Blackbeard Ramen — Restaurant in Cliffside Park

We had been long-time patrons of this place since it first opened. Ramen has always been cooked well and the broth rich and flavorful. My kids have been a huge fan and missed it when the closed briefly last year. The service and professionalism of late, however, is reprehensible. I have never been to any establishment in the hospitality industry where a waiter/host publicly berates a customer in a full restaurant. And even worse assaults a customer by throwing a can of soda.

While waiting for seating for a table recently, I requested a soda. (Fairly customary in most restaurants and in fact encouraged in the business to start earning before patrons are seated) They were admittedly busy trying to turnover tables, so I waited patiently. After seeing the waiter/host (Terry?) I ordered the soda from walk by the refrigerator a minimum of 6 times, I simply reminded him of the soda. I was ignored. After another 5-7 minutes, while he was standing next to the fridge I walked over to make it easy for him to pass me a soda, at which point he chucks the can at me and yells out in an attempt to embarrass me asking why I was so desperate for a soda and why I could not see that he was very busy and had 6 other things going on at once. I was honestly speechless. The food can never make up for such atrocious behavior.

Unfortunately we will never return (and would not recommend going) unless we see changes and better trained staff. They lost out on not only a seating for 6 that evening but what would have been life-long customers...

After seeing so many positive reviews, we decided to go check out this place. It was rather small inside, but since we got there right when they opened, we didn't have any issue getting a table.

We got hot green tea, which was not complimentary. I was a bit disappointed, but hey... We ordered Pork Buns as appetizers, and two of them came per order. The sauce they had on the buns were really sweet, a bit too sweet in my opinion. Possibly they just poured too much on it.

For ramen, we got the Blackbeard Ramen in regular, and Green Curry Ramen in large. The portion didn't really look that different between the regular and large. The ramen bowl was a bit taller for the large size, but still...

The ramen came with a good amount of straight noodles, but it felt a bit undercooked, and it tasted a bit like undercooked dough, if you know what I mean? Not a fan.

We both added a soft boiled egg to our order, and they were pretty nice. Perfectly cooked with gooey center. The broth was a-ok, nothing to rave about.

Both ramens were nice, but not great. Not memorable in mu opinion. Maybe my expectation...

The place itself seems to me like a lot of love went into it, inside and out. If you take a good look at it, I don't think they had a beautiful spot to start with. Yet the decor is definitely charming. Furthering the charm is the service, which is friendly and quick. They come across as genuinely nice people. Perhaps they keep their menu somewhat limited in order to facilitate their quick, efficient service, because it really was barely a wait at all after ordering, and the food seems fresh. In any case, despite it being a small place, we were seated immediately and did not have to wait long at all for our food. The portions are generous and the pricing is not bad, however the broth to the ramen is rather salty and thick, and oddly I caught what struck me as a distinct and consistent, disconcerting ammonia odor to the noodles. Overall, despite that, I would say the food here is not bad, but it did not for me live up to the boasts of reviews claiming it to be the best in the area. Granted, that is perhaps a matter of personal taste, but in any case, I give the place a...