Sober Ramen — Restaurant in Victoria

We have been long time regular customers at Sober Ramen, both in Geelong and Torquay, and have recommended the restaurant to friends, it is always our first choice of place when eating out, however our recent experiences in Torquay have been absolutely disgusting. I waited to write this review as I had sent an email to management about it but after chasing the email up, trying to call, sms, message via socials and getting zero reply this was my only option left.

I have ordered Chicken Dumpling Ramen many times but this last time I was shocked when the food came out, it was so obvious that the soup broth was significantly reduced in quantity compared to the last time I had it, as well as to the other ramen bowl that my partner was eating.

I brought this up to the gentleman who took our order and served us, and said that it was a lot less in quantity, and asked if he could give me a little bit more stock. He responded by telling me that I could, but I would have to pay extra. And he continued to justify the less amount to the fact that I had vegetable in the bowl and that this is the normal amount. This makes no sense at all. I was very shocked to hear that a restaurant is willing to charge extra for the customer to have one small scoop of broth that should've been there to begin with.

As I began to eat the meal, I deliberately ate the ramen noodle, dumplings, and vegetables only first without the soup so that I can see how much soup I was given. You can see from the photos attached that I paid for a bowl of ramen soup but the bowl had very little soup in it at all!! Please know that I didn’t eat any soup when I took these photos, that is how much soup I was given.

Everyone is doing it tough these days, I get it. But to shortchange a customer on a simple chicken stock / broth, is just not right. It’s not about the money. It’s about the service and what we are paying for. It’s not like I asked for extra noodles or dumplings without wanting to pay. I was only asking for a little more broth.

To add to it, the gentleman wasn’t open or empathic to what I was asking and the conversation, and he stuck to his excuses.

On top of this it was a particularly cold evening which was why we went for Ramen, and when we got into the restaurant, it was cold inside. So we asked the same gentleman if he can turn the heating on, and he said that he will be turning it on shortly (a little later) and then he said that it’s not that cold and that the Ramen will warm you up. Isn’t it enough when the customer asks politely for the heating to be turned on, that you just do, if you have heating and you’re going do it anyway? In the same way that I asked politely to be given a little bit more stock.

I’m not sure if this is something the staff are doing as their own initiative or whether it’s instructed from the top however either way it’s not ok. We paid $45 for two bowls of ramen and one of them has significantly less soup.

I've noticed the decline over the last few months. Not long ago we went to get takeaway at the Torquay store and I wanted to the Dry Ramen Ika but to only have the calamari as a meal (minus other things on the plate). To my surprise I was given the same quantity of calamari as if I’d also had the noodles, croquette, corn and seaweed salad (not extra calamari), but charged the full price even though I wasn’t getting all those other items. I walked out of there feeling ripped off so haven’t asked for that again. It feels like people in that store want to continue to short change their customers.

As I said, it's tough times, everyone is choosing wisely where to spend their hard earned income. And we chose to spend it at your restaurant. You have been one of our favourite restaurants, but our recent experiences made us feel hesitant to...

it's very fascinating reading the reviews after visiting the restaurant! if I had read the reviews, I might have contemplated. glad we went. service: not great. the staff didn't welcome us but sort of gestured by raising the eyebrows from behind the bar? maybe they said something but the music was too loud I couldn't hear. that was fine anyway. didn't bother me. we got a seat right away. staff never smiled. gave menus. came back to take order but again, didn't say anything. just stood in front of me with the tablet. I asked for water but didn't get it until I asked again AFTER eating half the foods and got thirsty. didn't give any napkins til I asked. strange. maybe long day?! pot stickers / gyoza: excellent. thin wrap and well balanced fillings. loved the soy sauce with a touch of vinegar. beef skewers: tender and juicy. sauce was excellent. definitely not like black bean sauce like mentioned in another review. agedashi tofu: perfectly crunchy outside and soft inside with the light sauce. ramen: we ordered 2 different ones and loved both. it wasn't salty like many other ramen shops when the broth tastes salty at the end. we drank the broth. it was flavoursome too! noodles were just right. not too soft not too crunchy. it's a very personal preference but these noodles hit the right notes for us. pork was tender. egg was just perfectly cooked.

overall we would come back despite the service. we like the foods enough. it's funny how some reviews suggested that ppl who raved about this shop don't know good ramen. well, some of our favourites are Mr Ramen San, Hakata Gensuke, Shinjuko and Ramen Shop. I think we're ok to judge ramen. again, like any foods, it's personal. I would recommend this place for dates and small groups as it's quite small. good vibes though. would love to try the izakaya bar next door. I think same ppl but not sure. their cocktail menus are...

• seafood ramen • spicy dumpling ramen 🔥 level 3 • pork gyoza • tang fried w shredded cabbage + spicy wasabi mayo

Sober is a spot 👌 it’s a small package with big demand on Geelong’s popular Little Malop Street. We were an impromptu walk-in at 6pm on a Friday. Had we got there a minute later, we may have had to join the waitlist like everyone else after us. She was buzzing! The only spot left was at the bar - my favourite. I love the more intimate interaction with the staff and being able to see your drinks being prepared. And if you’re anything like me, you can serve up banter while they serve up food. ✌️

The tang fried is now a go-to favourite of mine. It wasn’t oily at all and it was the perfect balance between crunchy and crumbly and cooked to juicy perfection on the inside.

The dumplings were cooked well but didn’t hold any wow factor. The flavour wasn’t overwhelming nor underwhelming. I could leave them alone next time.

The seafood ramen was a hit. It was great to see the whole scallop served, not just the adductor which is common. The broth was packed with flavour but didn’t mute the delicate seafood flavours either. Lovely.

The spicy dumpling ramen 🥵 hit me, baby one more time! I got level 3 spice and she was hot but she was beautiful! Nothing disappoints me more than ordering spicy and being served something that resembles an extra dusting of pepper. Sometimes too much heat can drown out other elements, not the case with this one.

🍽 DISH OF THE DAY: Spicy Dumpling Ramen - it’s hot, it’s spicy, it’s naughty, it’s nice!

For as busy as they were, the staff were calm and the restaurant was under control. The beats were pumping but you were still able to hold a conversation. Vibe...