Kyuramen x TBaar - Arcadia — Restaurant in Arcadia

This was the worst dining experience I’ve had in a long time. It was almost laughable. Every staff member from the host stand to table side dropped the ball in one way or another to make our experience terrible. TLDR; the staff is unprofessional, the service is terrible, and after a 2+ HOUR WAIT, they tell us they RAN OUT OF OMURICE. And then, they SERVE OMURICE to a table that was SEATED AFTER US.

We drove an hour from Orange County to try the omurice. Literally the only reason we came. We put our name down at 6:40pm. We waited two hours. When we finally get our text, we immediately walk in, but our table isn’t ready. They are still setting it up. So we wait for like 2 minutes, and another party of two walks in behind us, claiming to have also gotten a text. The host then tells us that they are giving our table to the one that walked in after us because they were above us on the waitlist. So our table wasn’t ready for us when they called us, and then they gave our table to a party that wasn’t prepared for their own time. We had to wait even longer for a table for 2 to be ready, even though this situation was completely their fault.

We finally sit down. Immediately, they try to get us to order. We barely had time to breathe after sitting down. We had waited more than two hours for our table. They can wait a little to let us look at the menu.

Then the server swings by to tells us they are out of omurice for the night. Great. We waited 2+ hours for a dish that isn’t even there. A dish that was heavily advertised and was the whole premise of our trip. Why would I drive up from Orange County for ramen? In fact, they were out of several items. No omurice. No honeycomb platter. On a Friday.

I swear the servers were afraid of us or something because they kept switching people on us. We were understandably visually upset from everything we’d been through but no one made an effort to make our experience better. No one checked in on us. No water refills. Servers seemed to prioritize standing around, doing nothing, and avoiding eye contact instead of providing service. I promise I didn’t even yell at them or say anything mean, I just had a pissed facial expression. I had to flag down a random server just to be able to pay. No one even said bye to me on the way out.

We got two bowls of ramen, the popcorn chicken, and the takoyaki. The ramen came out first. To be honest it tasted fine, but by that point I was so starved that I wolfed down the entire bowl. So I wasn’t able to remember much about the taste. Garlic, sure whatever. The popcorn chicken was not to my taste. It was not crispy at all, yet managed to still be a little dry. There was no sauce served with it either. The takoyaki was actually pretty good and had a touch of sweetness.

Funny enough, it said I won a free dessert at the bottom of my ramen bowl. Maybe, just maybe this night was salvaged a little bit, but then I read that I had to come back on another visit to redeem my free dessert. I threw the coupon away because I’d never come back here anyways.

The absolute kicker of the night was them SERVING OMURICE to a table that was SEATED AFTER US. After telling us THEY WERE OUT OF OMURICE. I knew this was definitely the restaurant’s blunder because we overheard the servers gossiping that they saw another server serve omurice after they told everyone that they were out. That was kinda the last straw for me. All of the staff are totally unprofessional. Dining here felt like an insult, I would strongly advise anyone against...

I visited on their 2nd day since opening. I understand that they are going through "growing pains" but I feel it is worse than that. I want to come back cause I see so much potential but fundamental things need to change.

My Positive Impressions: Very cool, modern interior design. I love the use of verticality as there's a section of tables stacked on top of each other. The private booths on the other side of the restaurant separated by a wall of bamboo are lovely as well. A wishing tree for guests to hang their written placards on is a nice touch of interactivity and organic ambience. Space is surplus and airy. Bathrooms look wonderful and contribute to overall decor. A hybrid concept of restaurant and tea shop is awesome! Furniture such as chairs and tables are comfortable and well thought out. Overall it is a great vibe and they could do well as a late-night venue if they choose to go that route.

My Negative Impression: Your 4-top tables are too close to each other. People on separate tables are having their backs touching each other. I witnessed an incident where a guest had to move out of the way in order for another guest from a separate table sit down. Layout your tables smarter. Wait times are long for reasons they could have been easily controlled. Their turnaround for tables is mismanaged - I've noticed plenty of tables that weren't being bussed even though they had multiple FoH staff on the floor. I also suspect there is a lack of proper management in the BoH which would contribute to long wait times. Service from the staffing was decent - but I wonder if there was a budget set aside to train them and BoH. I get the impression that management decided to throw them in the fire to figure things out for themselves. If they did go through training, then I'm not seeing it. I want to emphasize that the victims in this scenario are the staff and the customers that have to experience this - the full blame and responsibility falls on management. Logistics and workflow is INEFFICIENT. You have a lot of hands but little work being done. I see a lot of movement and activity but guests are still waiting for: an open table, tables to bus, long ticket times, and/or waiting a while for the check being brought to them. Saw a manager on the line instructing BoH on something. The people in the back look miserable. Are they being treated ok? I think there were three managers on the floor? Maybe two? Regardless, they need to lead by example and learn how to properly give direction all the while making sure their staff is taken care of and treated right. A happy crew makes for a happy guest experience. There was a group of small children running around the restaurant playing hide and seek and screaming. Left unattended. This is a liability since we're in the environment of hot ramen broth being passed around. But also this isn't a playground. You had multiple guests feeling disrupted.

Not to beat a dead horse, but the root of your problems are on management. Direct your FoH better and make sure they are taken care of, ensure your BoH has everything they need to succeed, have better organization of logistics, give proper training beforehand or afterwards NOT...

Tip: check your itemized receipt if you get the B combo. There was a hidden price mistake in their system and it makes me wonder how long they've been overcharging customers who didn't notice and we just went today 3/22. The combo B for two with the drinks is supposed to be $55.99, but on the receipt it shows the B1 combo as $50.99 plus drinks B2 $6.00 making the total $56.99. It's only a $1 difference but it makes me wonder how long it's been going on. They adjusted my bill but it's the idea that telling me no one has noticed until now is weird. They said they'll fix it today at the end of the day

Aside from that this place is located in a small plaza with very limited parking. It's a beautiful place I will say. The vibes are excellent and staff is pretty friendly.

Wait is long but it's understandable with how busy this place is. You waitlist on the device when you arrive and they will text you but also call out your name when your table is ready.

The food is okay, nothing that "wows" you for the price. The ramen noodles were just okay in my mind, too thin. it's not a place where I would go for amazing noodles or be on a list of places I’d recommend for good ramen

Service was a mixed bag. One of the waiters would serve the ramen with their thumb right in the bowl. Come one, know how to hold and serve the bowl. Love seeing someone stick their thumb into my broth, clean or not.

Another our own waitress would keep asking us if were were ready for the check. At least twice I had to tell her no, we’re still waiting for our desserts and our Togo order. Come on, know what’s been served at the tables. It just makes your customers feel like we’re being rushed out and that you don’t care.

For a first visit we tried the yin yang which gives you half shoyu and half miso. You don't get to try the black garlic with this one, only white garlic. Both broths are fine, not as rich as some other ramen places.

The black garlic broth was good, my favorite of the ones we went with.

Miso was just okay, if I wanted spicy miso, there's other places for it.

I will say for the ramen, portions are small for what you get. But the he price is "evened" out by the variety of toppings included in the dish.

Popcorn chicken isn't evenly seasoned and not crispy enough. Some bits you'll get a salt bomb

Now my favorite, the Desserts

That lychee rose jelly is delicious, I would come back just for that dessert.

The matcha red bean is also good. Both desserts are good. They're almost the opposite of one another. One is fruity and refreshing, the other is rich and creamy.

The drinks are really good as well. The lemonade was really refreshing same as the aloe grapefruit.

I would give this place another try. It's not a must try if you're in the mood for ramen, but it's not bad...