Susukino Ramen Bar — Restaurant in Arcata

There were some slight mishaps with our service and I can live with that as the kinks are being worked out. It took 50 minutes from seat to food on our table to happen. Two tables that came in after us ordered before us and ate and left before us. The acoustic were terrible, but it’s not their fault it’s just the space itself. I’ve seen this space when it was Big Pete’s and the acoustics were bad then. All we wanted was good ramen and we were disappointed.

I’m well traveled, spending quite some time on Honshu and Hokkaido hitchhiking throughout it, born and raised in metropolitan LA near Little Tokyo. None of this makes me a good judge though. Please check it out for yourself as I believe every restaurant deserves this. We do not have the same palate.

The broth was not rich and the noodles were very undercooked. Miso ramen needed MSG. I like my noodles al dente but it was so undercooked in one of the 2 bowls we ordered that it was kind of stick straight. The noodles did get to al dente after we let the noodles soak. The biggest disappointment was the chashu. It was literally a thick cut of bacon left in bacon strip form. The rolled, seared part never seemed to have happened. It appeared boiled with no braising. The egg was almost there in terms of jamminess but still slightly too runny but I’ll take close. Glad the gyoza never worked out for us because they said it was roughly out 30 minutes, but that was a wash and no one came back to check on that for us. It took too long for noodles with soup in a bowl to come out. I mean…other restaurants where there is a vat of soup that goes on noodles that take seconds to a few minutes to cook, takes the turn of a head and a hand wash, and the bowl is sitting there waiting for you.

Also, I wasn’t quite sure what was happening with the Sapporo beer. My husband ordered one and I thought it was on draught but it ended up being a $4 twelve ounce can. There was Sapporo on tap and I saw one of the chefs pour from it unless I was mistaken, along with a few other mugs being poured for other customers.

Yes, these are my first world problems for today. I hope more effort and trial and error happens and these aren’t the final results. I didn’t have the energy to share this in person because we were already there for...

Let me start with the positives. The food is absolutely amazing. Everything is cooked to perfection. Now for the negatives. We tried to dine here 3 times. The first time was their soft opening which they failed to advertise was reservation only. I drove from Eureka to eat here just to find out it was reservation only. The second we came, they told us it would be about 20-30 minutes, it took over an hour to be sat because they said they called us but they never did. Our names weren't even on the list they had. While eating, we were told they can't make any drinks because they didn't have a bartender, to find out later that the owner (who was there) can make drinks. We sat at the bar and numerous times we got ignored by our server that was chatting with his friends. The third time we went, we were again told there was a 15 minute wait. We went back inside after 25 minutes to find our name crossed off the list and still never received a phone call. The hostess told us it would be another 15 minutes and it was an accident that she crossed out our names and they we were still next. Even though we watched a couple walk in after us and they were sat. Not to mention the owner parked his telsa in completely blocking the entrance. The food is so good and I want this place to succeed but sadly, no matter how bad I want their food, I will never return here. It's...

I consider myself a ramen-head and I can already tell we have something special here. Here are just a few of the good signs: they have a simple menu, it’s affordable, and their eggs are damn perfect.

But here’s the real reason I’m writing this review in the first place. I’m partial to Tonkotsu, so I went in with low expectations when I ordered the Shoyu ramen with extra chashu. To be clear, I generally don’t like Shoyu ramen. When I slurped up my first helping of noodles, I knew this crew thought carefully about how to prepare this bowl. It was different than ramen I’ve had before but in an extremely positive way. The chashu was ever-so-slightly seared making it tender enough that the fatty part melts in your mouth but the meat itself had texture that carried the broth’s flavor. The noodles tasted as though they were made that morning, I certainly hope they were because they were gone well before I finished my Sapporo.

I already love this place and I can’t wait to see what more they make in the future. Ps, if you guys are reading this, please make a super rich Tonkotsu ramen. I’m...