Aoyama - restaurant japonais — Restaurant in Lille

March 2023 - One of the worse Ramen I’ve had in my life! This is NOT ramen!! It’s Chinese egg noodle soaked in an instant powdered soup. Even the instant ramen noodle which comes in a pack tastes better. The only tasty thing on that bowl was the egg. The service is bad as the server has a bad and lazy attitude. The Japanese will always serve with a serving tray but will never leave it on the table so that the servers ‘can clear the table easier’. The waitress literally told us that it’s easier to clear the tables after. That’s just plain LAZY!!! She’s like a robot… saying thank you and asking how the food is without any emotions. I’d rather she be genuine and not speak. This will be our first and last time to this establishment. It’s an insult to the Japanese cuisine. Even the Japanese fast food and cantins have better service! By the way, there’re only two choices for the ramen. I would expect a way better tasting and quality food if you’ve so few choices.

Ok, so this is my second review and here goes (November 2024)…

Disappointing Ramen—Still Tasteless After a Year!

I visited Aoyama Ramen for the second time after a year, despite my initial reluctance. My friend insisted on trying it, but unfortunately, the experience was just as disappointing as my first visit.

The food remains tasteless—overly salty with no depth of flavor. It’s far from authentic ramen and lacks the satisfying umami you’d expect from a dish like this. Even my friend, who was eager to try it, ended up agreeing with me.

Service has improved slightly with new staff, but it’s not enough to make up for the lackluster food. The only highlight was the Japanese toilet, a rare find in Lille, but that’s hardly a reason to dine here.

I also don’t understand how this restaurant garners fairly good reviews. After my first visit, the owner responded to my review, informing me that they take a few hours every morning to prepare the broth. I don’t doubt the effort, but they are clearly doing it wrong somehow. It’s disappointing because good ramen takes skill, and this misses the mark entirely. Clearly, most of the customers here have not tried a proper bowl of ramen before.

I also wish the owner were more open to constructive criticism. From his replies to some of the less favorable reviews, he doesn’t seem willing to listen or make changes. How can a business improve if it’s not open to feedback?

I left a bad review last year, and I stand by every word. Nothing has changed, and I won’t be...

We tried all the appetisers and ramen just to see if the review are true .

First , we asked for no salt and heat up the soup. We ordered one of each Raman. I was surprised by the waitress as she asked me if I wanted miso ramen with vegetarian option. She did not hear what I was saying clearly.

The waiter misunderstood us and bought us two bowls of miso ramen . We asked her to change it and she said the kitchen was closed and it will take time .

I told her we can wait but we wonder how the kitchen can closed so early. Maybe she did not want to take back the ramen and changed it.

The ramen is warm enough but somehow the soup is really salty and made us thirsty. The egg is very cold feels like straight from the refrigerator.

Well , we felt quite full after the appetisers and ramen.

The ramen has one egg and one piece of pork , a little bamboo shot and scallions.

The chicken is on point.

I cannot say the price quality ratio is attractive. There is no miso bomb and the soup is just miso paste with water.

The restaurant has a pleasant environment but the food does not...

Trap for tourist.

The pork katsu was terrible, the entire katsu was like a giant rubber. Curry was watery, rice was not properly washed to get the starch out. The entire katsu was a mess.

Ramen over priced, 17€ for a bowl of ramen. I was expecting a bigger bowl with more food. Taste of ramen was average, nothing special about it. If the ramen was uniquely good, I will not have no problem paying 17€ but an average ramen...

There was a customer vaping inside the restaurant and the staff didn't do anything.

Very disappointing experience, a lot of hype about this place but in reality, this restaurant needs a lot of work.

At this moment, I can say this restaurant is a tourist trap.

To the management, I can change my review if you improve the restaurant to a...