop at 2015 W. Redondo Beach Blvd. #C has been ladling pork-bone ramen since June 1996. A bowl of Hakata Ramen is $14.75 on the current menu, and a fresh refill of thin noodles is $2.75. For anyone in the South Bay searching noodle bar near me, this is the original Hakata ramen counter of a Japanese restaurant group that now runs shops across Southern California.

The group behind it was founded by Mitsuyasu Shigeta, known inside the company as Kyokucho, or chief boss, who came from the island of Tokunoshima. His first restaurant, a yakitori bar in Gardena, opened in September 1992. The Hakata ramen shop followed in June 1996, opening at the same time as the group's chanko restaurant. On its history page the company says Shigeta pushed ahead with the first Hakata ramen shop in Los Angeles even though some of his own staff opposed it.

Thirty years on, the group lists 15 restaurants and about 450 employees, with ramen shops in Little Tokyo, Rosemead, Fountain Valley and Irvine, but the Redondo Beach Boulevard counter is where the ramen started. In September 2025 the Rafu Shimpo reported that the Consul General of Japan in Los Angeles honored Shigeta for his work. The late Los Angeles critic Jonathan Gold reviewed this exact Gardena address in LA Weekly in 2011 and praised the house yuzu kosho condiment.

The base Hakata Ramen, $14.75, is the bowl to start with: a pork tonkotsu broth topped with two slices of chashu, green onion, pickled ginger and sesame seeds. The company says the broth is made from 100 percent pig head, prepared by hand over three days, and that it recreates the ramen sold in the stalls along the bay of Nagahama in Fukuoka. The noodles are thin and straight, made for Shin-Sen-Gumi by a long-established noodle maker and cooked in purified soft water.

You choose how firm your noodles are, and the restaurant encourages ordering them firm the first time. Refills are part of the ritual. An extra serving of Hakata noodles is $2.75, cooked fresh as soon as you ask, and you drop it into the broth left in your bowl; the company suggests trying a different firmness for the second round. If you finish the soup too quickly, extra Hakata soup is $4.95 for 300 milliliters, so pace yourself before calling for noodles.

The topping list is long, and it is where regulars make the bowl their own. Spicy miso, $2.95, is the most popular topping, according to the company: an original blend from its central kitchen with scallions and garlic chives that turns the broth bright red. The Green Chili Butter Bomb, also $2.95, gets its heat from Thai green chili, softened by butter. For extreme heat, the Diablo topping made with Carolina Reaper is $2.95 and marked extremely spicy on the menu.

If you would rather not build your own, the combination bowls do it for you. The Special Hakata Red, $17.99, adds bean sprouts, spicy miso and half a soft flavored egg. The Special Hakata Green, $17.99, swaps in the Green Chili Butter Bomb. The Special Hakata White, $17.99, comes with half a soft egg, bamboo and two sheets of seaweed. Other single toppings include a flavored egg for $3.50, extra chashu for $4.25 and braised pork belly kakuni for $4.95.

Beyond the classic bowl, the Spicy Dandan Men, $15.75, is a Hakata tonkotsu ramen with a rich spicy sesame miso flavor and seasoned ground pork and beef. The Veggie Ramen, $15.75, uses a vegetable miso soup with thick noodles and seasoned soy meat, and the Yaki Ramen, $15.75, is stir-fried noodles in yakisoba sauce. Children get their own Kids Set for $10.95, a small ramen with a kids plate that includes a mini rice ball and a balloon.

The Hakata gyoza are the side to order. They are bite-size, pan-fried pork and beef dumplings, $8.75 for 12 pieces or $4.95 for six. The Shin-Sen-Gumi Karaage, $9.25, is fried chicken with a sweet and sour green onion sauce, and the yuzu-pepper chicken, also $9.25, leans on the citrus chili flavor of yuzu kosho. Two dine-in-only combos pair a Hakata Ramen with karaage for $23.25 or with takoyaki for $21.75, which is good value for a hungry table.

Plan around the split schedule. Monday through Friday the shop serves lunch from 11am to 3pm and dinner from 6pm to 11pm, closing in between; on Saturday and Sunday it stays open all day from 11am to 11pm. It is closed on New Year's Day and Thanksgiving Day. Because reservations are not available, the reliable approach is to arrive near the 11am or 6pm openings, or to place a takeout order through the shop's own online ordering page.

Ramen fans with something to prove can come at the end of October. The company's news page lists a Hell Fire Ramen Challenge at this Gardena branch from October 26 to October 31, 2026, priced at $18 plus tax. Even if you are not taking part, it is a sign of how seriously this shop takes its spicy toppings, and a reason to ask your server how hot the Diablo really is before adding it.

Gardena has one of the largest Japanese American communities in Los Angeles County, and Redondo Beach Boulevard reflects it. A few blocks east, Tokyo Central at 1620 W. Redondo Beach Blvd. is a Japanese supermarket open daily from 8am to 10pm, a good stop for snacks, sake or ramen ingredients after dinner. The group's original yakitori restaurant, where Shigeta started in 1992, is a short drive away at 18517 S. Western Ave.

Shin-Sen-Gumi Hakata Ramen is at 2015 W. GTrans Line 3 runs along Redondo Beach Boulevard with stops at Gramercy Place and Western Avenue. Weekday hours are 11am to 3pm and 6pm to 11pm; weekends run 11am to 11pm. No reservations; order your noodles firm and save broth for a refill. Ask Karpo in the Karpo APP for more South Bay ramen and noodle spots.