Nara Ramen and Sushi Bar — Restaurant in Garden City

Very disappointed by the attentiveness of the staff, food quality, wait time for orders placed, and the time it took to receive drinks. I had heard good things about Nara from word of mouth and have dined at a majority of the food places in this area, with most of them being faithful to their 4.0 to 4.5 star ratings. We asked to be sat at the bar as a party of two because the other tables were mostly filled. This initially made us excited as we felt like lots of people indicated good food & service— wrong. We were seated and it was a solid 10min before we were seen to, which wasn’t to place a drink order, it was to be told in passing that waters would be brought to us, then the server left. When we received our drinks we were asked if we had been to the restaurant before. We responded it was our first time so we’d like some time to check the menu. We were left alone for another 15min and that was when i started to observe the atmosphere and realized other tables were scanning for their waiter/ waitress or looking around absentmindedly. We finally placed our order of sushi and ramen and within minutes the Ramen came, which was way ahead of the sushi. My spouse waited for a few minutes to be polite, then when she went to begin eating she realized she had not been given the soup spoon for her broth. After watching to see if we would be run into by a server to ask on the quality of the meal, no one came. I stood up and walked over to the utensils and grabbed one, plus additional napkins. Despite two sushi chefs working my spouse had nearly finished her ramen by the time the rolls got to the table. We had only ordered 4 rolls, 1 of which was a simple spicy tuna. Our sushi was brought to us and we realized we didnt have boats for soy sauce. Again, we waited and watched but no one approached and a different server worked an area that wouldve required us to basically waive them down. Instead, i got up and approached them and asked for a soy sauce boat. It took 5 whole minutes to arrive. The rolls were mediocre compared to other restaurants however the ramen was fantastic. While the ramen is clearly their forte (it is a ramen house….) its sad to see the sushi “take a consolation prize” and not even equate to a great addition to their cuisine. We finished our food relatively quickly yet waited for about 15-20min for the check. We entered the restaurant shortly before noon, but it took an hour and 15min to finish, with a majority of that time spent waiting for someone to engage with us or getting up to secure cutlery and other items ourselves. For all of you who stuckout reading this review, please check my other ones. I am often a 5 star reviewer and work hard to provide enthusiastic reads for others to get excited by. I also do this for eateries and restaurants out of state as I travel somewhat frequently. Im disappointed that our experience was this way especially when seeing their at a 4.0 star rating. However, this will be their 136th review, which does not amount to a lot, meaning theres room for things to continue declining. Im concerned that if the staff do not focus on establishing a better system, people will come less frequently and within a short time period another diner will take this...

Quite good! Easy parking, convenient location & open until 9 all nights except Sunday until 8. Nice atmosphere & eclectic customer demographics. I went with my new friend, Toto, who suggested the restaurant as it was my 1st time having non-instant ramen. We were seated between a middle-aged married couple, enjoying a boat of sushi and an elderly Asian couple sipping on mild broth ramen. There were some young, trendy people as well as a large Asian family at a high-top table. We also noticed several college students enjoying their meals. The lighting was a bit bright for dinner time, but the sound level was perfect to hold a conversation and not have to strain. I personally love that Jacob, our smiling & helpful server, brought out chopsticks and forks in the beginning. He was quite knowledgeable on the menu and was able to help us completely in our choices. The menu is not huge but certainly has enough items to keep everybody happy. Do not be concerned when you read that a certain dish is 'spicy', because it will not be spicy at all. I like to have a lot of flavor, but not heat. I ordered the Spicy Beef Ramen, and it seriously and literally had NO heat. I asked our server Jason, and he said, that if you want it really to have some heat, you need to get a side of chili sauce or Habanero sauce that they will gladly bring out to you. The rich broth was accompanied by a good amount of cilantro and scallions, giving a great balance of fresh and hearty flavor to the dish. They did not skimp on the beef either. It was generous and tender. I just wish that the ramen was served in a warmer broth, for it was not cold, but really should have been steaming. The noodles were a bit thin, letting us know that they were not made in-house, yet they still held their shape (not over-cooked) and were flavorful. I also was able to enjoy bubble tea for my first time. Ordering the Nara Milk Tea, which is a combination of black tea, caramel, and boba beads, giving a delightfully chewy sensation, but surprisingly, not too sweet. I want you to know that it is possible to get a to-go container, if you could not finish all of your ramen and broth. However, if you order it to-go hot from the kitchen, the lid will become vacuum sealed and very difficult to remove (see photo). Yes, there are restrooms available in the back, but they are slightly difficult to find as they are hidden behind a black curtain, beyond the service area. Prices are extremely reasonable, and payment is directly handled at the table, but Jacob did not hover over us as we paid our bills. You are able to get a printed receipt directly at the table, as well. As we were leaving, Jacob made sure to thank us and say good night. :) I personally will return to try more items on the menu and experience the relaxed & knowledgeable...

This is relevant to today and a year ago.

My husband and I chose to have a date night here a year ago. Wish we hadn’t. The lack of communication amongst all employees is astonishing. We placed about $60 worth in appetizers right off the back. We ordered a couple rolls of sushi, edamame and gyoza. Moments later we both ordered ramen. Our appetizers were delivered to the table next to us. When those people said something they said they couldn’t take it back so they’d have to make it all for us again, no problem. We ended up getting our ramen and patiently waited for our appetizers. Only asking once about where the appetizers were because we had reached 1 hr of being there already and we hadn’t seen our waiter in a while. The waiter we had asked said “not sure let me ask YOUR waiter” with a slight attitude. He came over and apologized and said he’d check with the cooks. A couple minutes later we got the sushi rolls but no edamame or gyoza. After nearing the end of eating our sushi we inquired again about the other missing food. Again got met with “i don’t know i’ll check on that.” Literally the two things that take no time to make. After 2 hours we had to flag our waiter down and tell him we’d like our check now and to forget the last two. He had the audacity to tell us he did us a favor by comping the 2 missing appetizers. I sure hope you wouldn’t charge us for what we ordered. All while that happened we witnessed them make 2 of the same boba drinks and deliver them 3 minutes apart to the same person. Apologizing that they didn’t realize the other bartender already made it so they’d got a free second bobba. Then we also witnessed the table to the other side of us almost get someone elses order too but they corrected the waiter (not ours) before they even set the food down.

Brings us to tonight. Not much of a better experience. Our bobba drink ordered first thing didn’t get delivered till after the food did. The ramen was missing the requested add-ins. The 2 sushi rolls, one arrived when the ramen did 1 arrived after all the other food was done. Same with gyoza. There’s so much disconnect in this place. Everyone else around us the first time had a GREAT night with tons of freebies though.

Tried it a second time hoping for a better outcome. Definitely...