Sazan Ramen — Restaurant in Austin

I had one of the worst dining experiences at this restaurant while visiting my kids. They heard about this place and wanted to try it. We love all kinds of Ramen and are always excited to try new places. This place was nearly empty, yet the service and atmosphere were shockingly bad.

When we arrived, the only person on the floor was a man who looked like the chef—Asian man in a black chefs uniform who saw us but didn’t acknowledge us at all. Instead, he let us stand there for a while till he turned away and just shouted “DOOR,” seemingly to get an employee’s attention rather than greeting us himself. Someone burst out of the kitchen and we were seated—right next to the expo line, where we had the unfortunate privilege of hearing the staff mock customers based on their appearance and speak very vulgarly about each other and guests.

Despite the restaurant being empty at the time, we waited nearly 10 minutes before anyone came to greet us. The chef, who had ignored us earlier, continued to act as if we didn’t exist, even though he keep looking our way through the gaps of the space divider from the expo line to the table right next to it. When our server finally arrived, they looked absolutely miserable—like they hated every second of being there. We had a simple question about nuts in the special, and when our server went to ask, we overheard the chef loudly berating them for not knowing. The poor server came back visibly shaken, and at that point, we decided to avoid asking any more questions for their sake.

Later, a short woman with black hair—who I assume was the floor manager—arrived and immediately made everyone’s lives miserable. I watched her micromanage and stress out the already struggling staff, all while we waited 15 minutes for edamame and then almost 40 minutes for food in an empty restaurant. Every employee looked like they wanted to be anywhere else but there.

The food itself was completely unimpressive. They only have ONE broth, throwing random toppings on it and calling it different styles of ramen. I’ve had better instant ramen straight out of a plastic bag. I saw someone online compare their ramen to "dog water"—they were not wrong. The vegan option just sad. And dont even bother about coming here if you have celiac.

On top of that, the atmosphere was disgusting. Stained ceilings, cracked crown molding, food all over the floor, the tables were sticky and peeling and had food stuck under a circular shaped base that was bolted into the ground (stupid idea), it smelled bad, and despite the restaurant being empty, they sat us right next to the bathroom. To make things worse, they weren’t serving alcohol, blaming it on being "understaffed"—though it seemed more like the managers just didn’t want to do their jobs. If it were super busy, I'd understand but why have a whole bar in an empty restaurant and blame being "understaffed" for not serving me a drink on your menu. Sounds like someone has no idea what they are doing to me.

The only bright spot? The servers. They were polite despite everything, but they were clearly under appreciated and mistreated. It was honestly painful to watch.

Overall, this was one of the worst dining experiences I’ve had in a long time. Terrible management, gross atmosphere, miserable employees, and mid-tier food at best. I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone. If i could give this place 0 stars,...

If you like commonly found ramen varieties (Tonkotsu, Shoyu, Miso), I suggest trying somewhere else. Unless you are a fan of Paitan Ramen and mild broth....this isn't for you. If you never had ramen and need something more "Americanized" to ease into things, then this might be a good introduction for you to a Japanese staple. Though the Indomitable Chicken Wings were a good (gluten free) snack if that is all you are looking for....not really a meal though.

The place looks nice, servers are attentive, they have some gluten free and vegan options available for those with dietary restrictions, the price isn't outrageous, and they are nestled in a convenient location in a Asian food/grocery/items enclave next to Ranch 99 Supermarket. Their indomitable chicken wings were a particularly yummy snack that is gluten free, but a little on the salty side. The wings were probably the highlight of our visit.

The downside, and the reason for the 2 star review, was their signature ramen offerings. They seem to only have Paitan ramen that is branded as "Creamy Broth Ramen." Yet for most of those familiar with Ramen this offering will seem bland by comparison to literally any other ramen you probably have ever had. The ramen did not come across as particularly creamy, so the adjective is probably mostly referring to the color of the soup. The amount of other things included with the ramen was pretty minimal. The Ma-Yu ramen had a little more to offer. The ramen comes in a shallow-wide bowl that is great for pictures, but quantity is not really up to my expectation for a ramen restaurant. I normally walk away stuffed from a single bowl of ramen. After this one I walked away still hungry. The chashu, included with the ramen, was thinly sliced and minimally marinated so that it looked, and tasted, like deli sliced sandwich meat. The gluten free Ma-Yu was so lacking in flavor (the only take things out to make the gluten free version...no egg, no pork chashu, no seasoning in the broth other than salt/pepper) that our ramen loving gluten free compatriot declined to eat even half of it. The ajitama eggs included had only the barest visible hint that they were marinated at all. Desserts were mochi ice cream in various flavors, but nothing really amazing. So all in all, if you want ramen, I would recommend a different place. There are lots...

As for the good, the decor was alright, and the broth of the Ramen was very delicious. However, there were several things that considerably held the experience back. Firstly, my partner and I asked if we could sit next to each other and were declined due to the arbitrary split seating procedures, even though there was an unused chair next to me and still plenty space on the table for other guests. This soured the rest of the evening there, especially when other Ramen places in the area let us sit side by side with no problem, and at the time looked like much more appealing options. Another red flag was hearing a microwave in the kitchen go off several times throughout our time there; my partner is a chef, and according to his experience fresh food seldom requires or uses a microwave, so that immediately stuck out. The dough ball of the takoyaki we got was very mushy and bland, with the octopus being chewy and a tad dreadful, and i suspect that this is due to it being microwaved and not fresh; octopus, when cooked properly, should not be chewy. When I got my order, the chicken was presented as a thin, flat slab that tasted bland. The noodles were okay, but not too great, and were a tad bland themselves. The ajitama was still very cold in the middle, and not properly heated up by the broth. It was also a tad gray on the outside. The broth itself was very tasty and looked creamy; it was the highlight of the dish. Overall the quality of the Ramen felt low for its price. Service was also rather slow; we waited a while to have our order taken, and waited a while when we were ready to pay. The server forgot about us while we were waiting to make the payment, and we had to wait for another server to notice when they were offering us water. While we were leaving, there was a big line of people at the entrance waiting to be seated. Overall it is not what I'd expect from a 4.7 star restaurant. I would recommend going to a better place instead, such as Michi Ramen; it is my first suggestion for an alternative. The rating might be lower, but the food is fresh, the atmosphere chill, the seating better, and they even have a...