Totoro Ramen
San Mateo, CA

First time coming here. There’s not too much in this plaza- it’s a little bit ways off from the busier San Mateo downtown. The name attracted me because I’m a huge fan of Studio Ghibli, and they did indeed have some Totoros decorating the restaurant! It was order-from-tablet, which was convenient. Our food came decently quickly- I ordered the curry ramen, and my friend ordered the black garlic, which was the most popular. Personally, I don’t like thick ramen noodles and the soup was a bit thin for my taste (I may also be biased, since I’m absolutely in love with Bodo Lucky Ramen’s curry ramen, which is much more flavorful), so the experience was ‘eh’ for me. My friend enjoyed her bowl, though. Overall I would say that if you’re in the area craving ramen and aren’t willing to wait an atrocious amount of time for Taishoken or Dojo, you could check this place out! It isn’t that authentic (in my opinion, it’s leaning more towards the modern, young-people vibe), but if you aren’t picky, it’s a comfortable and cozy restaurant to stop by.