Elena N.
Yelp
2.5 STARS
Date: Monday, April 10th, 2023
Time: around 9:30pm
Meal: Dinner
Party of: 7 adults, 2 kids = 9 total
Wait Time: about 10-15 mins, not too bad at all considering how small the place it
HAPPY HOUR MENU: Monday - Thursday, 10pm to Last Call, Dine in Only
*Karaage: Japanese Fried Chicken, 5 pcs, Chicken Leg meat, Miso, Garlic Ginger ($5.50, originally $6.50) x2
*Age Dashi Tofu: Deep fried tofu with bonito dashi sauce ($5.95, originally $5.50)
*Soft Shell Crab: Deep fried soft shell crab with homemade ponzu sauce ($7.50, originally $7.95)
REGULAR MENU:
*Gyoza: Home Made Pork Dumplings, 5 pcs ($5.95) x2
*Tornado Potato: Original ($3.95, happy hour $3.50), Garlic ($3.95, happy hour $3.50)
*Bang Bang Chicken: Steamed Cold Chicken Breast w/Cucumber, Sesame Sauce, Chili Oil ($7.50)
*Pork Fried Rice: Pork Belly, Egg, Diced Onion, Green Onion ($10.95) x3
*Tonkotsu Shio Ramen: Pork-based soup, Pork belly, Soft Boiled Egg, Onion Chips, Green Onion, Black Mushroom, Bamboo Shoot, Shredded Red Pepper ($11.95)
*Tonkotsu Miso Ramen ($11.95): Pork-based soup, Pork belly, Soft Boiled Egg, Onion Chips, Green Onion, Black Mushroom, Bamboo Shoot, Shredded Red Pepper, add Egg (+$1.50)
*Spicy Umami Ramen ($12.95): Level 3, Pork-based spicy miso soup, Pork belly, Soft Boiled Egg, Onion Chips, Green Onion, Black Mushroom, Bamboo Shoot, Shredded Red Pepper, Homemade Chili Oil, add Black Garlic Oil (+$0.75), add Corn (+$0.75), add Dry Seaweed Nori (+$1)
*Spicy Vegan Ramen ($11.95): Green Onion, Fried Lotus Root, Grape Tomato, Spinach, Corn, Shiitake Mushroom, Bamboo Shoot, White Onion, Shredded Dred Seaweed, Onion Chips, Lemon, Orchid Flower, Shredded Red Pepper, Homemade Chili Oil, add Chashu Pork Belly / Pork Chasyu (+$2.50), add Menma (+$1)
*Kirin Light ($4.50)
*Sapporo Pitcher ($22, happy hour $17)
*Calpico ($2.50)
I'm going to say I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt since they were busy and there was one person on the floor. She also took care of the cash register. It looked like there was also a food runner / busser, but she didn't help serve drinks or anything like that, so the server was basically slammed the entire time we were there.
Going over the receipt, I have no idea why some items were on HH and others weren't? We ordered drinks first so I get why we didn't have HH pricing there, but why only half the apps? It was definitely after 10pm when we ordered the all the food. I did order a yellowtail carpaccio which never showed up. Luckily it wasn't on the bill. I wanted shishito peppers as well and was told they were out. But then towards the end of our meal, I saw someone get shishito peppers. Idk, maybe I wasn't meant to eat shishito peppers or yellowtail? Lol! One more forgotten item was the hubby's tonkotsu shio. We had to ask the server for it well after everyone had gotten their food. Then after paying for the bill, we noticed we were charged for two tonkotsu shio ramens. We ended up being refunded for the item in cash.
Okay, so onto the food I did get without having to ask for twice. The karaage had a nice crunch and was seasoned well. The potatoes, the kids adored. They could have had 1+ order each. The gyoza were on the smaller. Good for me since I actually adore small bites. But these are literally one small bite for the hubby, two bites for me. I got the level 3 spicy ramen and was warned it's really spicy. I'd say if you like spice, this is definitely a tolerable spice. Not too hot at all. The noodles weren't my fav. They are on the thinner side. I tend to like my thicker chewy noodles. I wish they had more topping options like spinach, etc, as I love a lot of toppings in my bowl. The fried rice was also a hit. The kids loved it.
You should note, you need to ask for the HH Menu. They won't volunteer it. Someone at our table mentioned it, so I asked the server about it. (Tho the HH Food pricing isn't much different.) Since they were busy and service was soooooo slow, I wish they had told us about it so we could have waited like the 5 mins til HH for the pitcher of beer. That's $7 we could have saved! Plus the lag between being able to order drinks, then apps, then mains, was quite a while. I mean, I love my slow a$$ meals (I've literally had like 5+ hour dinners), but this was a little ridiculous. Plus, we had hungry kids. The thing is, I felt bad. I get being the only person on the floor. I've done it in a 14 table restaurant with no busser and it's no fun. So I'm giving a little service leeway as I write this review.
Honestly, solely based on my experience and the food, I'd probably rate this spot 1 star. Understanding be short staffed, my take on the food, and the more than fair pricing on the dishes, I'm bumping this up to 3.