Ramen Tatsu-ya — Restaurant in Houston

I had initially been given 3 stars to this place, but I changed my mind after a employee's bad service. The site is very cool, the decoration takes you to Japan for a few seconds, the location is good, but parking may be limited. The reason I gave him a one star is as follows. When we arrived with my wife to eat at this place, it took us a while to know what to order, but when we came at the register to place the order, the person who was taking the order made fun of my wife when tried to pronounce one of the soups they sell. We didn't pay much attention and proceeded to sit down. When we went to sit the employee (child) sat us in area where we were next to the entrance, we unknowingly stopped and tried to sit at one of the tables that are in the center of the restaurant to appreciate the decoration which had us fascinated. At that moment the waiter (child) came back and took the water away from us and returned the glasses to the place where he had first sat us and told us that we could not sit there because" no reasonable explanation". My wife didn't like the way she grabbed our glasses of water, but we decided not to pay much attention to it. and enjoy our diner. Up to this point, my rating had been 3 stars. Later my mother and sister called me told us that they would love to join us for dinner. We sent the address and they arrived. When I stopped to help my mother to order food, I left my wife in the chair where we were originally eating and went down to the register to place the order for my mother and sister. The cashier asked me how many people were going to eat, I told her that there were four but only two were going to eat because we had already eaten, at that time the cashier told me that my wife had to be present, standing in front of her so we could order for four. Again that was weird, and I told her that I was not going to tell my wife to get up just to be able to place the order. The cashier continued with order, and when we went to sit down, the waitress (child) sat us again in a place where it was not optimal for four people, we ask her if we could get a sitting in the middle of the restaurant, but the waitress came back again and with a frightening attitude told us that we had to eat at the wall counter because she did not desire to sit us somewhere else even with plenty of space available to sit. At that moment my patience ran out, and I told her that apart from the fact that the restaurant was not busy and chairs were available if she didn't let us sit where we felt more comfortable, we were going to cancel the order. She made a gesture that she didn't care. I stood up and walked to where the cashier was to cancel my order, and the waitress approached me and told me that she was going to cancel the order from her computer. She refused to give me a receipt and said to her that legally the restaurant had to provide me with a receipt. Finally, she did it but with more attitude. The only thing I can say about this place is that the service of these two people is horrible; the worst thing I have had to endure in the city of Houston. I don't think all the people who work in that place are like that, but my experience with that horrible little girl was awful. It seems that this place is being managed by children and not adults. I feel bad for the owner and for all the people who have to go through that bad service. HORRIBLE SERVICE ! FOOD WAS FOOD...

Ramen Tatsu-ya in Houston is tucked into the Montrose district, right off the road. Of course, you can see the unique front from the street which invites you into restaurant. Inside, you’re immediately greeted with the ordering line; order first, then sit down at this joint. I stepped up and ordered their first menu item: the Tonkotsu Original, as well as a Munchie Katsu Slider from their Small Bites menu.

A waitress, though that’s a strong name for them, led me to their exterior-facing seating, meant for smaller parties. She instructed me that there was forks and knives, as well as straws next to the water dispenser placed in the corner next to me. She pleasantly stated that if I needed to order anything else or needed assistance, I should flag down her or another member of staff.

I took my seat and turned around to see the height placed in the centermost portion of the area, a sneaky way to make the place feel more inviting and opening on the inside than it might appear on the outside. I barely had time to snap a panorama before one of the wait staff was bringing me my ramen, and shortly after, my small plate.

I tried the Katsu slider first. The Panko beef patty was well cooked, and the house katsu sauce was an interesting mixture of some form of savory with a pungent kick halfway through. It was on a well toasted Hawaiian roll that added a nice softer texture to the crunchy middle meat. On to the ramen, I first had to try the broth. It has a milky appearance and texture to it. As I dove in for a sip, the profile in my mind evoked thoughts of a smoke pit. It had an almost charred taste to it. As the broth is the base, it was to set the tone for the rest of the meal. I started off tasting the 2 other side additions to the ramen; mushrooms and green onions. As a fan of green onions, I can’t say no to these, and the mushrooms were nice, though I wish they packed more of a punch.

We moved to the egg, which was cooked well. The yolk was gooey, but not runny, so it stayed somewhat near in consistency as opposed to becoming part of the broth. As I took a bite of the white, I was met with a pleasant texture and taste to add to the broth. Then, it was time to try the pork. First, I tried it a la carte, and was fairly pleased with the chashu. It was well cooked and stayed solid, not falling apart. The sear on it created a nice flavor profile compared to the broth. This was all well and good, but it would eventually continue to compete with the broth on my tongue for flavor space to my chagrin.

Overall, the ramen seemed to be of quality, and the space drew from its Japanese heritage to create a nice environment to eat in. It seems like it would be a fun place to take some friends if you’re in the area, or could be a good addition for you if you’re looking to expand your ramen profile over some other...

I’ve eaten here numerous times over the years both before and after getting diagnosed with celiac disease. They have gluten free bowl that’s become my favorite and I’ve gotten it for take-out quite a few times recently. The label on the broth always says “gluten free.” I picked up my order today and when I unpacked it, the broth had a label for the Tonkotsu Original broth. This was immediately a concern for me, since I ordered the gluten free bowl and had a different broth. I called the location, but they don’t answer the phone - you have to sit through a recording for a few minutes until you’re directed to leave a voicemail for a call back. Luckily, I live close enough to the location that I just drove back up. I brought the broth with me, showed it to the employee behind the counter, and explained I’d gotten a gluten free bowl and need the correct broth. The employee told me it IS gluten free broth and that they don’t have the labels. I’m guessing they just ran out since I’ve picked up orders with gluten free labels on them before. I mentioned that this is a huge concern for people with allergies (I was rude about it, to be honest, but I was angry about the lack of concern). How am I supposed to know that this broth is apparently gluten free when THAT particular item on the menu is NOT labeled gluten free? There were two other employees nearby and no one really seemed to care or understand why the label was important. I left and ended up tossing the broth rather than risking eating it because at that point, I lost my trust in this restaurant. People with allergies, especially celiac disease, rely on food safety when eating out. So when an item on a menu is labeled gluten free, and we get given something else from the menu that is NOT that gluten free item, it’s an extreme concern. You’re telling me there wasn’t a sharpie or piece of tape anywhere in the restaurant that they could have written on the container that it was gluten free so that the person picking it up would know that attention was paid to their meal to have the CORRECT label on it? While some people choose not to eat gluten, others don’t have a choice and have serious repercussions from eating gluten. If you’re going to offer a gluten free bowl, label it appropriately for take-out orders. I won’t be returning to Ramen Tatsu-ya. I can’t trust a restaurant that doesn’t take caution when dealing with allergies and gives...