Rokai Ramen-Ya — Restaurant in Mexico City

Service is terrible, Atención fatal. This restaurant needs a lot of work. Where should I start... Half the restaurant was empty (Five tables available) on a rainy Sunday and as we are walking in, a waiter (as they walk away) just tell us we cannot walk in and have to wait in the rain to be seated. We wait in the rain and nobody approaches us. Two employees are in the back, one behind the sushi bar, and the rest walking around. Nobody even acknowledges that we are still waiting. We walk in and sit down since we are getting soaked and apparently are invisible. Someone then approaches us and scolds us for sitting down without table assignment. I apologize and ask if we should move tables, the waiter (Alejandro) says that it's fine and we can sit there, but and just keeps walking. After waiting 5 or so mins nobody approaches us. So I ask a passing employee if we can get menus, they drop them by and walk away. I realize there is no ramen in the menu, and ask another passing employee (bare in mind that they ARE NOT busy, they simply are not attentive) if we can order ramen or if that's only available in the other side of the restaurant, he says it's no problem and we can and keeps walking. It's as if these guys just have never stopped and spoken to a customer. I finally flag the original waiter, Alejandro, down again and ask for the Ramen menus and let him know we'd also like to order a drink. He (angrily) says that we cannot order Ramen here, and I interrupt to explain that his colleague just said we could. He gets very upset and comments that I should not interrupt him and that he was explaining it to me. I apologize, and he says it can only be ordered from one of the two (occupied) outside tables because of the odor of ramen. I say that's no problem can we move to that empty bench outside and order. He claims it's reserved.

I gave up on having a conversation as the attitude of everyone we spoke to was terrible. I asked for a manager, Mauricio, just to share the feedback so that someone else didnt have the same experience we did. He listened, but didnt offer any solution and was perfectly fine...

Not as great as I have hoped for.

Since we loved Sushi Kyo (also by Edo Kobayashi Group), we thought that we will give Rokai Ramen-Ya a try. We arrived around 4:15pm on a Friday without a reservation. Thankfully there were 2 seats left (moral of the story - reservation recommended).

Pros: Service is attentive and helpful. They proactively offered to re-seat us from the bar seat when a table opened up. The Ostión Especial is decent. We actually preferred the uni+ikura over the oyster. The sashimi is fresh. They probably get the same ingredients within the restaurant group (my personal guess only), hence the premium quality (and price tag). The tamago sushi is delicious. Since this is supposed to denote the end of the savory dishes, it's kind of like a pre-dessert for me. I love that their version of the tamago sushi is 99% tamago, and 1% rice. Literally a few grains of rice on top of the heavenly egg omelette. Ingenious!

Honorary Mention: Yuri-chin: A pleasant surprise to find gluten-free fried chicken (made with potato flour), though a tad on the dry side.

Cons: We tried the Tekka Maki & Spicy Tuna Maki, and they were both just okay. Since this is a ramen-ya, I naturally had high hopes for their ramen. Unfortunately the Ramen Soya did not cut it for me. The broth is mediocre, and the chashu & onsen egg are not flavorful. Perhaps this is a personal preference, but I like it when the chashu is heavily marinated (does not have the "pork taste").

Typically, when a meal is of this price range, I am expecting more memorable flavors and presentation in addition to food quality and service, so unfortunately this is not great value...

I was hesitant about Rokai as I shuffled through the list of nearby restaurants. Hesitant, until I walked by and saw a small kitchen where a young man was making fresh gyoza by hand.

Witnessing this checked 2 important boxes for me.

Small kitchens tend to produce the most flavourful dishes, because they have focused menu.

An item made by hand ensures quality and care. And, also means the chef has enough passion for food not to cut corners.

I can't speak to poor service or long waits, as I experienced none of these things during my visit and my Spanish might as well be German.

I ordered gyoza, karage and a black tan tan ramen. I watched the chef eyeing my plate to time out the delivery of each element, and it was spot on!

The gyoza had the lightest she'll I've had to date, and was packed full of meat, perfect.

The garage was also refreshingly light on the batter. The chicken inside still juicy. Nailed it.

The black tan tan was different I stepped outside of my chasu comfort zone, but had no regrets. I believe they reduce black sesame into the broth, breaking it down to a miso like texture. The noodles we're thin but perfectly cooked...they chew like thick noodles.

There were many subtle elements to the tan tan, and it was a great demonstration of how 2 cultures can be married into one dish.

Highly recommended treating yourself to a meal...