Totto Ramen & Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Fairfield

So to start things off, color me surprised finding out there is a local ramen and sushi restaurant near my home. Once I saw this, I had to check it out. Arrived during the lunch rush, but they had a seat ready for a single person wanting to dine in.

Decided to order the tonkatsu and tempura appetizer combo as that was what I was gunning from checking the menu out prior to arrival. With that said, the wait staff and the kitchen staff were constantly moving to try and fulfill the orders in the restaurant and to go, I was willing to be patient with them. Color me surprised one of the kitchen staff manning the sushi bar where I sat actually stepped up and took my order when he asked me after a short wait. Upon inquiry, they even had hot tea as well, since it wasn't on the menu as an item.

After a good... 10 minutes, my tonkatsu ramen arrived. Man, I personally enjoyed the rich flavor of the broth, the softness of the chashu, and even the bamboo shoots had an interesting and deep flavor. I made a good call with asking for the extra noodles just to prolong the tasty broth.

Though, there were delays on the appetizer to my table, wondering where it was since I just knocked out my ramen. A quick inquiry to the wait staff alleviated my worries and even the kitchen staff kept me up in the loop telling me that it would arrive soon. Since I kept myself busy in the meantime, it was no penalty to the kitchen staff, seeing I was effectively stuffing myself while I waited. Once my tempura appetizer arrived (with sympathy to the delay in delivery to my table), it served as a guilty pleasure to end my meal.

Honestly, as I am writing this, I am stuffed. The prices for the combo meal feels appropriate for what I got in the end. I can only hope for the continued success for Totto and I do plan to bring friends and family here in the future for a great meal. May even purchase a specialty roll next time, as that is part of the first half...

First diving into the food, trying their tonkatsu ramen with chashiu the presentation was on point however there were a few issues. Comparing the price point to other high rated ramen places for the value of the ramen it was a little on the high side but no much. The amount of bamboo, half egg, and mushrooms were a bit lacking. The taste of the food as well was lacking. The egg wasn't seasoned or marinated like most ramen places which was a little disappointing. The chashiu pork, that I was originally excited for, was dry and tasted like old grease with a pork jerky texture. It was extremely overcooked and not fresh. However getting to the broth, that was on point along with the noodles which were cooked perfectly. Next the service, overall the service was mediocre getting the attention of a waiter to order was slightly difficult. Additionally when asking questions about the food and or recommendations they we're not really knowledgeable. For a small place the atmosphere was pretty chill and had some good vibes. The one thing that really bugged me is a kept on trying to flip tables quickly almost as if they were pestering clientele to finish their meals as quickly as possible so the next person could sit. It kind of made me feel rushed when eating. Overall I get the place...

For myself, I thought it was very good. A little pricey, but this sort of quality is not easily found in Fairfield, so the price is reasonable considering that sashimi grade seafood is hard to find. I actually ordered takeout food for my mom, who is from Japan, so our expectations are higher than most. The atmosphere is very nice, small, and quaint. It is busy and we had to wait 45 minutes for our sushi to be made, which wasn't a big deal, but in case someone is expecting everything quickly, 5pm is pretty busy. We ordered ramen, sushi, and tempura. The containers for the ramen were clever. Soup and noodles with toppings were in seperate sealed containers to prevent the noodles from becoming soggy. The egg had a perfect runny yolk. The tempura was not my favorite. The shrimp was panko breaded which is not considered tempura, and the tempura lacked a crunchy coating. The sushi was very good, the ikura (salmon roe) was tasty and fresh. Despite any criticism, Totto was very impressive for me and I would definitely...