Omori Katsu & Ramen
Japanese-style fried cutlets and noodle soups in a mostly Korean Irvine food hall
As the old saying goes, “when one door closes, another opens,” and that was the case when the Westpark H Mart’s food hall lost so-so Japanese comfort food restaurant Tokyo Hamburg in 2024. The door opened for a seemingly one-off Japanese-Korean restaurant named Omori Katsu & Ramen to step in, resulting in a net win for the H Market Eatery collection.
Omori’s 16-item menu is about as simple as its name suggests: six variations on Japanese-style deep-fried cutlets, plus potato or crab croquettes, and eight noodle dishes – mostly variations on ramen but with a couple of udon choices and one soba. The only hints of Korean influence are a couple of menu references to “donkatsu” rather than the Japanese name for pork cutlets, “tonkatsu.” Entrees appear to be made specifically to order, resulting in extended (20-minute) wait times for dishes, but perfect freshness at the moment of delivery.
We started with the Omori katsu – classic pork tonkatsu – which arrives with a bowl of miso soup, a small mound of steamed rice, tonkatsu sauce, and a pile of shredded cabbage with thousand island dressing. Omori’s panko crust and frying were basically perfect, yielding an ample sliced cutlet with ideal outside crispiness and flavor; that said, the pork inside was very typical of non-Berkshire/Kurobuta/otherwise prime meat: tasty, but nothing special in texture, thickness, or quality. Curry, cheese, chicken, and fish versions are also available, as is a larger “king” pork cutlet topped with a brown gravy.
On the soup side, we tried the spicy miso ramen, which included thin noodles, five thin slices of roasted pork, a sliced hard boiled egg, bean sprouts, seaweed, fishcake, scallions, and nori in addition to a broth that wasn’t super spicy or tonkotsu-level fatty. While we wouldn’t characterize the soup as gourmet-quality or a great value for its $17.50 asking price – the noodle portion was modest and the pork could have been thicker and juicier – it was entirely competent.
If we revisit and opt for soup, we’d probably try either the tonkotsu or spicy tonkotsu ramens instead, or perhaps the yuzu shoyu ramen, just to see how much the broths change the experience. But we’d be more likely to go with a katsu instead, as we preferred that side of the menu and would like to see what the curry and croquettes are like. We’ll update this if and when we have a chance to sample them.
Stats
Price: $$
Service: Counter
Open Since: 2024
Addresses
3825 Alton Pkwy.
Irvine, CA 92606
949.265.8588