3 /5 pentley holmes: This place is cool. Service was quick, I was greeted as soon as I walked in, and the food came out fast. I really wanted to love it.. and honestly, there’s a lot to love. The portion sizes are excellent, the sushi is top notch, and the servers were attentive throughout my visit and the price is very fair.
The interior is beautiful, sleek, and clean. It’s the kind of place that makes you think.. Okay, this might be a new go to spot. But there were a few things that threw me off, and reflected in my rating.
First, I asked for water because I don’t drink soda or juice and never do. They brought it out in a paper cup, which felt more like a fast food experience than a sit down restaurant. Not a huge deal, but still noticeable.
I ordered the avocado and cucumber sushi roll since I’m vegetarian, and it was delicious. The presentation was on point, the roll was fresh, and I would honestly come back just for that.
When it came to the ramen, the server tried to upsell me on adding sauce or oil, but I didn’t understand why that was necessary for a dish that should already be flavorful. So I declined. The ramen came out in a massive bowl, totally packed with veggies and noodles, which looked great. But unfortunately, it had no flavor. The broth was weak, like vegetables essentially bathing in a weak broth. I tried to fix it with some soy sauce, but I ended up adding too much and still couldn’t get the flavor to come through.
Here’s where I’ll give them credit.. the owner or manager noticed I wasn’t enjoying it or added alot of soy sauce and asked how everything was. When I explained, he let me know that the vegetarian ramen doesn’t come with any flavor by default, and that next time I should order it with the oil or sauce upgrade. I appreciated the honesty and the attention, but respectfully, it shouldn’t take much effort to create a flavorful vegetarian broth. There are plenty of ramen/noodle houses that already manage to do this well without have a meat based broth. Saying it lacks flavor just because it’s vegetarian is not a great excuse.
That said, I still give them credit for offering a vegetarian option, even if it wasn’t fully executed. I took the rest of the ramen home and made my own broth to finish the meal.
I’d definitely go back for the sushi, and even the ramen ingredients were solidit just needs a broth that matches the rest of the quality. Keep doing what you’re doing, and maybe give that veggie broth a little more love. You’re almost there.
