Ramen Matsu — Restaurant in Closter

This is one of my favorite ramen establishments in NJ!

I remember coming to Ramen Matsu when it first opened and when I was there, I saw some notable ramen connoisseurs from the area eating here! That is when I know I was at a potentially good place! It may not look it from the outside, but when you enter, you feel that you have been transported to a small ramen shop in Japan, as it is not a large place and it is ran in a similar model them, where the menu is simple and you are there to eat your ramen and go!

To note, try not to come here with a large party, as I would say 3 or 4 people should be your absolute max. There is only 1 small table that could fit the 3 to 4 people and the rest of the seats are at the bar. Do not hesitate sitting at the bar, as you can watch the chefs prepare your food!

Expect a wait when you come here during peak hours. There is a tablet where you can add yourself on the waitlist and they will contact you when your table is almost ready. Upon returning, you put your order in on another kiosk and then you will eventually sit down.

The options here are pretty simple, ramen and accompanied rice bowls. I have not had a bad tasting bowl of ramen here. Their Wafu Shoyu and Wafu Shio ramens are my favorite regular item bowls. There is a lot of flavor in the broth and you can taste the level of care they perform to make this bowl worth it. These are bowls that I can eat all the noodles, slurp the soup, and clean out my entire plate. If you are hungry, get their deluxe bowls which gets you both chicken and pork!

Also, the rice bowls here are also a treat the meat is prepared well and I love the flavor and want to get an accompanying dish. I do prefer getting the pork chashu. Sometimes I'll get a bowl with different meat I get than the ramen bowl. I suggest you choose the menu option of getting a set if you want to pursue that option.

Finally, make sure you follow their social media. This is because they indicate changes in their operating hours and special ramen bowl items that they offer periodically. I would highly suggest you check their social media before visiting!

Overall, this is a place I would come back to again and again! Come by...

11/22/23

I'm always on the hunt for good ramen. So when google suggested this, I saved it for a cold day, LOL. And yesterday was cold!

What I didn't expect was how small this place is. Just 2 small tables for 3-4 people and several stools at the bar where you can watch the chefs work. Hubby said it reminds him of the restaurant stalls in Japan.

We got lucky, the stools were full, and the guys who walked in before us took a table. We got the other table right by the door, brrrrrr. Every time someone came in, a chill came with them. But I want ramen, and I will keep my coat on and wait! 😆 🤣

There is a tablet to put yourself on the wait list if the restaurant is full. There is another tablet to place your order. Felt a little rushed as people lined up behind me... I didn't get the chance to see the signs on the wall explaining the different broth, and hubby was holding the table so he didn't get to see the menu. So I had to blindly order, using only my love of ramen 😀 :

Original Shoyu with Braised Pork Chashu + Shitaki Mushrooms - this was so good 👍 and the pork was so soft, and it is a good thickness.

Chashu Don Set - Wafu Shio with Sous Vide Pork + Red Spicy Sauce and Spicy Chashu Don - hubby isn't a ramen fan like me, so when i saw this set, I canceled the original order. This way, if he didn't like the ramen, he still had a rice bowl. hehehe. But he ended up loving the ramen, especially the spiciness, and he loved the bowl. The Wafu Shio broth was amazing! 👍👍 OMG, I can just drown myself in it. I was jealous that I ordered it for him 😆 Well it just means we have to go back!!! However, we didn't like the sous vide pork... it wasn't as tender... now, if we can pair the Wafu Shio broth with the Braised Pork Chashu, then that is a winning combination!!!

The 2 gentlemen / chefs were cordial but not much conversation as they...

I was born and raised in Japan and ate ramen growing up loving it. My 85 year old mother wanted ramen today so I took her to Ramen Matsu because it was close to my house and this was a ‘Ramen’ shop, not a Japanese restaurant that has ramen on their menu. Because of the focus on ramen, I was expecting a decent bowl of ramen. We both got the standard Shoyu ramen. Upon receiving our steaming bowls, we both dip our spoons and try the soup. Goooooood. I’m happy. It’s yummy. I want more and take a few more spoonfuls. Then the noodles. Good. Firm. Good flavor. Then the chashu. There are 3 generous slices. Good flavor. Very clean and simple with layers of flavor. Not greasy at all but still maintains the fatty flavor. I don’t know how that’s possible. I just kept thinking, it’s so clean and simple but yummy. As I finished the noodles and my last chashu, I realized that the noodles were a bit firm and the chashu were still pink when I first received the bowl of ramen. In the time that I was finishing my ramen, the noodles and chashu cooked perfectly so that I could enjoy the whole bowl all the way to the end. In all of the years that I have eaten ramen, I never realized this while eating ramen. When I asked the chef, he said that not all places do so, but some places do. Well, I certainly had an aha moment. Just imagine an American person going to Japan and having an aha moment when they eat the perfect bowl of Mac ‘n cheese. Needless to say, I will be going back for some more eye-opening comfort food. ...