Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Tajima lives up to its reputation

Hillcrest Japanese spot includes gluten-free ramen and variety of Japanese craft beer.

The spicy sesame ramen. Tajima Hillcrest.
The spicy sesame ramen. Tajima Hillcrest.
Place

Tajima Hillcrest

3739 Sixth Avenue, San Diego

Japanese restaurant with a rainbow flag working here.

As far back as I can recall, every restaurant at 3739B 6th Ave — across from the Rite Aid — has been Japanese. I used to order from the "American Favorites" list back when it was Yakitori Yakyudori (which moved to Convoy Street, in case you ever wanted to try the skewered chicken hearts listed under Japanese Favorites). After that came Raku, in which I had a memorable date over a forgettable meal. There may have been others before, in between. But I get the feeling the latest may stick around.

Tajima's already got its name on a couple restaurants up in Kearny Mesa: an Izakaya and a Ramen House — which is pretty tasty according to this. For a couple months now it's been trying its brand here in the center of Hillcrest, with the distinction of being a ramen bar.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Tajima did a great job styling the place, hanging paintings of large kanji characters, building wood block patterns, and devising a long wood top bar with retractable hanging stools that swing out from beneath it.

Clever common seating.

They serve ramen a few ways. Tonkatsu pork broth comes standard at eight bucks, with the inclusion of curry or spicy sesame paste for a dollar more. These bowls come with pork or chicken chashu and assorted toppings along the lines of eggs, bean sprouts and fried garlic. A vegan version offers miso broth, vegetables, tofu and a variety of mushrooms. You may choose between thin or fat noodles, or even gluten free. A number of additional toppings average about a buck or two each.

I went a couple of times, first trying the spicy sesame with added vegetables and kakuni pork belly. The fat noodles held onto the spice, which delivered more flavor than straight heat. I could have used more sesame, but then I always say that.

The kakuni was outstanding. I found it tender and easy to break apart with my chopsticks. I imagine if I left it in the broth too long it might just melt away so I ate it quickly. The chips of fried garlic gave me a few rich, smoky bites, and while the mushrooms and asparagus were lost in the mix flavor-wise, the textural addition worked out, plus let me get away with thinking I'd significantly amped up the nutritional value.

Tajima ramen bowl with gluten-free noodles. Tajima Hillcrest.

I went back to check out the Tajima bowl, unadulterated by the spicy red sesame paste. To mix things up a bit I added kimchee as a topping, and — what the hell? — tried out the gluten free noodles.

I know there must be a number of people out there who haven't enjoyed ramen since the great gluten aversion took over the public consciousness. So I checked it out to see how it compared to the fat noodles of my first dish. As I said, there're a lot of rich flavors at play here, so I didn't notice any great difference in that regard. The texture of the gluten free noodles was definitely more al dente, which, come to think of it, is how they were served at Raku as well.

Not my choice, but an admittedly savvy concession to the gluten-free audience, who get to enjoy a top ramen spot (I know).

The aglutenous will miss out, though – they won't get to enjoy Tajima's selection of Japanese craft beers. Bottles with names like Ozeno IPA, Wasabi Ale, and Kujyukuri weizen may be found — about eight or nine alternatives to the more common Asahi and Sapporo. It's enough to make me wonder whether I should review this as a beer destination with a killer ramen side business. Either way, it's a good fit in a location suddenly worth remembering again.

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Navy solves San Diego homeless crisis by retiring four locally moored ships

Decommision Accomplished
Next Article

Reader Music Issue short takes

Obervatory's mosh pit, frenetic Rafael Payare, Lemonhead chaos, bleedforthescene, Coronado Tasting Room
The spicy sesame ramen. Tajima Hillcrest.
The spicy sesame ramen. Tajima Hillcrest.
Place

Tajima Hillcrest

3739 Sixth Avenue, San Diego

Japanese restaurant with a rainbow flag working here.

As far back as I can recall, every restaurant at 3739B 6th Ave — across from the Rite Aid — has been Japanese. I used to order from the "American Favorites" list back when it was Yakitori Yakyudori (which moved to Convoy Street, in case you ever wanted to try the skewered chicken hearts listed under Japanese Favorites). After that came Raku, in which I had a memorable date over a forgettable meal. There may have been others before, in between. But I get the feeling the latest may stick around.

Tajima's already got its name on a couple restaurants up in Kearny Mesa: an Izakaya and a Ramen House — which is pretty tasty according to this. For a couple months now it's been trying its brand here in the center of Hillcrest, with the distinction of being a ramen bar.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Tajima did a great job styling the place, hanging paintings of large kanji characters, building wood block patterns, and devising a long wood top bar with retractable hanging stools that swing out from beneath it.

Clever common seating.

They serve ramen a few ways. Tonkatsu pork broth comes standard at eight bucks, with the inclusion of curry or spicy sesame paste for a dollar more. These bowls come with pork or chicken chashu and assorted toppings along the lines of eggs, bean sprouts and fried garlic. A vegan version offers miso broth, vegetables, tofu and a variety of mushrooms. You may choose between thin or fat noodles, or even gluten free. A number of additional toppings average about a buck or two each.

I went a couple of times, first trying the spicy sesame with added vegetables and kakuni pork belly. The fat noodles held onto the spice, which delivered more flavor than straight heat. I could have used more sesame, but then I always say that.

The kakuni was outstanding. I found it tender and easy to break apart with my chopsticks. I imagine if I left it in the broth too long it might just melt away so I ate it quickly. The chips of fried garlic gave me a few rich, smoky bites, and while the mushrooms and asparagus were lost in the mix flavor-wise, the textural addition worked out, plus let me get away with thinking I'd significantly amped up the nutritional value.

Tajima ramen bowl with gluten-free noodles. Tajima Hillcrest.

I went back to check out the Tajima bowl, unadulterated by the spicy red sesame paste. To mix things up a bit I added kimchee as a topping, and — what the hell? — tried out the gluten free noodles.

I know there must be a number of people out there who haven't enjoyed ramen since the great gluten aversion took over the public consciousness. So I checked it out to see how it compared to the fat noodles of my first dish. As I said, there're a lot of rich flavors at play here, so I didn't notice any great difference in that regard. The texture of the gluten free noodles was definitely more al dente, which, come to think of it, is how they were served at Raku as well.

Not my choice, but an admittedly savvy concession to the gluten-free audience, who get to enjoy a top ramen spot (I know).

The aglutenous will miss out, though – they won't get to enjoy Tajima's selection of Japanese craft beers. Bottles with names like Ozeno IPA, Wasabi Ale, and Kujyukuri weizen may be found — about eight or nine alternatives to the more common Asahi and Sapporo. It's enough to make me wonder whether I should review this as a beer destination with a killer ramen side business. Either way, it's a good fit in a location suddenly worth remembering again.

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Angry Pete’s goes from pop-up to drive-thru

Detroit Pizza sidles into the husk of a shuttered Taco Bell
Next Article

Flowering pear trees in Kensington not that nice

Empty dirt plots in front of Ken Cinema
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.