Sanju Ramen Voorstraat — Restaurant in Utrecht

I have been coming to this restaurant for several years now, more than several years actually. probably close to ten at this point.

And I have never had as bad of an experience as I had today : september 15th.

The Katsu set with furikage rice. The katsu was fine of taste, but fried for far too long, leaving the meat rather dry, especially with how thin it was. The rice was missing the seasoning all together and the Miso soup was incredibly bland, leading me to not finishing the meal.

I then asked for the signature Sancho Spicy Pork since I was still hungry, something I have enjoyed time and time again, thinking that : 'Hey it's a new menu, give them a chance.''

I have never been as dissapointed with a bowl of ramen in my life. the bowl was put together without much care, every individual cha sieuw slice was dry on the outside as if lying uncovered for some time and the noodles...I need a seperate paragraph for those.

They were Gloopy, Gluey, soft and stodgy. Now most people that read this will probably defend this, saying that : 'They are homemade! You are just used to factory processed junk!''

Homemade noodles are an artform. The properties they had in my bowl could point to several reasons for their state. They were boiled in an inadequate amount of water, leading to the starches not being diluted properly. They had been overcooked, releasing excess starch that resulted in the slimy texture. The soup they had been deposited into was not hot enough, leading to the starches resolidifying. They had been drained and allowed to cool off outside the water, leading to a simillair result.

Homemade does not automatically mean better, especially if made poorly. I will fully admit that homemade noodles grant a bowl that true personable quality. But this was just...upsetting.

More than upsetting. This was heartbreaking. I didn't even bother to get into an argument, I had a few bites of the bowl, informed the staff, paid my bill, and then I left, still hungry.

I was given a complementary cola for my otherwise...

We ordered 2 things: yuzu shio ramen and karaage rice bowl. Plus two home-made ice tea drinks.

The atmosphere, interior and service were fine. However;

The ramen is the worst we have tried in Netherlands. Paying 19 euros (more expensive than average) for this bowl felt like a scam. Unlike other ramen restaurants that make fresh noodles, the noodles here taste like dried egg noodles you buy from anywhere, with maybe a pinch of baking soda. It was topped by corn, wood ears, raw red onions, green onions and leek onions. It was way too much onion. This is the first time I’ve seen raw red onion as a ramen topping. I felt like I was eating Vietnamese pho, except the broth wasn’t complementary. The first sip of the broth was fine until the onions took over and turned it into a salty onion broth loaded with MSG. The raw onion taste lingered even after I got home. I never had this onion aftertaste eating other ramen. Also, the additional slices of “garlic chicken” breasts were tender but absolutely tasteless; no garlic flavour at all.

The karaage we ordered (13 euros) does not look like karaage and was very little, even though we paid for extra meat (+3 euros). Normally, karaage comes as big pieces of golden brown fried soy-marinated chicken with a twinge of citrus or ginger flavour. The karaage we got were very small pieces and tastes like simple soy-marinated chicken that was fried for too long (it was dark brown in colour). The accompanying miso soup was fine, although nothing special.

The drinks were too watered down. Had barely flavour of yuzu or cherry.

This place is usually packed whenever we pass it and it recently opened another location in the city center. Considering the quality, I find this success bewildering. There is only one explanation for this; there are no ramen places in the centre of Utrecht, except this one. People that try ramen here for the first time therefore have no point of reference and assume this is standard. No way. Come back when you have tried ramen places in Rotterdam, The Hague...

I really wanted to like this place, as my partner and I have come here 3 times. We came tonight to give it another chance, but unfortunately; our visit tonight really takes the biscuit.

Our ramen took a little longer than normal, around 40-50 minutes which was understandable as it was busy. But when the ramen arrived, unfortunately it was quite unsatisfactory.

I ordered the Awa spicy chicken ramen. Nice spice level, great vegetables. However, the broth was very thick, not to my liking. The flavour was good though. The chicken pieces were quite bland, and didn’t really have any flavour to them.

My partner ordered the tutaten ramen (limited edition veggie ramen). There was a noticeable layer of chilli oil on the top, which wasn’t mentioned in the description. It was meant to be a creamy broth but was a very thick broth.

A bit of spice is fine. My partner can’t handle spice. It’s ok if it was spicy.

But there was a very odd sour taste to the broth, as well as an odd, bland taste to the noodles. I tried it too and we both really didn’t think it went well together. That’s ok, you can not like something.

But the service I received from a waitress was rude, unprofessional and disrespectful. I came up to explain that we didn’t finish one dish, and there was a sassy back comment to each criticism that I gave. I explained the noodle taste and the broth. I wasn’t listened to. I accept that. I paid and left.

There’s probably something on the menu that my partner would like for the 4th attempt. But we won’t be returning because of the rude service that we encountered from one staff member.

Just to note, the other staff members were lovely. But one bad egg ruins the batch...