Menya Noodle Bar — Restaurant in Denver

Review of Menya Noodle Bar, Denver, CO

I recently visited Menya Noodle Bar in Denver, a place I had heard mixed reviews about but was curious to try for myself. Located in a bustling part of the city, it seemed like a promising spot for a quick and satisfying meal. Unfortunately, my experience fell far short of expectations, leaving me disappointed and unlikely to return.

When I arrived, the restaurant wasn’t particularly busy. There were a few tables occupied, but it wasn’t the kind of scene where you’d expect the staff to be overwhelmed. I was greeted promptly and seated without any issue, which gave me hope that the rest of the experience would go smoothly. However, that was where the positive aspects of my visit ended.

After being seated, I waited…and waited. For over 10 minutes, not a single staff member came by to offer me water, take my order, or even acknowledge my presence. It’s one thing to wait during a rush, but the restaurant’s relaxed pace made the lack of service all the more puzzling and frustrating.

I glanced around to see if maybe the staff was busy with something urgent, but that didn’t seem to be the case. There were employees behind the counter chatting and others moving about with no sense of urgency. It wasn’t that they were overworked; it seemed more like they were indifferent.

As I continued to sit there, I noticed other diners who had arrived after me being attended to promptly. This made the lack of attention even more baffling. Was I forgotten? Overlooked? Whatever the reason, the inattention was enough to sour my mood.

After 10 minutes of being ignored, I decided enough was enough. I stood up and left the restaurant, frustrated and hungry. What could have been a pleasant meal turned into a wasted trip.

This experience left me questioning the management and training at Menya Noodle Bar. A restaurant can have the best food in the world, but if the service is lacking, it’s hard to justify a return visit. While I didn’t get the chance to try the food, the lack of basic hospitality made a lasting negative impression.

To potential diners: If you’re considering Menya Noodle Bar, be aware that your experience may vary. The food might be good—though I wouldn’t know—but the service leaves much to be desired.

To the management: Service is a cornerstone of any successful restaurant. A simple acknowledgment, a glass of water, or even a “We’ll be right with you” would have gone a long way in salvaging my visit. I hope this review serves as constructive feedback to improve the customer experience moving forward.

In the competitive Denver dining scene, there are plenty of other restaurants that value their customers. Sadly, Menya Noodle Bar didn’t make...

My brother and I order menya frequently. We noticed ONLY this location had changed it regular yellow curly ramen noodles to a white thin noodle.

We sat in restaurant to eat. When I placed my order I specifically asked the server if I could get my brothers and my menya special ramens with the original ramen noodles. To which he seemed annoyed and told me that it always comes with ramen noodles. To clarify I even pointed to a picture that showed the yellow noodles and he said yes it comes with ramen noodles. When our food came it was the white thin noodle. We called the server over to tell him it was not the correct noodle we asked for. He not only argued with my brother about it but the attitude and disrespect he had when talking to us, rolling his eyes and saying it's always been that noodle and he's worked there so long that he would know. Then proceeds to say if you wanted a different noodle then we need to special request it when ordering! WHICH IS WHAT I DID! why would he think I was asking for a different noodle if I wanted the white noodle. And as a server if you know you have TWO different ramen noodles why would you not clarify to the customer when I asked for the different one! My brother was being so nice and telling him he didn't want to argue he just wanted the noodle I asked for and the server made it seem like we inconvenienced his whole life and was so mean and just kept arguing with us about how both noodles are the same and it's our fault for not asking for a different noodle (even though I did!) he swiped the ramen from our table didn't say if he was fixing it or not and then proceeded to talk with the kitchen angrily. My brother and I just got up and left. We could not believe what just happened. We went to the menya on Raven st. And ordered the EXACT same thing as before and our ramen had the YELLOW noodles. I even went to the Greenwood Village menya and ordered a menya special ramen and it came with the YELLOW noodles! I believe the 16th street one uses the gluten free ones as to why they are thinner and taste different. I knew I was not crazy and that the noodles were wrong. Which is why I requested them when I placed the order with the server only for him to have an attitude and try to blame us for his mistake. I will be now be going out of my way just to go to the other menyas to avoid this terrible location and server. I only wish I got his name to put it in...

Ok so first off I want to state that a 3/5 doesn't mean this place was terrible. It was what I would consider an "acceptable" bowl of ramen. My husband and I are visiting Denver from California and the town we live in now has absolutely zero ramen options and we really missed all the amazing ramen we used to have living in SoCal. Coming from ramen hotspots like Irvine and east side Costa Mesa, I guess our standards were pretty high. We both ordered the Chashu (pork bellyaw/mental broth) ramen. There was nothing wrong with any of the individual components, but it just was not an "amazing" bowl of ramen. The broth was fatty and salty, but aside from that it lacked any real complexity. I was disappointed that the bowl didn't come out steaming hot. That's such a basic component of soup that I don't know how you could get it wrong. The noodles were well cooked but the pork and eggs were lukewarm, making the soup seem like it was just tossed together instead of being a cohesive dish. The pork belly was cook well with perfectly rendered fat on the edges that didn't give an unpleasant mouth feel. The only garnish was raw spinach, scallions, and a soft cooked egg. They were all good,the egg was especially good, but I was just really disappointed at the lack of complexity in the broth, and even some simple additions to create some diversity in textures could have made this a 4 or 5 star ramen. At $15/bowl this not an inexpensive option and I couldn't rate it with the same leniency I woulda $10-11bowl. I thought the portion size was OK but my husband said he left hungry. Overall, I wouldn't protest going again but I would definitely not have high expectations, and maybe order one of their cheaper bowls to to feel like I got my...