Kyuramen- Houston — Restaurant in Houston

I saw this restaurant on my TikTok and thought it was worth trying out; but boy was I disappointed with the experience.

Upon entering the restaurant, the hostesses were kind and welcoming. The atmosphere was great and I loved seeing the beautiful decor and honeycomb seats.

My partner and I ordered the spicy edamame and 2 bao buns for the appetizer as well as a ramen and an omurice. The server had notified us that the omurice would take a bit longer since it was a popular food item and we were okay with that; however almost immediately after we put in our orders, my boyfriend’s ramen comes out first with our appetizers no where to be found. Several minutes goes by after we had noticed the server that dropped off the ramen about our missing appetizers and finally after 5 minutes the 2 bao buns came out but no edamame. So we notified another server about the edamame and finally they were brought to us another couple of minutes later. And the edamame wasn’t even spicy or hot. It was lukewarm almost cold and had a Tajin like powder lightly coating it. I would definitely not advertise that as “chili garlic edamame”.

My boyfriend and I thought that his ramen would come out with my omurice (as I’m sure many restaurants do to ensure all entrees come out together) with the extra given wait but since his ramen came out first, he decided to wait for my omurice to come out to eat it and asked the server if they could somehow heat up his ramen again and they said that there was no way of doing that. So my boyfriend had to eat his ramen cold while I waited on my omurice to finally come out only for it to taste lukewarm as well. Nothing at this restaurant tasted fresh and nearly everything tasted packaged or store bought. Neither of us finished any of our food items except for the buns because it was so bad it wasn’t worth taking home. The only thing I think that was worth my money is the “amazing lemonade”.

I completely understand that this is a new establishment but the amount of errors is astronomical. The lack of communication between servers and the kitchen staff is absurd.

What is the point of the call button at each table and ear pieces on every worker if it’s going to take 10+ minutes for someone to come assist you? I had pressed the call button for a glass of water and I hear and see a female server announce it into the earpieces that our table pressed the call button yet no one came by. I had to flag someone down to ask for water only for them to forget to get me the water totaling 20 minutes just for a glass of water!

Why does our server not know basic information about the food items on the menu? I would ask “oh can I make this item spicy?” or “how much is a refill?” and they would respond “I’m not sure let me check” to almost every question I had that was the first response I would get. Properly train your staff to answer these basic questions because it’ll most certainly effect their tips and their vibe either the customers. Especially if the customer has allergies as well. It’s dangerous if the person serving the food doesn’t even know what’s in it or how to accommodate.

And why is the kitchen staff not communicating which tables appetizers haven’t been made yet? Our entrées shouldn’t come out before our appetizers period. That defeats the whole purpose of ordering an appetizer. And the fact that our two entrees didn’t come out together was horrible as well. If it’s taking longer for one entree to be made then have the other one wait to be made at the same time. No one on an empty stomach wants to see the person across from them enjoying their meal before them while they wait starving.

Overall with the food and experience I give this place a 4/10. And will not be recommending it to anyone I know. Fix these basic issues and maybe you’ll have customers wanting to come back but...

My wife and I tried to go this restaurant yesterday at 6 and were put on the waiting list and never had the opportunity to eat there that night. We didn't get a message saying that there were not going to be able to serve us at all. That was very disappointing and if it were not for the fact that I really wanted to try their food, I would not have came again.

Today, my wife and I made the trip and got in line at opening. The wait was significant (about 1:30 mins), but we did get to eat this time. When we ordered, the waitress told us that they were not serving the Omurice or the Okonomiyaki. The two dishes I was most excited to try. We ended up getting the pan-fried gyoza, pork bun, Takoyaki Octopus Balls, Tokyo Tonkotsu Shouyu, Japanese Cherry Blossom Jelly desert, and the Matcha Pudding with Red Beans. Below is my rating for them and a description as to why.

Pan Fried Gyoza 3/5 It had decent flavor, nothing special, it was soggy and not as crispy as it should be. I would not order again.

Takoyaki Octopus Balls 3.5/5 One order of Takoyaki comes with 6 decent sized portions. The filling was warm and had plenty of crispy toppings. If you are a fan of octopus, I would order this.

Steam Pork Bao Buns 5/5 Easily the best item we were able to try. The steam bun was light and fluffy, the pork had great flavor (sweet and savory), and the sauce complemented the pork very well. Highly recommend!

Tokyo Tonkotsu Shouyu 3.5/5 The Ramen was decent. The broth has a strong garlic flavor, so if you do not like garlic then I would recommend a different ramen. The pork chashu was thick and flavorful. I've had better ramen before (see Ramen Tatsu-ya)

Japanese Cherry Blossom Jelly 4/5 The jelly instantly sends you to Japan in the spring time. It was refreshing and sweet. I would recommend!

Matcha Pudding with Red Bean 3/5 Admittedly, I am not very fond of matcha, so I did not enjoy it. The flavor is definitely there and texture is nice and smooth.

Atmosphere 4/5 The hexagon wall for seating is a unique way to maximize seating in such a small restaurant. The booths for bigger groups are nice for a more private dining experience.

Service 3.5/5 The wait staff were definitely overwhelmed and the buttons on the wall to call your server over were not effectively utilized. When we did get their attention the waitstaff were very friendly and helpful. It being their first week- I will give them a pass.

I hope to try this restaurant again in a month or so. Hopefully they will serve their...

Brought the family here for a late lunch/early dinner on a Sunday. Overall a wonderful experience. The atmosphere different. There are four different types of seating. Open seating, bar, the multi-level honeycomb tables, and individual private table. We were seated in one of the curtained tables. I really liked being separated from the open area. It filled some of the noise and allowed the family to focus on each other. We ordered Takoyaki octopus balls and pan fried gyoza dumplings as appetizers. The Takoyaki had great flavor. The only negative I could say about the whole meal would be the octopus was chewy. That is no big deal, sometimes it just is. The dumplings were great. I ordered the Omurice with pork tonkatsu. Comes with rice with a runny omelet on top. They usually serve it with a sauce, but could not decide which one I wanted. I went ahead and had both the demi glace and curry sauces on the side. An “Amazing Lemonade” to drink. All had great flavor. I’ve been wanting to try this dish for a while and glad a restaurant does a good job at it in the Houston area. I cannot remember the name of the meal my wife ordered. It was a teriyaki beef burger with rice buns. It came with a side of fries purple sweet potatoes. I believe it is on a special menu, so it may not be available if you go. Both were delicious. I stole a bunch of her fries. My some ordered the Japanese curry ramen combo with Thai iced tea. My daughter ordered The Mega combo also with a Thai iced tea. Again, the ramen were perfect. I am not a fan of Thai tea. To me it usually has too much cinnamon to me, but I really liked theirs. All of our meals came with a steamed pork bao bun. My wife hates pork, especially pork belly, but she ate the whole thing. For dessert we shared one Japanese Cherry Blossom Jelly since we were all stuffed. It was a light and refreshing end to the meal. Overall the food is fantastic and all that was a little over $100. A pretty good deal that stuffed four grown adults. Glad this place is over an hour drive from the house or I would be tempted to eat here...