Kyuramen- Falls Church — Restaurant in Falls Church

Sept 2024 My sister and I came here because this was the only place we could find that had the fancy omurice (with the runny egg omelet you cut open on top of a pile of fried rice). Overall, the food was decently good, though the desserts were very disappointing. We highly recommend the ramen. And the service, while friendly, was ill-trained and not very attentive.

The parking garage uses ParkWhiz and it will require your car's license plate number. There are signs throughout the parking garage with the QR code and instructions to pay. I recommend waiting until you get inside Kyuramen to pay. They have a sign by the reception desk, on the window ledge, with the QR code and a code for free 3 hour parking.

Entering the store, the place is dimly lit with a high ceiling. It looks small at first, with a few 2-4 people tables and a bar with high chairs. But they also have private booths on the right, and the left wall has three tables up a flight of stairs. The left wall tables are set up like 5 honeycombs. Two 4 people booths on the ground floor. Then up one set of stairs, the middle 2 person booth. And then the stairs split for two more 2 person booths, on top of the 4 people booths. The curtained off booths look like they seat 6-8 people. All of them are very cozy and popular and I saw several parties request changing tables when those special tables were cleared.

The service was friendly, but not very attentive or well trained. We had to flag someone down to refill our waters, twice. The guy who delivered our orders was very friendly. When he delivered the omurice, he gave us the option to record cutting the omelet open over the rice. He did later mistakenly deliver the wrong dishes to our table, twice. He kept the receipts in hand was able to quickly determine which were the correct tables when we told him we didn't order those. I also watched this other person try twice to deliver the same order of drinks to the correct table. Another staff directed them to the correct table after the second time. Also, when we asked for the check, they automatically assumed we wanted separate checks. Which is kind, if that was what we wanted (which we didn't). They should ask first, less work for them.

We got the ramen combo B1 and the omurice, which only comes as a combo (sauce+drink). Both the tonkatsu shoyu and sapporo miso ramen were very good, with a rich broth and chewy noodles. The popcorn chicken was also good, though the taste and texture is not like taiwanese popcorn chicken. The omurice was also yummy, though be warned the eggs are runny and not firm (in case that isn't your thing). The desserts were very disappointing and tasteless. They didn't mix the matcha well, which resulted in layers and a grainy texture. And the sakura jelly was very artificial.

They have two single men/women bathrooms. The door needs a bit of a push from the inside to make sure it latches shut. They were decently clean and dry.

Overall, a decent experience, but we probably wouldn't come again. If we did, it would be...

Heard all about this place on social media and to be honest, from the reviews saying long wait times and mediocre food, I had lower expectations. Despite this, we were super excited to try it out. I'm a fan of all things Japanese and I'm always down to try new Japanese cuisine spots.

We finally had a chance to make the trek from Ashburn on a rainy Sunday to have lunch here. We arrived at 11:30am, and luckily there was no wait at the time as we were promptly seated in one of the private booths. I have to say first, the interior is very well designed, I'm loving the multiple levels and the modern Japanese aesthetic.

Service is prompt and very friendly. We ordered a bit of everything: purple sweet potato fries, fried squid, karaage, combo A (comes with Tokyo tonkotsu ramen, a pork bun, and Thai tea), and of course one of their tonkatsu omurice dishes. The omurice they serve is inspired by the dish made famous by Kichi Kichi in Kyoto, Japan, which has made its rounds all over social media.

To our pleasant surprise, the time to receive our order from placing it and having it in front of us was within 8 minutes. Sure, it was close to opening, but we were very impressed and happy since we were starving! And the ultimate test: judging the omurice. A good sign that the omelette was cooked perfectly is how it is cut open and unfolds beautifully over the rice, and it passed with flying colors. I included a video of our experience here. We were also equally impressed with how it tasted. We opted for the demi glace, and I have to say the whole package tasted amazing. Perfectly soft and seasoned, we would definitely come back and order it again. The ramen was delicious as well! For drinks, the Thai tea is a perfect complement to the savoriness of the dishes, and their house made lemonade was refreshing. Everything we ordered was a hit, and the matcha pudding dessert was a wonderful ending to our meal.

When we left about an hour later, there was a sizable line waiting, but the servers were very quick to turn a table around for the next guests.

Kyuramen definitely exceeded our expectations, but obviously your experience may vary depending on the time of day and how busy it is. For us, we'll be back to try their other offerings, it is...

Now that the hype has somewhat died down, ramen enthusiasts like me can return and enjoy a bowl of ramen without the crazy wait times. Initially, the restaurant didn't handle crowd control well in their early months. There was no waitlist system, making it hard to justify waiting a couple of hours just for a bowl of ramen. But now that the curious crowd has dispersed, I've come back a few times to check the consistency of the flavor and to see if it might become my go-to spot for ramen. For this visit, we ordered the Classic Omurice Combo with curry sauce and the Spicy Kyushu Tonkotsu.

The Omurice Combo really stood out. We chose curry sauce over demi glace, which was a great decision – the curry sauce seemed to have more depth and paired better with the dish, in our opinion. The egg was cooked to perfection, not too thick and not too runny. The Amazing Lemonade drink with cucumber added to the experience, being refreshing and elevating the taste to another level.

The Spicy Kyushu Tonkotsu was also impressive. It featured thin slices of pork chashu, similar to my favorite ramen place in NYC. The smoky flavor of the chashu was excellent, adding aroma and depth to the dish. The slightly salty seaweed, along with the soft, sweet bamboo shoots, made for a good combination, enhancing the dish's flavor. The marinated egg, with its balanced taste and just-right cooking, was another highlight.

Overall, Kyuramen delivered a memorable meal, with each element of the dishes complementing one another beautifully. The flavor has remained consistent during my recent visits, really standing out. This makes it not only the top spot on my ramen list in VA but also probably my second favorite spot overall in the East Coast. What sets Kyuramen apart is that it's the only ramen place in Northern Virginia that gives you the authentic feel of a ramen store. Sitting at the bar and watching the ramen-making process is a unique experience that adds to the charm. It’s definitely worth visiting for anyone who enjoys a mix of well-prepared...