SAKURA RAMEN — Restaurant in Playa del Carmen

Pretty disappointed... Walked 40mins to get to this place because we were wanting a hearty dinner after a long day of swimming. Anyways, I think their AC might be down? They only had a couple of fans that's barely doing anything inside. If you go here, choose to sit outside, they have tables outside too, it's much better. At least until their AC is fixed.

Food was disappointing. Was excited to find a ramen place that's ran by a Japanese couple, so I was quite hopeful this place would be pretty good. We went ahead and ordered a classic ramen: Tonkotsu. Can't go wrong with that. We also ordered Takoyaki.

Unfortunately, we were not impressed at all. Every country we go to or new city, we always try a new ramen place. Our order is pretty standard, Tonkotsu and takoyaki. I wouldn't say this was the worst, but i can't even call it good either. It was just okay.

Broth was porky for sure, but it was pretty bland. Definitely needed more flavor. It tasted a bit watered down, and I'm sure it wasn't. Good portion of the noodles, and it also had great texture too. Ramen doesn't come with eggs (even just half the egg would have been nice) but you have to ask for it, and it's extra $$. Doesn't come with the ramen.

Takoyaki was doused waaaaaay too much of the takoyaki sauce. It was essentially drowning, and it's all you could taste. Couldnt enjoy the dough of the takoyaki, because of the sauce. My bf thought it was bbq sauce. It tasted like ketchup... But then again, this wasn't the worst takoyaki we've had. It was okay, it was edible, but wouldn't get this again. Probably would taste pretty good if you've never had it in Japan.

Overall, don't think we'll...

Oishii! Finally some legitimate Japanese food in Playa! 😍This adorably decorated ramen shop (so kawaii!) is run by a wonderfully friendly and enthusiastic Japanese chef hailing from Kagoshima from the southern part of Japan where the beautiful milky, rich pork bone broth ramen known as tonkotsu is from. As you would imagine, the Hakata tonkotsu ramen here is on point: From my first spoonful, the flavors whisked me back to Japan. My only complaint is that the soup was so good that I wanted another bowl right away & I can see myself developing something of an addiction. 🤤The karaage (fried chicken) was also delicious and had the right flavor profile. (They offer vegetarian ramen if that's your thing, but if you're not getting the pork broth ramen, you're really missing out!) Prices seemed reasonable for the quality of the food, with most appetizers costing about $90MX and ramen coming in at $150MX. It's so exciting to have access to real deal Japanese food, and the staff and owner are so welcoming and clearly take pride in what they are doing. A very worthy expansion of Playa's...

Ridiculously long wait, only because this restaurant hasn’t learned yet how to put 4 tables outside to serve more people, and for some reason because Asians who travel can’t fathom eating anything other than their own food from home while vacationing in a foreign country. Seriously people, open your horizons. There is more to life than the same food you’ve eaten every day for the past 50 years. You’re in Mexico, try something different.

After waiting so long I was disappointed. This is not 5 star food, 3.5 star at best. While presentation was nice, the gyoza is 4/5, spicy chicken 3.5/5, and the octopus balls were a 1/5. No octopus flavor at all, horrible texture and flavor in general. Ramen 3/5, as the broth left much to be desired. Not even close to the best ramen in playa. Not to mention the menu is super small. Hardly any selection. Of the 4 things we tried, we ate almost half the menu…. I personally have zero desire...