MASHU FESTIVAL — Restaurant in Charlottesville

I got the boba milk tea. The tea (black) had a nice flavor and the boba was average (a bit hard in the middle but overall fine). The price was super reasonable as well, under $5.

However, the customer service was absolutely terrible. The man in front of me ordered a boba milk tea and food. Then, I ordered just a boba milk tea, no food. Soon after, the cashier (the only one both taking the orders and making the tea) set down a boba milk tea, and the man in front of me immediately grabbed the tea. I didn’t think anything of that because he’d ordered it and was in front of me. After about 25 minutes (frustrating, but it was quite busy), the cashier set down food and a boba milk tea together. The same man in front of me took the food, but explained that he’d already gotten his drink. The cashier argued with him, but he just took his food and left. I then explained that the tea was mine, but the cashier asked me to produce a receipt (I didn’t get a receipt, nor did any other customer.) I then explained that I thought the man in front of me may have taken my drink by mistake, but that we’d ordered the same thing so I was happy to just take this drink. The cashier then accused me of letting someone steal an order (not what happened). I apologized and tried to further explain, but she just walked away from me and ignored me. After trying to get her attention, I just took the remaining drink. Incredibly rude behavior and ordering system, I definitely won’t...

Delicious ramen! I had the spicy mayu ramen 🤤

This ramen was excellent! The bamboo, egg and broth were seasoned perfectly. The noodles were a tiny bit over done, but I think it has to be that way in a smaller town or most people may think they're not cooked enough. The pork chashu was tender with just enough fat on to melt silkily in your mouth.

Next time I'll bring a soup spoon - the nature of this food court setting means we only get chopsticks and a standard plastic spoon - which is more difficult for sampling the broth after every bite.

The man working that day was very sweet. He felt terrible for not knowing I was waiting, he wants get a little bell for the counter now 😅

Overall, I highly recommend Mashu Festival, and tonkotsu ramen in general. This is the 3rd place I've tried in Charlottesville & surrounding area. I lucked out that it's so close to home - I'll probably be...

TL;DR: Great, food-market ramen place. This is the type of ramen where if a friend asked for a recommendation, you would point them in Mashu Festival’s direction; but, you wouldn’t go out of your way to recommend.

Specific Foods: Spicy Miso Ramen: 7.7/10 Chicken/Vegetable Gyoza: 8/10

General Wait Time for 1/2 dishes: 10-20 minutes

General Comments: The spicy ramen had the right kick. But, I love the heat, so I added some sriracha and that made the ramen even better. Parking is free for the first hour at Dairy Market. Another review mentioned wanting a ramen spoon instead of a regular spoon, and they had real, albeit plastic, ramen spoons when I went!

Room For Improvement: I would love non-plastic options, but I understand it's a...