Kyoto Ramen- Dale Mabry — Restaurant in Citrus Park

First time ordering from Kyoto as we were finally excited for a ramen place- seeing as there is most certainly a short supply of ramen restaurants in Tampa. We had heard pretty good things so decided to give it a try. While we understand that the experience in a restaurant is vastly different than Uber Eats- we don’t expect the quality to differ because quite frankly you are paying much more just to have it delivered to you and there isn’t a discount simply because you aren’t in the establishment. Also- if a restaurant chooses to utilize a delivery service they should be cognizant of the need to deliver the food quality to your front door. Let’s get to the food. Packaging was great and easy to figure out as were the broths. Set up our Ramen and dug in. Let’s just say the first impression was lack luster. My husband ordered a base of spicy beef broth with pork belly and for $3.20 (the price for pork belly) one thin slice about the size of a regular chocolate chip cookie was not acceptable as it was the only protein her ordered. He dug around thinking there was more but alas- nope. The flavors weren’t all that exciting either. He ate his because he was hungry. Mine- I chose the paper-thin sliced beef with vegetables in a chicken broth with three small and I mean SMALL shrimp added for $8.90 - this was absolutely ridiculous. Good grief. I added some Gyoza sauce to the broth to give it a bit of flavor. I also ordered mild and there wasn’t even a hint of heat. So overall- eh. We ate it, we were hungry. Wasn’t awful just not inspiring at all. We def didn’t take a trip to Japan with these dishes but more like a trip to the Japan section at Epcot. This was a one and done for us! $89...

The ramen was okay it was a tiny bit flavorless with the vegeterian broth taste like they sprinked a bit old bay to enhance the flavor a little bit. Now reason for the 2 stars. I went to pick up my order the young girl working there saw me get out the truck in front of the resteraunt. She was standing outside with the door open As i approached it she let the door shut in my face and as i entered she stood there with a blank look on her face that was rude. Now when I went to pay for my order I asked the woman if I can type my card in manually because I am currenty waiting on my physical card to come in the mail I didnt have no cash. She told me "we re not allowed to do that and uh the boss at this establishment told us not to". It sounded made up I have never had this issue at any other place but here. I even advised her just hit a button and I can punch it in manually. She told me no and just stood there. This out me in oredictament because now I had to find a card lucky a credit card in my wallet and pay for the meal. They seem very uptight even when i drove said i had a coupon they waited to I went to fetch it out the truck. Also the order I told her on the phone that i wanted the wings was not it. It was sliced up chicken breast which waa soggy. I will pass...

A recent opening in the Carraba's Plaza on N. Dale Mabry, Kyoto Ramen is a bright colorful place where you can try the usual list of treats found in these noodle shops.

The service, product presentation and ambiance are easily 5 stars for Kyoto, but the food ranges from 3 to 4 stars. Overall I gave it 4 stars and I will share the breakdown.

4 stars or higher. The flavor of the broth, the egg, the noodle texture, presentation, bamboo sprouts, bean sprouts and miso.

3 stars to 3.5. The mushrooms, overabundance of cliantro, diced overpowering jalapeño, tiny paper-thin portion of pork belly and japanese beef. There was also VERY LITTLE broth in the bowl...is there some kinda broth shortage in their kitchen. Least amount of broth I have ever seen in a ramen dish. Very little need for such a large bowl if your going to be stingy with your broth and protein.

On the bright side, one of the best versions of Shrimp Tempura I have ever had. Crispy and crunchy, succulent and juicy and a great shrimp to breading ratio. Loved it.

There are other treats to order, a nice variety of sakes, eye pleasing ambiance but if it's ramen you want, head further south on Dale Mabry to a place on the right just before Lambright. But I will come back for a double dose of...