Simply Ramen BG — Restaurant in Bowling Green

So, for my birthday my son and daughter-in-law wanted to treat my husband and me to their favorite ramen place. I knew it was expensive and a stretch for them as they are just starting out and trying to save for a home. After they begged a while, I gave in. I was really looking forward to our visit, they had bragged on the food so often.

For an appetizer, they had the pork bao bun and we had the shrimp tempura. Both were acceptable, though three shrimp for $7 is a bit much even for a splurge. The shrimp were fine, the sauce okay.

Now for the meals. Son got Tonkotsu Ramen. He said it was only okay. I tasted the broth and it was straight up chicken broth from a can...no extra seasoning, no umami. He was disappointed in it, I could tell. He ate about half and commented on the noodles not being "right." More on that later.

Hubby got the teriyaki chicken, as he isn't a ramen fan. He said it tasted okay, just a very light flavor, and the vegetables were crunchy. We understand this is a cultural difference and were ready for a certain amount of non-southern doneness -- but these were nearly raw and had almost no flavor. He was not offered soy sauce so the rice was just plain white with no seasoning at all. Not even salt. He ate it all.

Daughter-in-Law got her favorite - the veggie ramen. It comes with choice of tofu or meat sub. She asked for no tofu, but wasn't given the meat sub. She has always loved the marinated eggs and so ordered an extra. The broth in hers was flavorless and she said the eggs weren't as good as they used to be. (They hadn't been to the restaurant in quite a while. More on that later too.)

Finally for me, I got the "Flames" ramen. First I gave daughter my egg as I don't care for runny eggs. I tasted the chashu - it was okay, but I gave most to my son as I don't like the fattiness. That's alright - I knew to expect that. The broth was a bit different from my son's due to the pork, but it wasn't just lacking in flavor. It tasted bad. Not "I don't like this" bad..."something is off" bad. The addition of raw tomato kind of mystified me, but okay. The spice level (which the sweet waitress warned me about, but said I'd be fine after I let her know I eat Thai and Indian food both at native heat) was nowhere near the kick in the tastebuds I expected. It was just warm and not at all flavorful. I didn't even eat 1/4 of the bowl. In fact, when I quit I had the distinct feeling that if I'd eaten another bite I would be ill. More on that later too.

About those noodles. They were not ramen noodles. Or if they were they were old or of extremely poor quality. They were much too dense, and the mouth feel was all wrong. We all agreed on that. They also had no flavor (except the bad flavor imparted by the broth they'd been in).

Now about that feeling I had. Within 5 minutes of leaving, my and my son's stomachs were churning. By the time we shopped a little and drove the 20 minutes home, we were all experiencing cramping. By morning, each of us had....well, let's just say it was a close encounter with the porcelain throne. Something in that food was bad. I've eaten at restaurants from all price points, some real hole-in-the-wall places had the best food. I'm an adventurous diner. This was just plain bad.

The server was sweet but when we made our feelings known she seemed helpless. The owner came over and spoke to us. The kids were too embarrassed to say anything, but I told him we hadn't liked our food. My nearly full bowl was staring him in the face yet he didn't try to make it right. The kids paid and we left.

I think the worst part of it all was that our kids felt terrible that we'd had such a bad experience. They talked about how good SR had been in the past and were so apologetic. What broke my heart was that they wasted their hard earned (and much needed) money on that terrible dinner. All because they love...

On my way back from having an outpatient procedure done in Nashville I asked my friend to take me to Simply Ramen to get some food. I had never been there so I figured given the situation and weather this would be a perfect time to try it. I was sorely disappointed in my experience and food. The lady who took our to go orders was super friendly and very nice (she was the only bright spot in this entire ordeal). She had grabbed the wrong orders. Owned up to it and tried to fix the problem. However the other tall blonde lady she was working with was not as nice nor was she pleasant. I asked her if my cup of broth should be about 1/4 full and she said yes! You only get a cup serving of broth. However I know that ramen is supposed to be very brothy cause it is a noodle soup. I pointed out that the other 2 Ramens broths cups were full. She then asked if i had ordered extra broth to which i replied No. My friend also hadnt not ordered extra broth but his cup was full. She then told me that was all i get while complaining to the kitchen about me saying my broth wasnt as full as the other cups. She then plopped another cup of broth on the counter that was about 1/3 full. I just decided to take my order and leave cause the meds were already bothering me. But baby this was not worth the almost $20 that i paid for it! I would jump on a plane and go to Cali, new york, or heck even back home to STL before i go here again. Heck I've had better Ramen and service in Nashville and would grladly make the drive there for it. I DO NOT RECOMMEND SIMPLY RAMEN...

This used to be my go to spot to get ramen every weekend with my family. One of my favorite places in town until they moved. The new location is very nice however I’ve resorted to coming less and less due to food quality and customer service. Since their big location switch Ive dealt with too much disrespect from the servers and one taking my order over the phone. this was something I was able to look on the brighter side of things with because I just loved their food, but more recently the last 3 times I’ve ordered my order has been missing items or completely wrong. I order the same thing every time so I notice changes between different broths. And this very last time I ordered over the phone, the woman that took my order was so rude and thought I hung up after taking my order, well I managed to her her make rude comments about how much food was ordered and how inconvenient it was for her to take my call because she thought I’d never get off. At least hang up the phone before you start spewing rude comments. Just overall distasteful. It hurts because when my order is correct, it’s one of my favorite places, but why would I continue to give my money to rude people that can’t seem to get my order right. I’ve been back several times in hope for changes with service and quality and have been let down terribly time and time again. Needless to say, I won’t be returning for...