Ramen Danbo Surfers Paradise — Restaurant in Gold Coast City

My wife and I have always been loyal customers to Ramen Danbo ever since we first had it a few years ago at surfers paradise. We even recommended this place to friends who were visiting the GC. Not sure if the management changed but the standards for this place dropped quite drastically when we visited recently.

The worst thing here is the customer service. It’s absolutely terrible.

We ordered 2 bowls of ramen and a side of gyoza, and the waiting time was quite long even though there weren’t a lot of people. The ramen itself was blander than before, but still edible. However, we highly suggest you not to even bother ordering the gyoza because the gyoza we got came burnt on all ends. We tried to politely give feedback to the chef or assistant chef when he came out to serve another table, but he just scoffed and told us to tell the service staff instead. We finally got hold of one of the service staff and after telling her, she stared at us blankly saying they couldn’t do anything about it as the gyoza was meant to be ‘like that’. It was so burnt that you could taste the burnt oil upon biting into it. Honestly how can the chef be satisfied that this can be served?

They reluctantly brought the gyoza back to the kitchen and returned shortly after with some gyozas that looked less burnt, but I was shocked to find out that they literally just scraped off the burnt ends and served the same plate to us. I suspect this because when we were testing the first plate of burnt gyozas, we pried open one of them and we were shocked to see the same ones served back to us.

They denied this and mentioned that they did change it out but how was it possible that the ‘new’ ones have the same mark on them. (Sadly I didn’t take a photo of the fully burnt gyozas, the only one I took was of the scraped ones which also tasted burnt)

We did not finish the gyozas in the end because it was not worth getting sick over them. The manager was pretty apologetic however, and mentioned that she couldn’t waive the item but offered 2x free plain noodle coupons out of goodwill.

We were not expecting to get any discount for the food at all, but felt like leaving this review out of disappointment because the most basic gesture any restaurant can do is to replace a bunch of burnt gyozas that we paid for.

Overall, we would sadly not be returning, and won’t recommend this place anymore. Instead, please try visiting the other branches, you may get a better experience....

Tried Ramen Danbo the other day as our favourite Ramen joint was closed. The ramen itself tastes pretty good but it was very pricey for a small bowl of ramen with very little toppings - just 2 pieces of chashu (pork) and shallot starting at $15, everything else is at least a dollar extra: eggs, bamboo shoots, bean sprouts, nori/seaweed, karashi takana/pickled mustard greens, so it ends up being around $22 for a very small bowl of ramen with toppings you usually get. (No free kaedama either ='( but of course that's at each shop's discretion anyway). But then this particular store we went to is in the heart of a touristy area, so inflated price is expected I guess. It is in a convenient location, somewhat of a foodcourt-style set up so no table water either - extra $ if you get thirsty from slurping up the yummy rich broth. There weren't as many ramen options as some other ramen shops may have, but it is a small store with a small kitchen. When you order you can customise your ramen such as choosing the firmness of your noodle, if you want less salt in your broth etc (though my "less salt" version tasted the same as my hubby's "standard" version). They also have 2 rice options and some other sides like dumplings. We ordered one of the rice and it tastes pretty good too (think may have been microwaved but again, small kitchen, can't complain too much, tasted fresh enough). Anyway, to sum up. It was VERY pricey, there weren't as many options as some other ramen shops may have, and they may not be able to fulfill your customisations if they get busy. These are all understandable considering its location and size and the food tastes pretty good. Personally, I would only return if I am in the area (i.e. Gold Coast), my favourite ramen joint is closed and I really Really REALLY wanted Ramen. Oh and this place is dog friendly which is a plus (though my favourite ramen joint is also...

We read the reviews so we thought we would give this Ramon noodleI try as we usually go to the Hakataya Ramen noodle house in surfers Paradise which I feel is excellent and generous amount of food with the extras thrown in for free plus free extra noodles We arrived and it’s a little bit like a Japanese subway choose type of noodles you want our firm Then how soft or firm do you like your noodle then you choose if you want extra heat or extra meat all add extra price then there is a selection of extras to put on your noodles at again extra price all very confusing When the meal arrived I was a bit setback as it was quite small compare to what we used to The noodles in broth was just OK The extra pork we ordered was very small for the four dollars extra per bowl we payed I finish my noodles and still had soup left so I asked the girl if it was possible to get more noodles as We were still very hungry as is the case of the Hakataya Ramen noodle place in surfers Paradise and elsewhere for no extra charge She told us this was not possible that we would have to buy another meal no apology no concern basically take it or leave it so we left and rounded out very unsatisfactory meal there by going for sushi So we didn’t go home hungry it cost us $43 for two bowls of ordinary soup with some fatty tasteless pork on top we have some gluey paste on top that we paid an extra dollar for For the people who think it’s good I think you should try a few different noodle places I first started eating this dish in Tokyo in 1979 and it tasted nothing like this slop that...