Yatai Ramenbar by PAN Collection — Restaurant in City Centre

I have had 2 different experiences at Yatai so I’m revising my review to reflect both experiences more accurately: On 4th Jan for lunch- restaurant wasn’t busy- We had such a great meal at Yatai! I really enjoyed the food and the entire experience. There is some room for improvement but with small tweaks I think this place would be outstanding in a city with a highly competitive food scene.

I liked that the menu was small and that they focus on a few dishes done right. They also have lots of great vegan options which was appreciated because I visited with my husband who’s vegan.

The Wagyu Truffle Robata, the Aubergine small plate, the tofu gyoza and the Udon were outstanding. The tofu gyoza especially was SO well made.

The welcome dish was interesting, but it not a super fan of chawanmushi and I felt like truffle flavour was in the Wagyu Robata could have been stronger.

I had the white chocolate mousse dessert without the pears (because I don’t have alcohol) and I was blown away!! The combination of flavours was so unique- richness of white chocolate with fresh ginger and a tart yuzu sorbet. My only suggestion would be to have a non alcoholic pear option so that those avoiding alcohol don’t miss out on the texture and flavour the pears would add. Plus would be nice to have a crumble or some texture added to this already outstanding dish.

The tea is also incredible - delicate flavours and go really well with the dessert. I had the Oolong which I really enjoyed.

They also gave us a mini dessert with the bill which was this ice cream sandwich made of brown tea biscuit and black sesame ice cream- delicious and unique. I was so pleased they didn’t give us mochi and put an effort into this.

The service was decent. I liked that our server remembered our dietary requirements, knew the dishes well and was able to engage with us meaningfully around the food and what to expect.

The music and decor was great! I loved the Sakura trees and the music selection.

What needs improvement: The bathrooms are a bit dark. Would be nice if they had some attention to detail like hand cream and hand towels - and better mirrors and lighting!

Would like vegan options for the welcome dish and sweet at the end of the meal. I enjoyed mine as part of the overall experience so much I would have liked my husband to also have the whole experience.

Would have liked if they had some gluten free noodle options like soba noodles.

On 5th Jan for dinner- restaurant was really busy. We were excited to go back and took a friend because we liked the food so much.

This experience was very different this time. The gyoza was the only thing that was good. The udon, edamame and leek tart and and miso eggplant was really average.

Service was terrible. I felt so bad for our server- he was so nice but overwhelmed and disorganised.

I was upset that I has raved about the food to my friend and we left disappointed.

Not sure I would return given the...

Yatai RamenBar

Wednesday evening, I was treated to a delicious dinner at the new Japanese restaurant, Yatai RamenBar. It’s from the same owners as Nikkei, located just above it.

Now, not that it’s any of your business, but here’s a little inside scoop into my life. Early Tuesday morning, I discovered a not so nice leak from my toilet. A very unhappy me messaged my landlord, who quickly sent a plumber. Noon rolls around, and in walks a beautiful specimen of a human with a bucket. Oh no, this is the plumber. Fast forward, quick fix, a thank you message, and next thing you know, we’re planning a date. Cute, I know.

So, now that you’re caught up, let’s get into the review. We arrived at 6pm sharp (two set dinner times: 6pm or 8pm). The space is moody, sleek, and beautifully decorated, dark tones, cherry blossoms lit with pink lights. The waitresses were beautifully dressed, and the service was great.

We were surprised with a complimentary starter, a miso soup disguised as an egg yolk (delicious!) and a savory egg custard with mushrooms (textures were nice, but flavors a bit dull).

For smaller plates, we shared prawn dumplings, red Roman sashimi, miso buttered eggplant, and tempura oysters. The dumplings were fresh, garlicky, and perfect (though no sauce, they didn’t need it). The sashimi blew my mind, who knew papaya and fish could work so well? The eggplant was a bit heavy on the miso, but scraping off some made it fantastic. And the tempura oyster? A game changer. Explosive flavor, perfectly balanced.

For mains, I got the kingklip ramen, and my date (cute) got the wagyu ramen. The broth was silky, slightly sweet, and deeply flavorful, with perfectly chewy noodles. The fish was a bit bland, and the egg was overcooked, but overall, I loved my dish. My date’s ramen had an amazing steak but was a bit too rich and salty. After a bowl swap, we agreed, I had the better ramen (thankfully, he gave it back).

With very full bellies, it was time for the bill, and the kitchen surprised us with mini ice cream sandwiches, black sesame ice cream, sweet biscuit, perfectly balanced.

Overall, an incredible experience. Thank you, Yatai, for all the...

I have a feeling we were there on a bad night, but that's the restaurant business. You need to be on your A game every day.

When I was seated, my place setting was missing a serviette and chopsticks. I had to ask twice for the replacement serviette, which was just dropped on the table, they didn't bother to reset the place setting, and I had to ask 3 times for chopsticks. This should have been noticed and fixed before we were seated, especially considering the caliber of place they're clearly trying to be.

It took 20 minutes to receive water and we had to ask twice.

They didn't have half of their sake selection. Conveniently, they were only out of the inexpensive bottles, go figure.

Our cocktails arrived less than 30 seconds before our food, which both negatively impacted our spend and my alcohol intake for the evening. I will say however that the cocktail I had is the only reason they got 2 stars instead of 1. It was very good. If they had moved a little faster and I'd had time for a second cocktail, they may have earned a third star.

The ramen was one dimensional. The chashu, broth, eggs, it all lacked depth. The individual ingredients also weren't Japanese. Everything tasted like it was made for a Western palate.

They charge for tap water. If you're going to charge for water, give me a sealed bottle.

They "forgot" to apply the reservation deposit to our bill, and it took over 15 minutes to get it fixed.

Neither the amuse nor the complementary dessert stood out either. The amuse was mushrooms 4 ways, and it just tasted like earth with no dimension or nuance. The ice cream sandwich tasted like pure sugar with no other flavor.

We could hear the kitchen staff bickering most of our service. I get they were having a rough night, but it's an open kitchen. Find some professionalism and argue about it later.

And finally, because why not, a Yatai is a small Japanese food stall, usually made of wood, and seats a handful of people, maybe between 4 and 8. I know this is nitpicking, but the name does not reflect the establishment, which feels like eating in a busy nightclub.

Ramenhead is 1000x better....