Marumen — Restaurant in Fairfax

Not a full 4 star review. But definitely more than 3. Here's why:

I've been here a handful of times since their grand opening.

I learned about this place because 2 of my friends worked here and said the food was good. They left the establishment a few years ago and we continued to eat at Marumen because we really do enjoy their food.

The ramen is comparable to Jinya in Merrifield, but after our recent meal, that statement may no longer be true.

I'm torn because until yesterday Marumen was my favorite place for ramen around Fairfax.

Our experience:

Party of 2, arrived around 1pm and we were seated immediately.

The atmosphere is nice but it's cold. You can feel it on your legs when seated by the window. Because we were getting soup, we didn't ask to be seated elsewhere. At the time there were several employees nearby the entrance so they looked well staffed/over staffed.

We ordered 1 spicy miso ramen with extra nori ($0.50) 1 miso ramen, and hashu chashu.

Here is why I knocked out 1 full star:

Hashu chashu arrived well after our ramen bowls. When we asked about it, a server told us that it generally takes longer than the ramen. That is acceptable, but I think that could be corrected at the table by mentioning it in advance. We were expecting to get our appetizer before our entree. We were hungry lol.

They charge extra for extra nori and they only give you 2 extra pieces. Lame.

We were hungry having eaten a late lunch and both of our soups were very salty (urgh). Despite the flavor of the broth, the pork belly is perfect and so is the nitamagu. The noodles are good too.

Here's the kicker. The small plate of hashu chashu (sp?) is coated in oil! COATED. We poured the oil out and tried to enjoy what we could...that didn't help much.

I was expecting better because I remember trying the hashu chashu the first time we came here and I loved it. But I forgot what it was called! So this time, I remembered to ask our server who also reconfirmed my liking. But damn, all that oil ruins the dish and coats the back of your throat, it was really unpleasant.

We ate off the top but when you do so, you leave out most of the hash browns and so you don't get to experience the full flavor and texture of the dish. (Sad face.)

Someone walked by to refill our water but no one asked us about our meal until we were nearly finished. The place was not packed, we ate during off peak hours.

I mentioned earlier that I have eaten here a handful of times. Service is good, nothing out of the ordinary. You won't get ignored. The staff is English speaking and polite. Props for proper service but the staff didn't ask us about our meal within a timely fashion and we had to ask for additional napkins. They only leave one piece at the table with your utensils.

You can expect a friendly smile from the staff when you arrive, and a goodbye when you leave.

So in service, they do fine, atmosphere and parking is good, but the food? I'm torn. Maybe they just got a new chef, I'm not sure. I'll come back for a last goodbye to see if there is improvement. But we probably won't be craving ramen here for a really long time. It's way too salty. I've had better for...

EDIT!! PLEASE READ:

I decided to come back to try the noodles again here since I was told that the noodles were changed back to the normal, round noodles. Marumen went above and beyond tonight! I’m soooo happy! The noodles were excellent! I ordered the Miso ramen and Spicy Ichiban Buns, while my boyfriend ordered the Marumen sushi. Everything came out so great and in a timely manner! The broth was on point - nice temperature and amazing taste. I am so happy that Marumen changed their noodles back, because they were spot on! The Chashu also tasted a lot better and was very meaty. I haven’t had the sushi before tonight, but that was also very yummy! Thank you so so much Marumen for improving the ramen, definitely going to continue coming here!

Original review:

I’ve been going here since 2016, and this used to be my favorite ramen spot. I loved ordering Karaage and Shoyu Ramen. A lot has changed since 2016… I’m not a huge fan of the new flat noodles they use, the texture is really weird and do not taste good. The noodles are also usually doughy and overcooked, resulting in them sticking together forming clumps of noodle. The old noodles were so much better in so many ways. Shoyu used to be my favorite but I switched to Miso because Shoyu started tasting fishy. Then, the chashu is mostly just a block of fat, and disintegrates into the soup. I still enjoy coming here, but not for the ramen anymore. The spicy ichiban buns are really good (as long as they have cucumber), and I’ve always loved the Karaage. The atmosphere has always been my favorite part about going. Management, if you read this, please consider at least using the regular noodles again, or at least give us the option! The flat noodles are not it and are the only thing holding me back from...

Could NOT of been more disappointed. My husband and I have gone to all the top ramen spots in Maryland, DC, and PA. We decided to try something new and venture to VA. This place had us sold by the reviews and the “short rib ramen.” People were very friendly upon entering. Ordered soda, but it was totally flat. Asked for it in a bottle instead. Again, totally flat. Tasted like it had been stored in a hot area for a long period of time. When the ramen came, first thing I noticed was the smell and how odd the noodles looked. Normally, ramen has an extremely strong aroma that just makes you wanna dive in. This was not the case at all. I ended up tasting the noodles which were extremely bland. They were almost like Angel Hair pasta noodles, but a hair thicker. The meat tasted EXACTLY like the meat in a pot roast. Texture and all. Extremely chewy and ended up being immediately spat out. My husband ordered the Seafood Ramen. His initial complaint, (same as mine) these noodles look really off.. Despite everything in the bowl, it lacked any flavor. I ate 1 piece of meat out of my bowl and a chopstick grab of a couple noodles. My husband had maybe 3 bites before he threw in the towel as well. We also ordered chicharrones and a beer prior to getting our food. The owner? manager? took off the cost of the beer and chicharrones and charged us for our barley touched ramen. You’d think they would charge us for the things we actually did eat rather the full bowls of ramen that were sent back. We will never return to this establishment and hopefully this review saves someone else from wasting their time. We ended up going downtown to a competitor that we’ve been to in DC and had a much better experience with...