Maki & Ramen — Restaurant in Manchester

Definitely won’t recommend this place. First of all, the price on the menu is different from the photo they put outside. And the waiter is NOT familiar with this. He took time to ask the manager and explained it was the previous price and they are waiting for a new photo. So I still don’t know the reason of up regulating the price, and it is so confusing and disrespectful. Why not just take off the photo outside or let customers know about the changes before they make orders? Second, the ramen is very salty, and though you can choose the softness of the ramen, the waiter won’t remind you to do so or ask about your preference. I’ve been to Japan and many ramen restaurant, this ramen is below average. Also, the food size is very small. As a girl who is not hungry, I didn’t a find paying 14.5 pound for a bowl of little ramen satisfying. And last, the service is not satisfying. In a restaurant asking for service charge, it took 3 different waiters and 15 minutes of mine for me to get a glass of water. First I told the waiter who brought my food, and he walked away. 5 minutes later, I told the second waiter again I would like a glass of water, and I can see him just stand playing his phone (? Or the machine for orders), walked around and never came back. And 8 minutes later, a waitress from nowhere finally brought my water and no excuse. I was eating alone, and when the table besides me got two different waiters coming asking about whether everything is okay (so frequently that I heard one customer complained to his friend), and I had NONE. However, the minute I put down my chopsticks, and a waitress came to collect my bowl, which is only time I got attention and fast service in this restaurant. After I asked to waive the service charge, I finally got to be asked if everything is alright, and though I explained what happened and the staff said he would speak to his coworkers, I got no further explanation, discount or...

Due to the high customer traffic brought by the £5 promotion, both the kitchen and floor staff seemed overwhelmed and unable to cope. Before running such an event, proper preparation should have been made.

While I was waiting, I noticed a four-person table was left uncleared for about 6–7 minutes after the customers left. Even after it was cleaned, it took another 4–5 minutes before new guests were seated, despite there being around 15 to 20 people waiting outside. This wasn’t an isolated case—many tables were left uncleared and unused for long periods. As a result, what should have been a short wait turned into a much longer one.

As for the food, I ordered two £5 ramen bowls and had to wait about 30 minutes. When the food arrived, the soup was just lukewarm, and the noodles were soggy, lacking the chewiness they’re supposed to have. The toppings were extremely minimal—only half of a soft-boiled egg, two very thin slices (around 2mm) of pork, which were not char siu but simply pan-fried pork, a small piece of nori, and a sprinkle of chopped spring onion.

From what I could see, it appeared that hot soup was poured over pre-cooked noodles, and the pork slices—already pan-fried—were just placed on top before serving. The pork slices were even cold. I’ve never had Japanese-style char siu served this way before.

To wait 30 minutes for such a dish, especially given the preparation method, was incredibly disappointing.

To wait 30 minutes for such a dish, especially given the preparation method, was incredibly disappointing. Even at £5, it didn’t feel worth the price considering the poor quality, minimal ingredients, and long wait time. I honestly felt like I overpaid for what I received.

I understand it was a promotional offer, but this level of quality and service was unacceptable. Even £5 felt like too much to pay for what...

My partner and I try all the different ramen places in Manchester and this one was next. Reviews were good and food looked good. We were greeted and seated quickly, drinks were served fast and were really nice. I had the lychee coconut martini and he had a traditional Japanese drink.

Our starters came quickly and we’re delicioussss. I had a prawn bao and he had some chicken gyoza both really really tasty, we thought at this point it might’ve been the best ramen place we’d been to so far!

We then waited, and waited…and waited… and we started to get concerned as we hadn’t had our main course yet… it came to 945, nearly an hour since we ordered AND closing time. we’d then been asked if we’d like to order anything more as it was last orders ?!? It was quite clear that no one had a scooby that we hadn’t eaten yet, no bowls on our table no cutlery, surely common sense to check on your guests and check up on their orders. Baring in mind it wasn’t busy at all, only 4 or so tables who most of them had looked like they’d eaten or eating. The host had then made it very obvious that she was sat down in the corner for her own meal before checking on us and the other guests, which quite frankly pissed us off. My partner and I are patient people as we work in hospitality ourselves but this was very annoying. We ended up having to ask where our food was and if we were actually going to eat before they closed. They said they couldn’t make what we ordered and that they had forgotten, and they had cleared it all away. They offered us food that we didn’t want/couldn’t have and said it’d be free. We walked out very hungry, very annoyed, and really disappointed. Big shame as the food we did get to have was great and service in the beginning was good too. We might try again in a few months and hope we aren’t...